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Energy conversions
Subject:

Piston Engines

Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:

Jos Houben
Dominique Deen
Mark Nievelstein
Kees Huijben

s496382
s463134
s458781
s455805

Chapter 1:
Otto Engines...........................................................................................3
1.1
Introduction....................................................................................................3
1.2
Early history of SI engines.............................................................................3
1.3
Working principle of four stroke Otto engines ..............................................3
1.4
Efficiency of the theoretical Otto cycle .........................................................5
1.5
Efficiency losses ............................................................................................6
1.6
Octane number ...............................................................................................7
1.7
Working principle of two stroke Otto engines...............................................7
1.8
Two stroke engines compared to four stroke engines....................................8
1.9
Engine characteristics ....................................................................................9
Chapter 2:
Otto engines recent developments and environmental measures ........11
2.1
Recent developments ...................................................................................11
2.2
Pollution.......................................................................................................16
2.3
Environmental measures and regulation......................................................16
Chapter 3:
Diesel engines ......................................................................................19
3.1
Introduction..................................................................................................19
3.2
The theoretical diesel cycle (4-stroke).........................................................19
3.3
The efficiency of the theoretical diesel cycle ..............................................21
3.4
Increasing the power output:........................................................................23
3.5
Availability ..................................................................................................24
3.6
Nothing is perfect.........................................................................................25
3.7
Environment.................................................................................................25
Chapter 4:
Diesel engines performance and developments...................................27
4.1
General.........................................................................................................27
4.2
Performance .................................................................................................28
4.3
Horsepower ratings for different applications .............................................28
4.4
Torque ..........................................................................................................29
4.5
Performance curves......................................................................................30
4.6
In-line pump.................................................................................................32
4.7
Emissions .....................................................................................................33
4.8
New systems ................................................................................................34

Chapter 1:
1.1

Otto Engines

Introduction

Contrary to Diesel engines (chapter 3) Otto engines burn a premixed fuel/air mixture.
Because the combustion starts by firing a spark plug, Otto engine are called Spark
Ignition (SI) engines. There are to main types of Otto engines: two- and four-stroke
engines. The working principle, including the thermodynamics and efficiencies, the
advantages and disadvantages and the applications of these types will be discussed in
this chapter. The characteristics of some engines used in practice will be given and
considered as well.

1.2

Early history of SI engines

J.J.E. Lenoir introduced the first practical combustion engine in the 1860s. Several
hundred of these engines were built with a maximum power of 4.5 kW and maximum
efficiency of 5%. In 1867 the Otto-Langen engine was introduced. The Otto-Langen
engine is an engine which power stroke was driven by the atmospheric pressure
against vacuum. Its efficiency increased to 11%. Several thousands were produced.
Nicolaus Otto (1832-1891) built the first four-stroke engine in 1976. In the 1880s the
internal combustion engine was used in cars for the first time. Because of the fact the
Otto engine was patented people looked for other ways to converse chemical energy
into mechanical energy. For example, in the late 1880s the two stoke engine became
practical and was manufactured in large numbers.

1.3

Working principle of four stroke Otto engines

figure 1.1: pv and Ts diagrams of the theoretical Otto cycle

In figure 1.1 the pv and Ts diagrams of the Otto cycle of a closed system are shown.
This cycle can be divided in the four following steps:
12

Adiabatic compression:

Air is mixed with fuel in the right proportion. For cheaper engines, such as used in
different types of gardening equipment and older car engines, this is done in
carburettor. Nowadays most cars have injection systems. To avoid incomplete
combustion, in an Otto-engine a little more air (and therefore oxygen) is added to the
fuel than the stoichiometric ratio. The stoichiometric ratio is the ratio between fuel
and air for complete combustion with no oxygen left after the reaction. The
disadvantage of adding more air than necessary is the generation of NOx in the
exhaust gasses.
The air-fuel mixture is compressed adiabatically. Adiabatic means that there is no
heat exchange to the environment. In practice this wont be achievable due to heat
losses to the environment. Both the inlet and outlet valves are closed. Because it needs
work to compress the mixture, the temperature increases. The work needed for
compression is represented as the area beneath the line 1 2 in the left picture of
figure 1. The compression starts just before bottom dead centre (because the valves
cant close in an infinite small period of time) and ends at top dead centre. The ratio
between the volumes at these two points is the compression ratio (r). For Otto engines
this ratio is in the range of 8-9.5 for engines running at normal petrol. The upper limit
for the compression ratio for engines running on the best of todays gasolines is 1012.
23

Adding heat at constant volume:

The fuel-air mixture has been compressed. The piston is just before top dead centre
and all the valves stay closed. The spark plug fires and the fuel is combusted. The heat
increases in a very short, but not infinite small, period of time.
34

Adiabatic expansion:

Due to the increased energy of the mixture, it expands to a higher volume (that at
BDC) and a lower pressure. The valves stay closed. During this stroke the piston
produces work (area beneath 3 4 line in figure 1.1). Because the work during
expansion is higher than during compression, the crankshaft consumes a net amount
of work, which can be used for external loads.

4 1

Cooling at constant volume:

To complete this closed cycle the gas mixture is cooled to the beginning temperature
at constant volume. In practice this step is replaced by the inlet and outlet stroke.

1.4

Efficiency of the theoretical Otto cycle

The efficiency of the theoretical Otto cycle can be calculated by:

= 1

qc
qh

(eq. 1.1)

With
q c = q 41 = cv (T1 T4 )

q h = q 23 = c v (T3 T2 )

(eq 1.2)

qh is the heat added by combustion and qc is the heat removed by cooling.

Because the processes 1 2 and 3 4 are adiabatic and reversible the following
applies:
T2 T3
=
= r k 1
T1 T4
(eq. 1.3)
Where k= cp/cv
When the equations (1.2) and (1.3) are substituted into equation (1.1) the following
relationship between efficiency and compression ratio can be derived.

= 1

qc
T T
T (T T 1)
T
1
= 1 4 1 = 1 1 4 1
= 1 1 = 1 k 1
qh
T3 T2
T2 (T3 T2 1)
T2
r

(eq. 1.4)

1.5

Efficiency losses

For r 9 and k 1.4, the theoretical efficiency would be about 58 %. In practice only
half of this efficiency can be reached because of the following reasons:

figure 1.2: real Otto cycle

Because the unburned fuel has to put into and the burned gasses must be
dispelled out of the cylinder, an extra inlet and outlet stroke are necessary. The pvdiagram becomes as shown in figure 1.2. Because of the inlet and exhaust strokes, a
second cycle is formed in the pv-diagram. But, this cycle is counter clockwise and
costs work. Therefore the efficiency will drop.
The second reason for lower efficiency is the fact that its impossible to
compress and expand without losing heat. The line 1 2 and 3 4 will be less steep.
It isnt possible to heat and cool at constant pressure as well. In the pv-diagram the
corners between the different steps wont be sharp but round. This also reduces the
area and so the work of each cycle.
Finally the fuel-air mixture is not an ideal gas. Not only the fresh mixture is
compressed but also some burned gasses that arent dispelled. In fact the burned
gasses CO2, H2O and N2 are estimated to have the same properties as air. For the
expansion stroke this approach is even worse. The cp and cv of air are not independent
of temperature but will differ about 30 % between in the temperature range of the
engine.

1.6

Octane number

In equation (1.4) it can be seen that the efficiency will improve for rising compression
ratio. However, there are some limits for this compression ratio. If its too high selfignition takes place. This causes an audible noise in the engine. This is called
knocking. To avoid knocking lead or lead-substitutes are added to the fuels. The
knock sensitivity of a fuel (for an Otto engine) is represented by the octane number.
Octane is a fuel that is relative insensitive to knocking. N-heptane is very sensitive for
engine knock. The research octane (RON) number gives the knock sensitivity of a
fuel that is scaled between that of octane (100) and n-heptane (0). In the Netherlands
fuels with octane number 95 and 98 are available. For extremely high compression
ratios fuels with octane number over 120 RON are produced.

