I.

Engine Balancing

II. Objectives

 What is Engine Balancing?

 Inherent mechanical balance
 Single cylinder engines
 Two cylinder engines
 More than two cylinders
 Steam engines
 Component balancing
 Blueprinting
 Why should I balance my engine?
 Generic Balance Technique
 Engine Balance Example
 Balance Procedure
 Engine Balance As a Troubleshooting Tool

III. Body

 What is Engine Balancing?

 Engine balance is the design, construction and tuning of an engine to run
smoothly. Improving engine balance reduces vibration and other stresses
and can improve the overall performance, efficiency, cost of ownership
and reliability of the engine, as well as reducing the stress on other
machinery near the engine

These benefits are produced by:

 Reduced need for a heavy flywheel or similar devices.

 Reduced wear.
 The opportunity to reduce the size and weight of components (other than
the obvious one of the flywheel) as a result of reduced stress and wear.
 Reduced vibration transmitted to the surroundings of the engine.
 The opportunity to extract more power from a given engine by:
 Higher maximum operating speeds made possible by reduced
stress.
  Spreading loads equally over multiple components, for example
if multiple carburetors are poorly balanced, the maximum
available throttle will be reduced.

Even a single cylinder engine can be balanced in many aspects. Multiple cylinder
engines offer far more opportunities for balancing, with each cylinder configuration
offering its own advantages and disadvantages so far as balance is concerned

 Inherent Mechanical Balance

Primary and secondary balance

Historically, engine designers have spoken of primary balance and secondary balance.
They are so called because they refer to vibration at the first and second harmonic of
the crank's rotational frequency, respectively. These excitations can produce both
couples and forces. Higher order harmonics also exist but, as the orders increase, the
magnitudes decrease, thus orders higher than the second are typically neglected. The
source of the higher orders is in the motion equation for a slider-crank mechanism,
which forms the basis for common reciprocating piston engines. Evaluation of the
motion equation reveals an infinite sinusoidal series, meaning there is actually no limit
to the balancing orders.

Primary balance

is the balance achieved by compensating for the eccentricities of the masses in the
rotating system, including the connecting rods. Primary balance is controlled by adding
or removing mass to or from the crankshaft, typically at each end, at the required
radius and angle, which varies both due to design and manufacturing tolerances. In
theory, any conventional engine design can be balanced perfectly for primary balance.

Secondary balance can include compensating (or being unable to compensate) for:

 The kinetic energy of the pistons.

 The non-sinusoidal motion of the pistons.
 The motion of the connecting rods.
 The sideways motion of balance shaft weights

The second of these is the main consideration for secondary balance. There are two
main control mechanisms for secondary balance — matching the phasing of pistons
along the crank, so that their second order contributions cancel and the use of
Lanchester balance shafts, which run at twice engine speed and so can provide a
counteracting force.
No widely used engine configuration is perfectly balanced for secondary excitation.
However, by adopting particular definitions for secondary balance, particular
configurations can be correctly claimed to be reasonably balanced in these restricted
senses. In particular, the straight six, the flat six and the V12configurations offer
exceptional inherent mechanical balance. Boxer eights with an appropriate configuration
can eliminate all primary and secondary balance problems, without the use of balancing
shafts

Vibrations not normally included in either primary or secondary balance include the
uneven firing patterns inherent in some configurations. The above definitions exclude
the dynamic effects due to flexure of the crankshaft and block and ignores the loads in
the bearings, which are one of the main considerations when designing a crankshaft.

 Single cylinder engines

A single cylinder engine produces three main vibrations. In describing them, it will be
assumed that the cylinder is vertical.

Firstly, in an engine with no balancing counterweights, there would be an enormous

vibration produced by the change in momentum of the piston, gudgeon pin(wrist pin,
US), connecting rod and crankshaft once every revolution. Nearly all single-cylinder
crankshafts incorporate balancing weights to reduce this.

Secondly, there is a vibration produced by the change in speed and therefore kinetic
energy of the piston. The crankshaft will tend to slow down as the piston speeds up and
absorbs energy and to speed up again as the piston gives up energy in slowing down at
the top and bottom of the stroke. This vibration has twice the frequency of the first
vibration and absorbing it is one function of the flywheel.
Thirdly, there is a vibration produced by the fact that the engine is only producing
power during the power stroke. In a four-stroke engine this vibration will have half the
frequency of the first vibration, as the cylinder fires once every two revolutions. In a
two-stroke engine, it will have the same frequency as the first vibration. This vibration
is also absorbed by the flywheel.

 Two cylinder engines

There are three common configurations in two-cylinder engines:

 Straight-two(also known as parallel twin).

