AGRICULTURAL POWER UNITS

(AMI 301)

Mechanical power

1 Dr. S. APPAH, DAMIT/FCS/FOA (0249326043)

TYPES OF TRACTOR

Utility Tractor
Bulldozers

Track Loader Excavator

137
TYPES OF TRACTOR

Row Crop Tractor

Earth Moving Tractor

Orchard Type Tractor 137

Garden Tractor
Sources of Mechanical Power: Fossil fuel, Wind power, Solar power,
Hydraulic energy, Biomas energy, Steam

Mechanical power developed by engines is more

important in agriculture than both human and animal
power.

However, the technology is capital intensive, requires

technical knowledge and support services to handle the
equipment.
The use of this type of power is based
on energy conversion from one form
to another. 

The machine which does this job of

energy conversion is called an engine. 137
139
  Heat engines can be broadly classified into
two categories:

1. Internal Combustion Engines (IC Engines)

2. External Combustion Engines (EC Engines)

 Engines whether IC or EC are of two types:

a. Rotary engines
b. Reciprocating engines
The most widely used ones are the reciprocating ICEs
because.

 It is simple and improves efficiency of the internal

combustion engine.
139
 its components work at an average temperature
which is much below the maximum temperature
of the working fluid in the cycle.

This is because the high temperature of the

working fluid in the cycle persists only for a very
small fraction of the cycle time.
therefore, very high working fluid temperatures
can be employed resulting in higher thermal
efficiency.
 Further, in ICE, higher thermal efficiency can be
obtained with moderate maximum working pressure of
the fluid in the cycle.

141
 The main disadvantage of this type of engine is

1. the problem of vibration caused by the

reciprocating components.

2. also, it is not possible to use a variety of fuels in

these engines.
only liquid or gaseous fuels of given specification
can be efficiently used.

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Elements needed for an engine

• Air, Fuel and Combustion

Air is needed to combine with fuel and give it oxygen for
fast combustion or burning. It is the oxygen in the air that
combines with the fuel for combustion. For combustion,
how fast the fuel burns for this force must be “explosive”
to get the full power from the engine is very important.

• Reciprocating and Rotary Motion

• Compression of Air-Fuel Mixture

• Engine cycle
142
 Considering all the above factors the
reciprocating internal combustion engines
have been found suitable for use in
a. tractors,
b. cars,
c. motor-cycles,
d. power boats,
e. power units of relatively small output.

144
Basic components of IC engines

145
Terminologies used in IC engine

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1
15
Power Transmission Chain/Train

16
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175
1
 Cylinder bore (d): The internal diameter of the
cylinder.
- It is designated by the letter d
- expressed in millimeter (mm).

176
 Piston area (A): The area of a circle of a
diameter equal to the cylinder bore is called the
piston area
- It is designated by the letter A
- expressed in square centimeter (cm2).

Stroke (L): The maximum length of travel of piston

from one extreme position to other extreme
position in one direction.
-It is designated by the letter L
-expressed in millimeter (mm).
177
Dead centre
 The position of the
- working piston and the moving parts which
are mechanically connected to it,
- at the moment when the direction of the
piston motion is reversed at either end of the
stroke is called the dead centre.
 There are two dead centres in the engine

178
 Top Dead Centre (TDC): It is the dead centre when
the piston is farthest from the crankshaft.
 Bottom Dead Centre (BDC): It is the dead centre
when the piston is nearest to the crankshaft.

179
 Clearance volume (CV): The space or volume
between the top of the piston and the engine
cylinder when the piston is at TDC.

 It is also called “combustion chamber’’.

181
 Piston displacement (PD): The volume
displaced or covered or swept by the piston
when it moves from TDC to BDC.
- It is expressed in terms if cubic centimeter (cm3)
and given by;
𝜋 2
P D =A × L= 𝑑 L
4

180
 Total Cylinder Volume (TCV): It is the volume
designated by the sum of the piston displacement
and the clearance volume (PD + CV).

 Compression Ratio (CR): the ratio of total

cylinder volume to clearance volume.

182
 Cubic capacity or Engine capacity: The
displacement volume of a cylinder multiplied by
number of cylinders in an engine will give the
cubic capacity or the engine capacity.

