ADVANCED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

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BOOKS
Internal Combustion Engines: Applied Thermosciences by C. R. Ferguson
Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals by Heywood
Engineering Fundamentals of the Internal Combustion Engines by Willard W. Pulkrabek
Internal Combustion Engines by Maleeve
Internal Combustion Engines & Air Pollution by E. F. Obert
C. Engine Theory & Practice by C. F. Taylor
Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines by Richard Stone
Internal Combustion Engines by Lichty
Combustion Engine Processes by Lichty

HEAT ENGINES
Heat engines are devices used to produce net work from a supply of heat by operating in a cyclic
manner. Work can be converted to heat directly and completely, but converting heat to work
requires the use of heat engines. Heat engines usually involve a fluid to and from which heat is
transferred while undergoing a cycle. This fluid is called the working fluid. In thermodynamic
systems the working fluid can be in liquid, vapour, or gaseous phase.
Heat engines differ considerably from one another, but all can be characterised by the following:
1.
They receive heat from a high-temperature source (e.g., combustion chamber, solar energy,
nuclear reactor).
2.
They convert part of this heat to work (usually in the form of a rotating shaft).
3.
They reject the remaining waste heat to a low-temperature sink (the atmosphere, rivers,
etc.).
4.
They operate on a cycle.
C la s s if ic a tio n o f H e a t E n g in e s
H e a t E n g in e s

I n t e r n a l C o m b u s t io n E n g in e s

R e c i p r o c a t in g E n g i n e s
F o r e x a m p le ,
P e t r o l E n g in e
D ie s e l E n g in e

T u r b in e s
F o r e x a m p le ,
G a s T u r b in e

E x t e r n a l C o m b u s t io n E n g in e s

R e c ip r o c a t in g E n g in e s
F o r e x a m p le ,
S t e a m e n g in e s

T u r b in e s
F o r e x a m p le ,
S t e a m T u r b in e s

Internal Combustion Engine: In the internal combustion engine, combustion takes place directly in
the working fluid and the expanding force of combustion is converted into mechanical force by
means of a suitable mechanism. That is, the products of combustion of air and fuel are, directly, the
motive or working fluid.
External Combustion Engine : In the external combustion engine fuel burns outside the working
fluid and the products of combustion transfer heat to a second fluid, which then becomes the
motive or working fluid.
Reciprocating Engines : For reciprocating engines, cycle consists of a succession of non-flow
processes. A given mass of working fluid can be taken through a series of processes in a cylinder
fitted with a reciprocating piston.
These are used for small power production.
Turbines: For turbines, cycle is a series of steady flow processes. These are used to develop high
power. An advantage of a reciprocating engine on a turbine is that in reciprocating engines
maximum permissible temperature of working fluid is much higher than in a turbine plant. For
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instance, 2800 K in reciprocating engine compared with 1000 K in a gas turbine.

Thermal Efficiency
Net work output
Desired output
Performance
Total heat input
Required input Performance or efficiency, in
general, can be expresses in terms of the desired output and the required input as
Thermal efficiency

th

Wnet, out
Q
1 out
Qin
Qin

The thermal efficiency of a heat engine is always less than unity.

