OTTO CYCLE

INTRODUCTION
In thermodynamic, Otto cycle is used to describe the functioning of a typical spark
ignition piston engine. It is commonly found in the automobile engines. Otto cycle is related to
the changes of pressure, temperature, volume, addition of heat and rejection of heat. The mass of
gas that is subjected to those changes is called as system. In this case, the system is defined to be
the fluid (gas) within the cylinder.
In 1861, the four-stroke engine was first patented by Alphonse Beau de Rochas. Before,
in about 1854-57 two Italians (Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci) invented an engine that
was rumored to be very similar, but the patent was lost. The first person to build a working fourstroke engine, a stationary engine using a coal gas-air mixture for fuel (a gas engine), was
German engineer Nikolaus Otto. This is why the four-stroke principle today is commonly known
as the Otto cycle and four-stroke engines using the spark plugs are often are called as Otto
engine.

WORKING PRINCIPLE
Otto cycle is the ideal cycle for spark ignition of automobile engine. Spark-ignition
engine or also as known as four-stroke internal combustion engine have a piston that execute
four complete strokes (two mechanical cycle) within cylinder and the crankshaft complete two
revolution for each thermodynamic cycle.

In the four-stroke spark ignition engine, there are five stage of working principle. They
are:
1. Initially:
The intake and exhaust valve are closed and the piston is at the lower position
(BDC).
2. Compression Stroke:
The piston moves upward and it causes the air-fuel mixture compressed. Before
the piston reaches the highest position (TDC), the spark plug fires and the mixture
ignite.
This will cause the pressure and the temperature of the system increases.
3. Expansion / Power Stroke:
When the pressure increases, the gases force the piston down. The turn forces the

crankshaft to rotate and producing a useful work output.

During the exhaust blowdown process (towards the end of this stage), the exhaust
valve opens. The combustion gases (that are above the atmospheric pressure) rush
out of the cylinder through the valve and most of the gases leave the cylinder by

the time the piston reach BDC.

Its means that the cylinder still filled with the exhaust gases at lower pressure at

BDC.
4. Exhaust Stroke:
At this stage, the piston move upward and purging exhaust gases through exhaust
valve.
The pressure of the cylinder now is slightly above the atmospheric pressure.
5. Intake Stroke:
The piston move downward and drawing in fresh air-fuel mixture through the

intake valve.
The pressure of the cylinder now is slightly below the atmospheric pressure.

The ideal Otto cycle is closely resembles the actual operating condition. It is used to
simplify the thermodynamic analysis of the actual four-stroke or two-stroke cycle. Its consist of
four internally reversible process which are isentropic compression (1-2), constant-volume heat
addition (2-3), isentropic expansion (3-4) and constant-volume heat rejection,

Otto cycle consist of two strokes which is equivalent to one mechanical cycle or one
crankshaft rotation while the actual engine operation involve four strokes which is equivalent to
two mechanical cycles or two crankshaft rotations.

The figure above show the modified Otto cycle which is execute in a closed system. The
explanations about the processes based on the figure are:
1. State 0-1: The air-fuel mixture enters cylinder through the open intake valve at
atmospheric pressure. It will cause the piston move from TDC to BDC.
2. State 1: The intake valve closed.
3. State 1-2 (Isentropic Compression): The air compressed isentropically (frictionless,
adiabatic reversible).
4. State 2-3 (Constant-volume Heat Addition): Heat is transferred into the engine
from an external source at constant volume. This process is intended to represent the
ignition of the fuel-air mixture and the subsequent rapid burning.
5. State 3-4 (Isentropic Expansion): The air expanded isentropically.
6. State 4-1 (Constant-volume Heat Rejection): Heat is rejected from the engine at
constant volume.
7. State 1-0: The exhaust gases are expelled to the atmosphere through the open exhaust
valve. The pressure remains constant at atmospheric pressure.

The constant-volume heat addition process (2-3) in the Otto cycle replaced the
combustion process of the actual engine operation while the constant-volume heat rejection
process (4-1) replaced the exhaust blowdown.
The work interactions during the constant-pressure intake (0-1) and constant-pressure
exhaust (1-0) processes can be expressed as,

Wout, 0-1 = P0 (v1 v 2)

Win, 1-0 = P0 (v 1- v 2)
The Otto cycle is executed in a closed system, and disregarding the changes in kinetic
and potential energies, the energy balance for any of the processes is expressed, on a unit-mass
basis, as

(qin qout) + (win wout) = u

No work is involved during the two heat transfer processes since both take placed at
constant volume. Therefore, heat transfer to and from the working fluid can be expressed as

qin = u3 u2 = cv (T3 T2)

and

qout = u4 u1 = cv (T4 T1)

Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle under the cold air standard assumption
becomes
T 4T 1
T 3T 2
q out
q =1
w net
th , Otto=

q=1

T 11
T 4/

T 21
T 3/

T 2
T 1
1
Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and v2 = v3 and v4 = v1. Thus,
T1 V2
=
T2 V1

k1

V3
V4

k1

( ) ( )
=

T4
T3

Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying give
th , Otto=1

1
r

k1

where
r=

V max V 1 v 1
=
=
V min V 2 v 2
is the compression ratio and k is the specific heat ratio C p / Cv. Under the cold-air

standard assumption, the thermal efficiency of Otto cycle depends on the compression ratio of
engine and the specific heat ratio of working fluid. The thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle
increases with both the compression ratio and the specific heat ratio.
Technically, the Otto cycle have two additional processes compare to the four-stroke
spark ignition cycle. One for the exhaust of waste heat and combustion products at constant
pressure (isobaric), and one for the intake of cool oxygen-rich also at constant pressure.
However, these are often omitted in a simplified analysis.
Even though those two processes are critical to the functioning of real engine, wherein
the details of heat transfer and combustion chemistry are relevant for the simplified analysis of

the thermodynamic cycle. It is more convenient to assume that all of the waste-heat is removed
during a single volume change.

References:
- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_cycle
- Cengel,Yunus A., & Boles, Michael A. (2015). Otto cycle. In Thermodynamics An
Engineering Approach (8th ed., p. 492). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.