ME 5800 Review Problems

1. An advantage of the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine is that

combustion temperatures are kept below 1800 K where nitrogen oxides (NOx), begin to
form. Consider an HCCI engine fueled with n-heptane (C7H16) and mixed with air at an
equivalence ratio = 0.3.

a) Balance the chemical equation for stoichiometric combustion of n-heptane in air.

b) Assuming products comprise only complete combustion products and excess air, balance
the chemical equation representing the global combustion process with = 0.3.

c) Using the enthalpy tables provided, calculate the enthalpy of the products, per mole of
fuel, at a temperature of 1800 K (= 0.3).

d) At the end of compression, prior to combustion, the = 0.3 n-heptane/air mixture
temperature is 800 K. Will the constant volume adiabatic flame temperature exceed 1800 K?
Show calculations to support your answer.

716

@800 =-55.298 MJ /kmol.

2. Assuming isentropic compression and expansion processes, consider an ideal Diesel air
cycle under the following conditions:

T1: 300K
P1: 1bar
Compression Ratio: 18
Heat Addition: 1330 kJ /kg air

Note: the specific heat ratio is NOT constant.

a) Calculate the temperature and pressure at each state of the cycle using the air tables
provided.
b) Calculate the mep of the cycle.
c) Calculate the thermodynamic efficiency of the cycle.
d) If the displacement volume of the engine is 7.2 Liters, how much power is produced if
750 cycles are occurring per minute?
e) If a constant specific heat ratio value of =1.4 is used, what would be the peak
temperature of the cycle?


3. A single-cylinder diesel engine has a bore dimension of 85 mm, stroke of 90 mm, and a
compression ratio of 15. At a certain operating condition, a P-V diagram has been
measured as shown below.







a) Use the measured cylinder pressure and volume values at the points shown to determine
the value of the polytropic expansion exponent that describes the expansion process.

b) Consider that the average charge temperature has been determined to be 938 K when the
cylinder pressure is 20 bar and cylinder volume 0.0873 Liters, and that the exhaust valves
open when the cylinder volume is 0.536 Liters. Estimate the initial exhaust gas
temperature (charge temperature as the exhaust valves open).

c) What would account for the slopes of the log P-log V lines to be different for the
compression and expansion process? Briefly explain.

d) A ringing vibration shows up as noise in the measured cylinder pressure signal at the
location indicated on the graph. State which valve timing event is most likely responsible
for this signal (Intake Valve Opening, Intake Valve Closing, Exhaust Valve Opening,
Exhaust Valve Closing).

0.1 0.08 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1
Normalized Volume [V/Vswept]
P
C
Y
L
1

[
b
a
r
]
0.1
0.2
0.5
1
2
5
10
20
50
100
PCYL1
bar
3.979
20.091
16.113
Normalized Volume [V/Vswept]
deg
0.371
0.100
-0.272
0.371
0.171
-0.200
0.369 0.649 0.651
Cycl e Number: 218
Cylinder Volume=0.0873 Liter
P=20 bar, T=938 K.
Cylinder Volume=0.332 Liter
P=4 bar
Exhaust Valve Opens
Cylinder Volume=0.536 Liter
Discernible Valve Noise
4. Consider the reaction of isopropyl alcohol (C
3
H
7
OH) in air (O2 and N2).

a) Calculate the stoichiometric Air-fuel ratio (by mass).
b) Determine the equivalence ratio if one mole of isopropyl alcohol reacts with 23.8
moles of air to form products comprising only CO2, H2O, N2 and O2.
c) What is the mole fraction of CO2 in the products?

5. Using the thermodynamic tables provided, consider the global reaction of formaldehyde in
air:
1
2
+ 1(
2
+ 3.76
2
) 1
2
+ 1
2
+ 3.76
2


a) If the reaction takes place at 1,000K, at which temperature the molar enthalpy of
formaldehyde is -81.053 kJ /mol, determine the heat of reaction.

b) Is the reaction exothermic or endothermic?

6. Assuming isentropic compression and expansion processes, consider an ideal dual air cycle
under the following conditions:

T1: 300K
P1: 1bar
Compression Ratio: 15
Heat Addition: 1330 kJ /kg air
75% of heat addition at constant volume
25% of heat addition at constant pressure

Note: the specific heat ratio is NOT constant.

f) Calculate the temperature and pressure at each state of the cycle using the air tables
provided.
g) Calculate the mep of the cycle.
h) Calculate the thermodynamic efficiency of the cycle.
i) If the displacement volume of the engine is 0.5 Liters, how much power is produced if
600 cycles are occurring per minute?


7. Consider the P-V diagram shown below:

a) Use the measured cylinder pressure and volume values at the points shown to
determine the value of the polytropic expansion exponent that describes the expansion
process.

b) Using the polytropic exponent found in a), find the mass exhaust gas fraction.
Assume the exhaust pressure is 1 bar.










0.1 0.08 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1
Normalized Volume [V/Vswept]
P
C
Y
L
1

[
b
a
r
]
0.1
0.2
0.5
1
2
5
10
20
50
100
PCYL1
bar
3.979
20.091
16.113
Normalized Volume [V/Vswept]
deg
0.371
0.100
-0.272
0.371
0.171
-0.200
0.369 0.649 0.651
Cycl e Number: 218
Cylinder Volume=0.0873 Liter
P=20 bar, T=938 K.
Cylinder Volume=0.332 Liter
P=4 bar
Exhaust Valve Opens
Cylinder Volume=0.536 Liter
Discernible Valve Noise
TDC Cylinder Volume=0.0365 Liter
Short Answer

8. In the below expression for engine power output, which term is primarily responsible for
the positive slope on the left side of the attached engine power curve? (circle one)
( )
R
i a HV d vol f
n
A
F
Q V N
P

=
,


9. In the below expression for engine power output, which term is primarily responsible for
the sharp fall-off in the engine power output at higher RPM as shown on the attached engine
power curve? (circle one)

( )
R
i a HV d vol f
n
A
F
Q V N
P

=
,



10. Other condition equal, do you expect to get a higher flame temperature with the fuel in a
gaseous or liquid state? (circle one)

11. As the ignition timing in a spark-ignited engine is advanced into the compression side of
TDC, is the peak cylinder temperature expected to increase or decrease? (circle one)

12. The heat transfer rate during compression is predicted by the Woschni model to be:

= 3.26()
0.2
()
0.8
()
0.55

0.8
. If the engine speed is doubled, do
you expect the net heat transfer per cycle to increase or decrease? (circle one)