Thermal efficiency is a measure of how efficiently a heat engine converts the heat that it receives to
work. Heat engines are built for the purpose of converting heat to work, and engineers are
constantly trying to improve the efficiencies of these devices since increased efficiency means less
fuel consumption and thus lower fuel bills and less pollution.
The Thermal Efficiencies of Work-Producing Devices:
Ordinary spark-ignition automobile engine 25 %
Diesel engines and large gas-turbine plants 35 %
Steam power plants
40 %
Large combined gas-steam power plants
50 %
Internal Combustion Engines
Most internal combustion engines use the reciprocating-piston principle, where in a piston slides
back and forth in a cylinder and transmits power through, usually, a simple connecting rod and
crank mechanism to the drive shaft.
Internal Combustion Engine Classifications: There are many types and arrangements of internal
combustion engines, and some classification is necessary to describe a particular engine adequately.
They can be classified in a number of different ways:
Application. Automobile, locomotive, marine, power generation, light aircraft, portable power
system.
Working Cycle. Four-stroke cycle, Two-stroke cycle.
Air Intake Process. Naturally aspirated, supercharged, turbocharged, crankcase compressed.
Fuel Used. Gasoline (Petrol), fuel oil (or diesel fuel), natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, alcohols,
gasohol, hydrogen, dual fuel.
Method of Mixture Preparation. Carburetion, fuel injection into the intake ports or intake manifold,
fuel injection into the engine cylinder.
Method of Ignition. Spark ignition (SI), compression ignition (CI)
Method of Load Control. Throttling of fuel and air flow together so mixture composition is
essentially unchanged, control of fuel flow alone, a combination of these.
Basic Engine Design. Reciprocating engines (in turn subdivided by arrangement of cylinders: e.g.,
in-line, V, opposed cylinder, opposed piston, W, radial), rotary engines (Wankel and other
geometries)
Valve or Port Design and Location. Valves in head: Overhead (or I-head) valves, Valves in block:
flat head (or underhead or L-head) valves, T-head valves (Historic engines), F-head valves (less
common), rotary valves, cross-scavenged porting, loop scavenged porting, through- or uniflowscavenged
Combustion Chamber Design. Open chamber (many designs: e.g., disc, wedge, hemisphere, bowlin-piston), divided chamber (small and large auxiliary chambers; many designs: e.g., swirl
chamber, prechambers)
Method of Cooling. Water cooled, air cooled, liquid cooled
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Several or all of these classifications can be used at the same time to identify a given engine. Thus,
a modern engine might be called a turbocharged, reciprocating, spark ignition, four-stroke cycle,
overhead valve, water-cooled, gasoline, multipoint fuel-injected, V8 automobile engine.

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FUELS
Any material that can be burned to release thermal energy is called a fuel. Fuels used in internalcombustion engines come from all three groupsgaseous, solid, and liquid. Gaseous fuels used are
natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), producer gas etc. Solid fuels are coal, chiefly anthracite
and coke, mostly used in gas producers. The main constituent of coal is carbon. Coal also contains
varying amounts of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, moisture, and ash. Composition of coal
varies considerably from one geographical area to the next and even within the same geographical
location. Pulverised coal can be used in CI engines but with some problems mainly excessive wear
of cylinder liner and piston rings. Liquid fuels are derived mostly from petroleum. The more
important in this group are gasoline and fuel oil. Other liquid fuels are kerosene, alcohol, vegetable
oils, etc. All liquid fuels can be divided into two main groups: liquids that are vaporised and
handled similarly to gas fuels (gasoline and alcohol are the main ones in this group) and liquids that
are injected into the combustion space (fuel oils of different characteristics).
HYDROCARBON FUELS
Composition: In all fuels the two basic combustible elements are carbon and hydrogen, encountered
separately or in combinations called hydrocarbons. At atmospheric pressure and temperature some
of the hydrocarbons are gases, while some are liquids. Crude oil is made up almost entirely of
carbon and hydrogen with some traces of other species like sulphur, oxygen, nitrogen, water
(humid). It varies from 83% to 87% carbon and 11% to 14% hydrogen by mass. There are four
significant sources of crude oil: (1) petroleum; (2) coal liquefaction; (3) shale oil; and (4) tar sands.
Most of the crude oil used to date has been petroleum derived since what is found in the ground requires
little processing before delivery to a refinery. Coal, on the other hand, must be treated to increase its

hydrogen content and remove undesirable elements such as nitrogen, sulphur, etc. Shale oil is
difficult to get out of the ground since it is soaked up in rocks. Tar sands contain hydrocarbons
mixed with sand and are more difficult to remove from the ground than petroleum. Like coal
derivatives and shale oil, oils from tar sands require hydrogenation and removal of undesirable
chemicals from the crude before it is delivered to the refinery. As petroleum supplies dwindle, more
and more crude oil will be from alternative sources. Regardless of the source, crude oil contains a large
number of different hydrocarbons. For example, 25,000 different compounds have been found in one sample
of petroleum derived crude oil. The compounds range from gases to viscous liquids and waxes.

