IC ENGINES: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS

• INTRODUCTION: 

The idea of engines come from heat engines. Expanding steam was the working substance of the primitive kind of Steam Engines. But, locomotion was tough using steam engines as it needed continuous supply of water and coal as fuel. People started to think about a compact engines, light and portable and combustion will be the basis of heat generation. If heat generation could be taken place inside the cylinder, then it will be easier to design a compact engine which could be used to run a locomotive vehicle.

This semester, I am teaching IC Engines and Compressors. The text book is selected as IC Engines by Sharma and Mathur published by Dhanpat Rai Publications. The course is designed by MTU (Mahamaya Technical University, Noida and Gautam Budh Technical University) and it is taught in 5th semester. Although it is a 50 marks paper, still it is a subject which every Mechanical Engineering students must know. It is completely based on the principles of thermodynamics.

The course starts with defining IC Engines, introducing the components used in IC engines, different terms and processes related with IC engines, general working procedures of an IC engine and at last describing the classification of IC engines. Then the thermodynamic analysis of the engine operations along with Air-standard thermodynamic cycles are studied. If any one wants to know the subject deeply, then he should know very basic concepts of thermodynamics. 

• PRE-REQUISITE KNOWLEDGE:

As air-standard cycles are one of the basic models based on which engines are practically run and is a highly simplified or even oversimplified version of the original engine operation and due to this, the experimental values of the engine efficiencies are much below the value predicted by the air standard cycles. The large amount of deviations of actual cycles from the theoretical air standard cycles are due to assumptions taken during air standard cycle analysis.

• DESCRIPTION OF THE IC ENGINE:

While describing IC engines, one should start with the engine cylinder which acts as the combustion chamber which has a variable volume due to a piston which can slide inside the cylinder. 

One end of the cylinder is sealed off by cylinder head which provides the space for clearance volume and it also housed the inlet and exhaust valves. 

The other end of the cylinder is covered by the piston which can slide along the principal axis of the cylinder. 

Inside the cylinder air-fuel mixture is sucked into and then compressed it in case of SI engines, where as in CI engine only air is sucked into the cylinder. 

The piston is connected to a link known as Connecting rod by a pin named Gudgeon or Piston or Wrist pin. 

This connecting rod has unequal ends. The smaller end is connected to piston by gudgeon pin and the bigger end is connected to the eccentric on the Crank. 

It is joined to the eccentric by a pin named Crank pin. Piston, Connecting Rod and Crank constitute a "Slider-Crank Mechanism" which translates a linear "to and fro motion" of the piston into "rotational motion" of the crank. 

Here, connecting rod is the element that bears the whole load, hence it fails quite frequently. 

Crank is mounted on a crank shaft and crank shaft operates two valve mechanism through poppet valve, rocket arm and cams. 

These valve mechanisms are responsible for the opening and closing of inlet as well as exhaust valves. 

This valves are regulated by cams. Cams are mounted on a cam shaft which is geared with crankshaft by a step down gear mechanism so that for every two revolutions of crankshaft rotation the camshaft makes one rotation. So, the complete thermodynamic cycle of two crankshaft rotation crankshaft makes only one cycle. The idea behind this step down mechanism, is valves are needed to open and close once in a complete thermodynamic cycle and a cam profile can be designed easily. 

A flywheel is mounted on the crankshaft, so that it can absorb and store energy during power stroke or expansion stroke and releases energy to power suction, compression and exhaust stroke.

In SI engine, after the end of compression stroke, the pressure and temperature of the air-fuel mixture becomes sufficiently high to sustain the ignition process after ignition takes place. After the compression pressure becomes 10 to 12 bar and temperature becomes 300^o C to 500^o C. It is still below the temperature at which spontaneous auto-ignition generally starts. If the temperature after compression is above the temperature at which auto ignition starts, then auto ignition will start during the last phases of compression stroke and it will create an explosion known as knocking and detonation.

Then theoretical basis of an IC engines are discussed. While analyzing any phenomena, the best way is to make an idealized modelling of the phenomena by considering certain assumptions which would reduce the complexity of the phenomena and make a oversimplified model and then add the complexity one by one. 

Similarly, here we oversimplified the model of IC engine operation by considering the working substance an ideal gas like air and study some reversible thermodynamic cycles those resemble with the processes those occurs inside an IC engine. 