 V-twin.
 Boxer Twin (a common form of flat engine).

Each of the three has advantages and disadvantages so far as balance is concerned.

A straight two engine may have a simple single-throw crankshaft, with both pistons at
top dead centre simultaneously(parallel twin). For a four-stroke engine, this gives the
best possible firing sequence, with one cylinder firing per revolution, equally spaced.
But it also gives the worst possible mechanical balance, no better than a single cylinder
engine. Many straight twin engines therefore have an offset angle crankshaft, that is,
two throws at an angle of up to 180°, with the result that the pistons reach top dead
centre at different times. While this causes uneven firing, it produces better mechanical
balance. It does not however produce perfect mechanical balance since the piston at
the top half of the cylinder moves faster than the one at the bottom half of the cylinder.

 More than two cylinders

The number of possible configurations with more than two cylinders is enormous. See
articles on individual configurations listed in Piston engine configurations for detailed
discussions of particular configurations. There are four different forces and moments of
vibration that can occur in an engine design: free forces of the first order, free forces of
the second order, free moments of the first order and free moments of the second
order. The straight-6, flat-6 and V12 designs have none of these forces or moments of
vibration and hence are the naturally smoothest engine designs.

Engines with particular balance advantages include:

 Straight-6
 Flat-4 with two geared crankshafts
 Flat-6
 Flat-12
  V12

Engines with more than two cylinders with characteristic balance problems include:

 I3 engines have a strong balance induced rocking motion

 Straight-4 using a single crankshaft has no better kinetic energy balance than a
single, and requires a relatively large flywheel.
 60 degree V6s
 90 degree V6s

In modern multi-cylinder engines, many inherent balance problems are addressed by

use of balance shafts.

 Steam engines

The question of mechanical balance was addressed on steam engines long before the
invention of the internal combustion engine. Steam locomotives commonly have
balancing weights on the driving wheels to control wheel hammer caused by the up and
down motion of the coupling rods and, to some degree, the connecting rods. Again, the
balance is a compromise.

 Component balancing

To improve inherent dynamic balance of any engine configuration, the balancing

masses can be matched. In most engines, some individual components are matched as
a set. Exactly which components are matched is part of the design of the engine.

For example, pistons are often matched and must be replaced as a set to preserve the
engine's dynamic balance. Less commonly, a piston may be matched to its connecting
rod, the two being machined as an assembly to tighter tolerances than either alone.

Component balancing is not restricted to considerations of mechanical balance. It is

vital, for example, that the compression ratio and valve timing of each cylinder should
be closely matched, for optimum balance and performance. Many components affect
this balance.

 Blueprinting

Blueprinting is the re-machining of components to tighter tolerances to achieve better

balance.

Ideally, blueprinting is performed on components removed from the production line

before normal balancing and finishing. If finished components are blueprinted, there is
the risk that the further removal of material will weaken the component.
However, lightening components is generally an advantage in itself provided balance
and adequate strength are both maintained.

 Why should I balance my engine?

There are five reasons to perform an engine balance.

1. Control peak combustion pressures – assuring safe operation within

manufacturer‘s specifications
2. Proportionately distribute the horsepower load across the power cylinders –
minimizing unbalanced crankshaft torsion forces
3. Reduce misfires and cycle-to-cycle variability - minimizing fuel consumption
4. Minimize excessive stresses on engine components created by high peak firing
pressures and detonation – maximizing reliability and availability
5. Control combustion temperatures – stabilizing exhaust emissions

 Generic Balance Technique

The engine balance process can be divided into four simple steps.

1. Direct pressure readings are taken for each power cylinder.

2. The pressure readings are analyzed and compared to determine which cylinders
are firing high and which cylinders are firing low (compared to the average
pressure).
3. Using this information, the fuel gas modulator valves are adjusted to make the
high pressures lower and/or the low pressures higher (see example below for
more details).
4. After the adjustments are made, pressure readings are retaken on all cylinders to
assure that the pressures are balanced within the balance criteria. If the balance
is not achieved, Steps 2, 3, and 4 are repeated.

 Engine Balance Example

Imagine that the fuel system of an engine is a line of sprinklers in a sprinkler system
(Figure1). The system has one control valve (the governor) and six adjustable sprinkler
heads(modulator valves).

The yard needs 10 gallons of water per minute (or so many BTU‘s of fuel to generate
the required horsepower) and the water should be evenly distributed to the grass
around each sprinkler head (or the same pressures in every cylinder).
To do this, the individual sprinkler heads (or modulator valves) are adjusted. By
pinching valves #2 and #5 on sprinklers (modulator valves) the spray will be lower. If
the flow through the control valve (governor) stays constant, then sprinklers 1, 3, 4, &
6 would increase. Why? To get the same flow through a smaller orifice requires a
higher pressure.

