183

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

Categorisation of combustion engines: By mixture formation and ignition: Spark-ignition engines. These are run preferably on petrol and with external or even internal mixture formation. Combustion is initiated by externally supplied ignition (spark plug). Diesel engines. These have internal mixture formation and are run on diesel fuel. Combustion in the cylinder is initiated by auto-ignition. By operating principle: Four-stroke engines. These have a closed (separate) gas exchange and require four piston strokes or two crankshaft revolutions for one power cycle. Two-stroke engines. These have an open gas exchange and require two piston strokes or one crankshaft revolution for one power cycle. By cylinder arrangement (Fig. 1): In-line engines Opposed-cylinder engines V-engines VR-engines By piston stroke: Reciprocating engines Rotary engines By cooling: Liquid-cooled engines Air-cooled engines

10.1 Spark-ignition engine

The spark-ignition engine is an internal-combustion engine which converts chemical energy into thermal energy by burning fuel and then converts the thermal energy into mechanical energy via a piston.

Design
The spark-ignition engine (Fig. 2) consists primarily of four assemblies and additional auxiliary installations: Cylinder-head cover, cylinder head, cylinder, crankcase, oil sump Crankshaft drive Piston, connecting rod, crankshaft Engine timing Valves, valve springs, rocker arms, rocker-arm shaft, camshaft, timing gears, timing chain or toothed belt Mixture-formation Injection system or carburettor, system intake pipe Auxiliary Ignition system, engine lubriinstallations cation, engine cooling, exhaust system, if necessary supercharging system
Throttle-valve assembly Cylinder-head cover Cylinder head Injection nozzle Camshaft Rocker arm Valve Valveclearance compensation element

Engine case

10

In-line engine

Intake manifold Inlet port Spark plug Piston Opposedcylinder engine 90 15 Gudgeon pin Cylinder with crankcase Connecting rod Crankshaft
Offset

Exhaust port

TDC sensor Speed sensor Oil-pump strainer

Trigger wheel VR-engine Oil sump

V-engine

Fig. 1: Categorisation by type of cylinder arrangement

Fig. 2: Structure of a four-stroke spark-ignition engine

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Operating principle of spark-ignition engine

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

The four strokes of the power cycle are induction, compression, combustion and exhaust (Fig. 1). One power cycle takes place in two crankshaft revolutions (720 crank angle).

IV = Inlet valve IV EV open closed IV EV closed closed

EV = Exhaust valve IV EV closed closed IV closed EV open

TDC

BDC

TDC Io

Io: IV opens Ic: IV closes

TDC

TDC = Top dead centre

TDC

Ec: EV closes Eo: EV opens

TDC Ec

10
Ic BDC Induction 1st revolution BDC BDC = Bottom dead centre BDC Combustion Eo 2nd revolution BDC Exhaust Eo

Compression

Fig. 1:The four strokes of a power cycle

1st stroke Induction

As the piston moves down the cylinder, the increased volume in the cylinder causes a pressure differential of 0.1 bar to 0.3 bar compared with the external pressure. Since the pressure outside the engine is greater than that inside the cylinder, air is forced into the induction system. The ignitable fuel-air mixture is formed either in the intake port or directly in the cylinder through the injection of fuel. In order to admit as much intake air or fuel-air mixture as possible into the cylinder, the inlet valve (IV) opens already at up to 45 CA before top dead centre (TDC) and closes only at 35 CA to 90 CA after bottom dead centre (BDC).

2nd stroke Compression 3rd stroke Combustion

As the piston moves up the cylinder, the fuel-air mixture is compressed to a 7th to a 12th of the original cylinder volume. In the case of direct injection, air is compressed and the injection point can already begin shortly before TDC. The gas heats to 400 C to 500 C. Because it cannot expand at the high temperature, the final compression pressure increases up to 18 bar. The high pressure encourages further carburation of the fuel and its internal mixture with the air. This enables combustion to take place quickly and completely in the 3rd stroke. The inlet and exhaust valves are closed during the compression stroke. Combustion is initiated by an ignition spark jumping across the electrodes of the spark plug. The length of time between the jumping of the spark and the complete development of the flame front is approx. 1/1,000 second at a combustion velocity of 20 m/s. For this reason, the ignition spark must jump across at 0 to approx. 40 before TDC, depending on the engine speed, so that the necessary maximum combustion pressure of 30 bar to 60 bar is available shortly afterTDC (4 CA ... 10 CA). The expansion of the gases heated up to 2,500 C forces the piston to bottom dead centre and thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy.

