CHAPTER3

ENGINES GENERAL

37
CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

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 CHAPTER 3: ENG/NES GENERAL

THE FOUR-STROKE INTERNAL COMSUSTION ENGINE.

The accepted definition of the te rm 'Piston Engine' is, 'An engine in which the working
fluid is expanded in a cylinder against a reciprocating piston.'

This definition could be applied to any reciprocating type of internal combustion

engine, but here we will use it to imply the type of engine used in most light aircraft;
namely, the four-stroke , gasoline, spark ignition engine .

Figure 3.1 A Typica/4 Cylinder Light Aircraft Piston Engine.

The piston engine converts the energy of fuel into heat energy and then into
mechanical energy. This canversion is accomplished by introducing an air-fuel
mixture into a cylinder which is compressed by a piston.

The mixture is then ignited by an electric spark. The subsequent combustion causes
a rapid rise in the temperature and pressure of the gases within the cylinder which
forces the piston downwards.

This linear piston mavement is converted into rotary motion by the crankshaft.
When all of the useful pressure has been used the burnt gases are exhausted to the
atmosphere.

The principle of operation of all four-stroke internal combustion engines is based

upon the Otto Cycle, originally propounded by Beau de Rochas in 1876. However,
Otto was the first to succeed in producing a working engine using this cycle .

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

THE THEORETICAL FOUR-STROKE CYCLE.

The four-stroke cycle involves tour strokes of the piston, which produce two revolutions
of the crankshaft.

Ini et Exhaust
Manifol Manifold

Figure 3.2 The Extent of Piston Trave/ within the Cylinder.

The stroke of the piston is the extent of its travel within the cylinder. The lower li mit
of travel is called Battom Dead Centre, and the upper li mit is called Top Dead Centre.
These limits areshownin Figure 3.2.

The tour strokes are called:- lnduction, Compression, Power and Exhaust. We will
use the example of a simple single-cylinder engine to illustrate the theoretical four-
stroke cycle (see Figures 3.3a, b, c & d).
Valve
lnduction Stroke (Figure 3.3a).
The four The inlet valve opens at Top Dead Centre,
strokes are permitting a mixture of fuel and air to be drawn
called:-
into the cylinder. The piston moves down and
lnduction,
the cylinder volume increases. The cylinder
Compression, Power and
Exhaust. pressure decreases to below ambient pressure.
The temperature of the air-fuel mixture (called
the charge) decreases. The mass of the charge
increases as more and more air-fuel mixture is
sucked into the cylinder. The inlet valve closes
at Battom Dead Centre .
Figure 3.3a lnduction.

Compressian Stroke (Figure 3.3b).

Both the inlet and exhaust valves are now closed,
trapping the charge in the combustion chamber.
The piston moves up . The cylinder volume
decreases. The cylinder pressure increases.
The temperature of the charge increases . The
mass of the charge is now fixed.

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

Power Stroke (Figure 3.3c).

On the power ~
Both valves are stili closed. The piston is stroke the
stationary at the top of the stroke . A spark plug eyfinder
ignites the mixture to start combustion. The volume
temperature of the charge increases rapidly inereases, eyfinder pressure
during combustion. Pressure increases rapidly deereases, and thus the
with temperature increase . The piston is forced temperature decreases.
down by the pressure increase. The cylinder
volume therefore increases. This means that
pressure decreases, and , as a function of that,
the temperature decreases, too.

Exhaust Stroke (Figure 3.3d).

The exhaust valve now opens to the atmosphere .
The piston moves up, fareing the exhaust gas
past the exhaust valve to the atmosphere.
The atmosphere provides resistance to the
flow of exhaust gas which is termed 'exhaust
back pressure '. Because of this the pressure
in the cylinder increases slightly which causes
the temperature to rise also. When the piston
reaches Top Dead Gentre, it once again begins
the lnduction Stroke to start the cycle again .

PRACTICAL TIMING.

In practice, the theoretical Otto cycle proved to Figure 3.3d Exhaust.

be inefficient, and so the timing of valve operation and ignition had to be modified.
A practical timing diagram , shown in Figure 3.4, will help to illustrate the reasons for
the modifications.

Opening the inlet valve before Top

Dead Gentre ensures that it is fully
open early in the induction stroke. The
time lag, which would normally occur IGNITION
between the piston maving down and
the mixture flowing into the cylinder,
because of the inertia of the mixture,
is thereby eliminated . The incoming
mixture can, thus, keep up with the
descending piston. The momentum '
of the incoming mixture increases as ,''
' 71°
'1
the induction stroke proceeds , and, INLET \
EXHAUST
VALVE
towards the end of the stroke, is such CLOS ES ~ .. VALVE
OPENS
BDC
that the gases will continue to flow into
the cylinder even though the piston has Figure 3.4 A Praetiea/ Timing Oiagram.
passed Battom Dead Gentre and is
maving slightly upwards.

Glosure of the inlet valve is therefore delayed until after Battom Dead Gentre, when
the gas pressure in the cylinder approximately equals the gas pressure in the inlet
manifold. As the piston continues to move upwards, the inlet valve closes and the
charge is compressed . By squeezing the charge into asmaller space the pressure
it will exert when burnt is increased in proportion.

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

Just before the piston reaches Top Dead Centre on the compressian stroke, the
charge is ignited by a spark . The piston is carried past Top Dead Centre by the
mo mentum of the maving parts while the flame is sp reading through the compressed
charge. The intense heat ra ises the pressure rapidly to a pea k value which is reached
only when combustion is complete.

By timing the ignition to take place before Top Dead Centre, complete combustion,
and theretare peak pressure, is arranged to coincide with the crankshaft being
10 degrees beyand Top Dead Centre. This allows the engine to gain maximum
advantage from combustion.

Most of the energy in the charge has been converted into mechanical energy by the
time the piston has moved halfway down the cylinder. If the exhaust valve opens
araund this point, any residual gas pressure will start the first phase of exhaust
scavenging.

The opening of the exhaust valve before Battom Dead Centre will alsa ensure that
the pressure of gases remaining in the cylinder does not resist the upward mavement
of the piston during its exhaust stroke.
'Va/ve Lead'
is when the In the final part of the four-stroke cycle, the piston moves upwards fareing the
in/et va/ve is remaining gases out of the cylinder. The exhaust valve is left open after Top Dead
open before Centre to permit the gases to scavenge the cylinder as completely as possible by
Top Dead Gentre and the virtue of their momentum .
exhaust va/ve is open before
Battom Dead Gentre. Va/ve Lead.
The periods during which the inlet valve is open before Top Dead Centre and the
'Va/ve Lag' is exhaust valve is open before Battom Dead Centre are called 'Valve Lead '.
when the in/et
va/ve remains Va/ve Lag.
open after The periods during which the inlet valve remains open after Battom Dead Centre and
Battom Dead Gentre and the the exhaust valve remains open after Top Dead Centre are called 'Valve Lag'.
exhaust va/ve remains open
after Top Dead Gentre.
Va/ve Over/ap.
The period during which both the inlet and exhaust valves are open at the same time,
'Va/ve at the end of the exhaust stroke and the beginning of the induction stroke, is termed
Over/ap' 'Valve Overlap'.
occurs when
both the in/et
and exhaust valves are open
During this period, the action of the exhaust gases flowing out of the cylinder tends
at the same time, at the end to reduce the gas pressure in the induction manifold.
of the exhaust stroke and the
beginning of the induction The incoming mixture begins flowing into the area of law pressure, and assists in
stroke. displacing the remaining burnt gases. This improves the volumetric efficiency of the
engine by inducing a greater weight of charge into the cylinder.

BASIC ENGINE CONSTRUCTION.

The core araund which the engine is bui lt is ca ll ed e ith er the crankcase, or the engine
black. lt is usually made from aluminium alloy and built in two halves to allow the
insertion of the crankshaft. If the engine is 'liquid cooled' a large one-piece jacket
houses cylinder liners to provide a cooling liquid container araund them.

Depending on the manufacturer of the engine, cylinders are bored into the engine
black, or fitted onto the crankcase.

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

Figure 3. 5 The Two Halves of the Crankcase

Joined Together.
The cylinders are made of alloy steel.
The çylinders ~
of an ·aJr
The cylinders resist the pressure of coo/ed'
combustion and provide a working englne are
surface for the piston rings. If the 'finned' to increase the coo/ing
engine is 'air cooled ' the cylinders are area.
'finned' to increase the cooling area .

Pistons, (see Figure 3. 7) made from

lig ht alloy, are fitted within the cylinders.
Araund each piston are fitted two, or, in
some cases , three piston rings.

The piston rings are made from cast

iron, which contains a large amount
of graphite: a substance which allows
self lubrication between the rings and
Figure 3.6 A Finned Cylinder.
the cylinder walls when the engine is
first started. The rings ensure that no
Pisten rings
gases leak from above the piston into
are made
the crankcase, which , in a wet sump
from east iren,
engine, constitutes a reseNoir for the Which contains
engine oil. For more information on wet a large amount of graphite, a
and dry sump engines refer to Chapter substance which assists self
5, Lubrication. lubrication when the engine is
first started.
The connecting-rod (see Figure 3.8)
transmits the forces of combustion to
the crankshaft.
Figure 3. 7 The Piston, complete with Gudgeon
Pin and Piston Rings.

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

The connecting-rod is made from

'H'-section high tensile steel, which
combines lightness with the strength
necessary to withstand the compressive
and tensile loads imposed as the piston
changes direction.

The connecting-rod is joined to the

piston by a gudgeon pin (see Figure Tensile
3. 7) which fits through the 'smail end' of Ste el
the rod. The connecting-rod is joined
to the crankshaft, at the crank pins by
a large circular bearing called the 'big
end'. Figure 3. 8 The Connecting Rod.

The crankshaft converts the linear matian of the piston into rotary motion. lt transmits
torque, the engine's turning moment, to the propeller and provides the drive for
accessories .
The crankshaft
converts the
linear motion of
The journals, which are the main part
the piston into of the crankshaft, are supported in the
rotary motion. 'main' bearings within the crankcase .

The crank-pins are offset from the

journals by a distance termed the 'crank
throw'. The crank throw determines the
Crank Pins
piston stroke, and there are two 'throws'
to one stroke.
Figure 3. 9 The Crankshaft.
Figure 3. 1O shows a plan view of
the pistons fitted to a crankshaft in a
horizontally opposed engine, via the
connecting rods . The view shows the
two front pistons, those on the left of
the picture, both at battom dead centre,
while the two rear pistons, those on the
right of the picture, are both at top dead
ce ntre.

The cylinder head (see Figure 3.11) is

generally made of aluminium alloy and
is finned to improve heat dissipation. lt
seals one end of the cylinder to provide
a combustion chamber for the mixture .
Figure 3. 1O Cra nk Assembly.
The cylinder head accommodates the
valves and the sparking plugs and supports the valve rocker arms. The valve rocker
arms are operated indirectly by a camshaft (or shafts) (see Figure 3.12) which isa
shaft with eccentric lobes machined on it. The camshaft is driven by the crankshaft
at half the crankshaft speed.

The camshaft is driven at half crankshaft speed because each valve is required to
open and close only once per working cycle, that is, once every two revolutions of
the crankshaft.

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

The valves are kept concentric to

the valve seats by valve guides.
The valve seat is ground to form a
gas tight seal with the face of the
valve. The valves themselves, both
inlet and exhaust, open and close
the passages for the induction and
scavenging of the gases.
Each va/ve is ~
Ini et only required
The face of each valve is accurately
Valve to open and
machined to the same angle as the c/ose once per
valve seat. The valve and the seat working cycle.
are then 'lapped' or ground together
with an abrasive paste until a full
Figure 3. 11 The Cylinder Head. contact is obtained .

The valve springs are manufactured from special spring steel, and they ensure
that the valves remain ciased except when they are being operated by the rocker
assembly.

Figure 3. 12 Cutaway of Cylinder Head and Crankshaft. Two springs

are fitted to
each va/ve,
The springs are of the helical coil type , the usual practice being for two springs to be one inside
fitted to each valve, one inside the other. the other. This provides both
a safety factor and eliminates
This provides a safety factor, and al so eliminates 'valve bounce', a condition created 'va/ve bounce'.
by the fact that each valve spring will have a resonant frequency (with the engine
RPM) where it will be ineffective at closing the valve on its own.

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CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

The 'accessory housing', an example

of which is shown in Figure 3. 13, is
a casing mounted at the rear of the
block.

!t encloses the drive gear trains for

the camshafts, the fuel, oil, pneumatic
and vacuum pumps, electric generator,
magnetos and tachometer.

Figure 3. 13 The Accessory

Housing.

POWER OUTPUTASA FUNCTION OF RPM.

During the four strokes, the changing pressures within the cylinder can be measured
and indicated graphically on a device which produces an 'indicator diagram'. This
device is only used during the development stage of an engine.
COMPRESSION POWER EXHAUST INDUCTION

Subtracting the sum of the areas

-ı:
which are coloured blue, from
the area withln the 'POWER~

--
C"
en column leaves the red block.
.c This is the average pressure on the
w piston which is termed the
0::: 'INDICATED MEAN EFFECTIVE
::J
CIJ PRESSURE.'
CIJ
w
0:::
ll..

IMEP

BDC TDC BDC TDC BDC

Figure 3.14 An lndicator Diagram.

Figure 3. 14 showsan indicator diagram. The area within the power column represents
work done on the piston during the power stroke.

The blue areas represent work done by the piston in compressing the gases and
exhausting the cylinder against exhaust back pressure; that is, the pressure which
the atmosphere exerts against the outflowing gases .

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 CHAPTER 3: ENGINES GENERAL

Subtracting the su m of the blue coloured areas from the area within the power column
leaves the red block.

The red block is indicative of the 'average pressure' during the working cycle . This is
termed the 'lndicated Mean Effective Pressure' or IMEP.

We can use the lndicated Mean Effective Pressure in the formula, shown below, which
allows us to determine the lndicated Horse Power (IHP) of our particular engine.

IHP = p X LXAX N X E
33,000

In the formula, the 'P' represents the lndicated Mean Effective Pressure in pounds
per square inch. However we are stili required to determine several other values.

The 'L' represents the length of the stroke in feet, the length of the stroke being the
distance the piston moves between Top Dead Gentre and Bottom Dead Centre.

'A' is cross-sectional the area of the cylinder in square inches .

'N' is the number of cylinders that the engine possesses.

'E' is the effective working strokes per minute or the RPM of the engine.

33,000 is a constant used to change foot pounds of work per minute into horse
power. One Horse Power equals 33,000 foot pounds per minute.
Jncrease
the engtne
Bearing in mind that, for a given engine, only one function of the formula is variable, speed and tlrliJ
that is the RPM of the engine, it is logical to assume that engine power output is pewer eutput
directly proportional to RPM: increase the engine speed and the power output increases. Decrease the
increases; decrease the engine speed and the power output falls. engine speed and the power
output fal/s.
Compression Ratio.
The compressian ratio of an engine is the ratio of the total volume enclosed in a
cylinder with the piston at Bottom Dead Centre , to the volume remaining at the end
of the compressian stroke with the piston at Top Dead Centre. This ratio is shown
as a formula overleaf.

Piston at Top
Dead Centre

TOTAL VOLUME SWEPT VOLUME CLEARANCE

VOLUM E

Figure 3. 15 Diagram showing the Total, Swept and C/earance Volumes of a Sirnp/e Engine.

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 [Link] 3: SNGINES GENERAL

The Total Voluma of the engine is the sum of the Swept Voluma and the Ciaarance
Volume.
The
eempressfc:ıtı
Total Volume
rat/e 0fan Compressian Ratio = - - - - - - -
eng/ne'is the Ciearance Volume
rafie 0f the tetal vell!lme to ·the
etearance viJiume.
An example will help to clarify the term. If the Swept Volume of an engine is 1800
cubic centimetres, and its Clearance Voluma is 300 cubic centimetres, what is the
compressian ratio of the engine?

First we must add the Swept and Clearance Volumes to obtain the Total Volume. So
1800 plus 300 is 2,100.

Then we must divide the Total Vol u me by the Clearance Vol ume. 2,100 divided by
300 is 7.

Thus, the compressian ratio of the engine is 7 to 1.

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 - ----,

CHAETER 3:.~ENGINES GENERAL QUESTIONS

,,
•

Representative PPL - type questions to test your theoretical

knowledge of Engines General.
1. In a piston engine aircraft the crankshaft:

a. Converts reciprocating mavement into rotary motion

b. Controls the elearance of the valves
c. Converts rotary motion into reciprocating mavement
d. Rotates at half the speed of the camshaft

2. During one complete cycle of a four stroke internal combustion engine how
many times will each valve open and close?

a. Four times
b. Twice
C. Three times
d. O nce

3. If the crankshaft rotates twice in a piston engine, the camshaft rotates:

a. Once, because the camshaft operates at 50% of the engine speed

b. Twice, because the camshaft operates at twice engine speed
c. Four times, because the camshaft operates at twice engine speed
d. Once, because the camshaft operates at twice engine speed

4. In one complete Otto cycle, each piston moves:

a. Up once and down once

b. Up once and down twice
c. Up four times and down four times
d. Up twice and down twice

5. At sea level, the power developed by a four-stroke piston engine:

a. Decreases proportional to RPM .

b. lncreases along with RPM
c. Remains constant to RPM
d. ls proportional to the volume of mixture in the cylinder

6. The power output of an internal combustion engine can be increased by:

a. Decreasing the area of the cylinder

b. Decreasing the length of the stroke
c. lncreasing the engine RPM
d. lncreasing the size of the fuel tank

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 •
CHAPTER 3: ENGIN~Şl_GENERAl!.

7. The correct working cycle of a four stroke engine is:

a. exhaust, power, induction, compressian

b. induction, compression, power, exhaust
c. induction, power, compression , exhaust
d. exhaust, induction , power, compressian

8. The temperature of the gases within the cylinder of a four stroke engine
during the power stroke , after completion of combustion:

a. Decrease
b. lncrease
c. Follow Charles's Law
d. Remain constant

9. Engine compressian ratio is the ratio of the:

a. Swept volume to the elearance volume

b. Clearance volume to the swept volume
c. Swept volume to the total volume
d. Total volume to the elearance volume

The answers to these questions can be found at the end of this book.

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