1.7

Working principle of two stroke Otto engines

figure 1.3: two stroke engine

The principle of the two-stroke Otto engine is to combine the stroke for fuel intake
and compression on the one hand and exhaust and work stroke on the other hand. In
the right picture in figure 1.3 the piston is moving upwards. At this moment the
mixture is being compressed in the top chamber. The volume of the bottom chamber
is increasing. Due to the pressure drop, the reed valve opens and fresh fuel flows into
the bottom chamber.

At TDC the mixture is burned. The gasses expand and the piston moves downwards.
When it reaches the height of the exhaust outlet the burned gasses flow away. The
unburned fuel in the bottom is compressed.

1.8

Two stroke engines compared to four stroke engines

Advantages:
Because the two-stroke engine combines each time two strokes, the volume
beneath the piston is used more efficient. At the same revolution speed a two-stroke
engine will produce twice the power of a four-stroke engine. In practice this wont be
achievable because of the inefficient use of fuel. The power weight ratio is higher as
well.
The construction of a two-stroke engine is much simpler than that of a fourstroke. A two-stroke engine has only one (reed) valve and no camshaft; the costs of
manufacturing are much lower. The engine is also easier to maintain; for a four-stroke
engine it is necessary to adjust the position for the valves. If this is done manual it
costs a lot of work. It can also be done automatically, but then the costs of production
will rise due to the electronics needed.
In contrast with four-stoke engines, two-stoke engines are usable in any
position. For a four-stroke engine lubrication is forced. The oil, which is in the sump,
is moved upwards by the piston. If a four-stroke engine is held upside down all the oil
will flow to the room between the piston and the cylinder head. For a two-stroke
engine the oil is mixed in the fuel. This results in the fact that it can work in any
position without changing the amount of lubrication. For some applications, like chain
saws, this property is vital. Four-stroke engines would become much more complex
and so more expensive when they would be adjusted for running in any position.
Disadvantages:
The lubrication for two-stroke engines is less effective then for four-stroke
engines. The oil is thinned in the fuel. This solution is less viscous and it wont stick
as easily to the cylinder wall as un-thinned oil. Another reason is the fact that the oil is
burned during the time the piston is moving downwards.
Two-stroke fuel is more expensive because of the added oil. Its price is about
1,35 per litre (euro 95: 1,10). This is two-stroke oil for scooters and mopeds (oil
fuel ratio is 1:50). For chain saws a higher oil fuel ratio is needed (1:25). Two-stroke

oil costs, dependant on the quality and quantity it is bought, between 5,- and 20,- a
litre. This makes two-stroke engines about 10-60% more expensive in usage.
The fuel is used less efficient in two-stoke engines. In the left picture of figure
1.3 one can see there is a direct connection between the unburned mixture and the
exhaust gasses. Due to this a part of the fuel will leave through the exhaust without
being burned.
Two-stroke engines pollute more. As said above the fuel is used inefficient.
For the same power as a four-stroke engine more fuel has to be used. Also the twostroke oil is burned so the burned gasses have a more negative effect on the
environment.

1.9

Engine characteristics

Motorcycle
engines
-2 stroke
-4 stroke
Build in engines
-2 stroke
-4 stroke
Car engines
2V
4V
2V Turbo
4V Turbo
Race engines
Turbo

Nn (rpm)

D
(mm)

s/D

cm (m/s)

We
(kJ/dm3)

5500-9000
5000-10500

40-80
40-100

0,8-1,0
0,7-1,25

8,6 (12)
9,4 (11,2)

13
17

(17)
(20,7)

0,65 (0,85)
1,0 (1,4)

3,5 (1,3)
2 (1,4)

3600-7000
3600-6200

40-90

0,7-0,1

(9,7)

8
8

(10,8)
(11,2)

0,5 (0,6)
0,8 (0,95)

3,4 (1,5)
4 (1,3)

4600-6600
5200-7000
5000-6800
5000-6800

70-100

0,75-1,1

80-100

0,75-1,1

9,4
10
8
8,5

(11,3)
(11,6)
(9,1)
(9,3)

9,4
10
8
8,5

(11,3)
(11,6)
(9,1)
(9,3)

1,0 (1,1)
1,15 (1,3)
1,4 (1,67)
1,6 (1,76)

1,7
1,3
1,3
1,3

9000-12300
9500-11800

70-90
74-90

0,6-0,9
0,5-0,7

19,5 (22,7)
18 (20,5)

1,2 (1,43)
4,3 (5,2)

0,6 (0,4)
0,28 (0,24)

11,3 (12)
7
(8)

max

m/Pe
(kg/kW)

(1,1)
(1,0)
(0,9)
(0,9)

Table 1.1: mean characteristic of some used Otto engines (between the brackets the best values are
given)

Some characteristics for different engines are shown in table 1.1. The reasons and the
consequences of the values will be discussed.
The value D is the bore. This is the diameter of the cylinder. The ratio s/D is the
stroke bore ratio. The stroke is the distance that the cylinder travels between TDC and
BDC. The value for this ratio is around 1,0. Engines with s/D<1 are called under
squared; for s/D>1 over squared. The rotation speed Nn is decreasing for increasing
stroke (volume). This is because of the limits for the piston speed. The mean piston
speed cm (m/s) is given by:

cm = 2

Nn
s
60

(eq. 1.5)

In table 1 it can be seen that for engines that run at high rpm the stroke is relatively
short so the piston speed wont exceed its maximum allowed. If it would the friction
between piston and cylinder would become too high, it would have a negative
influence on the life of the engine. For race engines (for both cars and motorcycles)
the piston speed is very high, because lifetime isnt that important for these
applications.
The compression ratio (called or r) is as said before in the range of 8-10. For turbo
engines this value is a little lower because of the fact these engines the fuel-air
mixture is compressed before it is put into the cylinder.
We max is the work cylinder volume ratio. Only the work stroke is taken on account.
Because two stroke engines have twice the number of work strokes as four stroke
engines at the same rotation speed, the power cylinder ratio will be higher for two
stroke engines.
m/Pe is the ratio of the mass and the power of the engine. Small two-stroke motorcycle
engines have a higher mass/power ratio then four-stroke motorcycle engines. This is
because of extra used material for the pre-compressing chamber. Large two-stroke
engines dont use this extra chamber. For increasing stroke volume the mass/power
ratio decreases. Turbo engines have a much lower mass/power ratio: with using
slightly more material the power increases drastically.

10

Chapter 2:
Otto engines recent developments and
environmental measures
2.1

Recent developments

Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) Introduction and Implementation