- For example, if there are K cylinders in an engine,

then

183
 Q1) A 4-cylinder engine of size 120mm × 144mm was
used to plough an acre of land. If the clearance volume
(CV) of the cylinder groove is one-sixth of its piston
displacement (PD), calculate;

i. Swept volume of the engine

ii. Total Cylinder Volume of the engine
iii. Compression ratio
Q2) Calculate;
i. clearance volume (CV)
ii. compression ratio (CR)
iii. engine capacity
of a 2-cylinder tractor engine when total volume of one
cylinder is 1006.73 cm3. Bore and stroke are 94.8 and
125mm respectively.
1
Solution
i) Piston displacement/swept volume; Where; Bore (D)
= 100mm and Stroke = 124mm
mm3
Hence, for a 4-cylinder engine, engine displacement
mm3

ii)Total Cylinder Volume (TCV) = PD + CV

mm3

iii)Compression ratio (CR)

1
Compression ignition engine
 Air is compressed in to the engine cylinder.
 Due to this, the temperature of the compressed
air rises to 700-900 °C.
 At this stage diesel is sprayed in to the cylinder
in fine particles.
 Due to a very high temperature, the fuel gets
ignited.
 This type of combustion is called constant
pressure combustion
because the pressure inside the cylinder is
almost constant when combustion is taking place.

147
Spark ignition engine
 A mixture of air and fuel is drawn in to the
engine cylinder.

 Ignition of fuel is done by using spark plug.

 The spark plug produces a spark and ignites

the air-fuel mixture.

- such combustion is called constant volume

combustion.

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 1. Air, Fuel and Combustion
2. Reciprocating and Rotary
Motion
3. Compression of Air Fuel
Mixture
4. Engine cycle

149
1. Air, Fuel and Combustion
 The three basic elements needed to produce
heat energy in the engine are;
1. Air is needed to combine with fuel and give it oxygen
for fast burning

2. Fuel must mix readily with air and ignite easily

3. Combustion is the actual igniting and burning of the

fuel-air mixture.
- It is the oxygen in the air that combines with the fuel
for combustion

150
 Note that too powerful explosion would destroy an
engine, since combustion takes place in a closed
container.

 The rate of burning can be controlled by


1. how far we compress the air (thus heating it up);
2.
3. how much fuel we use and

4. how volatile it is.

152
2. Reciprocating and rotary motion

 The engine uses two forms of motion to transmit

energy:
a. Reciprocating motion

up-and-down or back-and-forth
motion

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=DZt5xU44IfQ

153
b. Rotary motion

circular motion around a point

 The engine converts reciprocating motion

into rotary motion.

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 There are four parts that are needed to allow
the engine convert reciprocating motion into
rotary motion.

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 The piston and cylinder are mated parts, fitted
closely so that the piston glides easily in the
cylinder but with little clearance at the sides.

 The top of the

cylinder is closed, but
has extra space for
the combustion
chamber.
 A cylinder head of
the engine generally
closes the end of the
cylinder.
156
 The connecting rod is the link which
transmits the motion of the piston to the
crankshaft.

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 A simple crankshaft has a section offset from
the center line of the shaft so that it “cranks”
when the shaft is turned.

 The motion is basically

the same as when you
pedal a bicycle.
 As a result we have a
way of converting the
reciprocating motion of
the piston into useful
rotary motion

42
3. Compression of Air Fuel Mixture
 The modern gasoline engine works best
when about 15 parts of air are mixed with 1
part of fuel.
- As a result the fuel-air mixture
must be compressed to
acquire the desired ratio.

- Compression ratio indicates to

us how much the fuel-air
mixture is compressed by
volume.
 When the piston is at the bottom of its stroke, take
the measurement of the liquid it will hold and say
it takes 8 parts (3.75 L).

 The ratio is then 8 to 1, which is the

compression ratio.
 In other words, air in this engine is compressed
to one-eighth of its former volume by the moving
piston.
160
4. Engine Cycle
 To achieve the conversion from the heat energy
from the fuel into usable mechanical energy, the
engine consists of various important component
parts,
 For an engine to operate, a definite series of
events must occur in sequence.
 They are:
1. Fill the cylinder with a combustible mixture.
2. Compress the mixture into a smaller space.
3. Ignite the mixture and cause it to expand,
producing power.
4. Remove the burned gases from the cylinder.

 The sequence above is generally called:

1. Intake, induction or suction
2. Compression
3. Expansion/Power
4. Exhaust

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZt5xU44IfQ
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 Most engines have one or two types of cycles:
i. Two-Stroke Cycle
ii. Four-Stroke Cycle

 In the two-stroke cycle engine, there are two

strokes of the piston, one up and one down,
during each cycle.
 Then it starts over again on another cycle of
the same two strokes.
 This whole cycle occurs during one revolution
of the crankshaft.

