PETROL ENGINE DIESEL ENGINE

 Petrol is used as fuel  Diesel is used as fuel

 Mixture of air and petrol is used as charge  Only air is used as charge

 It is a spark ignition engine.  It is a compression ignition engine

 Spark plug is used for fuel ignition and  Fuel injector is used to spray diesel into
burning. the cylinder for burning.

 Have lower compression ratio  Have higher compressor ratio

 Carburetor is used to supply air- petrol  Fuel pump is used to force Diesel in
mixture in proper ratio.
to fuel injector.
 Low thermal efficiency.
 High thermal efficiency
 Low weight engine
 High weight engine
 Can run at higher speeds (5000 rpm)
 Cannot run above 3500 rpm
 Starting is easy
 Starting is difficult
 Low maintenance cost
 High maintenance cost
 Low initial cost and high running cost
 High initial cost and low running cost
 Compact construction
 Huge size engine
 Fuel is wasted in scavenging process
 Fuel is not wasted in scavenging process.

 Exhaust temperature is low.

 Exhaust temperature is high
 Occupies more space
 Occupies less space
 Normally used for heavy duty vehicles like
 Normally used for light duty vehicles. trucks, tractors etc.

HP: 1 hp is 33,000 ft-lb per minute

IHP: Indicated horsepower is the power developed in the combustion chambers without reference
to friction losses within the engine.
BHP: The power delivered to the propeller for useful work is known as brake horsepower

FHP: Friction horsepower is the indicated horsepower minus brake horsepower.

FHP=IHP-BHP
THP: The amount of BHP is converted in the form of thrust is known as THP.

Thermal Efficiency
The ratio of useful work done by an engine to the heat energy of the fuel it uses, expressed in
work or heat units.
Indicated thermal efficiency = ihp × 33,000
weight of fuel burned/min. × heat value × 778
Mechanical Efficiency
The ratio of the power developed by the expanding gases in the cylinder to actual power
delivered to the output shaft.
𝐵𝐻𝑃
Mechanical efficiency =
𝐼𝐻𝑃
Volumetric Efficiency
A comparison of the volume of fuel/air charge injected into the cylinders to the total piston
displacement of the engine.
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
Volumetric Efficiency =
𝑃𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
PROPULSIVE EFFICIENCY: The ratio of the thrust horsepower and the bhp delivered to the
propeller shaft.
η𝑝 = 𝐵𝐻𝑃
𝑇𝐻𝑃
The seven major parts are:

 The cylinders
 The pistons, piston pins, rings
 The connecting rod
 The crankshaft
 Cam shaft
 The spark plugs
 Push rod
 Rocker arms
 Valves
 Propeller
 Reduction gear

The crankshaft is the backbone of the reciprocating engine. It is subjected to

most of the forces developed by the engine. Its main purpose is to transform the
reciprocating motion of the piston and connecting rod into rotary motion for
rotation of the propeller. crankshafts must be very strong, they generally made of
chromium-nickel-molybdenum steel.

The connecting rod is the link that transmits forces between the piston and the
crankshaft. It’s made of forged steel alloy in either the I- or H-shape.

The piston of a reciprocating engine is a cylindrical member which moves back

and forth within a steel cylinder. It transmits the force to the crankshaft through
the connecting rod. The majority of aircraft engine pistons are machined from
aluminum alloy forgings.

The piston rings prevent leakage of gas pressure from the combustion chamber
and reduce to a minimum the seepage of oil into the combustion chamber.

Cylinders
The portion of the engine in which the power is developed is called the cylinder.
the cylinder head of an air-cooled engine is generally made of aluminum alloy.

Valves: The fuel/air mixture enters the cylinders through the intake valve ports,
and burned gases are expelled through the exhaust valve ports. The valves used
in aircraft engines are the conventional poppet type. It can be made of chromic-
nickel steel.

The camshaft is driven by a gear that mates with another gear attached to the
crankshaft. The camshaft always rotates at one-half the crankshaft speed. it
transmitting the force through the push rod and rocker arm to open the valve.
Push Rod The push rod, tubular in form, transmits the lifting force from the
valve tappet to the rocker arm.

The rocker arms transmit the lifting force from the cams to the valves.

Reduction gearing for engines allows the engine to operate at a higher rpm,
developing more power while slowing down the propeller rpm.
1. The Intake Stroke
The cycle begins with the piston at top center; as the crankshaft pulls the piston
downward, a partial vacuum is created in the cylinder chamber. The cam arrangement
has opened the intake valve, and the vacuum causes a mixture of fuel and air to be
drawn into the cylinder.

2. Compression and Ignition Stroke

As the crankshaft drives the piston upward in the cylinder, the fuel and air mixture is
compressed. The intake valve has closed, of course, as this upward stroke begins. As
the compression stroke is completed and just before the piston reaches its top position,
the compressed mixture is ignited by the spark plug.