In the 1970s cars used to be equipped with a conventional carburettor, in which the
liquid fuel (gasoline in this case) evaporated and formed a combustable mixture in
combination with air (see figure 1.1) In the early 80s the first version of fuelinjection was applicated, which consisted of one injector for all cylinders, mounted
just after the common throttle valve. This type is called throttle body injection. Still
the length of the intake manifold had to be used to obtain a good mixture of the fuelspray and the air. In the mid 80s that changed; several injectors (one or more per
cylinder) were installed directly in front of the intake-valve. This type is called
Multipoint Port Injection (MPI). Contact of the injected liquid fuel with the hot
surface of the intake-valve enhanced evaporation and therefore the actual combustion
later on. Another advantage was (in reverse) better cooling of the intake valve. At this
point we come at the Gasoline Direct Injection; now the injector is placed alongside
the intake-valve and the liquid gasoline is injected directly in the combustion
chamber. For all three variants mentioned above, both mechanical and electronical
systems are used for injection-control. What we see is that the time between injection
and combustion decreases, so mixing-time of the fuel and air decreases as well. To
overcome the problem of degrading mixture quality, the droplet-size of the fuel-spray
is lowered drastically by geometric changes of the injector-nozzle and higher injection
pressures. In case of the throttle body injection, or injection just before the intake
valve, pressure in the intake system reaches only one atmosphere or less (or slightly
higher for turbocharged engines), whereas pressure in the combustion chamber during
time of injection can be as high as 10 MPa. Therefore directly injected systems work
under much higher pressures.
Another advantage of direct injection is a much more constant cycle to cycle and
cylinder to cylinder fuel input (this means that fuel input between the cycles and the
cylinders is much more constant) and therefore better controllable. This controlling is
achieved by an Engine Management System (EMS), which is connected to several
sensors in the engine. By measuring (among others) the amount of oxygen in the
exhaust gas, engine speed, temperatures, air flow rate and throttle position, the EMS
can continuously adjust for the proper air-to-fuel ratio. Adjustment of the air-to-fuel

11

ratio is managed by changing injecting time and/or injecting pressure. Another

advantage of direct injection is a more direct throttle response regarding the other
indirect injection variants.

Figure 2.1 Transition overview from carburettor to injection in years.

Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) Improved work output

Injecting fuel directly into the combustion chamber in a very late stage of the cycle
has another important advantage; the compressed medium above the piston cools
down by the evaporating fuel, and the pressure will decrease. As we can see in figure
2.2, the total amount of work delivered by one cycle is the area circumfered by the PV-line. Of course a larger area is preferred for higher work output. By cooling the
compressed medium before ignition, the pressure drops and the area increases. Also
the stroke (maximum displacement of the piston) can be made longer so a higher
compression ratio, rc, occurs before the pressure exceeds maximum allowable
pressure. This also increases the area within the P-V-line. The compression ratio (ratio
between maximum and minimum volume above the piston) is mainly restricted by
gasoline fuel properties (knocking through auto-ignition!) and force limitations.

12

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
P

Ideal air standard

cycle

P0 6
TDC

4
1

BDC

Volume, V
Figure 2.2 Total amount of work
delivered in one cycle.

Figure 2.3 Increase of torque-output.

Upward placement of the inlet manifold (see figure 2.4) instead of the conventional
sideward placement enables a better airflow. Whereas formerly the flow ended up
against the cylinder wall, now it revolutes and ends up against the spark plug, exactly
where the flame-front of the combustion begins and the mixture is most needed.
The injected fuel is also led upwards by the shape of the piston head (see figure 2.5).
The increasing volumetric efficiency obtained by both features mentioned above
enables more efficient combustion and also increased work output per cycle.

Figure2.4 Improved airflow direction by change in inlet-manifold placement.

13

Figure 2.5 Redirection of fuel-injection flow towards sparkplug by curved pistonhead.

Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) Lower fuel consumption

One of the technical possibilities of direct injection is the option of dividing the fuel
inlet in two different stages; one (additional) in the inlet stroke and one in the
compression stroke (see figure 2.6). In this way no more fuel than needed is injected,
so lower overall fuel consumption is obtained.

Figure 2.6 Economical fuel consumption by dividing fuel intake in different stages.

Variable Pressure Ratio (VPR)

Another method of increasing the work within one engine cycle is to variate the
pressure ratio (rise in pressure during combustion as a ratio of maximum pressure
and pressure just before combustion) during operation of the engine. Certain limits for
pressure hold for combustion engines as mentioned before, but these pressures arent
always applied. Normally pressure ratios vary from 8 to 11, with VPR this ratio varies
from about 9.5 to 15. By keeping the pressure as close to the maximum allowable
pressure as possible at all times (optimal pressure ratio), higher efficiency is achieved.
Higher efficiency means either higher work output with the same fuel-intake or less
fuel consumption when the same work output is maintained.

