Combustion in engines

Engine type SI Engines CI Engines

(Spark Ignition) (Compression
Ignition)
Charge type just Homogeneous Air at high temp
before Fuel-air mixture at and high pressure,
combustion high temp and fuel is injected
high pressure
Ignition source Spark Autoignition

Combustion type Premixed Nonpremixed

Typical 6-8 14-20

compression ratio 1
P-v and P- diagrams
Volume is a function of crank angle

Theoretical p-v diagram Theoretical p- diagram

35
30
25
Pressure
20
15
10
5
0
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180
Crank angle
2
Combustion in SI engines
Necessary Conditions for combustion:
Combustible mixture,
Ignition source with sufficient energy
Stabilization and propagation of flame
Ignition limits:

Fuel air mixture should be within certain limits.

The stoichiometric mixture is the best for combustion.
Increase in temperature increases while addition of diluents will reduce
these limits. 3
Stages of Combustion in SI engines
Actual p- diagram

Flame development (Ignition lag): Spark timing to actual combustion (~

6 to 10 CA) ~ 1-2% energy release (around 1.5 to 2 ms)
Flame propagation: Start of combustion till 90 to 95 % of charge is
burned
Flame termination: Combustion of end gas; Very low %age of energy
release 4
Stages of Combustion in SI engines
After a spark is initiated (before TDC), it takes some time for the
flame to get created and this is called the ignition lag. It is typically
60 and 100 CA. The energy released and the pressure rise is too small
The flame then rapidly propagates (flame propagation) and the
pressure within the cylinder rises rapidly. Peak pressure occurs a few
degrees after the TDC and the value depends on the spark timing.
The last phase known as flame termination happens when the
flame front reaches near the walls of the cylinder. The reactant
mixture is compressed due to the propagation of the flame front
and its temperature rises and sometimes can reach the autoignition
temperature. It may lead to the phenomenon called knocking.

5
Knocking in SI engine

Autoignition of end charge

Heat transfer from

flame to the end charge
Flame compresses the
end gas; pressure and
temperature increases
resulting an autoignition

Normal combustion Knocking

6
Ill effects of knocking
Noise (pressure wave moving in the cyl)
Mechanical Damage (wear, erosion)
Carbon deposits (Volume decreases,
pre-ignition)
Increased heat transfer (high T,
scouring of protective layers)
Decrease in power output (HT increase)
Pre-ignition (local over heating, Spark plug)

7
Knocking in SI engine

Factors affecting Knock

1. Density of Charge (pressure)
2. Temperature of the charge
3. Time period of flame travel
4. Composition of Charge
8
Engine/Operating Change in the state of end gas Effect on knock
variable
Compression ratio Density and temperature increase Increases
Spark timing advance Density and temperature increase Increases
Cylinder diameter Flame travel time longer Increases
Flame travel distance Flame travel time longer Increases
Swirl/Turbulence Flame travel time shorter Reduces
Air-Fuel Ratio Ignition lag minimum near =1 Maximum near =1
Air inlet temperature Temperature increases Increases
Air inlet pressure Density and temperature increases Increases
Coolant temperature Temperature increases Increases
Engine Speed Flame travel time shorter Reduces
Engine load Density and temperature increases Increases
Humidity Temperature decreases, slower reactions Reduces
Altitude Density and temperature decreases Reduces
Fuel Octane number Ignition lag longer Reduces
9
Combustion in CI engines
Stages of Combustion
1. Ignition delay period (Physical and Chemical)
2. Period of uncontrolled combustion (in general premixed flame)
3. Period of controlled combustion (In general diffusion flame) Chamber pr and
temp are so high that spray burns almost instantaneously as they enter.
Burning rate is almost proportional to injection rate.
4. After burning
(Poor droplet distribution) Combustion curve

HRR Curve
Pressure Motored curve

Crank Angle 10
Combustion in CI engines

Fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber.

Sprayed by pressuring fuel to very high
pressures and then subsequently injecting into
the cylinder whereby the fuel breaks into large
number of droplets. Process must be
controlled precisely since too large
penetration may cause fuel deposition on
walls and too small may not cause complete
combustion.

