Engine Operation and Testing

SI Engine Operation
The minimum cylinder volume is called the clearance
volume, Vc
The volume swept out by the piston, the
difference between the maximum or total
volume, Vt and the clearance volume is
called the displaced or swept volume, Vd
The ratio of maximum volume to minimum
volume is the compression ratio, rc
Typical values of rc are 8 to 12 for SI
engines and 12 to 24 for CI engines
2

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Intake Stroke or Induction
The piston travels from TDC to BDC with the intake valve
open and exhaust valve closed
This creates an increasing volume in the combustion
chamber, which in turn creates a vacuum
The resulting pressure differential through the intake
system from atmospheric pressure on the outside to the
vacuum on the inside causes air to be pushed into the
cylinder
As the air passes through the intake system, fuel is added
to it in the desired amount by means of fuel injectors or a
carburetor
3

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Compression Stroke
When the piston reaches BDC, the intake valve closes and
the piston travels back to TDC with all valves closed.
This compresses the air-fuel mixture, raising both the
pressure and temperature in the cylinder
The finite time required to close the intake valve means
that actual compression doesn't start until sometime aBDC
Near the end of the compression stroke, the spark plug is
fired and combustion is initiated

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Combustion
Combustion of the air-fuel mixture occurs in a very short
but finite length of time with the piston near TDC (i.e.,
nearly constant-volume combustion)
It starts near the end of the compression stroke slightly
bTDC and lasts into the power stroke slightly aTDC
Combustion changes the composition of the gas mixture to
that of exhaust products and increases the temperature in
the cylinder to a very high peak value
This, in turn, raises the pressure in the cylinder to a very
high peak value

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Expansion Stroke or Power Stroke
With all valves closed, the high pressure created by the
combustion process pushes the piston away from TDC
This is the stroke which produces the work output of the
engine cycle
As the piston travels from TDC to BDC, cylinder volume is
increased, causing pressure and temperature to drop

Exhaust Blowdown
Late in the power stroke, the exhaust valve is opened and
exhaust blow down occurs

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Pressure and temperature in the cylinder are still high
relative to the surroundings at this point, and a pressure
differential is created through the exhaust system which is
open to atmospheric pressure
This pressure differential causes much of the hot exhaust
gas to be pushed out of the cylinder and through the
exhaust system when the piston is near BDC
This exhaust gas carries away a high amount of enthalpy,
which lowers the cycle thermal efficiency
Opening the exhaust valve before BDC reduces the work
obtained during the power stroke but is required because
of the finite time needed for exhaust blowdown
8

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Exhaust Stroke
By the time the piston reaches BDC, exhaust blowdown is
complete, but the cylinder is still full of exhaust gases at
approximately atmospheric pressure
With the exhaust valve remaining open, the piston now
travels from BDC to TDC in the exhaust stroke
This pushes most of the remaining exhaust gases out of
the cylinder into the exhaust system at about atmospheric
pressure, leaving only that trapped in the clearance
volume when the piston reaches TDC
Near the end of the exhaust stroke bTDC, the intake valve
starts to open, so that it is fully open by TDC when the new
intake stroke starts the next cycle
9

SI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

(a)Intake stroke

(b)Compression stroke
(c)Combustion (ignition)
(d)Power or expansion
stroke

(e)Exhaust blowdown
(f) Exhaust stroke

10

SI Engine Operation (2-stroke Cycle)

Combustion
With the piston at TDC combustion occurs very quickly,
raising the temperature and pressure to peak values,
almost at constant volume

Expansion Stroke or Power Stroke

Very high pressure created by the combustion process
forces the piston down in the power stroke
The expanding volume of the combustion chamber causes
pressure and temperature to decrease as the piston
travels towards BDC

11

SI Engine Operation (2-stroke Cycle)

Exhaust Blowdown
At about 75 bBDC, the exhaust valve opens and
blowdown occurs
The exhaust valve may be a poppet valve in the cylinder
head, or it may be a slot in the side of the cylinder which is
uncovered as the piston approaches BDC
After blowdown the cylinder remains filled with exhaust
gas at lower pressure

Intake and Scavenging

When blowdown is nearly complete, at about 50 bBDC,
the intake slot on the side of the cylinder is uncovered and
intake air-fuel enters under pressure
12

SI Engine Operation (2-stroke Cycle)

Fuel is added to the air with either a carburetor or fuel
injection
This incoming mixture pushes much of the remaining
exhaust gases out the open exhaust valve and fills the
cylinder with a combustible air-fuel mixture, a process
called scavenging
The piston passes BDC and very quickly covers the intake
port and then the exhaust port (or the exhaust valve
closes)
The higher pressure at which the air enters the cylinder is
established in one of two ways

13

SI Engine Operation (2-stroke Cycle)