4th stroke Exhaust

The exhaust valve opens at 40 to approx. 90 before BDC; this encourages the discharge of the exhaust gases and relieves the load on the crankshaft drive. The pressure of 3 bar to 5 bar still available at the end of the power stroke causes the exhaust gases heated up to 900 C to be expelled from the cylinder at the speed of sound. As the piston moves up the cylinder, the remaining exhaust gas is discharged at a dynamic pressure of roughly 0.2 bar. To encourage the exhaust gases to be discharged, the exhaust valve closes only after TDC while the inlet valve is already open. This overlapping of the valve times encourages the draining and cooling of the combustion chamber and improves cylinder charge.

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

185

10.2 Diesel engine

Like the spark-ignition engine, the diesel engine is also an internal-combustion engine.

10.3 General physical and chemical principles

10.3.1 Features of a diesel engine
Running on diesel or biodiesel fuel. Internal mixture formation Only air is admitted into the cylinder during the induction stroke. The fuel-air mixture is formed during the compression stroke by the injection of fuel under high pressure into the cylinder. Auto-ignition Immediately after being injected, the fuel is automatically ignited on the air, which has been rendered extremely hot by compression. The final compression temperature exceeds the ignition temperature. Quality regulation The naturally aspirated engine is unthrottled, i.e. there is no throttle valve before the intake ports. In this way, the engine is supplied over the entire speed range with an extensively constant air flow as the charge. Load control is effected by altering the quantity of fuel to be injected, which in turn alters the fuel-air mixture depending on the operating state. Internal mixture formation After the start of injection, the still liquid fuel must be converted into an ignitable mixture. Table 1 sets out the time that elapses from the start of injection until auto-ignition. For internal mixture formation heat is removed from the hot air so that this air cools. But the air temperature must always be above the auto-ignition temperature of the fuel. The time between the start of injection and the start of combustion is known as the ignition lag. Table 1: Internal mixture formation and initiation of combustion
Fuel is injected in a fine-mist but still liquid state into the hot air. Time requirement "ignition lag Fuel mist is heated to boiling temperature. Fuel evaporates at boiling temperature. Fuel vapours mix with the hot air. Fuel vapours heat up to ignition temperature. Fuel-air mixture ignites. Initiation of combustion.

Design
The diesel engine (Fig. 1), like the spark-ignition engine, consists primarily of four assemblies and additional auxiliary installations: Engine case Crankshaft drive Engine timing Fuel system with fuel-injection equipment, fuelsupply pump, fuel filter, high-pressure injection system, e.g. common-rail system unit-injector system Auxiliary installations Engine lubrication, engine cooling, exhaust system, if necessary supercharging system, e.g. with exhaust-gas turbocharger and intercooling, if necessary cold-starting system, e.g. preheating system The diesel-vehicle engine is used as a fast-running engine with speeds up to approx. 5,500 rpm in passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. It is used as a slow-running engine (speeds up to approx. 2,200 rpm) in heavy commercial vehicles. Diesel engines consume up to 30 % less fuel than spark-ignition engines. Their efficiency can stretch up to 46 %.

10

Common rail

Injector

Fig. 1: Diesel-vehicle engine for passenger cars

Removal of heat from the hot air

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Operating principle of diesel engine

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

The four strokes of the power cycle are, as in a spark-ignition engine, induction, compression, combustion and exhaust (Fig. 1). One power cycle takes place in two crankshaft revolutions (720 crank angle).
Fuel injector

IV open Air

EV closed

IV closed

EV closed
Fuel

IV closed

EV closed

IV closed

EV open Exhaust gas

Induction

Compression

Combustion

Exhaust

Fig. 1: The four strokes of a power cycle in a direct-injection engine

10

1st stroke Induction

As the piston moves down the cylinder, the increased volume in the cylinder causes a pressure differential pa of 0.1 bar to 0.3 bar compared with the external pressure. Air is forced into the cylinder by the greater external pressure. The air is admitted unthrottled because there is no throttle valve. In order to admit as much intake air as possible into the cylinder, the inlet valve opens at up to 25 CA before TDC; it closes only at up to 28 CA after BDC in order to facilitate a subsequent flow of intake air. The air heats up to 70 C to 100 C in the cylinder.

2nd stroke Compression 3rd stroke Combustion

As the piston moves up the cylinder, the air is compressed to a 14th to a 24th of the original cylinder volume. The air heats up to 600 C to 900 C in the process. Because the air cannot expand at the high temperature, the final compression pressure increases to 30 bar to 55 bar. Engines with secondary combustion chambers, such as a turbulence chamber for example, must be compressed to a greater extent because heat losses are generated by the larger combustionchamber surface.The inlet and exhaust valves are closed during the compression stroke. Towards the end of the compression stroke, at roughly 15 CA before TDC to 30 CA before TDC, finely atomised diesel fuel is injected under high pressure (up to 2,050 bar) into the combustion chamber. The fuel evaporates in the hot air and mixes with the air. Combustion is initiated due to the fact that the temperature of the compressed air is higher than the diesel fuel's auto-ignition temperature of 320 C to 380 C. The time between the start of injection and the start of combustion is known as the ignition lag. The high combustion pressure of up to 160 bar moves the piston towards BDC. Thermal energy is converted into mechanical work in the process.

