Internal Combustion

Engines
*Introduction
*Fuels
*Four Stroke Engine
*Parts of a four stroke engine

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Introduction

Fuels
Why are nearly all vehicles and
engines powered by gasoline?
extremely high energy density
cheap (relative to other sources)
easy and safe to move around

Fuels
Why not use other fuels?
Size of engines needed to utilize
these fuels is impractical for
automobiles lawnmowers etc.
Convenience
it takes 15 seconds to pump a gallon of
gas vs. several hours to recharge
batteries (i.e. electric cars)

Fuels
What are other types of fuels that
can be used?

Wood- steam engines

Coal- steam engines
Oil
Electricity

Internal Combustion
Where do we get internal
combustion?
The idea here is to take a fuel (gasoline
for example) and burn it in an engine to
create movement of cars and other gas
powered machines. This is where we
get internal combustion engines.

Internal Combustion

A cannon uses the basic

principles of internal
combustion engines. If
you take a small amount
of high energy fuel (like
gasoline) in a small,
enclosed space and
ignite it, an incredible
amount of energy is
released in the form of
expanding gas.

The four-stroke cycle

Almost all engines use a four-stroke
combustion cycle to convert gasoline
into motion.
This is also known as the Otto cycle in
honor of Nikolaus Otto who invented it
in 1867.
This process takes the basic example of
a cannon several steps further.

The four-stroke cycle

The four stroke
combustion cycle
consists of:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Intake
Compression
Combustion
Exhaust

The four-stroke cycle

The piston starts at
the top, the intake
valve opens and
the piston moves
down to let the
engine take in a full
cylinder of air and
gasoline during the
intake stroke

The piston then

moves up to
compress the
air/gasoline
mixture. This
makes the
explosion more
powerful.

The four-stroke cycle

When the piston
reaches the top, the
spark plug emits a
spark to ignite the
gasoline/air mixture.
The gasoline/air
mixture explodes
driving the piston
down.

The the piston

reaches the bottom
of its stroke the
exhaust valve
opens and the
exhaust leaves out
of the tailpipe.
The engine is ready
for another cycle.

Parts of an engine
Cylinder- where the piston moves up and
down. Most lawnmowers are 1 cylinder
while automobiles are 4,6,8, and 10.
Spark plug- supplies spark for the
fuel/air mixture.
Valves- let air in and exhaust out.
Note: both valves are closed during the
compression stroke.

Parts of an engine
Piston- cylindrical piece of metal that
moves up and down the cylinder.
Piston rings- rings provide a sliding seal
between the piston and cylinder.
Rings serve two purposes:
prevent fuel/air from leaking into the
sump
prevent oil from entering the combustion
chamber

Parts of an engine
Combustion chamber- area where
combustion and compression takes place.
Connecting rod- connects the piston to
the crankshaft.
Crankshaft- the crankshaft turns the up
and down motion of the piston into circular
motion
Sump- (oil pan) contains and collects oil
for lubrication

Parts of an engine

Source

www.howstuffworks.com