Lab report no 12

 Measurement of volumetric, thermal and mechanical

efficiency of:
 Petrol engine
Volumetric efficiency:

Volumetric efficiency (VE) is the actual amount of air flowing through an engine,

compared to its theoretical maximum. Basically, it is a measure of how full the
cylinders are.

VE is expressed as a percentage. An engine operating at 100 percent VE means

we’ve trapped 100 percent of the air a cylinder can theoretically hold by mass. 
Volume always measures the same, but restrictions lighten the mass of air/fuel
compared to what a cylinder theoretically holds.  Inertial tuning of the intake,
heads, cam, and exhaust can make the volume heavier. The heavier it is, the more
air/fuel it contains that can be burned to make power

VE = (CFM X 3,456) / (CID X RPM)

In this formula, CFM is the amount of air (in cubic feet-per-minute) being pumped
through the engine. This is NOT the CFM rating of the carburetor. This can be
difficult to measure and requires special testing equipment.

.
Thermal efficiency:

we define the thermal efficiency, ηth, of any heat engine as the ratio of the work it

does, W, to the heat input at the high temperature, QH. The thermal efficiency
formula is then:

The thermal efficiency, ηth, represents the fraction of heat, QH, that is

converted to work. It  is a dimensionless performance measure of a heat engine
that uses thermal energy, such as a steam turbine, an internal combustion engine,
or a refrigerator. For a refrigeration or heat pumps, thermal efficiency indicates
the extent to which the energy added by work is converted to net heat output.
Since it is dimensionless number, we must always express W, QH, and QC in the
same units.
Since energy is conserved according to the first law of thermodynamics and
energy cannot be be converted to work completely, the heat input, QH, must
equal the work done, W, plus the heat that must be dissipated as waste heat
QC into the environment. Therefore we can rewrite the formula for thermal
efficiency as:

Mechanical efficiency:
The mechanical efficiency of the engine is the ratio between the brake mean effective pressure and
the indicated mean effective pressure:
ηm=BMEP/IMEP