Marine Engines

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Topic: Engine Testing and Performance

Engine performance is an indication of the degree of success an engine performs its

assigned task, i.e., the conversion of the chemical energy contained in the fuel into
useful mechanical work. The performance of an engine is evaluated based on the
following.
(a) Specific Fuel Consumption.
(b) Brake Mean Effective Pressure.
(c) Specific Power Output.
(d) Specific Weight.
(e) Exhaust Smoke and Other Emissions.

BASIC MEASUREMENTS
The basic measurements to be undertaken to evaluate the performance of an engine
on almostall tests are the following:
(a) Speed
(b) Fuel consumption
(c) Air consumption
(d) Smoke density
(e) Brake horsepower
(f) Indicated power and friction power.
(g) Heat balance sheet or performance of SI and CI engine
(h) Exhaust gas analysis
1. Measurement of speed:
-One of the basic measurements is that of speed. A wide variety of speed measuring
devices are available in the market. They range from mechanical tachometers to digital
and electrical tachometers.
-The best method of measuring speed is to count the number of revolutions in each
time. This gives an accurate measurement of speed. Many engines are fitted with such

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 revolution counters.
-A mechanical tachometer or an electrical tachometer can also be used for measuring
the speed.
-The electrical tachometer has a three-phase permanent-magnet alternator to which a
voltmeter is attached. -The output of the alternator is a linear function of the speed and
is directly indicated on the voltmeter dial.
-Both electrical and mechanical types of tachometers are affected by the temperature
variations and are not very accurate. For accurate and continuous measurement of speed
a magnetic pick-up placed near a toothed wheel coupled to the engine shaft can be used.
-The magnetic pick-up will produce a pulse for every revolution and a pulse counter
will accurately measure the speed.
2. Fuel consumption measurement:
Fuel consumption is measured in two ways:
(a) The fuel consumption of an engine is measured by determining the volume flow
within a given time interval and multiplying it by the specific gravity of the fuel which
should be measured occasionally to get an accurate value.
(b) Another method is to measure the time required for consumption of a given mass of fuel.

As already mentioned, two basic types of fuel measurement methods are:

✓ Volumetric type.
✓ Gravimetric type.
✓ The volumetric type of flow meter includes Burette method, Automatic Burette
flow meter andTurbine flow meter.
Gravimetric Fuel Flow Measurement
The efficiency of an engine is related to the mass of fuel consumed in kilograms.
The method of measuring volume flow and then correcting it for specific gravity
variations is quite inconvenient and inherently limited in accuracy. Instead, if the
weight of the fuel consumed is directly measured a great improvement in accuracy and
cost can be obtained. There are three types of gravimetric type systems which are
commercially available include Actual weighing of fuel consumed, Four Orifice Flow
meter, etc.
3. Measurement of air consumption:

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 In IC engines, the satisfactory measurement of air consumption is quite difficult
because the flow is pulsating, due to the cyclic nature of the engine and because the air
is a compressible fluid. Therefore, the simple method of using an orifice in the induction
pipe is not satisfactorysince the reading will be pulsating and unreliable.
All kinetic flow-inferring systems such as nozzles, orifices and venturis have a square
law relationship between flow rate and differential pressure which gives rise to severe
errors on unsteady flow. Pulsation produced errors are roughly inversely proportional
to the pressure across the orifice for a given set of flow conditions. The various methods
and meters used for air flow measurement include,
(a) Air box method, and
(b) Viscous-flow air meter
4. Measurement of brake power:
The brake power measurement involves the determination of the torque and the angular
speedof the engine output shaft. The torque measuring device is called a dynamometer.
Dynamometers can be broadly classified into two main types, power absorption and
transmission dynamometers.
(i) Absorption Dynamometers
These dynamometers measure and absorb the power output of the engine to which they
are coupled. The power absorbed is usually dissipated as heat by some means.
Examples are Prony brake, rope brake, hydraulic dynamometers, etc.
(a) Prony brake dynamometer
One of the simplest methods of measuring brake power (output) is to attempt to stop
the engine by means of a brake on the flywheel and measure the weight which an arm
attached tothe brake will support, as it tries to rotate with the flywheel.
It consists of wooden block mounted on a flexible rope or band. When the wooden
block is pressed, it comes into contact with the rotating drum and takes the engine
torque. The power is dissipated as frictional resistance. Spring-loaded bolts are
provided to tighten the wooden block and hence increase the friction.
All the power absorbed is converted into heat and hence this type of dynamometer must
be cooled. The brake horsepower is given by:
BP = 2π NT

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where, T= W × l. W is the weight applied at a radius l.