Refining: The crude oil mixture which is taken from the ground is separated into component
products by cracking and/or distillation using thermal or catalytic methods at oil refinery. The
purpose of refinery is to physically separate crude oil into various fractions and then chemically
process the fractions into fuels and other products. The physical properties of any fraction are
controlled by the distillation temperatures. Generally, the larger the molecular mass of a component, the
higher is its boiling temperature. The refinery produces fuels for engines (gasoline, diesel, jet), fuels for
heating (coke, kerosene, residual), chemical feed stock (aromatics, propylene), and asphalt.

The hydrogen and carbon can combine in many ways and form many different molecular
compounds. Carbon atoms form four bonds in molecular structure, while hydrogen has one bond. A
saturated hydrocarbon molecule will have no double or triple carbon-to-carbon bonds and will have
a maximum number of hydrogen atoms. An unsaturated molecule will have double or triple carbonto-carbon bonds. The general chemical formula for all hydrocarbons is C H. A number of different
families of hydrocarbon molecules have been identified. The main type of hydrocarbons are
paraffins, CH2+2, olefins, & naphthenes, CH2, diolefins, CH2-2, asphaltics, CH2-4, and
aromatics, CH2-6. In different combinations of interest, as internal-combustion-engine fuel,
varies from 1 to about 26 and from 2 to 54.
Paraffin Family: The paraffin family (alkane) in turn can be subdivided into normal parrafin hydrocarbons,
which have a straight or open-chain structure with one bond between each atom such as heptane and isomers,
which have the same number of C and H atoms and the same molecular mass but a different structure, such as the
three isomers of normal heptane. More complicated paraffin hydrocarbons may have a greater number of isomers.
The difference in the structure of the molecules results in different physical properties and reaction characteristics.

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Heptane

C7H16
H H H H H H H
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HCCCCCCCH
|
|
|
|
|
| |
H H H H H H H

Isomers of normal heptane

2-Methyl Hexane,

2,2 Dimethyl Pentane,

H H H
|
H C H H H H
|
|
|
|
|
|
HCCCCCCH
|
|
|
|
|
|
H H H H H H

H H H
|
H C H H H
|
|
| |
|
HCCCCCH
|
|
| |
|
H C H H H
|
H H H

2-Ethyl Pentane,

H H H
|
H C H
|
H C H H H
|
|
|
|
|
HCCCCCH
|
|
|
|
|
H H H H H
The number indicates the position of the carbon atom to which the methyl group is attached.
Olefins: The olefins (alkenes), CH2, are also straight or open-chain hydrocarbons but have two
atoms of hydrogen fewer per molecule with one carbon-carbon double bond.
4-Octane, C8H16

H H H H H H H H
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
HCCCC=CCCCH
|
|
|
| |
|
H H H
H H H

The open-chain hydrocarbons, paraffins and olefins, are classed jointly as aliphatics.
Naphthenes: The naphthenes (cycloalkanes), have the same chemical formula, CH2, but are
closed-chain hydrocarbons and there are no double bonds.
Cyclo-Octane, C8H16
HHHHHH
|
|
HCCCCH
|
|
HCCCCH
|
|
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HHHHHH
Diolefins: The diolefins, CH2-2, are unsaturated hydrocarbons with two double-bonded molecules.
1,5-Hexadien, C6H10
H
H H
H
|
|
|
|
C=CCCC=C
| |
| |
| |
H H H H H H
The paraffins and naphthenes are saturated compounds, meaning that all the carbon atoms are fully
engaged and each is attached to four other atoms. Such compounds are chemically stable. The
olefins and diolefins are unsaturated compounds and therefore unstable; the carbon atoms with a
double bond can attach themselves to and absorb additional atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, or sulphur
if such are present.
Alkynes: The alkynes, CH2-2, are unsaturated hydrocarbons with a triple carbon-carbon bond. The
best known member of the family is acetylene (C2H2).
HC CH
Aromatics: The aromatics, CH2-6, are hydrocarbons with carbon-carbon double-bonds internal to a
ring structure. The most common aromatic is benzene. The double bonds alternate in position
between the carbon atoms. This makes the molecule hard to break and, as a result, aromatics are
desirable in gasoline since they increase the octane number.
Aromatics
are
undesirable
components of diesel fuels.
Benzene
H
|
H
C
H
C
||
C