As those cycles are considered having air as working substance and hence, they are called Air-Standard cycles. But, as Air-Standard Cycle are the idealized version of the real life working principle of an IC engines, its analysis can not be used to gauge the performances of the engine with closest accuracy.

 
Thermodynamic Air-standard cycles like Otto, Diesel, Dual, Stirling and Ericsson cycles are discussed. 

Derivation of total work done, Efficiency, Mean Effective Pressure and graphs in p-v and T-s diagrams are studied.

 
In the air standard cycles, working substance is assumed to be perfect gas like pure air, but in actual cycles the working substance is different and it is the mixture of air and fuels. In air standard cycle it is assumed that specific heats are constant where as in reality, specific heats are functions of temperature and it increases with the increase of temperature. 

Moreover, in air standard cycle, it is assumed that working substance is chemically non-reactive and there is no chemical changes inside the engine cylinder, but in reality, inside the cylinder combustion process takes place and the chemical composition of the working substance rapidly changes during the combustion process which alters the composition as well as number of moles of the working substances also got changed.

The combined effect of both the phenomena is to reduce the temperature and pressure after the end of compression stroke as well as it reduces the maximum cycle temperature and pressure after the end of combustion. 

While expanding adiabatically during the power stroke, the temperature and pressure after expansion is higher than the predicted value according to air standard cycle and as a result it increases the value of rejected heat into the thermal sink. 

Therefore, the actual cycle efficiency is much lower than the air standard cycle efficiency. Moreover, there are several other losses during the actual cycle due to various other design limitations. The major losses are 

• (i) burning time losses, 
• (ii) losses due to incomplete combustion, 
• (iii) Direct heat losses due to colder cylinder and heat carried away by coolants, 
• (iv) pumping losses, 
• (v) friction losses due to rubbing of parts, 
• (vi) blow down losses during exhaust.

So, we have first idealized the engine operations and oversimplified it to have an idealized version, but its prediction will not be accurate, but we shall get an upper limit of the efficiencies of IC engines. Now, to get more accurate analysis, we shall modified the simplistic assumptions we have considered during the air standard cycles analysis.

The most important assumption of the air standard cycle is the choosing pure air as our working substance, which is in reality a mixture of air with fuel, which has been mixed homogeneously in the carburettor and then supplied into the engine cylinder which acts as combustion chamber. Therefore, we first substitute air with the air fuel mixture in the air standard cycles and it is hence called "Fuel Air Cycles".

Due to the replacement of working substance by air fuel mixture in stead of pure air, our two key assumptions have been changed too. First of all, fuel-air mixture doesn't show a constant specific heats in stead specific heats are functions of temperature, linearly at low temperatures, non linearly at high temperatures.

C_p = aT² + bT + k

C_v = cT² + dT + k'

ASSUMPTIONS CONSIDERED IN ANALYZING AIR STANDARD CYCLE:

AIR STANDARD CYCLE:

• In true sense, internal combustion engines in which combustion of fuels occurs inside the engine cylinder can not be defined as cyclic heat engines. The temperature generated during combustion is very high so that engines must be water cooled to prevent the damage of the engine due to thermal shock. The working fluid here is a mixture of air and fuel that undergoes permanent chemical changes due to combustion and the products of combustions must be exhausted and driven out of the cylinder so that fresh charges can be admitted. Therefore, it does not complete a full thermodynamic cycle.
• The engine cycle analysis is an important tool in the design and study of
• Internal Combustion Engines. 
•  A thermodynamic cycle is defined as a series of processes through which the working fluid progresses and ultimately return to the original state. 
•  Although the thermodynamic cycles are closed cycles and actual engine 
• A real thermodynamic analysis of such an engine quite complex. Hence, we simplified the operation of an I.C. Engine by introducing somewhat idealized version of a real thermodynamic processes occur inside an IC Engine, and this idealized thermodynamic cycles are called "Air standard cycle." In an air standard cycle, a certain mass of a perfect gas like air operates in a complete thermodynamic cycle, where heat is added and rejected reversibly with external heat reservoirs, and all the processes in the cycle are reversible. Air is assumed to behave like a perfect gas, and like a perfect gas, its specific heats are assumed to be constant (although they are certain functions of temperature). These air standard cycles are conceived in such a manner that they may correspond to the operations of internal combustion engines.
•  Although, there are numerous such air standard cycles, the important of them are

a) Otto Cycle (used for petrol engine)

b) Diesel Cycle (used for diesel engine)

c) Mixed, limited pressure or Dual Cycle (used for hot spot engine)

d) Stirling Cycle

e) Ericsson Cycle

To make the analysis simpler, certain assumptions are made during the analysis of air standard cycle. They are as following,

• i) The working substance is a perfect gas obeying the gas equation pV = mRT.
• ii) The working fluid is a fixed mass of air either contained in a closed system or flowing at a constant rate round a closed cycle.
• iii) The physical constants of the working fluid will be those of air.
• iv) The working medium has constant specific heats.
• v) The working media doesn't undergo any chemical change throughout the cycle.

OTTO CYCLE:

The Otto cycle is a thermodynamic cycle used in gasoline (petrol) engines to convert the chemical energy stored in fuel into useful work. It is a four-stroke cycle, consisting of four processes: intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust.

During the intake stroke, the fuel-air mixture is drawn into the engine cylinder as the piston moves downward. During the compression stroke, the mixture is compressed by the upward motion of the piston, which raises the temperature and pressure of the mixture. Near the end of the compression stroke, the spark plug ignites the mixture, causing a rapid combustion that generates a high-pressure wave that drives the piston downward, producing power. This is the power stroke. Finally, during the exhaust stroke, the spent gases are expelled from the cylinder as the piston moves upward.

The Otto cycle is an idealized model of the engine, assuming that the combustion occurs instantaneously and that there are no losses due to friction, heat transfer, or other factors. In practice, real engines operate less efficiently than the idealized model, due to these losses.

The Otto cycle is named after its inventor, Nikolaus Otto, a German engineer who patented the four-stroke engine in 1876. The cycle is widely used in modern gasoline engines, which have been refined and optimized over more than a century of development to achieve high levels of performance, efficiency, and reliability.

DIESEL CYCLE:

The Diesel cycle is a thermodynamic cycle used in diesel engines to convert the chemical energy stored in fuel into useful work. It is a four-stroke cycle, consisting of four processes: intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust.

During the intake stroke, air is drawn into the engine cylinder as the piston moves downward. During the compression stroke, the air is compressed by the upward motion of the piston, which raises the temperature and pressure of the air. Near the end of the compression stroke, fuel is injected into the cylinder, which ignites due to the high temperature and pressure of the air. The fuel-air mixture combusts, generating a high-pressure wave that drives the piston downward, producing power. This is the power stroke. Finally, during the exhaust stroke, the spent gases are expelled from the cylinder as the piston moves upward.

The Diesel cycle is similar to the Otto cycle but differs in that it does not rely on a spark plug to ignite the fuel. Instead, the fuel is injected directly into the cylinder and ignites due to the heat of the compressed air. This allows diesel engines to operate at a higher compression ratio than gasoline engines, which leads to higher efficiency and better fuel economy.

The Diesel cycle is named after Rudolf Diesel, a German inventor who patented the diesel engine in 1892. Diesel engines are widely used in a variety of applications, including cars, trucks, buses, ships, and generators. They are known for their efficiency, durability, and reliability.

Mixed, limited pressure or Dual Cycle (used for hot spot engine):

The Mixed or Dual Cycle is a thermodynamic cycle used in hot-spot engines, which are a type of internal combustion engine that combines elements of diesel and gasoline engines. The cycle is also sometimes referred to as the Limited Pressure cycle.

The Dual Cycle is a combination of the Otto and Diesel cycles. It uses the diesel combustion process, where fuel is injected directly into the cylinder and ignited by the heat of compressed air, but also includes a spark plug like in the Otto cycle. During the intake stroke, air is drawn into the cylinder, and during the compression stroke, the air is compressed to a higher pressure and temperature than in the Otto cycle. Fuel is injected into the cylinder, and the spark plug ignites the fuel-air mixture, creating a flame that spreads through the cylinder. The combustion of the fuel-air mixture produces high pressure and temperature, which drives the piston downward, producing power. Finally, during the exhaust stroke, the spent gases are expelled from the cylinder as the piston moves upward.

The Dual Cycle is designed to provide the advantages of both the diesel and gasoline engines, namely high efficiency and low emissions. It allows for a higher compression ratio than the Otto cycle, which leads to better fuel economy, while also reducing the emission of pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. The Dual Cycle is used in some specialized applications, such as large marine engines and certain military vehicles. However, it is not as widely used as the Otto and Diesel cycles in most everyday applications.

STERLING CYCLE:

The Stirling cycle is a thermodynamic cycle used in Stirling engines, which are a type of heat engine that converts heat energy into mechanical work. Unlike traditional internal combustion engines, Stirling engines operate on an external heat source, which can be supplied by any fuel source that can produce heat, such as wood, coal, or natural gas.

The Stirling cycle consists of four processes: heating, expansion, cooling, and compression. During the heating process, the working fluid (typically a gas such as helium or hydrogen) is heated by an external heat source, causing it to expand and drive a piston outward. During the expansion process, the expanding gas continues to drive the piston outward, producing mechanical work. During the cooling process, the working fluid is cooled by a heat sink (usually air or water), causing it to contract and pull the piston inward. Finally, during the compression process, the compressed gas is pushed back to the starting point, ready to begin the cycle again.

The Stirling cycle is designed to maximize efficiency by minimizing the losses associated with traditional internal combustion engines, such as friction and heat transfer. However, Stirling engines have a relatively low power-to-weight ratio and are less suitable for high-speed applications. They are typically used in specialized applications, such as in submarines, where quiet operation and long running times are important.

The Stirling engine was invented in the early 19th century by Robert Stirling, a Scottish clergyman, and engineer. Despite its potential benefits, the Stirling engine has not been widely adopted in mainstream applications due to its complexity and high cost compared to other types of engines. However, research and development continue to explore ways to improve the efficiency and practicality of Stirling engines.

MOCK QUESTION PAPER: APPLIED THERMODYNAMICS (2 units only)

                                                                   Paper Code: EME-402

B.  Tech - ME

(SEM.IV) Sessional Examination, 2011 – 12

Applied Thermodynamics

Time:   3hrs                        Total Marks:  100

    Note:   (1)           Attempt all questions.

         (2)  Be precise in your answer.

SECTION-A:

Q.1: Answer the following questions as per the instructions.           

2X10=30

 (i) What is the importance of feed pump in steam engine?

(ii) What is reversible adiabatic process?

(iii) Explain the term isothermal compressibility?

(iv) What is missing quantity?

(v) What is Work Ratio in Carnot vapour cycle?

(vi) Explain the term “Specific steam consumption.”

(vii) What is thermal efficiency of a steam engine?

(viii) What is indicated power?

(ix) What is mean effective pressure of a steam engine?

(x) What is inversion temperature?

SECTION-B:

Q.2: Answer any three parts of the followings:     

                                                                                                               3X10=30

a) Derive the Tds equations.

b) Derive the expressions of mass discharge of steam through a Nozzle.

c) A single cylinder double acting steam engine is supplied with dry and saturated steam at 11.5 bar and exhaust occur at 1.1 bar. The cut-off occurs at 40% of the stroke. If the stroke equals 1.25 times the cylinder bore and engine develops 60 kW at 90 rev/min. Determine the bore and the stroke of the engine. (Assume hyperbolic expansion and diagram factor of 0.79.)

Also calculate the theoretical steam consumption

d) Dry saturated steam enters a steam nozzle at a pressure of 12 bar and is discharged at a pressure of 1.5 bar. If the dryness factor of the discharged steam is 0.95, what would be the final velocity of the steam? Neglect initial velocity of steam.

If 12% heat drop is lost in friction, find the % reduction in the final velocity.

SECTION C:
Q.3: Answer any two parts of the following: 

                                                                                         5X2=10

a) Explain the term “Joule-Thomson coefficient.”

b) With proper diagrams explain the term nozzle efficiency.

c) Explain the Clausius Clapeyron equation. Also write their field of application.