14

In practice this concept is applicated (by e.g. Saab) by moving the sparkplug
vertically, so the volume of the combustion chamber changes and pressures do as
well.

Variable Valve Timing (VVT)

Air has a specific density and its acceleration (and velocity) is therefore bound to
inertia. During every rotation of the engine, a certain amount of air is sucked in, to
form a mixture and combust. That amount of air has a mass, which takes some time
to accelerate to the necessary inlet speed at the intake-valve. At higher rotational
engine speeds, there may not be sufficient time for speeding up the air, and less air
than wished for is sucked in, cause of the closing of the intake-valve. The (injected)
amount of fuel may not be adjusted to this and the mixture is too rich (relatively too
much fuel) at time of combustion. No stoichiometric combustion takes place, so more
than strictly necessary pollution is formed.
A way to avoid this effect is changing the time of opening and closing the intakevalve. By earlier opening and later closing and/or further uplifting of the valve, more
air is enabled to stream inside the combustion chamber, and still stoichiometric
combustion can take place. As figure 2.7 shows, a 3-D shaped cam profile is used to
applicate this concept during operation for car-engines (Ferrari). At higher rotational
speeds, the entire camshaft displaces slightly side wards, and a whole new camshaftpattern operates the opening and closing of the valves.

Figure 2.7 3-D camshaft-profile for adjusting valve-timing during operation.

15

2.2

Pollution

Stoichiometric combustion
Under ideal circumstances, when exactly the proper amounts of fuel and air are mixed
for the chemical reaction, we speak of a stoichiometric reaction, or combustion when
the reaction speed is high enough.
The chemical reaction scheme in this case is;
CH + O2 = CO2 + H2O
In practice the conditions stated above are not reached, and not all of the carbonhydrates in the fuel are burnt, so some of the fuel is disposed of through the exhaust of
the engine. In addition to that an incomplete reaction can take place, in which only
CO is formed instead of CO2. CO is very poisonous and bad for the environment.
Another aspect of combustion is the amount of N2 present in the air, which reacts
(only at high temperatures) with O2 to NOx. NOx is an important contributor to the
forming of acid rain. The actual reaction during combustion is as follows;
CH + O2 + N2 = CO2 + H2O + CO + CH + NOx
Note that about 50% of the gasses causing the Greenhouse effect consists of CO2.
HNOx in its turn forms (among others) acid rain according to the following reaction;
NOx + O2 + H2O = HNOx

2.3

Environmental measures and regulation

Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)

One important way of avoiding large NOx-emissions is recirculating the exhaust-gas
and mix it with fresh air. Most of the oxygen has already been burnt in the
recirculated gas, so the new air-mixture contains relatively less oxygen and therefore
less nitrogen can react with that oxygen into NOx.
Of course one should be aware of the risk offering too oxygen-lean air to the
combustion, otherwise a lot of unburnt or partially reacted hydrocarbons will be

16

formed, which harm the environment too in their own way. Proper control is very
important.

Three-way-catalyst and Lambda-probe

Since 1993 this type of environmental measure in engines is required by law in the
EEG. This type of catalyst is called a three-way catalyst because is reduces both
the NOx, CO and CH concentrations in the exhaust gasses. It is placed between the
engine and the exhaust (see figure 3.1).
The so-called Lambda-probe most frequently consists of a hollow body made of
zirconium dioxide of which the inner- and outside walls are covered with a layer of
platinum. The probe measures the air-factor , and sends out an electrical signal when
the air factor deviates from a pre-fixed value, 0.99 in most cases. This is the value on
which just enough air should be available for complete burning.
The principle of the catalyst is based on a reductor/oxidator (or redox) reaction.
The NOx is must be reduced and the CH and CO are both oxidised. Oxidation is
achieved by additional oxygen, collected from the reduction of NOx. To obtain this
effect, the air factor most be slightly varied around 0.99 so intermittent the reductionand oxidation-reaction can take place. The three-way-catalyst can only work between
250 0C and 800 0C. At temperatures of 1100 0C or higher it will be destroyed, use of
leaded fuel and phosphor-rich motor-oil will do too. What should be mentioned as
well is that although the three-way-catalyst is highly effective for reducing pollutants,
it also reduces the work-output (cause of higher exhaust-pressures) and increases the
fuel consumption. So the actual pollutant-reduction is therefore a bit controversial.