C
|
C

C H
|
H
At atmospheric conditions, hydrocarbon molecules with a low number of carbon atoms, 1 to 4, are
gases. Hydrocarbons with 5 to 15 carbon atoms are more or less volatile light oils, and those with
16 to 26 carbon atoms are referred to as heavy oils. Commercial fuels and lubricating oils are
mixtures of many kinds of hydrocarbons in various proportions.
Alcohols: Another group of hydrocarbons consists of methyl, CH 4O, ethyl, C2H6O, and butyl,
C4H9OH, alcohols. These are not true hydrocarbons, since each contains oxygen in the molecule.
Ethyl alcohol also called ethanol is obtained from corn, grains, and organic waste. Methyl alcohol also called
methanol is produced mostly from natural gas, but it can also be obtained from coal and biomass.

GASEOUS FUELS
Hydrogen Gas: There is a considerable interest in hydrogen as a fuel. Not only it will help to
eliminate the present-day problem of dependence on petroleum fuels, but it also has a potential to
reduce vehicular pollution as it is a clean burning fuel. Essentially no CO or HC in the exhaust as
there is no carbon in the fuel. Most exhaust would be H2O, N2 or NOx. Fuel leakage to environment
is not a pollutant. It has high energy content per unit mass. When an internal combustion engine
uses pure hydrogen, the equivalence ratio can be extended to very low values, where exhaust
emissions are reduced by several orders of magnitude from those achievable by lean operation with
conventional hydrocarbons. Hydrogen offers the unique advantage of being a fuel, the basic
resource of which (water) is recyclable. Basically it can be commercially produced either by coal
gasification or by electrolysis of water using electricity generated from coal, nuclear fission, or solar energy.
Disadvantages of Hydrogen are: it has heavy, bulky fuel storage; poor engine volumetric efficiency;
high fuel cost at present-day technology and availability; high NO x emissions because of high flame
temperature. Hydrogen is a unique potential automotive fuel with significant drawbacks in its storage

