Lecture No.

24

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 COMBUSTION AND
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Introduction

Combustion

Homogenous Mixture
(Refer next slide, Flame Front, its propagation, its
speed – equivalence ratio, turbulence)

Heterogeneous Mixture
(Self ignition or spontaneous ignition determines
combustion characteristics, zones with equivalence
ratio 1.1-1.2 and turbulence helps to ignite the zones
beyond this range of 1.1-1.2)

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Homogenous Mixture

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Heterogenous Mixture
(Diesel/CI engine)
• Fuel may not be uniformly spread within the cylinder.
• Combustion is spontanteous, so we can’t be sure where
the combustion begins. But it will begin for the place
where equivalence ratio = 1.1 to 1.2.
• As these quivalence ratios, you get a higher pressure
and temperature.
This would cause an increase in the Heat transfer
rate and an increase in the particle diffusion rate
henceforth increasing the flame speed

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Stages of Combustion of SI
Engines

 Theoretical pressure crank angle diagram is shown.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Lecture No. 25

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Stages of Combustion of SI
Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
• Temperature and pressure:High temperature aur pressure pe
the fuel tends to go near its “atto ignition” temperature which would thereby
reduce the Ignition Lag.

• Fuel Quality: A nice and chemically reactive fuel would burn very
quickly and reduce the ignition lad

• Residual Gases: High amount of residual gases can cause misfiring

as there is no enough fuel to be burnt.
It should be properly mixed such that spark air+fuel mixture par hi aye.!!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Lecture No. 26

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

III Afterburning
 Amount of charge left to be burnt is low,
so even though the combustion keeps
going on one would not observe a stark
rise in pressure.
 The pressure increase due to
combustion is More than compensated
by the expansion of the piston cylinder.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 Back to II.) Propagation of
flame
• The slope of curve BC is an important criteria for engine
performance. Higher slope means higher piston momenta==
more power.
• The rate of pressure rise in the portion BC depends upon the
heat release rate

“depends upon” diagram

Heat Release RateFlame SpeedHeat Transfer Rate& Diffusion

RateTurbulence Intensity and mixture compositionA-F ratio or type of
fuel used or equivalence ratio.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 Factors Influencing the Flame Speed And /
OR Combustion rate And/OR Heat
Release Rate
1. Intake Temperature (to have vaporization of fuel and to form homogenous mixture and,
auto(atto) ignition temperature of fuel) and Intake Pressure (to have overall larger density
of the charge). This reduces phase AB and B-C start early with high flame speed (refer
point 3.).
2. Compression Ratio (If CR increases, P and T of mixture also increases which reduces
initial preparation phase A-B & second phase of combustion B-C start early with high
flame speed (refer points 3)).
3. Large intake pressure creates extra turbulence which helps to get proper mixing of air
and fuel to get equivalence ratio 1.1 to 1.2 before the spark and proper mixing of
combusted and non-combusted zones after the spark thus to get high flame speed which
subsequently gives high combustion rate in AB regime and also in BC regime. Hence
subsequently higher peak pressure generation takes place although expansion stroke is
going on.
4. Turbulence (Narrow Intake pipe design wrt Suction stroke, valve openings, turbulence
during the compression/expansion stroke created with the help of geometry of cylinder
head and piston crown).
5. Fuel Air Ratio, type of fuel (calorific value of fuel)
6. Engine’s Speed (high speed causes high turbulence), and Size.
NOTE: In general in SI Engines, If piston speed varies in the range of 10-12 m/s while flame
speed is about 40 m/s. BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Factors Influencing the Flame
Speed

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Rate of Pressure Rise

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Lecture No. 27

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Phenomenon of Knock in SI
Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Knocking

>The gases near the cylinder wall now will develop their own
flame fronts!
>These will now develop through the cylinder against the
gradient of the original flame front:
* these two flame fronts collide and cause shocks and
noises------this is known as knocking!
Knocks cause vibrations of the engine and are not good

>This happens without any involvement of the Heat transfer
or “possible” particle diffusion.
> Charge is compressed against the hot cylinder wall and
the fuel reaches “atto” ignition temperature!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Effect of Engine Variables on
Knock
1. Density Factor

2. Time Factor

3. Composition Factor

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

1.Density Factor

1. Compression Ratio

2. Mass of Inducted Charge

3. Inlet temperature of Mixture

4. Temperature of Combustion Chamber Wall

5. Retarding the spark timing

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

1.Density Factors

>Increasing compression ratio….pressure and

temperature of the charge during the compression
stroke. This causes a decrease in ignition lag.
Therefore the ignition lag for the portion
CDC’….therefore idhar early compression shuru ho
sakta hai.
>Increasing compression ratio would also cause mass of
charge inducted to be more! Essentially inducting more
energy! More temperature (bcoz more calorific value)
matlab zyada wall temperature!
>Increasing Inlet Temp: will cause more knocking for
obvious reason. Reduced igniton lag, and decreases
volumetic efficiency!
BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
1.Density Factors

