Measuring Engine

Performance
ME 115 Laboratory Spring
2008
Otto Cycle Review

Cengel & Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 2006.

Common terms used to compare
engine performance
 Brake power (bp): net power output of an
IC engine
 Torque: A force acting through a radius
 RPM: engine speed, in rotations per
minute
 Specific fuel consumption (sfc): rate of fuel
consumption per unit of brake power
Mean Effective Pressure
 MEP: a fictitious pressure that, if acted on
the piston during the entire power stroke,
would produce the same amount of net
work as that produced during the actual
cycle (Cengel & Boles, 2006)
 If the MEP goes up, the cylinder volume
can go down and still achieve the same
power output
Mean Effective Pressure, cont.
 Indicated MEP (imep): uses the total
power output minus the power needed for
the intake and exhaust stokes (indicated
power)
 Brake MEP (bmep): the power used to
overcome friction in the cylinder is also
subtracted; this term is used more often
than the imep
Brake Thermal Efficiency
 Brake thermal efficiency: brake power/rate
of heat output for complete combustion
 Brake thermal efficiency=indicated thermal
efficiency* mechanical efficiency
 Mechanical efficiency: related to the
amount of power used to overcome friction
Carnot Efficiency
 To see how well our engine is doing, we can
compare our brake thermal efficiency to the
Carnot efficiency
 Remember that the Carnot efficiency is the best
we can do!
 =1-(Tlow/Thigh), where T’s are in absolute scale
 We could estimate Thigh as our exhaust temperature
 Tlow is our ambient temperature
Engine Irreversibilities
 Heat transfer from the cylinder wall during
compression: will this irreversibility be larger for
slow or fast engine speeds?
 Pressure losses across the valves: will this
irreversibility be larger for slow or fast engine
speeds?
 Frictional work due to sliding ring seals and
other rotating components: will this irreversibility
be larger for slow or fast engine speeds?
Energy Efficiency Variation with
Engine Speed

Decher, 1994, Energy Conversion: Systems, Flow Physics and Engineering.