Figure 1: Prony Brake

(b) Rope brake

It consists of several turns of rope wound around the rotating drum attached to
theoutput shaft. One side of the rope is connected to a spring balance and the other to a
loading device. The power is absorbed in friction between the rope and the drum. The
drum therefore requires cooling.

Figure 2: Rope break

Rope brake is cheap and easily constructed but not a very accurate method
because ofchanges in the friction coefficient of the rope with temperature.
The bp is given by:
bp = π DN (W − S)
where, D is the brake drum diameter, W is the weight in Newton and S is the
spring scale reading.

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(c) Hydraulic Dynamometer
Hydraulic dynamometer works on the principle of dissipating the power in fluid
frictionrather than in dry friction.
-In principle its construction is like that of a fluid flywheel.
-It consists of an inner rotating member or impeller coupled to the output shaft of the engine.
-This impeller rotates in a casing filled with fluid.
-The outer casing, due to the centrifugal force developed, tends to revolve with the
impeller,but is resisted by a torque arm supporting the balance weight.

The frictional forces between the impeller and the fluid are measured by the spring-
balancefitted on the casing.
The heat developed due to dissipation of power is carried away by a continuous
supply ofthe working fluid, usually water.
-The output can be controlled by regulating the sluice gates which can be moved in
and out to obstruct the flow of water partially or wholly between impeller and the
casing.
The second schematic shows the most common type of water brake, known as the
"variable level" type. Water is added until the engine is held at a steady RPM against
the load, with the water then kept at that level and replaced by constant draining and
refilling (which is needed to carry away the heat created by absorbing the
horsepower). The housing attempts to rotate in response to the torque produced but
are restrained by the scale or torque metering cell that measures the torque.

Figure 3: Hydraulic Dynamometer

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(d) Eddy Current Dynamometer
It consists of a stator on which are fitted several electromagnets and a rotor disc made
of copper or steel and coupled to the output shaft of the engine. When the rotor rotates
eddy currents are produced in the stator due to magnetic flux set up by the passage of
field current in the electromagnets. These eddy currents are dissipated in producing
heat so that this typeof dynamometer also requires some cooling arrangement. The
torque is measured exactly asin other types of absorption dynamometers, i.e., with the
help of a moment arm. The load is controlled by regulating the current in the
electromagnets.

Figure

4: Eddy Current Dynamometer

The following are the main advantages of eddy current dynamometer:

✓ High brake power per unit weight of dynamometer.

✓ They offer the highest ratio of constant power speed range (up to 5:1).
✓ Level of field excitation is below 1% of total power being handled by
dynamometer, thus,easy to control and programme.
✓ Development of eddy current is smooth hence the torque is also smooth and
continuousunder all conditions.
✓ Relatively higher torque under low-speed conditions.
✓ It has no intricate rotating parts except shaft bearing.
✓ No natural limit to size-either small or large.

(e) Swinging Field D.C. Dynamometer

Basically, a swinging field d.c. dynamometer is a d.c shunt motor so supported on
trunnion bearings to measure their action torque that the outer case and filed coils tend