 Temperature of combustion chamber wall and other

hotspots (Additional spark plugs and exhaust valve)
can also cause knocking
 Retarding the Spark timing: will cause the combustion
to happen closer to the expansion stroke:
net effect? Pressure reduces (Peak pressure not
highest)…. Combustion slow….Knocks reduce!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Lecture No. 28

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

2.Time Factor
1. Turbulence

2. Engine Speed

3. Flame Travel Distance (depends on SPARK PULG LOCATION,

Engine Size)

4. Engine Size

5. Combustion Chamber Shape (design to improve parameter 1

and to reduce parameter 3 in order reduce knock)

6. Location and number of Spark Plug in large engine

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
2.Time Factor

>High turbulence=High Flame Speed…this combusts

charge close to these hotspots(wall, spark plug, exhaust
valve) quickly. This does not give time for the
development of secondary flames…thereby reducing
knocking
>High Engine Speed= High Momentum=more turbulence
ab wahi ramayan
>A smaller engine size could reduce the flame travel
distance essentially causing the ignition to be completed
faster…this can also be achieved by placing the spark
plug at the center rather than at a side

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

2.Time Factor

>Combustion chamber shape---baad mein discuss karega

woh!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

3.Composition Factor

1. Fuel Air Ratio: Equivalence ratio between 1.1 and 1.2

2. Octane Number: Tells about the knocking tendency of

the fuel. It tells how high the self ignition temperature of
the fuel is…. High atto ignition temp. = Less chance of
secondary flame fronts = low knocking!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 Combustion Chambers for SI
Engines
1. Shape and Size of Combustion Chamber(cylinder +piston
shape)
2. Spark Plug Location

3. Inlet and Exhaust Valve Position

Above parameters regarding the combustion chamber and

suitable antiknock fuels are important in order to use of high
compression ratio, hence maximum power output with
minimum Octane requirement, high thermal efficiency gain,
reduced knock.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Combustion chamber should be designed using important
points as below
1. Smooth engine operation: For this, spark plug should be located
centrally. Air+fuel charge should not be compressed against hot
spots i.e spark plug, exhaust valve and cylinder walls. Surface to
volume ratio of cylinder should be high in order to increase heat
transfer to the cooling jacket in order to keep temperature of the
charge present near to the wall below the auto ignition temperature
in order to avoid the knocking.
2. High degree of turbulence: For this, provide bowl or crown in
piston with dome shaped cylinder head to get the squish
(turbulence). Valve should be larger in diameter to ensure higher
volumetric efficiency. Do refer next slide, for the location of valves,
spark plug, and about the shape of combustion chamber.
3. Combustion chamber’s design must improve the antiknock so engine can
be designed and reused with higher compression ratio for higher power
output.
BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
 Typical Combustion Chamber

• I and E together
• Spark Plug placed
where maximum • I and E together
charge available • Number of turns
• Dome shape increases reduced the charge
• Two sep. camshafts turbulence velocity
• Flat surfaces reduce
turbulence!
• Location of
spark:optimum

• I & E on the cylinder

Head • Velocity loss due to
• Fresh charge assisted bend and gravity
by gravity! • Ignition pretty easy
• Shape of head + piston because of high
increases turbulence compression
• Spark close to chargec • Exhaust can work like
chimney! (instead of
keeping at the side)
• Separate camshafts! F

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Lecture No. 29

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Combustion in CI Engines
 Concept of Flame Front: Invalid!
 Combustion occurs locally at different
places!
 In SI engine: equivalence ratio ~ 1( A-F
ratio is stoichiometric)
 For CI engine: (load –more fuel supply)
For no load condition=A-F is high!
For full load A-F ratio….stoichiometric
 Q. Why CI engines operate at a leaner
side(more O2 than required)?
 Ans.
Keeping the fuel on the leaner side
makes it easier for combustion to take
place!
All heterogenous (some places rich and
some places lean) points will get sufficient
oxygen!

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

4 stages of CI Engine combustion!
1-Ignition Delay period
(detailed later)
• Very small duration
• Injection starts here (may be
made multiple times at
different Periods!)