4th stroke Exhaust

The exhaust valve opens at 30 to approx. 60 before BDC; this encourages the discharge of the exhaust gases and relieves the load on the crankshaft drive.The pressure of 4 bar to 6 bar still available at the end of the power stroke causes the exhaust gases heated up to 550 C to 750 C to be expelled from the cylinder. As the piston moves up the cylinder, the remaining exhaust gas is discharged at a pressure of 0.2 bar to 0.4 bar. The exhaust valve closes slightly before or after TDC. The heat losses are lower than in a sparkignition engine due to the lower exhaust-gas temperatures (greater efficiency).

Indirect-injection engines
The fuel is injected into secondary combustion chambers (turbulence, precombustion chambers). Because the split combustion chambers give rise to large surface areas, the correspondingly higher heat dissipation during the compression stroke must be compensated by greater compression in order for the ignition temperature of the diesel fuel to be safely exceeded. The compression ratio of indirect-injection engines is between 19 and 30.

Direct-injection engines (DI engines)

The fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber. The air heated by compression to up to 900 C dissipates little heat to the compact combustion-chamber surface, thus allowing lower compression. Direct-injection engines have a compression ratio of between 14 and 20 for passenger cars and of between 14 and 19 for commercial vehicles.

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

187
Volumetric efficiency
The volumetric efficiency is the ratio of fuel-air mixture actually drawn in in kg to the theoretically possible (complete) cylinder charge with fuel-air mixture in kg. In the case of internal mixture formation, the volumetric efficiency is the ratio of air mass drawn in to the theoretically possible air charge in kg.
L = L Volumetric efficiency mz Drawn-in mass of fresh-air or fuel-air mixture in kg mth Theoretically possible mass of fresh-air or fuel-air mixture in kg

10.3.2 Features of a spark-ignition engine

Running on petrol or gas. Mixture formation External mixture formation. The fuel-air mixture is formed in the carburettor or in the intake manifold outside the cylinder. Internal mixture formation. Initially only air is admitted into the cylinder during the induction stroke. The fuel-air mixture is formed during the induction or compression stroke by the injection of fuel into the cylinder. Externally supplied ignition Constant-volume combustion Combustion takes place in a virtually constant volume thanks to the sudden combustion of the fuelair mixture. Quantity regulation The quantity of the fuel-air mixture is altered according to the position of the throttle valve (load state).

mz mth

Charge
Charge refers to the mass of the gases (fuel-air mixture or air) flowing into the cylinder during the induction stroke. Charge improvement. In order to improve charge and with it power, it is possible to extend the opening times of the inlet valves from 180 crank angle (corresponding to the piston stroke) to up to 315 crank angle (CA). During the exhaust stroke, the burned gases expelled at high speed generate a suction effect. If the inlet valve is opened before the piston has reached top dead centre, the mixture or the intake air can flow against the movement of the piston into the cylinder as a result of the vacuum pressure.

In naturally aspirated engines, the volumetric efficiency ranges between 0.6 and 0.9 (charge 60 % to 90 %) while, in supercharged engines, a volumetric efficiency of 1.2 to 1.6 (charge 120 % to 160 %) is possible. The charge can additionally be improved by a lower flow resistance of the fresh gases and by lower internal cylinder temperatures. This is achieved by: Optimally structured induction pipes Favourable combustion-chamber shapes Large inlet passages Several inlet valves per cylinder Good cooling The charge deteriorates as a result of: The flow resistance of the throttle valve. Decreasing valve opening times at higher speeds. Lower air pressure, with an increase in altitude to 100 m engine power drops by roughly 1 %.

10

Valve overlap Compression ratio

Both the inlet valve and the exhaust valve are opened in the transition phase from the exhaust stroke to the induction stroke. If the inlet valve is left open until well into the compression stroke, the fuel/air mixture accelerated during induction to up to 100 m/s (360 km/h) can continue to flow into the cylinder on account of its mass inertia. This supercharging effect is terminated when the pressure generated by the upwardmoving piston brakes the flowing-in mixture. The inlet valve must be closed again no later than at this point. In spite of the induction time being extended, the cylinder charge reaches a maximum of 80 % in nonsupercharged engines. Combustion chamber. This is the space enclosed by the cylinder, the cylinder head and the piston crown. Its size changes continually during a stroke.The combustion chamber is at its largest when the piston is at BDC and at its smallest when the piston is at TDC. The largest combustion chamber is composed of the swept volume and the compression chamber. Compression space Vc. This is the smallest combustion chamber. Swept volume Vh. This is the space between the two piston dead centres TDC and BDC. Total swept volume VH. This is derived from the sum total of the swept volumes of the individual cylinders of an engine.