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 to rotate with the magnetic drag. Hence, the name swinging field. The torque is
measured with an arm and weighing equipment in the usual manner.
Many dynamometers are provided with suitable electric connections to run as motor
also. Then the dynamometer is reversible, i.e., works as motoring as well as power
absorbing device.
When used as an absorption dynamometer it works as a d.c. generator and converts
mechanical energy into electric energy which is dissipated in an external resistor or fed
back to the mains.
When used as a motoring device an external source of d.c. voltage is needed to drive
the motor. The load is controlled by changing the field current.
(f) Fan Dynamometer
It is also an absorption type of dynamometer in that when driven by the engine it
absorbs the engine power. Such dynamometers are useful mainly for rough testing and
running. The accuracy of the fan dynamometer is very poor. The power absorbed is
determined by using previous calibration of the fan brake.
(ii) Transmission Dynamometers
In transmission dynamometers, the power is transmitted to the load coupled to the
engine andindicated on some type of scale. These are also called torquemeters and
mostly consist of a set of strain- gauges fixed on the rotating shaft and the torque is
measured by the angular deformation of the shaft which is indicated as strain of the
strain gauge. Usually, a four-arm bridge is used to reduce the effect of temperature to
a minimum and the gauges are arranged in pairs such thatthe effect of axial or
transverse load on the strain gauges is avoided. Transmission dynamometers are very
accurate and are used where continuous transmission ofload is necessary. These are
used mainly in automatic units.

Figure 5: Transmission dynamometer

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5. Indicated Power
This is the power developed by the pressure of the gas acting on the pistons. It is
found by recording and plotting the pressure against volume in the cylinder. The
common methods used to measure the indicated power are the Morse test and the
indicator diagram.
(a) Morse test
✓ The Morse test is applicable only to multicylinder engines.
✓ The engine is first run at the required speed and the output is measured.
✓ Then, one cylinder is cut out by short circuiting the spark plugs or by disconnecting the
injector.
✓ Under this condition all other cylinder’s ‘motor’ this cut-out cylinder.
✓ The output is measured by keeping the speed constant at its original value.
✓ The difference in the outputs is a measure of the indicated horsepower of the
cut-out cylinder.
✓ Thus, for each cylinder the ip is obtained and is added together to find the total
ip of the engine.
This method though gives reasonably accurate results and is liable to errors
due to changes in mixture distribution and other conditions by cutting out one
cylinder. Again, almost all engines have a common exhaust manifold for all
cylinders and cutting out of one cylinder may greatly affect the pulsations in
exhaust system which may significantly change the engine performance by
imposing different back pressures.

(b) Indicator diagram

These diagrams are taken with engine indicators. A P-V indicator diagram is
illustrated in the figure below.

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 Figure 6 P-V indicator diagrams
Modern systems use electronic pressure and volume transducers and data is gathered
and stored digitally in a computer and then displayed and processed. The indicated
power can be calculated from the indicator diagram as below:
The average force on the piston throughout one cycle is F,
where F=MEP x piston area=pmA.
Mean effective pressure (MEP), pm is the mean pressure during the cycle.
The work done in one cycle, W=Force x distance moved =FL=pmAL. L is the stroke
and is twice the radius of the crank shaft. Taking N as the number of cycles per
second (speed of shaft), the indicated power is given by:
I.P = pmLAN/nR. nR = 1 for a two-stroke engine and 2 for a four-stroke engine.

Mean effective pressure (pm)

The mean effective pressure is found from the indicator diagram as follows:
The area enclosed by the indicator diagram represents the work done per cycle per
cylinder. Let the area be Ad mm2. The average height of the graph is H mm. The base
length of the diagram is Y mm. The hatched area is equal to Ad therefore,
Ad =YH
H = Ad/Y
To convert H into pressure units, the pressure scale (spring rate) of the indicator
measuring system must be known. Let this be Sp kPa/mm. The Pm is then determined
as:
Pm=SpH
Pm is the indicated mean effective pressure because it is used to calculate the

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 indicated power.

There is also brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), defined as the mean pressure
which would produce the brake power.
BP= (BMEP)LAN/nR.
The Mean effective pressure can also be obtained using work per cycle per cylinder.
The work per cycle per cylinder is given by:
𝑃𝑛𝑅
Work per cycle = , where 𝑛𝑅 is the number of crank revolutions for each power
𝑁

stroke per cylinder.