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 In the four-stroke cycle engine, there are four
strokes of the piston, two up and two down,
during each cycle.

 Then it starts over again on another cycle of the
same four strokes.

 This cycle occurs during two revolutions of the

crankshaft.

 Most engines today operate on the four-stroke

cycle.

173
 The sequence of firing (ignition) that takes
place in multi-cylinder engine is called its
firing order.

 In a four-cylinder engine, for example, the
firing order can be 1-3-4-2 or 1-2-4-3.

244 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZt5xU44IfQ
 Working principles of engines

185
 If an engine is to work successfully then it has to
follow a cycle of operations in a sequential
manner.

 The sequence is quite rigid and cannot be

changed.

 In the following sections the working principle of

both SI and CI engines is described.
- Even though both engines have much in common
there are certain fundamental differences.

186
Four-Stroke Spark-Ignition Engine
 In a four-stroke engine, the cycle of operations is
completed in;
- four strokes of the piston or
- two revolutions of the crankshaft.

 During the four strokes, there are five events to

be completed, viz
1) suction or intake or induction
2) compression
3) combustion
4) expansion
5) exhaust
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191
1. Suction or Intake Stroke
 Suction stroke (process 0 →1) starts when
the piston is at the top dead centre and
about to move downwards.

 The inlet valve is open at this time and the

exhaust valve is closed.
192
 Due to the suction created by the motion of the
piston towards the bottom dead centre, the
charge consisting of fuel-air mixture is drawn into
the cylinder.

 When the piston reaches the bottom

dead centre (BDC) the suction stroke
ends and the inlet valve closes.

193
2. Compression Stroke
 The charge taken into the cylinder during the
suction stroke is compressed by the return
stroke of the piston

 During this stroke both inlet and exhaust

valves are in the closed positions

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 The mixture which fills the entire cylinder
volume is now compressed into the clearance
volume.

 At the end of the compression stroke

the mixture is ignited with the help of a
spark plug located on the cylinder
head.
 In ideal engines it is assumed that
burning takes place instantaneously when
the piston is at the top dead centre and
hence burning process can be
approximated as heat addition at constant
volume.

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 During the burning process the chemical energy
of the fuel is converted into heat energy producing
a temperature rise of about 2000 °C (process
2→3).

 The pressure at the end of the combustion process is

considerably increased due to the heat release from the
fuel.
196
3. Expansion or Power Stroke
 The high pressure of the burnt gases forces
the piston towards the BDC, (stroke 3→4).

 Both the valves are in closed position.

197
 Of the four-strokes only during this stroke
power is produced.
 Both pressure and temperature decrease
during expansion (process 3→4).

198
4. Exhaust Stroke
 At the end of the expansion stroke the exhaust
valve opens and the inlet valve remains closed.

 The pressure falls to atmospheric level and a

part of the burnt gases escape.

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 The piston starts moving from the bottom
dead centre to top dead centre (stroke 5→0)
and sweeps the burnt gases out from the
cylinder almost at atmospheric pressure.

200
 Each cylinder of a four-stroke engine completes
the above four operations in two engine
revolutions,

- one revolutions of the crankshaft occurs during the

suction and compression strokes
- second revolution during the power and exhaust
strokes.

 Thus for one complete cycle there is only one

power stroke while the crankshaft turns by two
revolutions.

202
 For getting higher output from the engine
- the heat release (process 2→3) should be as high
as possible
- the heat rejection (process 3→4) should be as
small as possible.
 So one should be careful in drawing the ideal p-V
diagram.

203
Four-Stroke Compression-Ignition
Engine
 The four-stroke CI engine is similar to the
four-stroke SI engine but is operates at a
much higher compression ratio.
 The compression ratio (→the ratio of total
cylinder volume to clearance volume) of:
- SI engine is between 6 and 10
- CI engine it is from 16 and 20.

 In the CI engine, during suction stroke air

instead of a fuel-air mixture is inducted.

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 Due to the high compression ratio employed,
the temperature at the end of the
compression stroke is sufficiently high to self
ignite the fuel which is injected into the
combustion chamber.
 In CI engines,
- a high pressure fuel pump and an injector are
provided to inject the fuel into the combustion
chamber.
 The carburetor and ignition system
necessary in the SI engine are not required
in the CI engine.