11
Combustion in CI engines

Ignition delay: Heat release does not start as

soon as the injection starts. There is a small
reduction in heat release due to heat
absorbed due to latent heat required for the
fuel vaporization process. Then due to
combustion reactions heat starts to get
released. All fuel vapourizes and gets mixed to
go within the flammability limits.
Premixed combustion phase: The fuel
combusts rapidly and the pressure rises
rapidly and reaches a peak value
12
Combustion in CI engines
Mixing controlled combustion: The premixed
fuel has already burnt and now the
combustion depends on the rate of injection
and rate at which mixing takes place to form
compositions within flammability limits. The
heat release rate drops significantly.
After burning or late combustion phase: Last
phase where remaining fuel and incomplete
combustion products will burn to completion
due to high temperatures in cylinder
13
Delay period

Physical Delay
Fuel atomization, vaporization, mixing with air etc

Chemical delay
Pre-flame reactions

Factors affecting delay period ?

14
Diesel Knock
Reason: Longer delay period
More amount of fuel is accumulated
More homogeneous mixture
More time for chemical reactions
Very high rate of pressure raise cause Knocking
Detonation in SI engine and knocking in CI engine are due to
autoignition of the mixture.
Shorter delay period is good for CI engine and longer delay period is
good SI engine. Hence change of parameters good for SI engine are not
good for CI engine and vice-versa.

Typical p- diagram with

knocking in SI and CI engine

15
SI Detonation and Diesel Knocking
SI engine detonation
At the end of combustion
process
Mixture is homogeneous;
pressure raise is very high
Leads to pre-ignition
Spark starts the normal
combustion and autoignition
causes detonation
CI engine knocking
At the beginning of combustion
process
Mixture is not so homogeneous;
pressure raise is less
comparatively
No question of pre-ignition as
fuel is injected very late
Both normal and knocking
combustion are due to
autoignition
16
IC engine modelling
Simplified modeling of engines gives
reasonably accurate results
Zero dimensional models assume variations
only in time. Higher dimension models are
more accurate and more involved also.
We will discuss only zero dimensional models
here which will require empirical inputs for
closure.

17
Combustion in IC engines

Consider the control

volume shown.
All contents are well fuel

mixed
m
Energy is released by Control volume Qht

burning of fuel. Part is

converted to work and W
part is released across
the walls as heat

18
Conceptual models for SI engine
Wiebe Function

mb mb 0

n

xb 1 exp a
mt mu mb c

0 Start of Combustion
c Duration of Combustion
a and n are constants;
Usually 5 and 3 respectively

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Pressure trace
From 1st Law of TD d (Q Qw ) dW dU
1
From state equation mdT PdV VdP
R
cv
dQ PdV PdV VdP dQw
R

dQ dV cv dV dP dQw
P P V
d d R d d d

dP P dV ( 1) dQ dQw

d V d V d d

20
Volume as a function of CA

V ( ) Vc D2 y '
4
y
y' l r y Vs

usually 3-4 for

Let R l / r small engines; 5-8
for large engines

Vs Vs
V ( ) R 1 cos ( R 2 sin 2 )1/ 2
Rc 1 2

dV Vs
sin 1 cos R sin
2 2 1/ 2

d 2
21
Velocity and area as a function of CA
dy ' dy ' d
Velocity
dt d dt
Not required here dy ' 2 N
y
Vs
d 60

Area to calculate heat loss to wall

Aw ( ) Ahead Apiston Acyl ( )

DL
1/ 2
Acyl ( ) Dy ' R 1 cos R 2
sin 2

22
Heat release expression
n
dQ dx xb 1 exp a
0
Qin b
d d c
Wiebe Function
n 1
dQ Q 0
an in (1 xb )
d c c

dQw hc ( ) Aw ( ) T ( ) Tw
C
d N

Temperature as a function of crank angle may be

obtained from equation of state for ideal gas

23
Conceptual models for CI engine

Injection profile from needle lift profile

or from current

Shape factors

Heat release correlations: 2 Wiebe functions; one for premixed and the other for 24
diffusion combustion
Numerical Problem:
An SI engine has 92 mm bore and spark plug offset by 5 mm from the centre.
The engine when operating at 1500 rpm has the spark timing at 14 CA btdc.
The flame development period is equal to 6 CA. The fully developed flame
travels at 18.5 m/s. Find at what Crank angle the flame reaches the farthest end
of the combustion chamber. What is the magnitude of total combustion duration
in CA and ms? At engine speed of 4500 rpm the spark timing is advanced to
35 CA btdc. The flame development period in ms is not affected by the engine
speed. However, flame speed during the propagation phase of combustion
increases. If flame terminates at the same instant of CA in the cycle as at 1500
rpm, find the relation between the flame speed and the engine speed.

25