INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

THERMODYNAMIC AND CYCLING

1. First Law Analysis of Engine Cycle-Energy Balance

System boundary
Fuel in

Air in

Engine Work out

Exhaust
Qt

a). Indicated thermal efficiency (ηt ).

Indicated thermal efficiency is the ratio of energy in the indicated horse power to fuel
energy.
ihp
ηt =
fuel hp

ihp x 4500
=
mass of fuel/min x calorific value

b). Mechanical efficiency (ηm )

Mechanical efficiency is the ratio of brake horse power (delivered power) to the indicated
horse power (power provided to the piston)
bhp
friction
ηm = ihp bhp
ihp Engine
and fhp = ihp − bhp
Energy in fuel

Energy lost in exhaust, coolant, radiation etc

bhp
ihp

Energy loss in fiction, pumping etc

c). Brake thermal efficiency (ηtb ).

7
 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

Brake thermal efficiency is ratio of energy in brake horse power to the fuel energy.
bhp
η tb =
fuel hp

bhp x 4500
=
mass of fuel/min x calorific value
The brake thermal equals the product of the indicated thermal efficiency η t and the
mechanical efficiency ηm .
η tb = η t x η m

d). Volumetric efficiency (ηV )

mass of charge actually indicated
ηV =
mass of charge represente d by cylinder volume at intake temperatu re and pressure condition

e). Specific fuel consumption.

The fuel consumption characteristics of an engine are generally expressed in terms of
specific fuel consumption in grams per horsepower-hour. Brake specific fuel
consumption and indicated specific fuel consumption, abbreviated as bsfc and isfc, are
the specific fuel consumptions on the basis of bhp and ihp, respectively.
f). Fuel-air (F/A) or air-fuel (A/F) ratio.
The relative proportions of the fuel and air in the engine are very important from the
standpoint of combustion and efficiency of engine. This expressed either as the ratio of
the mass of the fuel to that of the air.
actual fuel − air ratio
Fr =
stoichiome tric fuel − air ratio
Stoichiometric = a chemically correct is mixture that contains just enough air for complete
combustion of all fuel.

2. Useful Thermodynamic Relations

The following are the useful thermodynamic relations used in the analysis of air standard
cycles.
a). For ideal gas cycle the working fluid is a perfect gas which follows the law
pV = mRT , or pv = RT
where p is the pressure, V volume, v specific volume, m mass, R gas constant and T
absolute temperature (0Kelvin).
b). For perfect gas
R
cP − cV =
J

8
 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

where cP (= 0,24) is the specific heat at constant pressure and cV (= 0.17) is the specific

cp
heat at constant volume. The ratio γ = = 1.4 will be designated by the symbol γ .
cV

c). From the perfect gas law, it can be seen that an isothermal process will follow the
relationship
pv = cons tan t

d). It is readily shown that for perfect gas the reversible adiabatic or isentropic process will
follow the relationship
pv γ = cons tan t

e). The definition of enthalpy h is given by the expression

h = u + pv
u + pv
which for a perfect gas, becomes u
h = u + RT
f). For a perfect gas internal energy u and enthalpy h are functions of temperature only
T2 T2
∆u = ∫ c v dT ∆h = ∫ c p dT
T1 T1

g). In a compression process, if p1, V1, and T1 represent the initial conditions p2, V2, and T2 the
final conditions are given by
n −1 ( n −1) / n
T2  V1  p 
=  =  2 
T1  V2   p1 
where n is the index of compression.
For reversible adiabatic or isentropic compression n = γ.
h). For isothermal process of a perfect gas, the change in u and h is zero. Therefore, for both
flow and non-flow process
v2
Q = Wisothermal = mRT log
v1

where Q is the heat interchange and W the work done

i). The work done in a non-flow polytrophic process is given by
p1 V1 − p 2 V2 mR ( T1 − T2 )
W= =
n −1 n −1
where m = mass of gas
The work transfer during flow process is given by
mR ( T1 − T2 )
W=nx
n −1
j). The heat transfer to any fluid can be evaluated from

9
 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

Q rev = ∫ Tds = ∫ c n dT

where cn = specific heat of the fluid in which subscript n refers to the property which
remains constant during the process.
k). For any general process, according to the first law of thermodynamics,
for non-flow process Q − W = ∆U
and for flow process Q − W = ∆H
l). For any cycling process
ΣW = ΣQ = Q added − Q rejected = η t x Q added

Where the symbol Σrefers to over the cycle and ηt is the thermal efficiency.
ΣW
∴ηt =
Q added

THE CARNOT CYCLE

(Carnot is a French Engineer)

During the isentropic process bc and da the heat transfer form or to the working
substance is zero. Therefore, heat transfer takes place during isothermal process ab and cd
only.
Let r = ratio of expansion Vb/Va during process ab

10
 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

= ratio of compression Vc/Vd during process cd

If the ratio of expansion and compression are not equal it would be a closed cycle.
Now, consider 1 kg of working substance:
Heat supplied during process ab, q c − p a v a log e r = RT1 log e r
Heat rejected during process cd, q d − p c v c log e r = RT 2 log e r
Work done = heat supplied – heat rejected
= RT1 log e r − RT 2 log e r
∴Thermal efficiency of the Carnot cycle,
workdone
ηcarnot =
heat sup plied

RT1 log e r − RT2 log e r

=
RT1 log e r

T1 − T2 T
= =1− 2
T1 T1
ΔT
=
Higher tem peratur

Carnot cycle on T-s diagram.

On T-s diagram the two isothermal processes ab and cd are represented by horizontal lines
and two isentropic processes bc and ad by vertical lines.
The heat supplied during the isothermal process ab is given by
q 1 = area a b s1 s 2 = T1 (s 2 − s1 )

Similarly, the heat rejected during the isothermal process cd is given by

q 2 = area c d s1 s 2 = T2 (s 2 − s1 )

Hence we have thermal efficiency of Carnot cycle

T1 ( s 2 −s1 ) − T2 ( s 2 − s1 )
η carnot =
T1 ( s 2 − s1 )
T1 − T2 T
= =1− 2
T1 T1

Net work output = (T1 – T2)(s2 – s1)

Gross work of expansion = work done during process ab + work done during process bc.
For isothermal process Q = W
i.e., Wab = Qab = area under line ab on T-s diagram
= T1(s2-s1)
For isentropic process from b and c
Wbc = ub - uc

11
 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

Therefore, for a perfect gas

Wbc = c v ( T1 − T2 )

( T1 − T2 )( s 2 − s1 )
∴ Work ratio =
T1 ( s 2 − s1 ) + c v ( T1 − T2 )
Relative work outputs of various piston engine cycles is given by mean effective
pressure (mep or pm), which is defined as the constant pressure producing the same net work
output whilst causing the piston to move through the same swept volume as in the actual cycle

Let pm = mean effective pressure

Vs = swept volume
W = net work output per cycle

work done per cycle

Then, p m =
stroke volume

=
W
=
∫ pdV
Vs Vs

area of the indicator diagram

Also, p m = length of the diagram

12