CITY AND GUILDS 9210

Level 6
Module - Unit 128 Applied Thermodynamics
OUTCOME 4 - TUTORIAL 3

RECIPROCATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

This module has 5 Learning Outcomes. This is the third tutorial for outcome 4

Outcome 4 Analyse and solve problems associated with internal combustion engines

The learner can:

1. Analyse reciprocating internal combustion engines:

a. air-standard cycles underlying reciprocating engine processes:

i. Otto
ii. Diesel
iii. Stirling
iv. others.

2. Determine the cycle efficiency and mean effective pressure as criteria of performance of
reciprocating internal combustion engines.

3. Explain the practical working of reciprocating internal-combustion engines

4. Determine factors limiting the performance of:

a. spark ignition engines

b. compression-ignition engines.

5. Determine the effects of variable specific heat and dissociation on engine cycle efficiency.

6. Determine the relationship between air-standard cycles and reciprocating internal combustion
engine processes.

Pre-Requisite Knowledge Requirement

In order to study this module you should already have a good knowledge of thermodynamics. If not you
should study the tutorials at www.freestudy.co.uk/thermodynamics2.htm before commencing this
module.

In this outcome you will make comprehensive study of piston engine cycles and all matters
associated with these engines. The work is divided into three tutorials. This is the third
covering compression ignition cycles.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

1
COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINES

The invention of compression ignition engines, commonly known as diesel engines, was credited to Rudolf
Diesel.

A TYPICAL DIESEL GENERATOR SET

The most powerful diesel engine in the world produces 81 MW at 102 rev/min.
(http://www.ultimatestupidity.com/pics/1/diesel/)

Diesel engines have long been the main power source for railway locomotives. Now they have become the
main power source for ships and all marine application. Similarly large road vehicles and mobile plant
machinery almost entirely use diesel engines. Increasingly large diesels are also being used for electric
generation and the exhaust gas is used to generate hot water or process steam. With their high thermal
efficiencies of 50% or better, Diesel engines have become the engine of choice for all mobile plant.

The basic principle is that when high compression ratios are used, the air becomes hot enough to make the
fuel ignite without a spark. In modern engines the fuel oil is injected directly into the cylinder as fine
droplets. The details of the combustion process depend on the size of the engine. Large engines run slowly
and at constant speed so the fuel injection and burning is highly controllable. Smaller engines (typically car
engines) run at fast and variable speeds so controlling the fuel injection is more difficult.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

2
INJECTION and COMBUSTION

The injector sprays fine droplets of oil into the combustions space. You will find a demonstration of fuel
injection at http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-injection3.htm.

On electronic systems the nozzle is opened by an electro-magnet and this is switched by the engine
management computer which is capable of controlling the duration and timing of the injection.

Purely mechanical systems use nozzles that open against a spring when pressure is applied and the duration
is controlled by the mechanics of the pump.

INJECTOR NOZZLE

A fixed time is required for the droplets to absorb heat from the surrounding air and ignite. If the engine is
running fast, this time delay covers a larger part of the cycle time than when the engine is running slow.

Depending on the speed and injector characteristic, an accumulation of fuel occurs in the combustion space
during the time delay. When the droplets ignite, heat is released and radiated to all the accumulated fuel and
this detonates spontaneously causing the characteristic diesel knock. The injection timing must be advanced
for higher speeds if the detonation is to occur at the right moment.

On large slow running engines such as ship engines, the time delay period occupies a much shorter part of
the cycle and the accumulation of fuel is relatively small. Consequently the detonation is less obvious.

Once ignition has occurred the fuel will burn as it is injected so combustion can be maintained during the
power stroke thus raising the average pressure on the piston. Once the fuel injection is cut off, the hot gasses
in the cylinder will expand naturally with pressure falling as the volume increases. The plots of pressure
against volume of gas show the effect of detonation of accumulated fuel. When the speed is fast the
detonation produces a sharp rise in pressure followed by burning. The slow running engine has a smaller
rise due to the smaller detonation.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

3
TURBOCHARGERS and SUPERCHARGERS

A turbocharger typically consists of a compressor or blower fan driven by a turbine. The turbine is driven by
the exhaust gas and the blower blows air into the engine. This means that a greater mass of air is supplied to
the combustion space so more fuel can be injected and more power produced. A supercharger serves the
same function but the compressor is mechanically driven by a belt connected to the engine crank shaft

There are two basic mechanical designs 4 stroke and 2 stroke. In both cases a crank and connecting rod is
used to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston into rotation of the crank shaft.