Page 6 of 10

properties.
Generally it may be stored in a vehicle in three ways: as a gas dissolved in the form of metal
hydrides, cryogenic store of liquid hydrogen, and as a compressed gas. If stored as a liquid, it
would have to be kept under pressure at a very low temperature. This would require a thermally
super-insulated fuel tank. Storing in a gas phase would require a heavy pressure vessel with limited
capacity.
Natural Gas is a mixture of components, consisting mainly of methane (60 to 98%) with small
amounts of other hydrocarbon fuel components. In addition it contains various amounts of N 2, CO2,
He, and traces of other gases. It is found in many parts of the world. By extensive pipe lines it is
made available many hundreds and in some cases even thousands of miles away from the wells
from which it is obtained. Natural gas obtained from oil wells is called casing-head gas and is
usually treated for the recovery of gasoline, after which, called dry gas, it is delivered into the pipeline systems to be used as fuel. The analysis of natural gas varies considerably with the location.
Natural Gas is stored as compressed natural gas (CNG) at pressures of 16 to 25 MPa, or as a liquid
natural gas (LNG) at pressures of 70 to 210 kPa and a temperature around -160C. As a fuel,
natural gas works best in an engine system with low emissions. Engines can operate with a high
compression ratio as its octane number is high because of its fast flame speed. Its disadvantages
are: low energy density resulting in low engine performance; low volumetric efficiency; requires
large pressurised fuel storage tank.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is mixture of hydrocarbon consisting chiefly of butane and
propane, its composition vary widely in the different countries. Depending upon the source and the
nature of the treatment to which the products have been subjected. LPG products are composed of
those readily liquefiable hydrocarbon compounds which are produced in the course of processing
natural gas and also in the course of the conventional refinery of crude oil. LPG is obtained from
three main sources:- (i) Crude oil associated with light hydrocarbons: The oil is stabilized for
distribution by pipeline or tanker. The amounts of light gases and light liquids which are removed
depend upon the pressure and temperature at the well head. (ii) Methane rich gas associated with
light hydrocarbon liquids (wet natural gas): The light liquids are removed to prevent undue
condensation problems during piping of the gas. (iii) Crude oil refinery fractionation and
conversion processes, which yields LP gases: The main conversion processes used are catalytic
reforming and catalytic cracking.
Coke-oven gas is obtained as a by-product when making coke, and its analysis depends upon the
coal used and also upon the method of operating the oven. Its heating value per unit volume is only
about one-half that of natural gas, but it requires about half the air for combustion, and the heating
value of the actual air-gas mixture (mixture heating value) is practically the same as when natural
gas is used.
Blast-furnace gas is a by-product of melting iron ore. Its analysis varies considerably with the fuel
used and the method of operating the blast furnace. Its mixture heating value is only slightly less
than that of the first two fuels. Part of the gas is used for preheating the air necessary to operate the
blast furnace itself and the blowing engines. The rest, about one-fourth of the total amount, can be
used as engine fuel for power production.
Producer gas is obtained by gasification (burning with small amount of oxygen) of solid fuels. Its
analysis varies with the fuel used, anthracite, coke, charcoal, bituminous coal, or wood, and
dampness of air, which influences the hydrogen content. A relatively low heating value of the gas
and a relatively high temperature of the gas coming from the producer, which results in a low
charge efficiency of the engine, reduce the power developed to only about 60 to 65 per cent of that
obtained with gasoline. However, because of absence of detonation, high compression ratios can
be used, which results in the thermal efficiency about the same as with gasoline.
Sewage-Sludge Gas: With the development of sewage-disposal plants, sewage-sludge gas is
produced and used as fuel for internal-combustion engines. These engines furnish energy for
driving the pumps in the sewage plants. The composition of the gas varies considerably.

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Composition
(% by Volume)

Hydroge
n

Natural
Gas

LPG

Producer
Gas

Sewagesludge gas

H2

100

---

---

50

3.5

15

CH4

---

83

---

31

0.5

67

Other HC

---

15

100

---

---

---

CO

---

---

---

27

24

---

CO2

---

---

11

25

O2

---

---

---

---

0.5

N2

---

---

58

53

H2S

---

---

---

---

---

---

0.5

0.07

0.62

1.87

0.40

1.00

0.84

0.81

36.5

110.4

17.7

3.7

23.3

(A/F)s by Volume

2.38

10.5

28.8

4.7

0.78

1.12

7.06

(A/F) by Volume

4.76

13.5

23

6.0

0.94

1.4

8.9

Mixture Heating Value [MJ/m3]

1.56

2.52

4.6

2.53

1.91

2.08

2.35

Specific Density (air =1)

Lower Heating Value [MJ/m3]

CokeBlast-Furnace
Oven Gas
Gas

Page 8 of 10

T e m p e ra tu re ( C )