Large two-stroke cycle engines generally have a
supercharger, while small engines will intake the air
through the crankcase
On these engines the crankcase is designed to serve as a
compressor in addition to serving its normal function

Compression Stroke
With all valves (or ports) closed, the piston travels towards
TDC and compresses the air-fuel mixture to a higher
pressure and temperature
Near the end of the compression stroke, the spark plug is
fired; by the time the piston gets to IDC, combustion
occurs and the next engine cycle begins
14

SI Engine Operation (2-stroke Cycle)

(a) Power or expansion stroke, (b)
Exhaust blowdown, (c) Scavenging, (d)
Compression stroke, (e) Combustion

15

CI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Intake Stroke
The same as the intake stroke in an SI engine with one
major difference: no fuel is added to the incoming air

Compression Stroke
The same as in an SI engine except that only air is
compressed and compression is to higher pressures and
temperature
Late in the compression stroke fuel is injected directly into
the combustion chamber, where it mixes with the very hot
air
This causes the fuel to evaporate and self-ignite, causing
combustion to start
16

CI Engine Operation (4-Stroke Cycle)

Combustion
Combustion is fully developed by TDC and continues at
about constant pressure until fuel injection is complete and
the piston has started towards BDC

Power Stroke
The power stroke continues as combustion ends and the
piston travels towards BDC

Exhaust Blowdown
Same as with an SI engine

Exhaust Stroke
Same as with an SI engine
17

CI Engine Operation (2-Stroke Cycle)

The two-stroke cycle for a CI engine is similar to that of

the SI engine, except for two changes
No fuel is added to the incoming air, so that compression
is done on air only
Instead of a spark plug, a fuel injector is located in the
cylinder
Near the end of the compression stroke, fuel is injected
into the hot compressed air and combustion is initiated by
self-ignition

18

SI Engine Construction

19

SI Engine Construction
Cylinder block
Usually made of cast iron, aluminium alloy
Houses oil galleries, cooling water jackets, etc.
Cylinders may be machined in the block or may have
sleeves
Wet liners or dry liners usually made of gray cast iron
because of good wear resistance

Crankshaft is made from forged steel

May have holes for push rods

A pressed-steel oil pan seals the block assembly and

serves as an oil sump
20

SI Engine Construction
Piston and connecting rod assembly
Pistons are made of aluminium, cast steel, or iron and may
be full-skirt, or slipper type
Skirts bear the side thrust

Pistons are fitted with at least three rings the upper two
rings are compression rings and the lower ring is the oil
ring
Compression rings contain the compression and combustion
pressures and prevent blowby
Oil ring scrapes off excess oil from the cylinder wall

Connecting rods are forged-steel with I-beam sections

one end connects the crankshaft and the other the piston
21

SI Engine Construction

22

SI Engine Construction
Valve mechanism
Consists of camshaft, driven by the crankshaft, tappet or
valve lifter, pushrod, rocker arm, etc.
Camshafts are driven by toothed belt, gears, or inverted
chains termed timing belts or gears
Many engines use overhead camshafts and multiple
camshafts

Intake valves are made of Cr-Ni alloy steel and the

exhaust valves from silchrome alloy
Some valves have hollow stems or are partially filled with
liquid sodium for better heat transfer

23

SI Engine Construction

24

CI Engine Construction

25

CI Engine Construction

26

CI Engine Construction
Modern DI diesel engine employ:

Higher compression ratios

Turbo-charging and inter-cooling
Down-sizing and up-rating
Smaller fuel orifice sizes and sac volume
Oxygenated fuels

27

Engine Testing
Testing of ICEs is an important part of research,
development and teaching
Engine tests are performed to
find out performance before mass production and fitting it
into a vehicle
improve the design and configuration, to integrate new
materials and technology
find out the power and fuel consumption, also to test
effectiveness of cooling, vibration and noise, lubrication,
controllability, etc.

28

Basic Instrumentation for Engine Test

Power/torque measurement
Engine speed measurement
Air flow rate measurement
Fuel flow rate measurement

Test Equipment and Instruments

Emission equipment, Thermocouples, Pressure
transducers (in cylinder measurement), Turbine flow
meters, Smoke measurement, Fuel measurement, Blowby measurement, Air flow measurement
29

Engine Testing
The fundamental output of the engine is engine torque,
usually expressed in N-m
Torque/power is measured by a dynamometer or an inline device
The principle is rather simple typically the engine
flywheel has a band of friction material around its
circumference, and the torque reaction on the friction
material corresponds to the torque output of the engine
The term Brake Horse Power (bhp) derives from the
simplest form of engine dynamometer, the friction brake
(or Prony brake)
30

Dynamometer Principle

Rope-Brake Dyno
Power Measurement
P = T = 2 (RPM/60) Wr

31

Early Dynamometers

32

Torque Measurement

torque (T) = restraining force (F) radius of moment arm (r)

power (P) = torque (T) angular speed (w)
angular speed (w) = 2 engine speed (N rev/s)
33