2- rapid combustion: 3-controlled combustion:

• Combustion starts here • 3rd injection at start of this period
• another injecton at the start of • Essentially done to avoid a rapid
this period! decrease in pressure due to
• Temperature rises rapidly expansion!
because compression + • Oxygen may be less…so the
ignition+naya fuel injection! combustion is slow! (although we
• Ignition delay for second fuel can expect complete combustion
injection is super small! due to the extra turbulence
• Ispe sawaal karega ki caused by expansion)
Why this rapid increase??
Ans. The last three points!!
Legends:
1-Ignition Delay Period
2- Rapid Combustion
3- Controlled Combustion
4-Afterburning
4-Afterburning:
• Bache kuche particles ko
Motoring curve: combustion milega ab.
Jaha combustion nahi ho rha! • Not a lot of combustion, so no
more pressure assist!
BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
 Combustion in CI Engines

In general, we want the ignition delay to be smaller

Period (d) Mixing period
• After first injection(a): The diesel drops are injected into
hot and compressed air!
After this the diesel droplets absorb heat from the air
and vaporize in the Mixing period (d).
• High pressure air could help decrease (d)---more
turbulence!
It also helps break down the fuel into smaller droplets!
• We should keep a less viscous fuel.Why? Re number
inversely proportional to viscosity! So, less viscosity =
more turbulence!
• High temperature – reduces self ignition barrier and
also increases turbulence!

Period (e) Interaction Period

• The fuel reaches its “atto ignition temperature and it
has the Oxygen and combustion starts !
• Compressed air temp should be high!
• Use fuel with high cetane number.(low auto ignition
temp)

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Lecture No. 30-31

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Factors affecting on the Delay
Period
Quality of Fuel (depends upon Cetane number, Viscosity, Latent heat,
Volatility)
Intake Pressure (affects atomization, turbulence and intake
temperature, peak pressure)
Atomization of Fuel (depends upon Injection Pressure and Viscosity)
(small size of fuel droplet (large surface to volume ratio) helps to
reduce delay period and hence knocking, larger size of droplets give
knocking, however further increase in droplet size gives smooth
operation but less pressure generation due to incomplete
combustion)
Intake Temperature of air
Compression ratio.
Engine Speed (at high speed, temperature during the compression
stroke is more due less heat loss to wall causes increase in
temperature of compressed air causing small delay period.).
Injection Timing (see figure in the next slide) BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Factor – Injection Timing
affecting on the Delay Period

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

If temp increases: delay period reduces!
So delay period be like:
delay9< delay18<delay27
Although the delay periods for 9 deg. Is
the lowest but the firing occurs a little
too late

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Knock in CI Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 Knock in SI vs CI Engines

1) In SI engine knock occurs at the end of combustion while in CI

engines it occurs at the beginning of combustion.
2) SI engine’s fuel should posses high Octane number while CI
engine’s fuel should have it low (or posses high Cetane
number).
3) Knock due to collision of two flame fronts is appropriate term
for SI engine while detonation is used for CI engines.
4) In SI engine pre-ignition occurs due to various reasons causes
knocking while there is no pre-ignition in CI engines since
ignition of all the diesel drops start only after their injection into
hot air. Long ignition delay period causing accumulation of
diesel droplets cause the knocking in the CI engines.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

How to Reduce the Knock –
Compare in SI and CI Engines
Sr. No. Characteristics SI Engines CI Engines

1 Auto Ignition temperature High Low

of fuel
2 Ignition delay Long Short

3 Compression ratio Low High

4 Inlet temperature Low High

5 Inlet pressure Low High

6 Combustion wall Low High

temperature
7 Speed, rpm High HIGH

8 Engine Size Low High

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Combustion Chambers for CI
Engines
• TURBULENCE for better Mixing of air and diesel

• Type of combustion chambers

(i) Direct Injection (DI) chambers
(ii) Indirect Injection (IDI) chambers – types as below
Swirl type (to generate compression swirl),
Pre-combustion type (to generate combustion swirl) ,
Air cell type (both compression and combustion swirl)

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

DI or Open Chamber for CI
Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

DI or Open Chamber for CI
Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

DI or Open Chamber for CI
Engines

Advantages: 1) Fine atomization due to multihole nozzle

with high injection pressure around 200 bar
2) Minimum heat loss during compression because of lower
surface to volume ratio and hence better efficiency
Disadvantages: High injection pressure require complex
design of fuel injection pump

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

IDI Chamber for CI Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

IDI Chamber for CI Engines

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

IDI Chamber for CI Engines

Advantages of IDI chambers : Low injection pressure and

direction of spraying is not very important.
Disadvantages: Specific fuel consumption is very high due
to heat loss due to large heat transfer area.
Maximum pressure generated is lower than that of open (DI
type) chambers.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Assignment

Solve all Multiple choice questions of chapter 11.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus