Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

The engine efficiency

-Report-

Etudiant : Stoica Stefan

Year: 1 degree
Specialization: CMPA

School year: 2010-2011

 The engine efficiency

An internal combustion engine is a thermal machine where the thermal energy released by the
combustion is converted into mechanical driving energy directly inside the engine, in opposition to the
external combustion engine where energy is transported by a heat transfer fluid outside of it,
as in a boiler system, steam turbine, or Stirling engine.
In internal combustion engines, there is the 2-stroke engine and the 4-stroke engine. There are
among these engines, the gasoline engine and the diesel engine.
Before delving into the explanation of how an internal combustion engine works, it seems to me
indispensable to see the different parts of an engine in order to ensure that everyone is talking about the same thing
choose.
Following the 'explosion', the piston moves back and forth in the cylinder. Through the connecting rod, the
movement of the piston is transferred to the crankshaft, thus converting the piston’s reciprocating motion into a
Rotary movement at the level of the crankshaft. The head of the connecting rod pivots on a crankpin which is an axis.
offset from the center of the crankshaft and determines the piston stroke. The cylinder head covers the cylinder
and will allow the compression of gases as well as the intake of fresh gases and the expulsion of burned gases. Furthermore,
I draw your attention to the fact that there are at least 2 valves. An intake valve (on the left) and one
exhaust valve (on the right) (Note this is specific to 4-stroke)
The intake valve opens or closes a passage to the carburetor that allows for the mixture.
air/essence. The exhaust valve opens the passage to the outside or exhaust.
The 4-stroke engine cycle

The 4-stroke engine is probably the most common in the world of private motorcycles because for the
competition is different.
Above is a diagram that describes the major steps of a 4-stroke engine cycle.
The cycle is divided into 4 stages:

1. Admission

2. Compression

3. Détente/Explosion

4. Escape
Step 1: Admission
During intake, the exhaust valve is closed and the intake valve is open. The piston
It descends, thus creating a depression that allows it to draw in the air/fuel mixture from the carburetor.
Step 2: Compression
At this stage, both valves are closed, making the cylinder head airtight. The piston rises and compresses the
air/fuel mixture. This simple compression will raise the fuel mixture to a temperature of 300°C
If the temperature rises by an additional 100°C, the mixture risks catching fire.
spontaneously. This is what is called self-ignition.
Step 3: Relaxation
The piston reached its highest point, a spark jumped between the electrodes of the spark plug causing
the inflammation (and not the explosion) of gases. This results in an increase in pressure and temperature.
So the piston goes down to its lowest point. When the piston reaches this point, the two
The valves are still closed.
Step 4: The Escape
The exhaust valve opens and the piston, rising, will push the burnt gases in front of it that escape.
through this sole opening.
The 4-stroke cycle takes place over four strokes of the crankshaft, which is two revolutions of the crankshaft. All of this is
from theory because in practice we are exposed to physical problems but we will only retain the
combustion is not instantaneous or the seal between the piston and the cylinder is not perfect. All these
Points and their consequences will be discussed in the distribution chapter.
The efficiency of an engine is the ratio between the mechanical power delivered and the thermal power.
provided by the fuel. It depends on the chosen thermodynamic cycle, the operating parameters (rate
of compression) and thermal, mechanical (friction), flow losses (in the intake and
the exhaust) as well as losses due to accessories (injection pumps, fan and pump of
cooling).
The maximum efficiency for modern automotive engines is about 35% for petrol engines.
ignition and 45% for diesel engines. The largest industrial engines exceed 50%.
In the case of a car engine that rarely operates under heavy load and always
transitional, the actual practical yield is much lower. To drive at a stabilized speed of 120 km/h, the
Most cars hardly need more than 25 hp, while engines can often provide four.
eight times more, which results in a very degraded practical yield. Due to the additional losses related to
the transmission, to accessories such as power steering and air conditioning, to downtime, the
the practical real efficiency of a car hardly exceeds 12%.