188
Comparing the space above the piston before compression (swept volume Vh + compression space Vc) with the space above the piston after compression (compression space Vc) produces the compression ratio (Fig. 1).
Compression ratio Swept volume + Compression space Compression space

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine In spite of the significantly increased compression work with = 9, the utilisation of the significantly increased pressure differential with the same fresh-gas charge results in a work gain or a power increase of more than 10 % and a reduction in fuel consumption of roughly 10 %. Reasons for power increase: Better removal of burned gases from the smaller compression space. Higher temperature during compression, better and more complete carburation. On account of the high compression, the burned gases can expand to a larger volume, the exhaustgas temperature decreases and less thermal energy is lost through the exhaust. The final compression temperature rises as the compression ratio increases (Table 1). The compression ratio is therefore limited by the auto-ignition temperature of the fuel. In supercharged engines the compression is lower as the air is admitted in a highly compressed state into the cylinder.

TDC Stroke s

Vc Vh

BDC

Vh + Vc Vc
TDC Stroke s

10

BDC

Fig. 1: Compression ratio

Boyle-Mariotte's Law
The upward and downward movement of the piston in the cylinder causes the pressure and the temperature also to be altered with the volume.
9 ~16 bar

Table 1: Comparison of compression ratios

Compression ratio Final compression pressure Maximum compression pressure Pressure during opening of exhaust valve Final compression temperature 7 ~10 bar

~30 bar
~ 4 bar 400 C

~42 bar
~ 3 bar 500 C

Back in the 17th century the physicists Boyle and Mariotte had already discovered that volume and pressure in the cylinder change in inverse proportion with a constant temperature. If, for instance, the volume is reduced to an 8th, so the pressure increases by a factor of 8 (Fig. 2).

The higher the compression ratio of a spark-ignition engine, the better the utilisation of fuel energy and thus the engine's efficiency.
TDC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 TDC 1 2 Compression = 8 : 1 BDC

The product of pressure and volume is constant.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 TDC 1 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Compression = 8 : 1 BDC Compression heat taken into account State 3

BDC

Compression heat not taken into account State 2

State

p V = const.

V1 = 400 cm3 p 1 = 1 bar T1 = 273 K

3 V2 = 400 cm = 50 cm3 8 p 2 = 1 bar 8 = 8 bar T2 = 273 K

p 1 V1 p 3 V3 = T1 T3

3 V3 = 400 cm = 50 cm3 8 p 3 = 8 bar 2 = 16 bar T3 = 273 K 2 = 546 K

Fig. 2: Ratio of pressure, volume and temperature during compression

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

189
If, for example, 16 kg air is available for 1 kg petrol, the fuel-air mixture will be too lean (1 : 16). Complete combustion can indeed occur, but because of the lower amount of available fuel which can evaporate, the interior cylinder chamber is cooled to a lesser extent with the result that the engine may overheat.

Gay-Lussac's Law
By including the temperature in the ratio of volume and pressure, the French physicist Gay-Lussac discovered the following regularity:

If a gas is heated at constant pressure by 1 K (1 C), it expands by a 273rd part of its volume.
When the gas is heated by 273 K, it expands to twice the volume. When the gas is prevented from expanding, e.g. during compression (Fig. 2, Page 188), the pressure is doubled. However, the final pressure is lower due to the dissipation of heat at the cylinder walls.

Knocking combustion
A spark-ignition engine will knock if the fuel-air mixture, instead of the combustion initiated by the ignition spark, ignites by itself (Fig. 1).
Undesirable auto-ignition

10.3.3 Combustion sequence of sparkignition engine

Because only a very short time period is available for combustion of the fuel-air mixture (combustion is already completed shortly after TDC), fuel and oxygen molecules must be close to each other in the compressed mixture. The oxygen required for combustion is removed from the drawn-in air. Because the air contains only roughly 20 % oxygen, a proportionate amount of air must be admixed with the fuel. The minimum air quantity required for complete combustion, the theoretical air requirement, is roughly 14.8 kg air for 1 kg petrol (~ 12 m3 at a density of = 1.29 kg/m3). The carbon contained in the fuel burns with the oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2) and the hydrogen contained combines with the oxygen to form water vapour (H2O). The nitrogen contained in the air does not assume a predominant role in the combustion. However, toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) are created at high pressures and combustion temperatures. Complete combustion: The chemical energy of the fuel is converted into thermal energy.
Burned mixture Unburned mixture

10
Spark core

Flame front by ignition sparks

Flame front by auto-ignition

Fig. 1: Knocking combustion

This auto-ignition, which simultaneously initiates inflammation in several spark cores, results in a premature, sudden combustion, during which the globular flame fronts collide with each other. This gives rise to combustion velocities of 300 m/s to 500 m/s, which in turn result in excessively high pressures (Fig. 2).

p in bar

Knocking combustion Normal combustion

C + O2 CO2 + thermal energy 2 H2 + O2 2 H2O + thermal energy

If, for example, only 13 kg air are available for 1 kg petrol, the fuel-air mixture will be too rich (1 : 13). Because there is not enough oxygen available, part of the carbon burns only incompletely to form carbon monoxide CO, which is toxic. Incomplete combustion:

TDC Crankshaft angle in CA

Fig. 2: Pressure characteristic during combustion

2 C + O2 2 CO + heat

The knocking or often also pinging noise in the engine is caused by shock waves which are triggered by the different spark cores and result in individual engine components vibrating. Knocking results in increased mechanical and thermal load on the crankshaft drive and reduced power.

190
Causes of knocking
Apart from the use of unsuitable fuels, knocking can also be caused by: Excessively advanced ignition. Uneven mixture distribution in the cylinder. Poor heat dissipation due to carbon-residue deposits or faults in the cooling system. An excessively high compression ratio, e.g. when a thinner cylinder-head gasket is used.

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine The higher the pressure and the temperature, the shorter the ignition lag. Injection takes place in the diesel engine in such a way that the main fuel quantity is only admitted into the combustion chamber when the initial parts of the fuel have ignited in the chamber with the result that further-injected fuel is continuously burned.

Diesel knocking
When the engine and intake-air temperatures are low, for example when the engine is started from cold, the time needed to form the internal mixture is prolonged. The ignition lag becomes too great (over 0.002 s) and the collected fuel burns suddenly with a loud noise, resulting in the diesel engine knocking. The sudden combustion is triggered by several spark cores which originate from accumulated fuel in the combustion chamber. The high pressure peaks thereby generated can result in damage to the crankshaft drive. The knocking can be reduced by preinjecting a small amount of fuel and by using diesel fuel with a higher cetane number in the winter months.

Acceleration knocking
This occurs primarily when accelerating under full load from low engine speeds. It is usually caused by fuel with an insufficient octane number (RON) and incorrect spark adjustment.

High-speed knocking
This is knocking which usually occurs in the upper speed range at full load. It is often caused by fuel with a MON that is too low or fuel in which the difference between RON and MON (= sensitivity) is great. It frequently cannot be detected in good time because of the louder noises inside the vehicle. Overheating of the engine can cause damage such as burned piston crowns and cylinder heads as well as piston seizures.

10

Uncontrolled ignition
This is triggered by glowing parts in the engine combustion chamber already at a stage before the onset of normal ignition of the fuel-air mixture by the ignition spark (uncontrolled advanced ignition).

10.4 Pressure-volume diagram (p -V diagram)

Spark-ignition engine
The relationships between pressure, volume and temperature of gases can be carried over for the power cycle of a four-stroke spark-ignition engine into a pressure-volume diagram (p-V diagram). According to Boyle-Mariotte and Gay-Lussac, this produces an ideal diagram in which the volume does not change, i.e. remains constant, at the respective piston reversal points at BDC and TDC during the combustion process and the exhaust process. Constant-volume combustion: Sudden combustion takes place with a constant volume. Ideal constant-volume combustion, as depicted in Fig. 1, Page 191, calls for the following preconditions: The cylinder contains only fresh gases and no residual exhaust gases. Complete combustion of the fuel-air mixture. Loss-free charge cycle. No heat transfer at the cylinder. Constant volume during combustion and cooling. The combustion chamber must be gastight (piston rings).

10.3.4 Combustion sequence of diesel engine

Ignition lag in a diesel engine
The period of time required for internal mixture formation up to the initiation of combustion is called the ignition lag. The ignition lag is the period of time between the start of injection and the initiation of combustion. When the engine is a normal operating temperature, the ignition lag is normally approx. 0.001 s (1/1,000 s). It is substantially dependent on the structure of the fuel molecules (ignition quality, cetane number). the temperature of the compressed air before the start of injection. the degree of atomisation during injection (extent of the injection pressure, size of the fuel droplets).

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine curve on the screen. Here the differences from the ideal p -V diagram can be clearly seen. In practice, the curve shapes of a spark-ignition engine and a diesel engine still differ only in the extent of the pressures (Fig. 2). Because of the significantly higher combustion pressure in a diesel engine and the subsequent expansion of the burned gases to 4 bar 6 bar, the exhaust gases cool more markedly than in a spark-ignition engine. This results in a reduction of the exhaust-gas losses, which in turn increases the work gained and with it the efficiency. The thermal load on the valves is lower. However, modern diesel engines are no longer able to deliver sufficient heat to heat the vehicles with the result that auxiliary heaters are necessary. The p -V diagram can be used to calculate the effective work Weff of an engine by subtracting the lost work (area ) from the produced work (surface +) (Fig. 1, Page 192).

191

3 bar

Addition of heat

2 4 Dissipation of heat 5 1 TDC V BDC cm3

pamb

Fig. 1: Ideal constant-volume process (p -V diagram)

Process sequence
12 23 Compression of the fuel-air mixture, pressure increase, no addition of heat. Combustion of the fuel-air mixture, pressure increase with constant volume, i.e. the piston remains for the brief period of combustion at TDC, addition of heat. Expansion. The gas under high pressure expands and moves the piston to BDC, the starting volume is reached. No dissipation of heat. Cooling. The process takes place with a constant volume.The pressure drops as a result of heat dissipation until the starting pressure at point 1 is reached again.

34

60 bar 50 40 Pressure p in cylinder 30

10
E = Start of injection = Ignition point

41

Diesel engine Spark-ignition engine

Energy gain, energy loss

The area created in the diagram (Fig. 1) with the corners 1-2-3-4 reflects the work gained during a power cycle (surface +). The work gained could be greater if the exhaust valve were not to open already at point 4 but only after the gases have expanded down to the starting pressure at point 5. However, this is not possible in practice because extending the expansion is associated with increasing the stroke (long-stroke engine). Thus the area 1-4-5 reflects the work lost. The work gained can be increased by increasing the compression ratio.

Co

20 10 0 1 TDC

E Exhaust

m bu s

t io

Com press ion

Induction Vh V in cm3 BDC

Fig. 2: Actual p -V diagram

Error detection in the p -V diagram

Larger deviations from the normal pressure characteristic enable errors in the engine settings (mixture formation, spark adjustment, compression) and above all errors arising from knocking phenomena to be detected (Fig. 1, Page 192).

Diesel engine
In contrast to a spark-ignition engine, the pressure theoretically does not change during the combustion process; this phenomenon is referred to therefore as constant-pressure combustion. In reality, neither the constant-volume nor the constant-pressure process takes place in ideal circumstances because the conditions cannot be maintained.

Ignition point too advanced:

The highest possible pressure is already reached before the piston has arrived at top dead centre. The high pressures and temperatures created result in knocking combustion, poorer exhaust-gas values and loss of power, which can be identified from the smaller area in the diagram.

Actual p -V diagram
The pressure characteristic during the four strokes of a power cycle can be recorded with a piezoelectric indicator on the running engine and displayed as a

192
Ignition point too retarded:
Normal rise of the compression line up to top dead centre. After a short drop in the pressure after TDC, it rises again but can no longer reach the maximum combustion pressure because due to the retarded ignition point the piston has moved too far in the direction of BDC before the fuel-air mixture has burned fully. The consequences are loss of power, higher fuel consumption and risk of overheating.

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine Asymmetrical timing diagram. One of the two angle pairs is unequal.
Valve overlap TDC
Ec

0 4

DC re T efo b 0

Exhaust Compr ess ion

Io

stion mbu Co

Leaking valves or piston rings:

Normal pressure build-up not possible, the rise of the compression line is flatter. The maximum combustion pressure cannot be reached even when the ignition point is correct. The consequences are loss of power and poorer exhaust-gas values.

Ic

10

p in bar

Io: IV opens 15 before TDC Ic: IV closes 40 after BDC

BDC

Eo: EV opens 44 before BDC

Ec: EV closes 22 after TDC

Fig. 2:Timing diagram of a four-stroke spark-ignition engine

Vh Ignition point advanced Vh Ignition point retarded Vh Valves, piston rings leaking

Fig. 1: p -V diagrams of faulty engines

10.6 Cylinder numbering, firing orders

Cylinder numbering. The designation of the individual cylinders of an engine is standardised.The counting of the cylinders starts from the end opposite the output end. In the case of V-, VR- and opposed-cylinder engines, the counting starts on the left cylinder bank and then each bank is counted through (Fig. 3).
Left side
1 2 4

10.5 Timing diagram

This provides an overview of the timing angles of the valves and the valve overlap. The opening and closing angles of the inlet and exhaust valves are entered in degrees of crankshaft revolutions (Fig. 2). The opening angles of the valves and the shape of the timing cams are determined by way of tests for each type in such a way that the engine delivers the best power possible. Because this is not possible over the entire speed range, engines are equipped with adjustable inlet camshafts. The opening and closing angles of the inlet valves can be changed by a specific adjustment angle (variable timing). The timing angles of the individual engines deviate from each other to the extent that each engine has its own timing diagram, e.g. Fig. 2. As a rule, the angles from the opening through to the closing of the valves are greater the higher the normal running speed of the engine is. Symmetrical timing diagram. The angles Io before TDC and Ec after TDC are identical in size, as are the angles Eo before BDC and Ic after BDC.

Output

Induction
26 3 0 -9 1

Eo

Output

0
4 5 6

Right side In-line engine

15

V-engine
3 6

Output
1 2 3 5

Output

VR-engine
1 2 3 4 5

6 Opposed5 cylinder engine 4

Output
6 7 1 8

3 5

Output
7 8 1 1 12

V-VRengine

Wengine

9 10

Fig. 3: Cylinder numbering

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

193

Firing order and ignition interval in multiplecylinder engines (Fig. 1).

Firing order. This indicates the order in which the power strokes of the individual cylinders of an engine follow each other. Ignition interval. This indicates the interval in crankangle degrees in which the power strokes or the firing operations of the individual cylinders follow each other.The greater the number of cylinders, the smaller the ignition interval. Engine operation becomes smoother and the torque output is more regular.
One-cylinder vertical 2 x bearings
1 1 1

Ignition interval = Cylinder number Example: In the case of a 5-cylinder engine, the ignition interval is calculated from 720 CA : 5 = 144 CA. A star diagram is drawn as a substitute for the crankshaft. Starting from the uppermost cylinder, which is designated as 1, the remaining cylinders are entered according to the firing order 1-2-4-5-3 against the direction of rotation at an interval of 144 CA. In this way, the firing order can be read off from each star diagram.
Cylinders
1 Combustion

720 CA

Strokes
Exhaust
Induction Compression

Ignition interval 720

Two-cylinder opposed-cylinder engine 2 x bearings

1 2 1 2 2 1

1 2

Ignition interval 360

10
1 2

Two-cylinder in-line engine 2 x bearings

Ignition interval 360

Three-cylinder in-line engine 4 x bearings

1

13
1 2 3

Ignition interval 240

Firing order 132

3 4

2 14

Four-cylinder in-line engine 5 x bearings

1 2 3 4

Ignition interval 180

Firing order 1342 1243

2 1

3 4 2 1 4 3
1 2 3 4

Four-cylinder opposed-cylinder engine 3 x bearings

Ignition interval 180

Firing order 1432

3 1

2 15 1 4 5 5 4
1 2 3 4 5

Five-cylinder in-line engine 6 x bearings

Ignition interval 144

Firing order 12453

2 1

3 6

2 16

3
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Six-cylinder in-line engine 7 x bearings

Ignition interval 120

2.5 14 1.5 90

3.4 58 6.2

Firing order 153624 (or 1 2 4 6 5 3) (or 1 4 2 6 3 5)

Ignition interval 90

Eight-cylinder V-engine - 90 5 x bearings

3 1 5

7 8

3.7

4.8

Most common firing order 15486372 (1 8 2 7 4 5 3 6) (1 6 3 5 4 7 3 8)

Fig. 1: Crankshaft designs, firing and power-stroke orders

90

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10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

10.7 Engine-performance curves

The characteristic of an engine is derived from the measured values for power, torque and specific fuel consumption determined on the test bench at different speeds. When these measured values are plotted in a chart against the speeds, the curves located by the corresponding measuring points produce the engine's performance curves (Fig. 1). There are full-load and part-load curves.
Max. torque 150 270 Nm Torque M 180 kW 100 Power Peff Power Peff 50 beff 0 Min. fuel consumption 0 Elastic range g/kWh 350 300 250 Torque M Max. power

However, the power curve drops after the maximum power is reached because as the speed increases the loss of torque can no longer be compensated. Causes of deviation from the ideal state: Fluctuating charge in the lower and upper speed ranges Air deficiency and poor swirling of the fuel-air mixture due to low flow velocity, thus slower and incomplete combustion Heat losses Friction losses Elastic range. This lies between the maximum torque and the maximum power (Fig. 1). As speed reduces, the decreasing power is compensated by an increasing torque. The maximum torque should where possible be situated before the middle speed range whereas the maximum power should be situated well into the upper speed range. This produces a broad elastic range, which has a favourable effect on gearbox tuning because the torque band increases in size. Fuel-consumption map. Torque is plotted against speed at different specific fuel consumptions in the diagram (Fig. 2). This results in curves with a constant specific fuel consumption which are sometimes closed in on themselves. Because the curves resemble shells, they are also called conchoids. The diagram also contains further curves with constant effective power, from which it can be seen that the engine can deliver the same effective power with a completely different specific fuel consumption. Thus the engine in the diagram can deliver power of 60 kW both with a specific fuel consumption of 320 g/kWh and with one of 280 g/kWh together with increasing torque.