𝑃𝑛𝑅
𝑃𝑚 =
𝑉𝑑 𝑁
In SI units,
𝑃(𝐾𝑊)𝑛𝑅 × 103
𝑃𝑚 =
𝑉𝑑 (𝑑𝑚3 )𝑁(𝑟𝑝𝑠)

6. Measurement of friction power

The difference between indicated power and the brake power output of an engine is the
friction power. Almost invariably, the difference between a good engine and a bad
engine is due to the difference between their frictional losses.
The frictional losses are ultimately dissipated to the cooling system (and exhaust) as
they appear in the form of frictional heat, and this influences the cooling capacity
[Link], lower friction means availability of more brake power; hence brake
specific fuel consumption is lower.

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 The bsfc rises with an increase in speed. Thus, the level of friction decides the maximum
output of the engine which can be obtained economically. The friction force power of
an engine is determined by the following methods:
(a) Willan’s line method.
(b) Motoring test.
(c) Difference between ip and bp.
(a) Willan’s line method
-In this method, gross fuel consumption vs. bp at a constant speed is plotted and the
graph is extrapolated back to zero fuel consumption.
-The point where this graph cuts the bp axis is an indication of the friction power of the
engine at that speed. This negative work represents the combined loss due to
mechanical friction, pumping and blow-by.
-The main drawback of this method is the long distance to be extrapolated from data
measured between 5 and 40% load towards the zero line of fuel input.
-The directional margin of error is rather wide because of the graph which may not be
a straight line many times.
-The changing slope along the curve indicates part efficiencies of increments of fuel.
The pronounced change in the slope of this line near full load reflects the limiting
influence of theair-fuel ratio and of the quality of combustion.
-Similarly, there is a slight curvature at light loads. This is perhaps due to difficulty in
injecting accurately and consistently very small quantities of fuel per cycle.
-Therefore, it is essential that great care should be taken at light loads to establish the
true nature of the curve.
-The Willan’s line for a swirl-chamber CI engine is straighter than that for a direct
injection type engine. The accuracy obtained in this method is good and compares
favorably with other methods if extrapolation is carefully done.

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 Figure 7: Willian’s line method

(c) Motoring Test

-In the motoring test, the engine is first run up to the desired speed by its own power
and allowed to remain at the given speed and load conditions for some time so that oil,
water, and engine component temperatures reach stable conditions.
-The power of the engine during this period is absorbed by a swinging field type electric
dynamometer, which is most suitable for this test.

-The fuel supply is then cut-off and by suitable electric-switching devices the
dynamometer is converted to run as a motor to drive or ‘motor’ the engine at the same
speed at which it was previously running.
-The power supply to the motor is measured which is a measure of the friction
horsepower of the engine. During the motoring test the water supply is also cut off so
that the actual operating temperatures are maintained.
-This method, though determines the friction power at temperature conditions very near
to the actual operating temperatures at the test speed and load, does not give the true
losses occurring under firing conditions due to the following reasons:
✓ The temperatures in the motored engine are different from those in a firing engine
becauseeven if water circulation is stopped the incoming air cools the cylinder. This
reduces the lubricating oil temperature and increases friction, increasing the oil
viscosity. This problem is much more severing in air-cooled engines.
✓ The pressure on the bearings and piston rings is lower than the firing pressure. The load

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 on main and connecting road bearings are lower.
✓ The clearance between piston and cylinder wall is more (due to cooling). This reduces
piston friction.
✓ The air is drawn at a temperature less than when the engine is firing because it does not
get heat from the cylinder (rather loses heat to the cylinder). This makes the expansion
line tobe lower than the compression line on the p-v diagram. This loss is however
counted in the indicator diagram.
✓ During exhaust the back pressure is more because under motoring conditions sufficient
pressure difference is not available to impart gases the kinetic energy is necessary to
expel them from exhaust.
Motoring method, however, gives reasonably good results and is very suitable for
finding the losses due to various engine components. This insight into the losses caused
by various components and other parameters is obtained by progressive stripping-off
of the under progressive dismantling conditions keeping water and oil circulation intact.
Then the cylinderhead can be removed to evaluate, by difference, the compression loss.
In this manner piston ring, piston etc. can be removed and evaluated for their effect on
overall friction.
(d) Difference between indicated power and brake power
(i) The method of finding the friction power by computing the difference between
indicated power, as obtained from anindicator diagram, and brake power, as obtained
by a dynamometer, is the ideal method.
(ii) In obtaining accurate indicator diagrams, especially at high engine speeds, this
method isusually only used in research laboratories. Its use at the commercial level is
very limited.

