BASIC TERMINOLOGY
1. Bore (d): It is the inside diameter of the engine cylinder.
2. Stroke (Lst): During the travel of the piston, there is an upper as well as a lower
limiting position at which the direction of motion of the piston is reversed. The
linear distance through which the piston travels between the extreme upper and
lower positions of the piston is called the stroke. It is equal to two times the crank
radius, Lst = 2r, where r is the crank radius.
3. Top Dead Centre (TDC): When the piston is in the topmost position of the cylinder
during its travel, that position is called the Top Dead Centre. At this position the
piston velocity is zero and the piston reverses its direction of motion to travel
downwards. It is the dead center when the piston is farthest from the crankshaft.
4. Bottom Dead Centre (BDC): When the piston is at the bottom-most position of the
cylinder during its travel, that position is called the Bottom Dead Centre. At this
position the piston velocity is zero and the piston reverses its direction of motion
to travel upwards. It is the dead center when the piston is nearest to the crankshaft.
5. Clearance volume (Vc): When the piston is at the TDC position, the volume
contained in the cylinder above the top of the piston is called the clearance
volume. The piston cannot occupy any part of this volume and always keeps this
volume clear.
6. Piston displacement or swept volume (Vst): It is the volume swept through by the
piston in moving between the TDC and the BDC, i.e.
𝜋
𝑉𝑠𝑡 = 𝑑 2 𝐿𝑠𝑡
4
7. Cylinder volume (Vcy): The cylinder volume includes both the clearance volume
and the swept volume, i.e.
Vcy = Vc + Vst
8. Compression ratio (rc): It is the ratio of the volume when the piston is at BDC to
the volume when the piston is at TDC. Hence, it is the ratio of total cylinder
volume to clearance volume.
𝑉𝑐𝑦 𝑉𝑐𝑙 + 𝑉𝑠𝑡 𝑉𝑠𝑡
𝑟𝑐 = = = 1+
𝑉𝑐𝑙 𝑉𝑐𝑙 𝑉𝑐𝑙
9. Mean piston speed:
In full rotation, the distance travelled by piston will be 2L. If N is the engine speed in
revolutions per minute (rpm) and Lst is in metres, the mean piston speed will be
2LN/60 m/s.
2𝐿𝑠𝑡 𝑁
Mean or Average piston speed, 𝑢𝑝 = 60
Maximum mean piston speed is kept within the range of 8–15 m/s. This keeps the
resistance to the gas flow into the engine intake system and stresses due to the inertia
of the moving parts within safe limit. Automobile engines operate at the higher end and
large marine diesel engines operate at lower end of this range.
ENGINE PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS
1- Fuel power
When a certain mass of fuel is introduced into the engine cylinder, the combustion of fuel takes
place in the presence of air. The rate of heat energy which is contained in the fuel and may liberate
during the combustion process may be termed fuel power:
.
Fuel power = m f * CV (kW)
.
m f = mass flow rate of fuel (kg/s)
CV = calorific value or heating value of fuel (kJ/kg)
2- Indicated Power ( IP )
It is the power developed inside the engine cylinder. With this power, the rate of work is done
by the gas on the piston.
Work done per cycle = imep x Vst (J)
Where imep= indicated mean effective pressure (N/m2)
For multi-cylinder engines:
𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 ∗ 𝑉𝑠𝑡 ∗ 𝑍 ∗ 𝑛
𝐼𝑃 = (𝑊)
60 ∗ 𝑖
Where:
z = number of cylinders
n= revolutions per minute (rpm)
2 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 4 𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒
i={
1 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 2 𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒
3- Brake Power (bp)
This is the actual power available at the crankshaft and may be called power
output of the engine, which is utilized for useful purposes. Brake power is less
than indicated power owing to mechanical friction and auxiliary component
losses. Auxiliary components are accessories which the engine drives.
𝟐∗𝝅∗𝒏
𝒃𝑷 = 𝑻 ∗ 𝝎 = 𝑻 ∗ (𝑾)
𝟔𝟎
Where:
𝝎 = angular velocity (rad/s)
n = engine speed (RPM)
T = torque (N. m)
4- Friction Power (fP)
The difference between the ip and the bp is the friction power (fp), and it is the power required
to overcome the frictional resistance of the engine parts, including power absorbed by auxiliary
components.
fp = ip – bp