The best yields from an internal combustion engine are obtained from industrial Diesel engines burning
heavy fuel oil intended for boats or power plants. Their efficiency slightly exceeds 50%,
consumption of auxiliaries deducted. These high-power engines (10,000 to 120,000 horsepower) are
long-stroke two-stroke engines (more than twice the diameter of the piston), equipped with turbochargers
delivering boost pressures of several bars. Their connecting rods do not directly actuate the
pistons but sliding blocks, which means that the pistons receive no lateral thrust and wear very little.
The lifespan of this type of engine exceeds 50 years. These engines operate at very low speeds and are very tall.
due to the sliders. For an engine with 120,000 horsepower, the rotation speed ranges from 65 to 100 revolutions per minute.
the height exceeds 17 meters (six floors), the weight is more than 2,000 tons and the diameter of the cylinders is
about 1 meter. These engines often have an intake valve with exhaust by port.
 Several solutions are possible to improve the overall efficiency of cars:

yHybrid series transmission cars or a generator with generally fixed power,

thus operating at the best efficiency point powers a battery that delivers power
variable to an electric motor.
yThe cars with a µparallel hybrid transmission or a moderate power engine drive the wheels.
This engine is complemented by an electric motor/generator that provides additional power.
when necessary or on the contrary recharge the battery when demand is low. This engine being more
close to its maximum load has a better efficiency.
yBy creating combustion engines whose efficiency at various loads is improved. There is
Many solutions under study for sometimes decades, which are addressed in the chapter
next.

Solutions to improve efficiency:

Needle bearing assemblies: Needle bearings have less friction than plain bearings.
but the connecting rods are not detachable and the crankshaft and the connecting rods must be assembled together. It is not
adapted for large diameter handles. The rods being lighter, this also facilitates high speeds.

Cylinder deactivation engines: The valves stop functioning on

certain cylinders when the demand is low. As a result, the remaining cylinders operate at a higher load
so at better yield. It’s a bit complicated and unfortunately there are always some losses by
friction on disabled cylinders. The management of the thermal balance of the engine is delicate. It is used
on high-end cars with large engines, typically with multiple rows of cylinders.

Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) engines: Through mechanical systems, compression can be adjusted.
depending on the load of the engine. The majority of the systems used involve movements of parts.
important aspects of the engine which create mechanical or transmission constraints. One of the exceptions is the
MCE-5 engine, so the engine block remains as a single unit. This engine is close to industrialization.

Variable lift valves: There are mechanical variable lift systems or others without shafts.
pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric actuated camless systems. The filling can be varied.
cylinder using the Atkinson cycle, improving efficiency at partial load. We also modify the
real-time advances and delays in opening based on the instantaneous parameters of the engine. One of the objectives
It notably involves no longer having a butterfly valve, thus limiting flow losses. This would facilitate
also the realization of an HCCI engine.

With electric valves, in addition to variable lift, we reduce distribution losses because the
Electric consumption for valve lift requires less power than a camshaft.
traditional. The first electric valve engines are set to come out in 2009 on the Fiat 500. The valves at
Pneumatic lifts are used on certain truck engines.

The pistons without lateral effort: The Revetec engine offers a system replacing the system
crankshaft/piston through a double cam completely canceling out lateral forces. The pistons being driven by
rolling bearings on the cam, there is also an advantage in the transformation of linear movement into
rotary movement because there are no smooth bearings. The maximum efficiency of the last prototype reaches 38%
for an ignition engine whose distribution and cylinder heads are relatively primitive. This engine is at its
second generation of prototypes.
The MCE-5 engine, whose main objective is to be a variable compression engine, offers as an advantage
complementary to the cancellation of lateral forces on the pistons by an oscillating gear system. It
includes a crankshaft and connecting rods.

The recovery of exhaust energy with a turbine: Turbochargers use the energy of
the escape to compress the intake gases. It is also possible to couple the turbine to the shaft of
transmission in order to recover a part of the power (turbo-compound engines). The train of
Reduction is complex and this only works properly for a limited power range. This has been
developed on aircraft engines in the late 1940s and is currently used on engines
Detroit Diesel truck and Scania[2].

The recovery of cooling energy: The Crower six-stroke engine recovers heat from
cooling by water injection into the cylinder, which creates steam in an engine cycle
steam complementary in addition to the explosion cycle. There is practically no data on the prototypes
existing ones and the development seems to be halted.

The Bajulaz six-stroke engine recovers the cooling heat from a combustion chamber that is
separated from the cylinder. This heat is used to preheat air whose expansion will be used during a
fifth time.

The Velozeta engine recovers cooling and exhaust heat by direct air injection into the
cylinder during exhaust. It has the additional advantage of reducing pollution due to better
cylinder grinding.

Combine various solutions

It should be noted that some of the proposed solutions are combinable, with the effects of these combinations being more or
less cumulative. For example, a Revetec engine with low friction would fully benefit from a system
of variable valve lift. The combination of a variable compression engine and variable lift valves
The variable is positive, but the benefits do not fully add up.

The efficiency of a thermal engine varies enormously depending on the speed and torque requested. At each point
of operation (coordinates: speed, torque), corresponds to an efficiency. To visualize this,
Let's imagine a geographical map. Each point (latitude, longitude) corresponds to an altitude. The entire set of
altitudes form a continuous surface represented by contour lines. The same applies to the diagram.
of specific consumption. It is obviously different for each engine, but the trend is always
similar.
 Specific consumption diagram

It is defined over the operating range of the engine (from minimum speed to maximum speed, from zero torque to maximum torque)
and is presented in the form of a continuous relief with a global minimum at a certain point (2500
tours/min, 3/4 of the maximum couple for example). It is the point of best efficiency, the one where to produce a
given amount of mechanical energy, the smallest amount of fuel is needed. On the other hand, the diagram
of a 4-cylinder, 1.9L gasoline engine. The dark green area represents the lowest specific fuel consumption.

Yield diagram:

One can therefore present, in an analogous way, the yield diagram. The best yield is found in the
dark green zone, at the 'top of the mountain' if we think in terms of contour lines. Specific consumption
and efficiency are inversely proportional (see article "Efficiency and specific engine consumption")
Efficiency = 84 / specific consumption (g/kWh). The value 84 may vary slightly depending on the types of gasoline.
Bad and good yields

All gasoline engines (and, to some extent, diesel) exhibit this curve appearance.

Good performance: important couple, regime around 1500-3500 rpm. This does not mean that by placing oneself at
2500 tours/min, the efficiency will always be good, the efficiency mainly depends on the torque!

Poor performance: low torque, regardless of the mode

- Zero yield: zero torque. The injected fuel then serves exactly to compensate for internal friction.
This is the case when we accelerate in neutral or, when we are in gear, we press the accelerator just to
compensate for engine braking. The hourly consumption is then proportional to the engine speed (see article
hourly consumption

Negative yield: negative couple. A small amount of fuel is injected and is not enough to compensate.
internal friction. In driving, this is a case close to engine braking. When we use engine braking
Pure, the injection is cut off and the yield tends mathematically towards minus infinity!

When the torque requested from the engine is low, most of the fuel is used to maintain the engine's rotation.
(compensate for engine braking) and only a small part serves to provide mechanical power (to move forward the
vehicle). On the other hand, the efficiency is good when we accelerate hard, meaning that a large part of
fuel is used to provide mechanical power.

Conclusion

The efficiency mainly depends on torque and less on speed. Poor efficiencies are related to a low
engine solicitation (low torque). On most gasoline engines, the best efficiency is achieved
between 2000 and 3000 RPM and a torque of 2/3 or 3/4 of the max torque.

The Carnot cycle

No machine operating between two given heat sources can be more efficient than one
Carnot machine operating between the two previous sources.
The Carnot cycle is defined by the following hypothesis:
There is no irreversibility, neither in compressions, nor in expansions, nor in fluid transformations.
This cycle is therefore practically impossible because any transformation of heat into work is irreversible.
In other words, this cycle contradicts the second law of thermodynamics.
Efficiency of a machine and Carnot efficiency.
The efficiency of a machine is equal to the quotient of the mechanical energy it provides by the thermal energy.
which receives.
rendement = (Qc-Qf) / Qc
with Qc heat supplied by the hot source
and Qf heat lost at the cold source.
With Carnot's assumptions, this ratio is identical to that of the absolute temperatures:
rendement = (Tc-Tf) / Tc
with Tc temperature of the hot source
and Tf temperature of the cold source.
The Carnot cycle is useful for comparing the real cycle and the ideal cycle. It allows for the evaluation of a cycle.
We visualize the losses due to irreversibilities by superimposing the actual cycle and the Carnot cycle on a T- diagram.
S.
Carnot cycle on a TS diagram; The compressions and expansions are represented by vertical lines because
there are no irreversibilities.
The compressions and expansions are represented by vertical lines, which means that the variation in entropy
is null, meaning that there are no irreversibilities.
The surface between the temperatures of hot and cold sources represents the useful mechanical energy.
In the TS diagram, a real machine has a smaller useful cycle surface than that of the machine.
Carnot.
The relationship between actual efficiency and that of Carnot has been named 'energy efficiency'. There is a concept
more judicious: exergy.
By improving this efficiency, we can increase the motor efficiency of a machine without raising the difference.
of temperature at these limits. This amounts to minimizing friction as much as possible, avoiding disrupting the
flow and to ban any thermal shock.

OPERATION OF THE STIRLING ENGINE

These engines have been the subject of numerous patents, the oldest dating back to 1759.
Pastor Robert STIRLING filed a patent in 1816; this patent included innovations such as the year
1816 is considered the birth date of this type of engines.
Between this date and the First World War, large quantities of engines were produced.
The inventions of the gas engine, precursor to the gasoline engine, the diesel engine, and the lack of materials
reliable for the Stirling engine, caused it to fall into oblivion.
Between 1936 and 1975, Philips redeveloped the Stirling engine, significantly improved it, and collaborated
with many car or truck manufacturers such as Ford, GM, MAN, etc.
Today, modern Stirling engines have efficiencies greater than 40%.

How does such an engine work?

Let's imagine a cylinder whose upper end is closed and heated strongly while the lower part is
cooled.
In this cylinder is a 'displacer', a sort of piston that allows air to pass around it.
Under this displacer is a working piston adjusted in the cylinder and on the rod of the displacer.
Initially, the displacer is in the high position and the piston is in the low position; the air is therefore at its highest pressure.
weak.
1 to 2 The mover is in the high position, the piston rises and slightly compresses the air.
2 to 3 The mover descends and transfers the air from the cold part to the hot part; the air heats up, tends to
to dilate, but contained in a limited volume, its pressure increases.
3 to 4 The air pressure pushes the piston, which constitutes the engine time.
4 to 1 The mover returns to its low position and transfers the air to the cold position; the latter sees its
lower pressure.
The synchronization of the movements of the piston and the displacer is achieved with a crankshaft with two journals.
shifted, the displacer is ahead by 90° compared to the piston.

Advantages of the Stirling engine

Less polluting The Stirling engine is an external combustion engine, making it easier to control than in a
internal combustion engine.
Less noisy The active fluid of the Stirling engine, air, works in a closed cycle and does not escape to
the atmosphere, unlike the internal combustion engine, whose exhaust noise is very significant.
Multi-fuel The Stirling engine requires only a heat source, whatever its nature.
hot source; it can be powered by a wood stove, coal, straw, etc. and of course the sun.
The possibilities of the modern Stirling engine.
There are a small number of modern Stirling engines for specific applications: space, applications
military and sawmills in the Nordic countries.