7. Heat balance sheet:

The performance of an engine is also studied with heat balance-sheet. The main
componentsof the heat balance are:
-Heat equivalent to the effective (brake) work of the engine,
-Heat rejected to the cooling medium,
-Heat carried away from the engine with the exhaust gases, and

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 -Unaccounted losses.
The unaccounted losses include the radiation losses from the various parts of the engine
and heat lost due to incomplete combustion. The friction loss is not shown as a separate
item to the heat balance-sheet as the friction loss ultimately reappears as heat in cooling
water, exhaust, and radiation.

(i) Performance of SI engine:

-At full throttle the brake thermal efficiency at various speeds varies from 20 to 27
percent, maximum efficiency being at the middle speed range.

Figure 8: Heat balance sheet for SI engine

-The percentage heat rejected to coolant is more at lower speed (» 35%) and reduces at
higherspeeds (» 25%). Considerably more heat is carried by exhaust at higher speeds.
-Torque and mean effective pressure do not strongly depend on the speed of the engine
but depend on the volumetric efficiency and friction losses. Maximum torque position
corresponds with the maximum air charge or minimum volumetric efficiency position.
-High power arises from the high speed. In the speed range before the maximum power
is obtained, doubling the speed doubles the power.
-At low engine speed the friction power is relatively low and bhp is nearly as large as
ip. As engine speed increases, however, friction power (fp) increases at continuously
greater rate and therefore bp reaches a peak and starts reducing even though ip is rising.
At engine speeds above the usual operating range, fp increases very rapidly. Also, at
these higher speeds ip will reach a maximum and then fall off. At some point, ip and fp
will be equal, and bp will then drop to zero. Refer to figure 9.

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 Figure 9: Performance curves for SI engine.
(ii) Performance of CI engine:
The performance of a CI engine at constant speed and variable load is shown in figure 10.
✓ The efficiency of CI engine is more than that for SI engine, hence the total
losses are less. The loss from coolant is greater at low loads and radiation, etc.
losses are greater at high loads.
✓ The bmep, bp and torque directly increase with load as shown in Figure 10.
The bhp and bmep are continuously rising and are only limited by the load.
✓ The lowest brake specific fuel consumption and hence the maximum
efficiency occurs approximately 80% of the full load.

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 Figure 10: Heat balance vs. load for a CI engine at constant speed

Figure 11: Performance curves of a 6-cylinder 4 stroke CI engine at constant speed

EFFICIENCIES
Brake Thermal Efficiency
𝜂𝐵𝑇𝐻 = 𝐵. 𝑃⁄𝐹. 𝑃
Indicated Thermal Efficiency
𝜂𝐼𝑇𝐻 = 𝐼. 𝑃 ⁄𝐹. 𝑃

Mechanical Efficiency
𝜂𝑀𝐸𝐶𝐻 = 𝐵. 𝑃⁄𝐼. 𝑃

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS ON MARINE ENGINES

Theoretical heat cycle: In the original patent by Rudolf Diesel the diesel engine
operated on the diesel cycle in which the heat was added at constant pressure. This was
achieved by the blast injection principle. Today the term is universally used to describe
any reciprocating engine in which the heat induced by compressing air in the cylinders
ignites a finely atomized spray of fuel. This means that the theoretical cycle on which the
modern diesel engine works is better represented by the dual or mixed cycle,
diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 9. The area of the diagram, to a suitable scale,

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 represents the work done on the piston during one cycle. Starting from point C, the air is
compressed adiabatically to a point D. Fuel injection begins at D, and heat is added to
the cycle partly at constant volume as shown by vertical line DP, and partly at constant
pressure, as shown by horizontal line PE. At the point E expansion begins. This proceeds
adiabatically to point F when the heat is rejected to exhaust at constant volume as shown
by vertical line FC. The ideal efficiency of this cycle (i.e., of the hypothetical indicator
diagram) is about 55–60 per cent: that is to say, about 40–45 per cent of the heat
supplied is lost to the exhaust. Since the compression and expansion strokes are assumed
to be adiabatic, and friction is disregarded, there is no loss to coolant or ambient. For a
four-stroke engine the exhaust and suction strokes are shown by the horizontal line at C,
and this has no effect on the cycle.