206
 The detail sequence of operations for the four-
stroke CI engine

207
SI Engine

CI Engine

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1. Suction Stroke

 Air alone is inducted during the

suction stroke.
 During this stroke intake valve is
open and exhaust valve is closed.

209
2. Compression Stroke
 Air inducted during the suction stroke
is compressed into the clearance
volume.
 Both valves remain closed during this
stroke.

210
3. Expansion Stroke
 Fuel injection starts nearly at the end of the
compression stroke.
 The rate of injection is such that
combustion maintains the pressure
constant in spite of the piston movement
on its expansion stroke increasing the
volume.

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 Heat is assumed to have been added
at constant pressure.
 After the injection of fuel is completed
(i.e. after cut-off) the products of
combustion expand.
 Both the valves remain closed during
the expansion stroke.

214
4. Exhaust Stroke
 The piston travelling from BDC to TDC pushes out
the products of combustion.

 The exhaust valve is open and the intake

valve is closed during this stroke.

215
 The ideal p-V diagram

216
 Due to higher pressures in the cycle of
operations the CI engine has to be more
sturdy than a SI engine for the same output.
- this results in a CI engine being heavier than
the SI engine.
 However, it has a higher thermal efficiency on
account of the high compression ratio used.
 i.e.
- SI engine is between 6 and 10
- CI engine it is from 16 and 20.

217
 Briefly explain the following terms. [ 4 marks ]
(a) Top Dead Centre
(b) Volume clearance
(c) Piston displacement
(d) Cylinder bore

 The bore and stroke of a 4-cylinder Mahindra tractor

engine is 8.5 cm and 170 mm respectively. What is the
total capacity of the engine and the volume of each
combustion chamber to give a 26:4 compression ratio? [ 9
marks ]

1
 Two-Stroke Engine

218
Two-Stroke Engine

 In the two-stroke cycle engine, the

complete cycle of events;
- intake
- compression
- power
- exhaust
….....takes place during two piston strokes.

219
Typical two-cycle diesel engine in operation.

220
 In the diesel engine shown, air alone is
compressed in the cylinder.

221
 The cylinder wall contains a row of ports
which are above the piston when it is at
the bottom of its stroke.

 These ports admit air from the blower into

the cylinder when they are uncovered
(during intake).
222
 A charge of fuel is then sprayed into the
cylinder and ignites from the heat of
compression.
 A blower is sometimes provided and used to
force air into the cylinder for expelling exhaust
gases and to supply fresh air for combustion.
223
 The flow of air towards the exhaust valves
pushes the exhaust gases out of the
cylinders and leaves them full of clean air
when the piston again rises to cover the
ports (during compression).

 At the same time, the exhaust valves close

and the fresh air is compressed in the
closed cylinder.
224
 The piston then uncovers the intake port and
the cycle begins once more.
 This entire cycle is completed in one
revolution of the crankshaft or two strokes of
the piston – one up and one down.

226
The two stages in the operation of a two-stroke petrol engine (side view)
a) induction and compression b) power and exhaust

227
 Comparison of Four-Stroke and Two-Stroke Engines

 The two-stroke engine was developed to obtain a greater

output from the same size of the engine.

 The engine mechanism also eliminates the valve

arrangement making it mechanically simpler.

 Almost all two-stroke engines have no conventional

valves but only ports (some have an exhaust valve).

 This simplicity of the two-stroke engine makes it cheaper

to produce and easy to maintain.

228
 Theoretically a two-stroke engine develops twice the
power of a comparable four-stroke engine because of;
- one power stroke every revolution (compared to one
power stroke every two revolutions of a four-stroke
engine).
- this makes the two-stroke engine more compact than a
comparable four-stroke engine.

 The other advantages of the two-stroke engine are more

uniform torque on crankshaft and comparatively less
exhaust gas dilution.

 However, when applied to the spark-ignition engine the

two-stroke cycle has certain disadvantages
- which have restricted its application to only small engines
suitable to only small engines suitable for lawn mowers,
outboard engines etc.
230
 The drawback of two-stroke engine is the
lack is flexibility, viz, the capacity to operate
with the same efficiency at all speeds.

 At part throttle operating condition, the
amount of fresh mixture entering the cylinder
is not enough to clear all the exhaust gases
and a part of it remains in the cylinder to
contaminate the charge.

 This results in irregular operation of the

engine.