LIQUID FUELS
Gasoline: The main fuel for SI engines is
T e m p e r a tu r e -v a p o r iz a tio n c u r v e fo r
gasoline, which is a mixture of many
a ty p ic a l g a s o lin e m ix tu r e
hydrocarbon components and is manufactured
from crude petroleum. The various components
120
of different molecular masses of gasoline will
100
vaporize at different temperatures small
80
molecular masses at low temperature and larger
60
molecular masses at higher temperature as
40
shown in Fig. This makes a very desirable fuel.
20
A small percentage of components that vaporize
0
(boil) at low temperature is needed in the
0
20
40
60
80
100
gasoline to assure the starting of a cold engine;
P e rc e n t E v a p o r ate d (% )
fuel must vaporize before it can burn.
However, too much of this front-end volatility can cause problems when the fuel vaporizes too
quickly. Volumetric efficiency of the engine will be reduced if fuel vapour replaces air too early in
the intake system. Another serious problem this can cause is vapour lock, which occurs when fuel
vaporizes in the fuel supply lines or in the carburettor in the hot engine compartment. When this
happens, the supply of fuel is cut off and the engine stops. A large percentage of fuel should be
vaporized at the normal intake system temperature during the short time of the intake process. To
maximize volumetric efficiency, some of the fuel should not vaporize until late into the
compression stroke and even into the start of combustion. This is why some high-molecular-mass
components are included in gasoline mixtures. If too much of this high-end volatility is included in
the gasoline, however, some of the fuel never get vaporized and ends up as exhaust pollution or
condenses on the cylinder walls and dilutes the lubricating oil. The availability and cost of gasoline
fuel is a result of a market competition with many other products. This becomes more critical with
the depletion of the earths crude oil reserves.If gasoline is approximated as single-component
hydrocarbon fuel, it would have a molecular structure of about C 8H15 and a corresponding mass of
111.
Diesel fuel (diesel oil, fuel oil) is obtainable over a large range of molecular masses and physical
properties. For diesel fuel viscosity is an important characteristic, as it effects the atomization of
fuel and operation of the high-pressure fuel pumps. The greater the number of carbon atoms, the
greater the viscosity of the oil. Of two hydrocarbons having the same number of carbon atoms, the
one with the lower hydrogen content will have a higher viscosity and its viscosity will change more
rapidly with the change of temperature. Various methods are used to classify diesel fuels. For IC
engines they can be divided into two extreme categories.
Light diesel fuel will be less viscous and easier to pump, will generally inject into smaller droplets,
and will be more costly. It has a molecular mass of about 170 and can be approximated by the
chemical formula C12.3H22.2.
Heavy diesel fuel can generally be used in larger engines with higher injection pressures and heated
intake systems. It has a molecular mass of about 200 and can be approximated as C 14.6H24.8. Most
Diesel fuel used in engines will fit in this range.
Biodiesel Fuel: Biodiesel is a diesel replacement fuel that is produced from renewable sources such
as vegetable oil, animal fat, greases and recycled cooking oil. Bio represents its renewable and
biological source and diesel refers to its use in diesel engine. The biodiesel Manufacturing
process convert oil and fats into chemical called long chain monoalkyl ester or biodiesel. These
chemicals are also referred to as Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Transestrerification is the term
used to describe the transformation of vegetable oil into the biodeisel. Biodiesel is environmentally
friendly as it is renewable. Using vegetable oils or animal fats as fuel for motor vehicles is in effect
running them on solar energy. All biofuels, including ethanol, are derived from the conversion of
sunlight to energy (carbohydrates) that takes place in the green leaves of plants. Plants take up
carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere; burning plant (or animal) products in an engine releases
Page 9 of 10

the CO2 uptake back into the atmosphere, to be taken up again by other plants. The CO 2 is recycled
therefore atmospheric CO2 levels remain constant. Thus biofuels do not increase the Greenhouse
Effect unlike fossil fuels, which release large amounts of CO 2. Biodiesel is much cleaner than
fossil-fuel diesel. It can be used in any diesel engine without any modifications. Diesel engines run
better and last longer with biodiesel. Biodiesel exhaust is not offensive and doesn't cause eye
irritation (it smells like French fries!). Sulphur dioxide emissions are eliminated as biodiesel
contains no sulphur. Biodiesel substantially reduces unburned hydrocarbons, CO and particulate
matter in exhaust fumes. The ozone-forming potential of biodiesel emissions is less than
conventional diesel fuel. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions may increase or decrease but can be
reduced to well below conventional diesel fuel levels by adjusting engine timing etc. Biodiesel
substantially reduces cancer-causing compounds. According to a U.S. Department of Energy study,
the use of pure biodiesel instead of petroleum-based diesel fuel could offer a 93.6% reduction in
cancer risks from exhaust emissions exposure. Biodiesel is a much better lubricant than
conventional diesel fuel and extends engine life. Biodiesel can be mixed with ordinary petroleum
diesel fuel in any proportion, without any mixing additive. Even a small amount of biodiesel means
cleaner emissions and better engine lubrication. Biodiesel has a high cetane rating, which improves
engine performance: 20% biodiesel added to conventional diesel fuel improves the cetane rating 3
points, making it a Premium fuel.

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