Figure 12: Theoretical heat cycle of true diesel engine

Practical cycle: While the theoretical cycle facilitates simple calculation, it does not exactly
represent the true situation. This is because:
1. The way, and the rate at which heat is added to the compressed air (the heat release rate)
is a complex function of the hydraulics of the fuel injection equipment and the
characteristic of its operating mechanism; of the way the spray is atomized and
distributed in the combustion space; of the air movement at and after top dead center
(TDC); and to a degree also of the qualities of the fuel.
2. The compression and expansion strokes are not truly adiabatic. Heat is lost to the cylinder
walls to an extent which is influenced by the coolant temperature and by the design of the
heat paths to the coolant.

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 3. The exhaust and suction strokes on a four-stroke engine (and the appropriate phases of a
two-stroke cycle) do create pressure differences which the crankshaft feels as ‘pumping
work’. It is the designer’s objective to minimize all these losses without prejudice to cost
or reliability, and to minimize the cycle loss: the heat rejected to exhaust. The cycle
efficiency is a function of the compression ratio (or more correctly the effective
expansion ratio of the gas/air mixture after combustion).
Note: that in higher speed engines combustion events are often represented on a crank
angle, rather than a stroke basis, to achieve better accuracy in portraying events at the top
dead center (TDC).

Figure 13: Typical indicator diagram (stroke based & crank angle based)

Efficiency: The only reason a practical engineer wants to run an engine at all is to achieve a
desired output of useful work, which is, for our present purposes, to drive a ship at a prescribed
speed, and/or to provide electricity at a prescribed kilowattage. To determine this power he must,
therefore, allow not only for the cycle losses mentioned above but for the friction losses in the
cylinders, bearings, and gearing (if any) together with the power consumed by engine-driven
pumps and other auxiliary machines. He must also allow for such things as windage. The
reckoning is further complicated by the fact that the heat rejected from the cylinder to exhaust is
not necessarily totally lost, as practically all modern engines use up to 25 per cent of that heat to
drive a turbocharger. The remaining high temperature heat may be used to raise steam, and low
temperature heat for other purposes.

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 Thermal Efficiency (𝜂𝑇𝐻 ): is the overall measure of performance. In absolute terms it is
equal to:
ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘
𝜂𝑇𝐻 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑

As long as the units used agree it does not matter whether the heat or work is expressed in
pounds–feet, kilograms–meters, BTU, calories, kWh or joules. The recommended units to use
are now those of the SI system.
Heat converted into work per hour = P kWh=3600 P kJ
Where, P = the power output in kW
Heat supplied = 𝑀 × 𝐿𝑉
where M = mass of fuel used per hour in kg and K = calorific value of the fuel in kJ/kg
3600𝑁
𝜂𝑇𝐻 =
𝑀 × 𝐿𝑉

It is now necessary to decide where the work is to be measured. If it is to be measured in the

cylinders, as is usually done in slow-running machinery, by means of an indicator, the work
measured (and hence power) is indicated within the cylinder, and the calculation leads to the
indicated thermal efficiency.
If the work is measured at the crankshaft output flange, it is net of friction, auxiliary drives, etc.,
and is what would be measured by a brake, hence the term brake thermal efficiency.
The fuel is reckoned to have a higher (or gross) and a lower (or net) calorific value, according to
whether one calculates the heat recoverable if the exhaust products are cooled back to standard
atmospheric conditions or assessed at the exhaust outlet. The essential difference is that in the
latter case the water produced in combustion is released as steam and retains its latent heat of
vaporization. This is the more representative case and more desirable as water in the exhaust
flow is likely to be corrosive. Today the net or lower calorific value (LCV) is more widely used.