233
Four-Stroke Engine Two-Stroke Engine

– The thermodynamic cycle is – The thermodynamic cycle is

completed in four strokes of completed in two strokes of
the piston or in two the piston or in one revolution
revolutions of the of the crankshaft. Thus one
crankshaft. Thus, one power power stroke is obtained in
stroke is obtained in every each revolution of the
two revolutions of the crankshaft.
crankshaft.

– Because of the above, – Because of the above, turning

turning moment is not so is more uniform and hence a
uniform and hence a heavier lighter flywheel can be used.
flywheel is needed.

235
Four-Stroke Engine Two-Stroke Engine
– Again, because of one – Because of one power stroke
power stroke for two for every revolution, power
revolutions, power produced for the same power
produced for the same the engine is lighter and more
power the engine is heavier compact.
and bulkier.

– Because of one power – Because of one power stroke

stroke in two revolutions in one revolution greater
lesser cooling and cooling and lubrication
lubrication requirements. requirements. Higher rate of
Lower rate of wear and tear. wear and tear.

236
Four-Stroke Engine Two-Stroke Engine
– Four-stroke engines have – Two-stroke engines have no
valves and valve actuating valves but only ports (some
mechanisms for opening two-stroke engines are fitted
and closing of the intake with conventional exhaust
and exhaust valves. valve or reed valve.

– Because of comparatively – Because of light weight and

higher weight and simplicity due to the absence
complicated valve of valve actuating
mechanism, the initial cost mechanism, initial cost of the
of the engine is more engine is less.

237
Four-Stroke Engine Two-Stroke Engine
– Volumetric efficiency is – Volumetric efficiency is low
more due to more time for due to lesser time for
induction induction
– Thermal efficiency is – Thermal efficiency is lower;
higher; part load efficiency part load efficiency is poor.
is better
– Used where efficiency is – Used where low cost,
important, viz., in tractors, compactness and light weight
industrial engines, power are important, viz., in hand
generation etc. sprayers, motorcycles etc.

238
 MULTI-CYLINDER ENGINE OPERATION
 A single cylinder gives only one power impulse every two
revolution of the crankshaft in a four-cycle engine.

 That is, it is producing power only one-fourth of the time.

 For a more continuous flow of power, modern tractor

engines use four, six, eight or more cylinders.

 The same series of cycle takes place in each cylinder.

 The various strokes need to be synchronized, and this is

achieved by the shape of the crankshaft which determines
the position of each of the pistons.
239
Arrangements of different
crankshafts

241
 The arrangement chosen should ensure a
correct balance between the power and
compression strokes.
 For instance in a two-cylinder engine the
crank pairs are spaced at 180o or directly
opposite each other.

242
 The sequence of firing (ignition) that takes
place in multi-cylinder engine is called its
firing order.
 In a four-cylinder engine, for example, the
firing order can be 1-3-4-2 or 1-2-4-3.
 In a four-cylinder engine piston 1 and 4 travel
together so do 2 and 3.

244
 For a typical four-stroke cycle engine
having six cylinders, the cranks on the
crankshaft are set 120o apart.

 The cranks for cylinder 1 and 6, 2 and 5,

3 and 4 are in line with each other as
shown below.
245
 Multi-cylinder engines run more smoothly
because power strokes occur at shorter
intervals compared to the interval between
power strokes in a single cylinder engine.
- For instance, in a single-cylinder engine there
is one power stroke in 720o (two revolutions)
of the crankshaft.

- In a four-cylinder engine for the completion of

the same one cycle there will be a power
stroke every 180o (720o/4) of travel of the
crankshaft.

247
 ENGINE SYSTEMS

185
• The following systems are required for the good
operation of the engine.
1. Valve system
2. Fuel system
3. Intake and exhaust system
4. Lubrication system
5. Cooling system
6. Governing system
7. Ignition and electrical system

185
 VALVE SYSTEM

1
 FUEL SYSTEM
Gasoline (petrol), LP gas, Diesel

Fuel can be supplied to the carburetor in

two ways:
1. Gravity-Feed
2. Force-Feed
1
Intake & Exhaust systems

1
Lubrication system
 Oil filter – removes dirt particles from oil
 Pressure regulator – maintains the operating pressure of the system
 Sump – a reservoir for the engine oil
 Oil pump – circulates oil through the engine

Governing system
• The governing system keeps the engine speed at a constant
level
• The system does this by varying the amount of fuel on fuel-air
mixture supplied to the engine, according to the demands of
the load

1
 THANK YOU
GOOD EVENING

21 - 03 - 2023
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