Figure 2.8 Three-way-catalyst with mountings for placement at exhaust-port.

17

Specific emission testing types for the car-engine range;

impression

Type 1
This test makes use of a roller-bench with which both a city-tour and a ride at high
velocities are simulated. After absolute acclimatising at 20 0 C to 25 0 C of the vehicle
in the testcel, a test is performed with active brakes and rotating masses for simulating
air-resistance and inertia. A sample is taken of the exhaust gasses during the test that
is analysed afterwards.

Type 2
This type is also known as the zero load measurement and is performed when the
engine runs in idle state. Its idea is to form a rough indication of what the actual COemission-behaviour is during normal operation. The CO-emission during idle
operation should not exceed 3.5% of the CO-emission during normal use of the
engine.

Type 3
This test represents the measurement of the amount of carter-gasses which are led into
the atmosphere.

Type 4
The goal of this test is to measure the loss of carbon hydrates by evaporation out of
the fuel-system.

Type 5
This test is meant for measuring the functioning of the anti-pollutional measures
taken. Practically this means that after 80.000 km, the catalyst and the EGR-system
are inspected and measured for malfunction.

18

Chapter 3:
3.1

Diesel engines

Introduction

Diesel engines are piston engines, which use diesel fuel. The diesel engine was
designed by Rudolf diesel in 1892. His goal was to create an engine with high
efficiency. Gasoline engines had been invented in 1876 and, especially at that time, were not
very efficient. The main differences between gasoline engines and diesel engines are:

The construction
-

A gasoline engine intakes a mixture of air and fuel, while a diesel engine only
intakes air.
A gasoline engine ignites the mixture with help op a sparkplug, while a diesel
engine is based on spontaneous combustion
A gasoline engine compresses at a ratio of 8:1 to 12:1. A diesel engine
compresses at a ratio of 14:1 to as high as 25:1.
Gasoline engines uses carburetion, in which the air and fuel is mixed long
before the air enters the cylinder, or port fuel injection, in which the fuel is
injected just prior to the intake stroke into the inlet manifold. Diesel engines
use direct fuel injection; the diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder.

The fuel
Not only the construction of the gasoline and diesel engines differ but also
their fuel. Diesel fuel is heavier and oilier. Diesel fuel evaporates much more slowly
than gasoline -- its boiling point is actually higher than the boiling point of water. Diesel
fuel evaporates more slowly because it is heavier. (Gasoline is typically C9H20,
while diesel fuel is typically C14H30). Diesel fuel has a higher energy density
than gasoline. On average, 1 L of diesel fuel contains approximately 38,6 MJ,
while 1 L of gasoline contains approximately 34,2 MJ.

3.2

The theoretical diesel cycle (4-stroke)

The Diesel cycle is an air-standard power cycle, which involves two cylinder/piston
boundary movement work processes, a constant-pressure heat addition process and a
constant-volume heat rejection process.
In gasoline (sparkplug ignition) engines the compression ratio is limited by the selfignition temperature of the fuel. Diesel engines circumvent this limitation by
compressing the fuel and air separately and bringing them together at the time of
combustion. In this arrangement fuel is injected into the cylinder, which contains

19

compressed air at a higher temperature than the self-ignition temperature of the fuel.
Once injected, the fuel ignites spontaneously, without the need of an ignition system.
The Diesel cycle is similar to the Otto cycle, the main difference being in the process
of heat addition. In the Diesel cycle, the heat addition takes place at constant pressure
whereas in the Otto cycle it is at a constant volume. For this reason, the Diesel cycle
is often referred as the constant-pressure cycle.
The air-standard Diesel cycle is an ideal cycle that approximates the processes of the
compression-ignition internal combustion engine. See figure 3.1
Figure 3.1 :P-v and T-s diagram

The four stages of the diesel cycle:

Process 1 - 2: an isentropic compression of atmospheric air from bottom dead-centre
to the minimum volume.
Process 2-3:

a constant-pressure combustion process (heat addition).