Example: Take the case of an engine producing a (brake) output of 10 000 kW for an hour using
2000 kg of fuel per hour having an LCV of 42 000 kJ/kg. Brake thermal efficiency is given by:

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 3600 × 10,000
𝜂𝑇𝐻 =
200 × 42,000
= 42.9% (𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝐿𝐶𝑉)

Mechanical Efficiency (𝜂𝑀 )

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑏ℎ𝑝 𝑘𝑤(𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑒)
𝜂𝑀 = =
𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖ℎ𝑝 𝑘𝑤 (𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑)

Horsepower: Despite the introduction of the SI system, in which power is measured in

kilowatts (kW), horsepower cannot yet be discarded altogether. Power is the rate of
doing work. In linear measure it is the mean force acting on a piston multiplied by the
distance it moves within a given time. The force here is the mean pressure acting on the
piston. This is obtained by averaging the difference in pressure in the cylinder between
corresponding points during the compression and expansion strokes.
• It can be derived by measuring the area of an indicator diagram and dividing it by its
length. This naturally gives the indicated mean effective pressure (imep) or mean
indicated pressure (mip). Let this be denoted by ‘pm’. Mean effective pressure is mainly
useful as a design shorthand for the severity of the loading imposed on the working parts
by combustion.
• In that context it is usually derived from horsepower. If the latter is ‘brake’ horsepower
(bhp), the mep derived is the brake mean effective pressure (bmep); but it should be
remembered that it then has no direct physical significance of its own.
• To obtain the total force the mep must be multiplied by the area on which it acts. This in
turn comprises the area of one piston, a=πd2/4, multiplied by the number of cylinders in
the engine, denoted by Ncy. The distance moved per cycle by the force is the working
stroke (l), and for the chosen time unit, the total distance moved is the product of l x n,
where n is the number of working strokes in one cylinder in the specified time.
Gathering all these factors gives the well-known ‘plan’ formula:
𝑝 × 𝑙 × 𝐴 × 𝑛 × 𝑁𝑐𝑦
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 =
𝑘
The value of the constant k depends on the units used. The units must be consistent as regards

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force, length, and time and 𝑛 = 𝑁⁄𝑛𝑅 , where N is engine speed in rps.
If, for instance, SI units are used (newtons, meters, and seconds) k will be 1000 and the power
will be given in kW.
If imperial units are used (lb, feet and minutes) k will be 33 000 and the result is in imperial
horsepower.
Onboard ship the marine engineer’s interest in the above formula will usually be to relate mep
and power for the engine with which he is directly concerned. In that case l, a, n become
constants as well as k, hence:
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑝 × 𝐶 × 𝑁𝑐𝑦
𝑙×𝑎×𝑛
𝐶=
𝑘
Torque
If F =the effective resulting single force assumed to act tangentially at given radius from
the axis of the shaft about which it acts
r =the nominated radius at which F is reckoned, and
N =revolutions per unit time of the shaft specified, then the circumferential distance moved
by the tangential force in unit time is 2πrN.
𝐹 × 2𝜋𝑟𝑁 𝐹𝑟 × 2𝜋𝑁
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = =
𝐾 𝐾
The value of K depends on the system of units used, which, as before, must be consistent. In this
expression 𝐹 × 𝑟 = T, the torque acting on the shaft, and is measured (in SI units) in newton-
meters. Note that T is constant irrespective of the radius at which it acts. If N is in rev/min, and
power is in kW, the constant K = 1000 so that:
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 × 60 × 1000 30000 × 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝑇= = (𝑁 − 𝑀)
2𝜋𝑁 𝜋𝑁

Mean piston speed: This parameter is sometimes used as an indication of how highly rated an
engine is. However, although in principle a higher piston speed can imply a greater degree of
stress, as well as wear, etc., in modern practice the lubrication of piston rings and liner, as well as
of other rubbing surfaces, has become much more scientific. It no longer follows that a ‘high’
piston speed is of itself more detrimental than a lower one in a well-designed engine. This is
given by:

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 2×𝑙×𝑁
Sp= 60
This is given in meters/sec if l = stroke in meters and N = revolutions per minute.