THE 4 STROKE CYCLE

Engines using the four stroke cycle produce one power stroke every second revolution of the crank shaft.
One revolution is used to efficiently clear out the exhaust gas and refill the cylinder with air. The following
explanation of the 4 stroke cycle does not show the crank shaft and connecting rod and it is assumed that the
student is already familiar with the basic mechanics of a reciprocating engine.

A - Induction Stroke. The piston moves away from the cylinder head and draws in air through the inlet
valve. On turbocharged engines, the air is blown in
by a compressor or turbocharger. This means that
more air and oxygen will be present in the cylinder
so more fuel can be burned in it than would
otherwise be possible thus increasing the power of
the engine.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

4
B- The Compression Stroke. The piston
moves towards the cylinder head and
compresses the air making it hot. Work
is needed to compress the air. Fuel is
then injected into the space above the
piston. The timing of the injection is
important because of the time delay
before the fuel detonates. This produces
a sharp rise in pressure.

C - Expansion Stroke. The pressure forces the piston away from the
cylinder head and powers the engine. Work is extracted from the
system. The way the pressure varies as the piston moves is
controlled by the continued injection of fuel. At some point the
fuel injection is cut off and the pressure falls as the piston moves
towards the extreme position.

D Exhaust Stroke. When the piston starts to move back towards

the cylinder head, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust
gas is pushed out. The whole cycle is then repeated. On very
large engines, the gas can be used to drive the turbocharger
by forcing it through a turbine connected to it.

PRESSURE VOLUME DIAGRAM

The resulting trace of pressure and volume is shown for the 4 stroke cycle. The induction cycle is greatly
exaggerated to show that when the exhaust is venting the pressure is slightly above atmospheric pressure
and when inducting without a turbocharger, it is slightly below. With a turbocharger, the pressure rises to
the turbo pressure as soon as the exhaust is vented.

The clearance volume is the volume in the combustion chamber when the piston is closest to the cylinder
head. The clearance volume + the swept volume is the volume when the piston is furthest from the cylinder
head. The swept volume is the change in volume. The compression ratio is defined as:
swept volume clearance volume
rv
clearance volume

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

5
THE TWO STROKE CYCLE

The 2 stroke engine produces a power stroke every revolution of the crank so they are twice as powerful as
the same size 4 stroke engine at the same speed. For this reason 2 stroke engines have become very popular
for large engines although for small engines 4 strokes are more efficient because of the efficient way they
replace the burned gas with fresh air.

The 2 stroke engine has ports in the side of the cylinder as

shown and when the piston is close to the bottom, they
are exposed and air from the turbocharger is blown into
the cylinder. At the same time the exhaust valve opens
and the exhaust gas still under pressure is vented and
blown out by the incoming air. Some designs use no
valves at all and has exhaust ports instead.

PRESSURE VOLUME DIAGRAMS

Real engines can be fitted with pressure transducers

and position transducers so that the way the pressure
changes with movement of the piston and hence
volume of gas, can be traced out. The diagram
shows a typical result.
The injection starts just before the point of
maximum compression. The detonation produces a
sharp rise in pressure then the fuel burns keeping the
pressure high as the piston moves down the cylinder.
The cut off point is where injection stops and no
further burning takes place. The pressure then falls
as the volume expands further. When the exhaust
port opens the pressure drops to the turbocharger pressure

The area enclosed by the diagram represents the work output produced each cycle or revolution in the case
of a 2 stroke engine.

Varying the cut off point reduces or increases the work output and this is how the power of the engine is
controlled. The diagram shows how varying the cut off point changes the area and hence power of the
engine.

The THERMAL EFFICIENCY of the engine is based on the net work output Wnet and the amount of heat
released by combustion Qin. The thermal efficiency is defined as:
W
th net
Qin

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

6
AIR STANDARD CYCLE FOR THE DIESEL ENGINE

DUAL COMBUSTION CYCLE

This is the air standard cycle for a modern fast running diesel engine. First the air is compressed
isentropically making it hot. Fuel injection starts before the point of maximum compression. After a short
delay in which fuel accumulates in the cylinder, the fuel warms up to the air temperature and detonates
causing a sudden rise in pressure. This is ideally a constant volume heating process. Further injection keeps
the fuel burning as the volume increases and produces a constant pressure heating process. After cut off, the
hot air expands isentropically and then at the end of the stroke, the exhaust valve opens producing a sudden
drop in pressure. This is ideally a constant volume cooling process. The ideal cycle is shown below.