10

90

2,000 4,000 rpm 6,000 Engine speed n

Fig. 1: Full-load curves of a four-stroke spark-ignition engine

Full-load curves. The engine at normal operating temperature is braked on a test bench with the throttle valve fully open. Full load refers to the load which an engine can overcome at the respective engine speed. The values determined over the entire speed range under identical load are the basis for the curve shapes for torque, power and specific fuel consumption. It is possible to determine from these curve shapes the maximum torque, the maximum power and the minimum fuel consumption for an allocated speed. Part-load curves. Measurements at part load are also important in view of the fact that an engine is rarely subjected to full load in everyday driving conditions. Various series of tests are carried out at different speeds for this purpose. The throttle valve is only partially opened in these tests. Theoretically, both the fuel consumption and the torque should be constant in the entire speed range with the throttle valve in the same position since in actual fact always the same amount of energy of one cylinder charge should deliver the same rotatory force to the crankshaft. Accordingly the power should rise uniformly with the speed.

Spec. fuel consumption beff

260 g/kWh

280 g/kWh beff = constant

Engine torque M in Nm

Peff = constant 90 kW 300 g/kWh 80 kW 320 g/kWh 60 kW 40 kW Engine speed n in rpm,

Fig. 2: Fuel-consumption map, conchoids

10 Design and operating principle of a four-stroke engine

195
The terms power output per litre and weight-to-power ratio have been introduced so that the individual engines can be compared with each other (Table 1). The weight-to-power ratio of the engine indicates the structural weight of the engine per 1 kW of greatest effective power.

10.8 Stroke-to-bore ratio, power output per litre, weightto-power ratio

Stroke-to-bore ratio
This indicates the ratio of stroke to bore. If the stroke is smaller than the bore, then the stroketo-bore ratio is less than 1. It is more than 1 if the stroke is larger than the bore. Short-stroke engines. In order for production engines to enjoy long service lives, it is important for them not to exceed a mean piston speed of 20 m/s. Nevertheless, short-stroke engines are built in order to achieve high engine speeds. These engines have a stroke-to-bore ratio of less than 1 (0.9 0.7). Long-stroke engines. The stroke-to-bore ratio is greater than 1 (1.1 1.3). These engines are used mainly to power commercial vehicles and buses. High mileages and greater torques are achieved thanks to the lower engine speeds and the greater crank throw respectively. Power output per litre The power output per litre indicates the greatest effective power of the engine per litre of swept volume. Fast-running engines are more suitable for vehicle propulsion the greater their power is in proportion to the swept volume and the lower their structural weight is in proportion to the power. REVIEW QUESTIONS
1 2 3 4 Who built the first four-stroke engine and the first two-stroke engine respectively? In what order do the strokes of a four-stroke engine take place? What is the compression ratio of four-stroke spark-ignition engines? Within which limits do the compression and combustion pressures of four-stroke spark-ignition engines lie? What is the process of internal mixture formation in a diesel engine? What is stated in Gay-Lussac's Law? Which substances are formed during the combustion of the fuel-air mixture? What are the causes of knocking in spark-ignition engines? What do you understand by ignition lag in a diesel engine?

The weight-to-power ratio of the vehicle indicates the weight of the vehicle per 1 kW of greatest effective power.

Table 1: Power output per litre, weight-to-power ratio

Engine type Power output per litre kW/l Spark-ignition engines Motorcycles Passenger cars Racing cars Diesel engines Passenger cars Diesel engines Commercial vehicles Supercharged engines Diesel passenger cars Supercharged engines Diesel commercial vehicles 30 100 35 130 400 20 50 10 45 30 70 Weight-to-power ratio of engine vehicle kg/kW 0.5 3 1.3 5 1 0.2 1.8 5 2.5 8 14 kg/kW 29 4 22 1.5 7 12 25 60 230 9 20

10

18 55

27

50 210

12 What are the four assemblies of a spark-ignition engine and of a diesel engine? 13 Which errors can be read off from a pressurevolume diagram? 14 What do you understand by a symmetrical timing diagram? 15 What are the differences between short-stroke and long-stroke engines? 16 What is the firing order of a 6-cylinder in-line engine? 17 How are the cylinders numbered in compliance with standards? 18 What does the power output per litre indicate? 19 What does the weight-to-power ratio of the engine indicate? 20 What do you understand by the greatest effective power of an engine? 21 What do you understand by full-load curves of an engine? 22 Why is the torque of a spark-ignition engine not of equal magnitude over the entire speed range? 23 What do you understand by the elastic range?

5 6 7 8 9

10 What do you understand by knocking in a diesel engine? 11 What special features apply to a diesel engine?