24-hour fuel consumption

In SI units:
𝑤 × 𝐾𝑊 × 24
𝑊=
1000

1000 × 𝑊
𝑤=
𝐾𝑊 × 24
𝑤 = 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑔/𝐾𝑊ℎ
𝑊 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑠

SPECIFIC EMISSIONS AND EMISSIONS INDEX

Levels of emissions of oxides of Nitrogen (nitric oxide, NO, and nitrogen dioxide, NO2 usually
grouped as NOx), Carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and particulates are
important engine operating characteristics. The concentrations of gaseous emissions in the
engine exhaust gases are usually measured in parts per million or percentage by volume (which
corresponds to the mole fraction multiplied by 106 or by 102, respectively). Normalized
indicators of emission levels are also useful. Specific emissions are the mass flow rates of
pollutant per unit power output:
𝑚̇𝑁𝑂𝑥
𝑠𝑁𝑂𝑥 =
𝑃
𝑚̇𝐶𝑂
𝑠𝐶𝑂 =
𝑃
𝑚̇𝐻𝐶
𝑠𝐻𝐶 =
𝑃
𝑚̇𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡
𝑠𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 =
𝑃
Indicated and brake-specific emissions can also be defined in a similar manner. Units
in common use are 𝜇𝑔/𝐽, 𝑔/𝐾𝑊ℎ and 𝑔/ℎ𝑝ℎ.
Alternatively, emission rates can be normalized by the fuel flow rate. An emission
index (EI) is commonly used. For example,

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 𝑚̇𝑁𝑂𝑥 (𝑔/𝑠)
𝐸𝐼𝑁𝑂𝑥 =
𝑚̇𝑓 (𝑘𝑔/𝑠)
Expressions for CO, HC and particulate matter can be obtained in a similar way.

Exercises
1. A 4-cylinder, 4-stroke cycle engine with a cylinder diameter of 100mm and a stroke of
120mm was tested at 1600 revs/min and the following readings were obtained.
Fuel consumption = 0.27 l/min.
Specific gravity pf fuel = 0.74.
Brake power = 31.4 KW.
Mechanical efficiency = 80%
Calorific value of fuel =44000KJ/kg.
Determine:
Bsfc, imep and brake thermal efficiency.
2. A single cylinder engine running at 180 revs/min develops a torque of 8 Nm. The
indicated power of the engine is 1.8 KW. Find the loss due to friction power as a
percentage of brake power.

Solutions
Ex1
(a) Brake specific fuel consumption.
0.27×0.74×1000×60
𝑏𝑠𝑓𝑐 = =0.38174Kg/KWhr
31.4×1000

(b) Indicated mean effective pressure (𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 ).

𝑛 × 𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 × 𝐿𝐴𝑁
𝐼. 𝑃 =
2 × 60

𝐵. 𝑃 4 × 𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 × 0.12 × 𝜋⁄4(0.12 ) × 1600

=
𝜂𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ 2 × 60

31.4 4 × 𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 × 0.12 × 𝜋⁄4(0.12 ) × 1600

=
0.8 2 × 60

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 𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 = 𝟕𝟖𝟎. 𝟖𝟓 𝑲𝑵/𝒎𝟐

(c) Thermal efficiency

𝐵. 𝑃 31.4
𝜂𝑇𝐻 = = × 100 = 𝟐𝟏. 𝟒𝟑%
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 0.27 × 0.74/60 × 44000

Ex2
N = 1800 rpm
T = 8 Nm
I.P = 1.8KW
2𝜋𝑁𝑇
𝐵. 𝑃 = = 1.508 𝐾𝑊
60
𝐹. 𝑃 = 𝐼. 𝑃 − 𝐵. 𝑃 = 0.292 𝐾𝑊
Loss due to frictional power as a percentage of brake power

0.292
= × 100 = 𝟏𝟗. 𝟒%
1.508

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