Dynamometer

Dynamometer

Speed wheel

Speed pickup

Engine

Drive shaft

Load cell

34

Dynamometer

35

Chassis Dynamometer

36

Dynamometer Types
Another type of dyno is the electric dyno which acts as a
generator to absorb power from the engine
Advantage of this is that it can be used as motor for
starting the engine, and for motoring tests (when the
engine is run at operating speeds without combustion) to
determine the mechanical losses in the engine

Torque output or load absorbed by the dyno is controlled

by the dyno field strength
Other common type of dynamometer is the water brake
A vaned rotor turns adjacent to a pair of vaned stators
The sluice gates separate the stators from the rotor, and
these control the load absorbed by the dyno
37

Dynamometer Types
Dynamometers can be classified by the type of
absorption unit or absorber/driver that they use
Some of these are as follows:
Eddy current or electromagnetic brake (absorption)
used in modern chassis dynos
provide the quick load change rate for rapid load settling
air cooled, but some are designed to require external water
cooling systems
require an electrically conductive core, shaft or disc, moving
across a magnetic field to produce resistance to movement
use variable electromagnets to change the magnetic field
strength to control the amount of braking
38

Dynamometer Types
Magnetic Powder brake (absorption)
similar to an eddy current dynamometer, but a fine magnetic
powder is placed in the air gap between the rotor and the coil
The resulting flux lines create "chains" of metal particulate
that are constantly built and broken apart during rotation
creating great torque
typically limited to lower RPM due to heat dissipation issues

Hysteresis Brake dynamometers (absorption)

use a steel rotor that is moved through flux lines generated
between magnetic pole pieces
as in the usual "disc type" eddy current absorbers, allows for
full torque to be produced at zero speed, as well as at full
speed
39

Dynamometer Types
Hysteresis and "disc type" EC dynamometers are one of the
most efficient technologies in small (200 hp (150 kW) and
less) dynamometers
A hysteresis brake is an eddy current absorber that, unlike
most "disc type" eddy current absorbers, puts the
electromagnet coils inside a vented and ribbed cylinder and
rotates the cylinder, instead of rotating a disc between
electromagnets
The potential benefit for the hysteresis absorber is that the
diameter can be decreased and operating RPM of the
absorber may be increased

40

Dynamometer Types
Electric motor/generator dynamometer (absorb or drive)
absorption/driver unit can be either an AC motor or DC motor
electric motor/generator dynamometers can be configured as
universal dynamometers
universal dynamometers can not only absorb the power of
the engine but also, drive the engine for measuring friction,
pumping losses and other factors
generally more costly and complex than other types of
dynamometers

Fan brake (absorption)

A fan is used to blow air to provide engine load

41

Dynamometer Types
Hydraulic brake (absorption)
consists of a hydraulic pump (usually a gear type pump), a
fluid reservoir and piping between the two parts
the fluid used was hydraulic oil, but recent synthetic multigrade oils may be a better choice
the engine is brought up to the desired RPM and the valve is
incrementally closed and as the pumps outlet is restricted,
the load increases and the throttle is simply opened until at
the desired throttle opening
power is calculated by factoring flow volume (calculated from
pump design specs), hydraulic pressure and RPM
renowned for having the absolute quickest load change
ability, just slightly surpassing the eddy current absorbers
42

Dynamometer Types
Water brake (absorption)
noted for their high power capability, small package, light
weight, and relatively low manufacturing cost as compared to
other, quicker reacting "power absorber" types
drawbacks are that they can take a relatively long period of
time to "stabilize" their load amount and the fact that they
require a constant supply of water to the "water brake
housing" for cooling
The housing attempts to rotate in response to the torque
produced but is restrained by the scale or torque metering
cell that measures the torque

43

Water Brake Dynamometer

44

Froude Water Brake Dynamometer

45

Hydraulic Dynamometer

46

Hydraulic Dynamometer
Torque absorbed by the dyno increases with speed
By varying the throttle and sluice gate setting, any
operating point should
be attainable
For stable operation the
dyno operating lines and
throttle lines should
intersect as close as
possible to 90

(a) Constant engine throttle position, but varying the sluice gate position47
(b) Constant sluice gate position but varying the engine throttle position

Dynamometer Types
Compound dyno (usually an absorption dyno in tandem
with an electric/motoring dyno)
Torque measurement is somewhat complicated since there
are two machines in tandem; an inline torque transducer is
the preferred method of torque measurement in this case
An eddy-current or waterbrake dynamometer with electronic
control combined with a variable frequency drive and AC
induction motor is a commonly used configuration of this type
Disadvantages include requiring a second set of test cell
services (electrical power and cooling), and a slightly more
complicated control system