Internal combustion engines

It is known that the thermal efficiency Ș ththe efficiency of a Carnot cycle increases if the temperature difference ΔT = T2
- T1 increases, indeed we have:

Ș th= (T1 - T2) / T1

It is concluded that if we burned the gases (air + fuel) directly in the chamber of the machine or engine, we
would significantly increase the temperature T2: hence, a higher final yield. This is the principle of
internal combustion engine.
Moreover, we would benefit from using a Carnot cycle as it is the cycle with maximum efficiency.
But this idea is not feasible in practice, because if the final temperature T2 is very high, then the
the corresponding pressure reaches values that are too high, incompatible with the strength of the structures
engines.
For example, indeed, if T2 = 1800°C and if we started from T1 = 15°C with p1 = 1bar, then by calculation, we would have p2 > 200.
bar (with the polytropic exponent Ȗ = 1.33).
At the beginning of the compression stroke, the temperature of the charge (i.e., the air or the admitted mixture) is
lower than that of the walls of the cylinder and the combustion chamber. The temperature of the charge increases
so for two reasons due to the ongoing compression and because the walls are warmer and transfer
heat to the charge.
At a certain moment, the temperature of the load and that of the walls equalize and then the load
begins to reject heat to the walls, until the end of the compression process. These differences in
temperature between the charge and the walls during compression causes the process to follow a curve
polytropic according to a variable exponent. The temperature and pressure at the end of compression therefore differ from
what they would be with adiabatic compression, that is to say without heat exchange with the walls. For
To simplify, we take an average value of the polytropic exponent, generally on the order of 1.33, for which the
The temperature and pressure at the end of compression are identical to what they are in reality with an exponent.
variable.

Then the engines would need to be oversized to operate at these high pressures, ± and in any case the
temperatures would be such that the materials would melt. However, current engines have compression ratios
lower (of 15 or 25), instead of an unattainable rate of 400 for the Carnot cycle.
Therefore, it is necessary to modify the unusable Carnot cycle in combustion engines: this is
achieved in two different ways by removing the two isothermal transformations AB and BC. We obtain
so respectively:
the constant volume cycle of the gasoline engine, by replacing:
the isotherm AB by an isochore A1B
the isotherm CB by an isochore C1D
the constant pressure cycle of the Diesel engine, by replacing:
the isotherm AB by an isobar A2B
the isotherm CD by an isochore C1D
from which the two cycles A1BC1D at constant volume and A2BC1D at constant pressure will have efficiencies
lower than the ideal Carnot cycle.
In these internal combustion engines, the chemical energy of a fuel is converted by combustion into
a piston machine in mechanical work: these engines are therefore open systems with combustion
internal. During this combustion, the composition of the air-fuel mixture changes and the burned gases are
evacuated into the outer atmosphere. We thus have an open and irreversible system where the mixture changes at the same time
of mass and composition.
We then idealize these engines by only considering a cycle with air in which we will neglect the variation of
composition and mass of the mixture, from which an air engine corresponding to an ideal cycle and a closed system arises.
Thanks to different combustion methods and thus heat supply, various types are distinguished
engines such as the gasoline engine, the diesel engine, and Seiliger's mixed diesel engine.
The yields of these cycles at constant volume or constant pressure are of course lower than the yield of the
Carnot cycle.
 Image: Theoretical cycle of Watt 1st time from 0-1: phase
gas admission / 2nd stage of 1-2: compression phase
isentrope / 3rd phase of 2-3-4: ignition phase at V = constant. The
phase 3-4 détente isentropic (only motor) / 4th time of 4-1-
0: escape phase.

Let's consider the theoretical cycle of the gasoline engine represented

by its theoretical Watt diagram in coordinates (p,V), It
it concerns:

an open cycle with the expulsion of burnt gases into the atmosphere
(the mass of gas therefore varies)

this idealized cycle consists of four phases or times in

admitting the following assumptions

1) Theoretical cycle or Theoretical Watt diagram

Hypotheses:

the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves are instantaneous and without loss
charge (D p = 0)

the ignition and combustion are instantaneous

Compression and expansion are isentropic (i.e., without heat loss)

We assume the specific heats Cp and Cv are constant at

course of the cycle

Image: Schematic of the real Watt diagram 0-1: admission /

1-2 : compression / 2-3 : explosion / 3-4-5 : détente / 6-7 :
exhaust

2) Real cycle of the gasoline engine

The previous hypotheses with transformations

ideal and reversible successive processes are not carried out in the
practice

one must take into account the heat losses through the walls of the
cooled cylinder (hence a reduction in the temperature T2 at the end
of compression and thus of pressure p2)

there are also pressure losses due to throttling at the valves, reducing the pressure during the
suction phase 0-1 and increasing the pressure during the exhaust phase 1-0 (hence p1 ≠ p2)

combustion is not instantaneous, for this we cause the ignition of the mixture before the end of the
compression (advance at ignition)

The specific heats Cp and Cv are not constant.

In order to perform simple calculations on this cycle, we

it likens it to a closed cycle using only assumed air
a perfect gas

the heat Q2 is brought to the air by the explosion 2-3 in

introducing a fuel mass that is negligible compared to the mass
of air.

a heat Q1 is then released during phase 4-1 to

the atmosphere.

This results in an idealized cycle with hot air formed from

supposedly reversible transformations.

The thermal efficiency Ș is definedthof a motor like the ratio of the work done W to the heat received Q2
th
Ș = W / Q2

Theoretical cycle of Watt

3) Actual cycle of the Diesel engine

same assumptions as for the theoretical cycle of the engine

essence

The quantities of the Diesel cycle are defined:

a = V1 / V2, the volumetric compression ratio

- b = V2 / V3, the volumetric relaxation rate

- c = V3 / V2 = a/b, the injection rate

Features of the cycle:

The evolution 1-2 (isentropic compression) occurs only on the air, the compression ratio is here higher.
(a = 25) than for the gasoline engine (a = 10)

As a result, the temperature T2 at the end of compression is very high, and to avoid self-ignition of the
Air-fuel mixture during phase 1-2, we perform a separate compression of the air and fuel.

The fuel is then injected at point 2 into the combustion chamber filled with air, compressed.
at a temperature T2 < Ti (the ignition temperature)

hence, an immediate inflammation of the mixture not requiring an ignition device (absence of spark plugs at
sparks)

the injection is set so that the 2-3 transformation occurs at constant pressure, hence the name of the pressure cycle
constant for the Diesel engine

Imaginary air cycle of the Diesel engine

As with the gasoline engine, the previous assumptions do not

are not feasible in practice: we then obtain a real cycle
of the diesel engine that deviates significantly from the theoretical cycle.

In order to easily assess the performance of this engine, we

used as for the gasoline engine, an idealized cycle
using only air and made of:

two isentropes 1-2 and 3-4

- an isobar 2-3

a 4-1 isochore

The air 1234 of the cycle is equal to W.k

We have the following relationships:

the heat supplied Q2 = mcp ( T3 - T2 )

the heat given off Q1 = mcv ( T1 - T4 )

the useful work of the cycle:

Wk= -(Q2 + Q1)

thus, the thermal efficiency of the Diesel engine:

th
Ș = 1 - (T4 - T1) / (T3 - T2)
 The efficiency of the diesel engine is higher than that of the gasoline engine.
essence.

Image: Seiliger or Sabathé mixed diesel cycle

Current faster diesel engines use a diesel cycle

modified :

with faster and shorter injections thanks to the use of

high-pressure injection pumps (from 1500 to over 2000 bars)

allowing a very fine spray of fuel and speeds

high injection

this cycle includes a combustion partially at P = constant and V =

cte

In short:

The theoretical thermal yieldthis defined by the ratio of the indicated work (area bounded by the cycle) to
the work equivalent of the heat supplied to describe the cycle.

The ideal thermal efficiency is a function of the volumetric ratio (it increases at the same time as this)
last).

The thermal efficiency is below one.

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