The processes are as follows.

1-2 reversible adiabatic (isentropic) compression.

2-3 constant volume heating.
3-4 constant pressure heating.
45 reversible adiabatic (isentropic) expansion.
5-1 constant volume cooling.

The analysis of the cycle is as follows.

The heat is supplied in two stages hence Qin = m cp (T4 - T3) + m cv (T3 - T2)
The heat rejected is Qout = m cv (T5 - T1)

The thermal efficiency may be found as follows.

Q mcv T5 - T1 T5 - T1
1 out 1 1
Qin mcv (T3 - T2 ) mc p (T4 - T3 ) (T3 - T2 ) (T4 - T3 )
k - 1
The formula can be further developed to show that 1
k 1 k 1rv 1
rv is the VOLUME COMPRESSION RATIO. r v = V1/V2
is the CUT OFF RATIO.
= V4/V3
k is the ratio p3/p2.

Most students will find this adequate to solve problems concerning the dual combustion cycle. Generally,
the method of solution involves finding all the temperatures by application of the gas laws. Those requiring
a detailed analysis of the cycle should study the following derivation.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

7
 Qout T5 - T1
1 1
Qin (T3 - T2 ) (T4 - T3 )
Obtain all the temperatures in terms of T2
Isentropic compression 1 to 2
1
V T
T1 T2 2 21
V1 rv
Constant volume heating 2 to 3 note V3 V2
p3V3T2 p3T2
T3 kT2
p 2V2 p2
Constant pressure heating 3 to 4 note p 3 p 4
p 4V4T3 V4T3
T4 T3 kT2
p3V3 V3
Isentropic expansion 4 to 5
1 1 1
V4 V4V2 k T2

T5 T4 T4
T4 r r 1
V5 V5V2 v r

Substitute for all temperatures in the efficiency formula.

k T2 T2 k 1
1
- 1 1
- 1
rr rv rr rv
1 1
kT2 - T2 kT2 - kT2 k 1 k k
k - 1
1
k 1 k 1rv 1

Note that if =1, the cycle becomes an Otto cycle and the efficiency formulae becomes the same as for an
Otto cycle.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

8
 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 1

In a dual combustion cycle, the compression starts from 1 bar and 20 oC. The compression ratio is 18/1
and the cut off ratio is 1.15. The maximum cycle pressure is 1360 K. The total heat input is 1 kJ per
cycle. Calculate the following.

i. The thermal efficiency of the cycle.

ii. The net work output per cycle.

Check that the efficiency does not contravene the Carnot principle.

SOLUTION

Known data.

T1 = 20 +273 = 293 K The hottest temperature is T4 = 1360K.

=1.15 rv = 18 =1.4

T2 T1 rv 1 293 x 18 0.4 931 K

V3 T4 T4 1360
T3 1183 K
V4 1.15
p3 T
k 3 1.27
p2 T2
k - 1 1.27 x 1.151.4 - 1
1- 1 -
k - 1 k - 1rv-1 1.27 - 1 1.4 x 1.27 x 1.15 - 1 x 18 0.4
0.68 or 68%

Wnett = x Qin = 0.68 x 1 = 0.68 kJ per cycle.

The Carnot efficiency should be higher.

T 293
1 cold 1 0.785
Thot 1360

The figure of 0.68 is lower so the Carnot principle has not been contravened.

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

9
 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 2

A dual combustion cycle has a compression ratio of 18/1. The maximum pressure in the cycle is 9 MPa
and the maximum temperature is 2000oC. The pressure and temperature before compression is 115 kPa
and 25oC respectively. Calculate the following.

i. The cut off ratio.

ii. The cycle efficiency.
iii. The nett work output per kg of air.

Assume =1.4 cp = 1.005 kJ/kgK cv = 0.718 kJ/kg K.

SOLUTION

Known data.
T1 = 298 K T4 = 2273 K p3 = p4 = 9 MPa p1 = 115 kPa

V1/V2= V1/V3= 18 V2 = V3

(-1)
T2 = 298 x 18 = 947 K
p 3 T1 V3 9 x 10 6 x 298 V3 9 x 10 6 x 298 1
T3 x x 1296K
p1 V1 115 x 10 3 V1 115 x 10 3 18
V p T T
Cut off ratio 4 3 4 but p 4 p 3 so 4
V3 p 4 T3 T3
2273
1.75
1296
-1
V V V V 1.75
T5 T4 4 but 4 4 x 3 0.0974
V5 V5 V3 V5 18
T5 2273 x 0.0974 0.4 895.6 K

Qin = mcp(T4 - T3) + mcv (T3 - T2) m= 1 kg

Qin =1.005(2274 -1296) + 0.718(1296-947) = 1232.5 kJ/kg

Qout = mcv (T5 - T1)

Qout = 0.718(895.6 - 298) = 429 kJ/g

Q out 429
1 1 0.65 or 65%
Q in 1232
Wnett Q in Q out 1232 428.6 803.5 kJ/kg

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

10
THE DIESEL CYCLE

The Diesel Cycle proceeded the dual combustion cycle. The Diesel cycle is a reasonable approximation of
what happens in slow running engines such as large marine diesels. The initial accumulation of fuel and
sharp detonation does not occur and the heat input is idealised as a constant pressure process only.

Again consider this cycle as being carried out inside a cylinder fitted with a piston. The p-V and T-s cycles
diagrams are shown below.

1-2 reversible adiabatic (isentropic) compression.

2-3 constant pressure heating.

3-4 reversible adiabatic (isentropic) expansion.

4-1 constant volume cooling.

Qout mcv T4 - T1 T - T
1 1 1 4 1
Qin mc p (T3 - T2 ) (T3 - T2 )

The cycle is the same as the dual combustion cycle without the constant volume heating process. In this case
since k=1 the efficiency is given by the following formula.

-1
1
1rv 1

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

11
 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 3

An engine using the Diesel Cycle has a compression ratio of 20/1 and a cut off ratio of 2. At the start of
the compression stroke the air is at 1 bar and 15oC. Calculate the following.

i. The air standard efficiency of the cycle.

ii. The maximum temperature in the cycle.
iii. The heat input.
iv. The net work output.

SOLUTION

Initial data.

=2 rv=20 =1.4 cv = 718 J/kg K for air T1=288 K p1=1 bar.

The maximum temperature is T3 and the maximum pressure is p3 and p2.

-1
1
1rv 1
21.4 - 1
1
(2 1) x 1.4 x 20 0.4
1.639
1 0.647 or 64.7%
1 x 1.4 x 3.314

T2 T1 rv -1 288 x 20 0.4 954.5 K

V2
T3 T2 T2 954.3 x 2 1909 K
V3
Q in mc p (T3 - T2 )
Q in 1.005(1909 - 954.5) 959.3 kJ
Wnett

Q in
Wnett Q in 0.647 x 959.3 620.6 kJ

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

12
 SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 1

1. A Dual Combustion Cycle uses a compression ratio of 20/1. The cut off ratio is 1.6/1. The temperature
and pressure before compression is 30oC and 1 bar respectively. The maximum cycle pressure is 100
bar. Calculate the following.

i. The maximum cycle temperature. (2424 K).

ii. The net work output per cycle. (864 kJ/kg).
iii. The thermal efficiency. (67.5 %).

2. A Dual Combustion Cycle uses a compression ratio of 12/1. The cut off ratio is 2/1. The temperature
and pressure before compression is 280 K and 1 bar respectively. The maximum temperature 2000 K.
Calculate the following.

i. The net work output per cycle. (680 kJ/kg).

ii. The thermal efficiency. (57.6 %).

3. Draw a p - V and T - s diagram for the Dual Combustion Cycle.

A reciprocating engine operates on the Dual Combustion Cycle. The pressure and temperature at the
beginning of compression are 1 bar and 15oC respectively. The compression ratio is 16. The heat input
is 1800 kJ/kg and the maximum pressure is 80 bar. Calculate the following.

i. The pressure, volume and specific volume at all points in the cycle.
ii. The cycle efficiency. (62.8 %).
iii. The mean effective pressure. (14.52 bar).

(c) www.freestudy.co.uk Author D. J. Dunn

13