Q.4: Answer any one part of the following:   

                                                                                           1X10=10

a) Explain the effect of velocity and pressure in the flow of a nozzle. What is a choked flow? Also explain the concept of critical pressure in isentropic flow through nozzle.

b) Steam at a pressure of 20 bar, 250°C expands in a convergent-divergent nozzle up to the exit pressure of 2 bar. Assuming a nozzle efficiency of 0.94 for supersaturated flow up to the throat and nozzle efficiency as 90%, find (i) velocity at throat, (ii) mass flow rate if the throat diameter is 1 cm and (iii) velocity and diameter of the nozzle.

Q.5: Answer any three questions: 

                                                                         3X10=30

a) Derive the Maxwell’s Equations

b) Prove that C_p - C_V = -T(∂V/∂T)_p²(∂p/∂V)_T.

c) Steam at a pressure of 10 bar, dry saturated enters the nozzle when exit pressure is 0.3 bar. The nozzle efficiency for the convergent position is 96% and that of the divergent portion is 92%. The throat diameter for each nozzle is 6 mm. Find the mass flow rate of steam and the exit diameter required.

d) Air enters a nozzle at 5 bar, 350°C and comes out at 0.95 bar. The efficiency of expansion through the nozzle is 92%. If the mass flow rate of air is 1.5 kg/s, determine the exit diameter of the nozzle and velocity of air at exit.

ASSIGNMENT ON THERMODYNAMICS

Numericals on Thermodynamics:

1.     Mass enters an open system with one inlet and one exit at a constant rate of 50 kg/min. At the exit, the mass flow rate is 60 kg/min. If the system initially contains 1000 kg of working fluid, determine the time when the system mass becomes 500 kg.

2.     Mass leaves an open system with a mass flow rate of c*m, where c is a constant and m is the system mass. If the mass of the system at t = 0 is m₀, derive an expression for the mass of the system at time t.

3.     Water enters a vertical cylindrical tank of cross-sectional area 0.01 m² at a constant mass flow rate of 5 kg/s. It leaves the tank through an exit near the base with a mass flow rate given by the formula 0.2h kg/s, where h is the instantaneous height in m. If the tank is empty initially, develop an expression for the liquid height h as a function of time t. Assume density of water to remain constant at 1000 kg/m³.

4.     A conical tank of base diameter D and height H is suspended in an inverted position to hold water. A leak at the apex of the cone causes water to leave with a mass flow rate of c*sqrt(h), where c is a constant and h is the height of the water level from the leak at the bottom. (a) Determine the rate of change of height h. (b) Express h as a function of time t and other known constants, rho (constant density of water), D, H, and c if the tank was completely full at t=0.

5.     Steam enters a mixing chamber at 100 kPa, 20 m/s, with a specific volume of 0.4 m³/kg. Liquid water at 100 kPa and 25^oC enters the chamber through a separate duct with a flow rate of 50 kg/s and a velocity of 5 m/s. If liquid water leaves the chamber at 100 kPa and 43oC with a volumetric flow rate of 3.357 m³/min and a velocity of 5.58 m/s, determine the port areas at the inlets and exit. Assume liquid water density to be 1000 kg/m³ and steady state operation.

6.     Air is pumped into and withdrawn from a 10 m³ rigid tank as shown in the accompanying figure. The inlet and exit conditions are as follows. Inlet: v₁= 2 m³/kg, V₁= 10 m/s, A₁= 0.01 m²; Exit: v₂= 5 m³/kg, V₂= 5m/s, A₂= 0.015 m². Assuming the tank to be uniform at all time with the specific volume and pressure related through p*v=9.0 (kPa.m³), determine the rate of change of pressure in the tank.

7.     A gas flows steadily through a circular duct of varying cross-section area with a mass flow rate of 10 kg/s. The inlet and exit conditions are as follows. Inlet: V₁= 400 m/s, A₁= 179.36 cm²; Exit: V₂= 584 m/s, v₂= 1.1827 m/kg. (a) Determine the exit area. (b) Do you find the increase in velocity of the gas accompanied by an increase in flow area counter intuitive? Why?

8.     Steam enters a turbine with a mass flow rate of 10 kg/s at 10 MPa, 600^oC, 30 m/s, it exits the turbine at 45 kPa, 30 m/s with a quality of 0.9. Assuming steady-state operation, determine (a) the inlet area, and (b) the exit area. 

Answers: (a) 0.01279 m² (b) 1.075 m²