48

Fuel Consumption Measurement

A common measurement system for fuel consumption is
to time the consumption of a fixed volume and then
converted to a gravimetric consumption by using the
density
In a fuel-injection system, if the spill flow is fed back to
the tank this must be measured separately

Orifice-type
flow meter

49

Fuel Consumption Measurement

Orifice-type flow meter gives instantaneous readings, but
is less accurate
Automatic flow meter adopts both of these
A continuous measurement system employs a hydraulic
equivalent of a
Wheatstone bridge
Another system uses
Coriolis acceleration
principle to measure
fuel flow rate
It uses a U-shaped tube
50

Air Flow Measurement

A simple system to measure the air flow rate is obtained
by connecting the air intake to a large rigid box with an
orifice at its inlet
The box should be large enough to damp out the
pulsations in the flow and be free or resonances in the
normal speed range of the engine

51

Temperature and Pressure Measurements

Mercury-in-glass thermometers and thermocouples both
provide economical means of measuring temperature,
with the potential of achieving and accuracy of about
0.1 K same level of accuracy can be obtained from
platinum resistance thermometer
Bourdon pressure gauges and manometers provide a
cheap and accurate means of measuring steady
pressures
Pressures in the range of 1 100 kN/m2 can be measured
with an accuracy of about 1 percent

Pressure transducers utilise a piezo-resistive effect

52

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

The simplest form of engine indicator is the Dobbie
McInnes mechanical indicator
The area of the diagram
corresponds to the indicated
work per cylinder
imep = k hd = k (Ad/ld)
where Ad = diagram area
ld = diagram length
hd = mean height of diagram
Mechanical indicators can only be used at speeds of up
to 600 rpm
53

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

Electronic systems are now very common for recording
indicator diagrams the pressure is plotted on a time
instead of a volumetric basis
A pressure transducer is used to measure the pressure
inside the cylinder, the output of which is sent to an
oscilloscope
An inductive pick-up coil is connected to record the
position of tdc accurately
Since tdc occurs during the period of maximum pressure
change, a 1 error in position of tdc can cause a 5% error
in imep
54

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

55

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

The location of tdc is not straightforward because of

the finite stiffness of the crank-slider mechanism
the flexibility of the crankshaft is such that at full load there
can be about 1 twist at certain speeds

To convert the time base to a piston displacement base

it is usual to assume constant angular velocity
throughout each revolution
The output from an oscilloscope can be plotted in an x-y
plotter

56

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

57

In-cylinder Pressure Measurement

58

Techniques for Estimating Indicated Power

Very often a pressure transducer cannot be readily fitted
to an engine, so alternative means of deducing imep are
useful
The difference between indicated power and brake
power is the power absorbed by friction often assumed
to be dependent only on engine speed
However, the friction power also depends on the
indicated power since the increased gas pressures
cause increases in piston friction
If the friction power is assumed to be independent of the
indicated power, then the friction power can be deduced
from the Morse test
59

Techniques for Estimating Indicated Power

This is applicable only to multi-cylinder engines, as each
cylinder is disabled in turn
When a cylinder is disabled the load is reduced so that the
engine returns to the test speed; the reduction in power
corresponds to the indicated power of that cylinder
For
a n-cylinder engine
n
n
indicated power - friction power = (brake power)n
With
one cylinder disabled
n
n 1
indicated power - friction power = (brake power)n 1
Subtracting:
indicated power of disabled cylinder = reduction in brake power

60

Techniques for Estimating Indicated Power

61

Techniques for Estimating Indicated Power

A method for estimating the friction power of
compression ignition engines is Willans' line
A more accepted figure used to compare the
performance of engines of differing capacities is the
BMEP Brake Mean Effective Pressure

62

Techniques for Estimating Indicated Power

63

Estimating AF Ratio from Exhaust Analysis

64

Engine Test Conditions

Various standards authorities (BS, DIN, SAE, ASTM) are
involved with specifying the test conditions for engines,
and how allowances can be made for variations in
ambient conditions
Corrections for datum conditions vary, and in general
they are more involved for CI engines

65

Energy Balance
Experiments with engines very often involve an energy
balance on the engine
Energy is supplied to the engine as the chemical energy
of the fuel and leaves as energy in the cooling water,
exhaust, brake work and extraneous heat transfer
The heat transfer to the cooling water is found from the
temperature rise in the coolant as it passes through the
engine and the mass flow rate of the coolant
The energy leaving in the exhaust is more difficult to
determine
Heat transfer from the engine cannot be readily
determined
Brake power should be used in the energy balance
66

Experimental Accuracy
Whenever an experimental reading is taken there is an
error associated with that reading
There are three main sources of error
the instrument is not measuring what is intended
the instrument calibration is inaccurate
the instrument output is incorrectly recorded by the
observer

67