Alternately, opening #4 sprinkler head would decrease the height of 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6. By

continuing to adjust the individual sprinkler heads, the spray on all the sprinklers will be
the same height. The same is true of a fuel system on an engine.

 Balance Procedure

1. Collect peak firing pressures for each individual cylinder. If a mechanical

indicator is being used, collect a minimum of 10 peak firing pressures in a
readable manner. The greater the number of peaks collected, the better the
sample (one of the advantages of electronic engine balancers).
2. Analyze the pressure data and determine the average peak firing pressure for
each cylinder and the overall engine average peak firing pressure.
3. Note the high and low cylinders. Begin adjusting the individual fuel valves by
opening low cylinders or closing high cylinders. Determine whether to open or
close the fuel gas modulator valve based on governor position. Pinching the
modulator valves causes the governor to open; opening the modulator valves
causes the governor to close. Governor position should be approximately 75-
80% open. This permits enough range for the governor to compensate for load
changes without giving it enough range to compensate for major problems such
as dead cylinders.
4. After making any adjustment wait at least 20 minutes to allow cylinder conditions
to stabilize.
5. Retake the peak firing pressure readings on all cylinders (not just the cylinders
that were adjusted).
6. Calculate the engine balance percent and compare it against the desired balance
criteria. If the balance criteria is not met, steps 3, 4, and 5 should be repeated
until the balance is achieved.
7. Evaluate the balance data by looking for high cycle-to-cycle pressure deviations
on a given cycle to identify problem cylinders.
8. Clean and put away the balancing instrument.
9. Balance the engine once a week, anytime maintenance is performed, or when
significant changes in operations occur.
Engine Balance As a Troubleshooting Tool

The more sophisticated, electronic balance equipment provides local operating and
maintenance personnel with an effective troubleshooting and predictive maintenance
tool. Problems such as dead cylinders, detonation, excessive misfires, leaky fuel
injectors, worn spark plugs, and failing PCC check valves can be identified by carefully
reviewing the engine balance data. The following table identifies some of the common
problems that may be identified through engine balance.

Balance Indicator Engine Symptom Potential Equipment Cause

Extremely low Dead Cylinder Fuel injector problem, faulty ignition

peak firing components, worn spark plugs,
pressures(similar to collapsed lifters, or fuel modulator
running compression closed
pressure)

Sporadic low peak firing Misfires Fuel injector problem, faulty ignition
pressures components, worn spark plugs, or
collapsed lifters
Extremely high Detonation or Pre- Typically caused by misfires on
peak firing pressures Ignition other cylinders or hotspots in the
power cylinder
Erratic peak pressure Unstable exhaust Air/fuel ratio, PCC check valves,
/ high pressure emissions(NOx and leaking fuel injector, improper
deviations CO) balance, or defective ignition drive
IV. Conclusion

Conclusions

This paper covers a lot of ground in an effort to fairly and objectively evaluate the
engine balance process. As a result of that discussion, the following conclusions and
recommendations were made:

 Engine balance is ''best'' achieved using Peak Firing Pressure.

 Ideal engine balance equipment would have the following attributes:
1. Accurate peak firing pressure measurements
2. Calculated cylinder and engine average peak firing pressures
3. Calculated pressure deviations for each cylinder
4. Measured peak firing angle (typically only available on performance
analyzers)
5. Capability to measure performance data over at least 32 cycles per
cylinder
 General guidelines for engine balance frequency are:
1. Each time maintenance is performed,
2. After any change in operating conditions, and
3. At least once per week.
 A good rule of thumb for balance criteria is to assure that the average peak firing
pressure for each cylinder is within 5% of the engine‘s average peak firing
pressure.

A system balancing an internal combustion engine, particularly a four-stroke engine

with five cylinders in line, in which two of the counterweights for balancing the
crankshaft have asymmetric geometry defined by an additional mass in each case. The
respective centers of gravity of the two additional masses are situated in the plane
containing the resultant moment of the rotary components of the first-order alternating
forces and the centrifugal forces of the rotating masses.

V. References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_balance
2. http://www.universal-balancing.com/en/balancing-machine-
range/crankshaft-balancing-machines
3. http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/48121/understanding_cranksha
ft_balancing.aspx
4. http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/2589.html
Submitted By:
Carl Ryan T. Ollano

Submitted To:
Engr. Conrado S. Calumpita