Combustion Engineering

SUMMARY ON
COMBUSTION IN SPARK IGNITION ENGINES

MEMBERS:
Absin, Mhelmer John
Dobluis, Mica T.
Famulagan, Rey Francis
Igot, Antonio Jr.
Vale, Jimmy Jr. F.

Engr. Aquileo Estrera

ME 4-1
TTH, 4:00pm-5:00pm
May 9, 2017

COMBUSTION IN SPARK IGNITION ENGINES

I. Ignition
Occurs when the temperature varies greatly with the
composition of the following:
Air-fuel mixture
Amount of excess air
Dilution with burned gases
With the pressure of the mixture
With the size, shape, and temperature of the compression
space
And with the method of raising the temperature.

Ignition Temperature is the temperature at which a fuel will start to

burn under given conditions.
c
T= m
w

Where,
T= Ignition Temperature, R
c= Constant
m= Constant
w= Specific weight of the charge when it
ignites, lb/ft3

Example:
For aliphatic hydrocarbons, CnH2n+2 and CnH2n:
c= 820
m=0.16

For aromatic fuels, CnH2n-6

C=1030 to 1100
m=0.193 to 0.23

Igniters
Spark plugs produce a high-tension spark which is produced by
the breaking of an electric current that passes between its points
and starts the ignition. The current is furnished either by a
storage battery connected to an induction coil or by an
oscillating or rotating magneto.

II. Combustion
Flame Propagation has two phenomena:
 Slow Combustion- the fuel molecule that are already
burning raise by conduction and radiation the temperature
of adjacent molecules, causing them to ignite; At the same
time the temperature rise of the gas molecules increases
their velocity; This raises the pressure in that point and
results in an expansion that assist in propagating the
ignition.

Compression wave- its velocity may reach several

thousand feet per second, and passing through the
explosive mixture accompanied by almost instantaneous
generation of very high pressures it may cause serious
trouble in the engine.

Explosiveness
Explosion occurs in combustion when the mixture of
combustible gas or vapor with air shall burn so fast, the ratio of
gas must lie within certain limits, depending in the
characteristics of the fuel.

Temperature
Temperature of the gas in the combustion space varies
during combustion and is not uniform. As a result, after
combustion is practically completed, there is a difference of
600F to 1000F.
Factors most influencing these temperatures:
Air-Fuel Ratio
Spark Timing

III. Detonation
It is the most important factor of all factors that limit the power
output and efficiency of engines using volatile liquid fuel and
spark ignition.

Also called fuel knocking or pinging because of the noise that it

produces because of the blow that is being delivered against the
cylinder wall by a high pressure wave traveling at a very great
speed 3000-9000 fps, through the gas.

Theories that explain the loss of power that accompanies

detonation:
a. First theory- the high temperatures created during
detonation cause an increased heat loss through
radiation.
 b. Second theory- the power lost is caused by a mass
vibration transformed into heat, which is lost
subsequently to the combustion-chamber walls.

Detonation Factors
1. Fuel Characteristics

a. Molecular Structure
Fuels that may cause a decrease in detonation:
Paraffins
Naphthenes
Aromatics

b. Temperature of Self-Ignition
Fuels with higher self-ignition temperatures are less
detonating

c. Rate of Burning
High rate of burning allows less time for the
unburned portion to lose heat to the combustion-
chamber walls.

2. Conditions of the Cylinder Charge

a. Air fuel Ratio

Both an increase and a decrease of the air-fuel ratio
as compared with this value lower the knock
intensity.

b. Charge Distribution
Different fractions of a commercial gasoline have
different detonating characteristics;
More volatile fractions- are completely
evaporated in the manifold and therefore
distributed more or less uniformly to all
the cylinders of a multicylinder engine.
Less volatile fractions- ae in a liquid form
and are therefore less evenly distributed.
 c. Temperature of the Charge
An increase in the mixture temperature and the
resulting increase of the charge temperature
increase the evaporation of the fuel in the intake
manifold and thus give a better distribution of the
fuel supplied or of the heavier fuel fractions.

d. Density of the Charge

The change of density affects the tendency to
detonate, chiefly by changing the dilution by residual
gases.

3. Compression Ratio
a. Compression Pressure
An increase in the compression pressure while all
other factors being equal increases the maximum
pressure during combustion and therefore the
tendency to knock.

b. Compression Temperature
To decrease the tendency to detonate compression
temperature must be decreased with high
compression ratio, exhaust valves with salt or sodium
cooling must be used.

c. Dilution by residual process

An increase of the compression ratio decreases
dilution by residual gases and thus increases the rate
of burning and hence the tendency to knock.

d. Valve Timing
The intake pressure and the charge density depend
upon valve timing

4. Ignition
a. Location of spark plugs
A certain time element elapses after ignition and
before the maximum pressure is attained, the charge
must be ignited before the dead center.

b. Timing
Too early ignition results in a large negative work at
the end of the compression stroke and excessive
combustion pressures.
 5. Combustion Chamber
a. High power output requires:
High compression ratio
Small or no excess air
Complete utilization of air- no dead pockets
Good turbulence
Room for large inlet & exhaust valves for high
efficiency
Stream lining to reduce the pressure drop
b. High thermal efficiency requires:
High compression ratio
Small heat loss during combustion
Small surface-volume ratio, a compact shape

c. Smooth engine operation requires:

Moderate rate of pressure rise during combustion
Absence of detonation
Compact combustion space
Proper location of the spark plug
Good cooling of the charge during the
compression stroke

IV. Ignition timing

Spark Advance
Indicator Diagrams
Combustion Time

V. Combustion Chambers
Requirements
1. High Power Output, which requires:
a. High Compression Ratio
b. Small or no excess air
c. A complete utilization of the air- no dead pockets
d. Good turbulence
e. Room for large inlet and exhaust valves to obtain a
High volumetric efficiency
f. Streamlining in order to reduce the pressure drop
and to increase further the volumetric efficiency

2. High Thermal Efficiency, which in turn requires:

a. A High compression ratio
b. A small heat loss during combustion, which means
c. A small surface- volume ratio, a compact share
 3. Smooth engine operation, which requires:
a. A moderate rate of pressure rise during
combustion
b. Absence of detonation, which in turn means
c. Compact combustion space, short distances for
flame travel
d. Proper location of Spark Plug
e. Good cooling of the charge during the compression
stroke, a low temperature of the charge near the
ignition point.

Types of Combustion Chambers

1. T- and F- Head Combustion Chamber

T-head chambers used extensively in older cylinder
engines

F-head arrangement is an improvement over the T-

head one in several respects but presents difficulties
in the design of the valve-operation mechanism

Figure 1. T-Head and F- Head Combustion chamber

2. L- Head Combustion Chamber

L-head arrangement was an improvement over the T-
head engine in respect to the valve-operating
 mechanism and, to a certain extent, in detonating
tendency

Figure 2. L- Head Combustion chamber

3. Valve-in-head Combustion Chamber

Valve-in-head engines have better turbulence and
volume control. The spark plug in both engines is
located to promote a rapid burning of the first portion
of the charge.

Figure 3. Valve-in-head Combustion chamber

Material
High-compression cylinder heads are made of materials
with a high heat-transfer coefficient, such as aluminum
 alloys, in order to obtain a relatively cool combustion-
chamber wall and thus lower the knocking tendency.

Surface Condition
Combustion chambers with polished surface have a greater
knocking tendency than those with surfaces coated with
light carbon deposit.