3. Power Stroke
The very hot gases expand with tremendous force, driving the piston down and
turning the crankshaft. The valves are closed during this stroke also.

4. Exhaust Stroke
On the second upward (or outward, according to the direction the unit is pointed)
stroke, the exhaust valve is opened and the burned gases are forced out by the piston.
At the moment the piston completes the exhaust stroke, the cycle is started again by
the intake stroke. Each piston within the engine must make four strokes to complete
one cycle, and this complete cycle occurs hundreds of times per minute as the engine
runs.

FLOAT TYPE CARBURETTOR

The basic operating principle of most carburetors depends on the differential pressure
between the inlet and the venturi throat. the velocity of a gas or liquid increases, the
pressure decreases.

Carburetor has six systems:

1. Main metering
2. Idling
3. Accelerating
4. Mixture control
5. Idle cutoff
6. Power enrichment or economizer.
  The main metering system supplies fuel to the engine at all speeds above idling. The fuel
discharged by this system is determined by the drop in pressure in the venturi throat.

 The carburetors have an idling system to supply fuel to the engine at low engine speeds because at
low speed the main metering system is closed.

 The accelerating system supplies extra fuel during sudden increases in engine power. When the
throttle is opened, the airflow through the carburetor increases to obtain more power from the
engine. The main metering system then increases the fuel discharge.

 The mixture control system determines the ratio of fuel to air in the mixture. In addition to these
manual controls, many carburetors have automatic mixture controls so that the fuel/air ratio, once
it is selected, does not change with variations in air density.
 The automatic mixture control prevents this by decreasing the rate of fuel discharge to compensate
for the decrease in air density.

 The carburetor has an idle cutoff system so that the fuel can be shut off to stop the engine. This
system, incorporated in the manual mixture control, stops the fuel discharge from the carburetor
completely when the mixture control lever is set to the “idle cutoff” position.

 Power enrichment system makes possible the variation in fuel/air ratio necessary to fit different
operating conditions.
It is a valve that is closed at cruising speeds and opened to supply extra fuel to the mixture during
high power operation.
The power enrichment system is actually a fuel saving device.
The power enrichment system is sometimes called an economizer or power
compensator
 FACTORS AFFECTING AIRCRAFT PISTON ENGINE PERFORMANCE

 Manifold pressure: Manifold pressure is the average absolute pressure of the air or fuel/ air charge
in the intake manifold and is measured in units of inches of mercury ("Hg). Its depend on engine
speed.

 Pre-ignition : the fuel air charge starts to burn before the spark plug fires.
 Detonation : Detonation occurs when the fuel air charge is ignited by the spark plug, but instead of
burning at a controlled rate, it explodes causing cylinder temperatures and pressures to spike very
quickly. If this condition exists for very long, the engine can be damaged or destroyed.

 Compression ratio: The compression ratio of an engine is a comparison of the volume of space in a
cylinder when the piston is at the bottom of the stroke to the volume of space when the piston is at
the top of the stroke
 Engine speed: its directly proportional to engine power.
 Specific fuel consumption:
specific fuel consumption (SFC): amount of fuel consumed in unit time to produced unit power.
SFC = pounds fuel/hour
horsepower

 Altitude/density : altitude increases, density of air is decreased, so it decreasing fuel air ratio, and
decreasing engine power.
 Fuel-air ratio :
The ratio of air & fuel in the mixture, The composition of the fuel/air mixture is described by the
mixture ratio.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF PISTON ENGINE BASED ON CYLINDER ASSEMBLY

according to the cylinder arrangement

in line, V-type, radial, and opposed
IN-LINE ENGINE
Cylinders are arranged in a single row. An inline engine generally has an even number of
cylinders. If the engine is designed to operate with the cylinders below the crankshaft, it is called
an inverted engine.
Advantages:
The inline engine has a small frontal area
better adapted to streamlining.
When mounted with the cylinders in an inverted position, it offers the added advantages of a
shorter landing gear
greater pilot visibility.
Dis-advantages:
With increase in engine size, the air cooled, inline type offers additional problems to provide
proper cooling;
this type of engine is confined to low- and medium-horsepower engines used in very old light
aircraft.
Opposed engine:
The opposed-type engine has two banks of cylinders directly opposite each other with a
crankshaft in the centre. It is generally mounted with the cylinders in a horizontal position.
Advantages:
The opposed-type engine has a low weight-to-horsepower ratio,
its narrow silhouette makes it ideal for horizontal installation on the aircraft wings (multi engine)
it has low vibration characteristics.
V-Type Engines
In V-type engines, the cylinders are arranged in two in-line banks generally set 60° apart. Most of
the engines have 12 cylinders.
This type of engine was used mostly during the second World War.
its use is mostly limited to older aircraft.
Radial engine:
The radial engine consists of a row, or rows, of cylinders arranged radially about a central
crankcase.
Radial engines are still used in some older cargo planes, war birds, and crop spray planes.,
Its uses are limited.