Process 3-4:

an isentropic expansion of the products of combustion from the fuel

cut-off point to bottom dead-centre.

Process 4-1: a constant-volume heat rejection process until the temperature and
pressure reach initial conditions. In practice this is replaced by the
exhaust and intake stroke.

20

The two stroke cycle is basically combines multiple tasks within 1 stroke:
- Fuel intake/ compression stroke
- Exhaust/ combustion stroke
Due to the combining of the strokes there will be mixing of the fresh air and the
exhaust. Also the reduced time for filling will result in a less efficient filling.
Resulting in the lower efficiency for two-stroke engines. On the other hand the twostroke engine has the double amount of combustion stroke which gives it a higher
energy density in comparison with a four-stroke engine. Also the same advantages
and disadvantages apply.

3.3

The efficiency of the theoretical diesel cycle

The efficiency of a cycle is defined as:

q
= 1 out
qin

(eq. 3.1)

For the diesel cycle qc and qh are:

qin = h3 h2 = c p (T3 T2 )

(eq. 3.2)

q out = u 4 u1 = c v (T4 T1 )

qin is the heat added to the system by combustion of the diesel fuel and qout is the heat
removed by cooling (in practice: by exchanging the air).
For the isentropic processes 1 2 and 3 4 the following equations hold
T2 T3
=
= r k 1
T1 T4
Where k= cp/cv and r =

(eq. 3.3)

1
2

Combining these equations the following relation for the efficiency can be found:
th , Diesel =

wnet
q
T T1
1
= 1 out = 1 4
= 1 k 1
qin
qin
k (T3 T2 )
r

Where rc =

rck 1

k (rc 1)

(eq. 3.4)

3
is the cut-off ratio.
2

Comparing this with the efficiency for the Otto engine:

q
T T
T (T T 1)
T
1
= 1 c = 1 4 1 = 1 1 4 1
= 1 1 = 1 k 1
qh
T3 T2
T2 (T3 T2 1)
T2
r

(eq. 3.5)

21

figure 3.2: efficiency for different compression ratios

It can be noted that the efficiencies will be equal for a cut-off ratio of 1 .
The efficiency for various compression ratios and cut-off ratios is shown in figure 3.2.
Because the expression between the brackets in equation 3.4 is always greater than 1
for a cut-off ratio greater than 1 the efficiency of an Otto engine will be greater than
the efficiency of a diesel engine with the same compression ratio. The efficiency of
the diesel and the Otto engine increases for increasing compression ratios. The
limitation for the compression ratio of an Otto engine due to the unwanted selfignition of the mixture also limits the maximum efficiency of the Otto engine. The
diesel engine is based on the self-ignition of the fuel and thus needs a high
compression ratio for normal operation. Because the compression ratio of diesel
engines is higher than of Otto engines the overall efficiency of the diesel engine is
grater than the Otto engine. But due to the higher compression ratio the construction
of the diesel engine is heavier and thus its energy density is lower.

22

3.4

Increasing the power output:

There are two basic ways to increase the power output of a diesel engine:
- Increase the compression ratio
- Put more in each cylinder
o More displacement
o Compress the incoming air
o Cool the incoming air
o Let air come in and go out more easily
The most commonly used methods are:
1.
Compress the incoming air
Using an exhaust turbo charger this re-uses the kinetic
energy left in the exhaust gasses to drive a turbine that is
connected to a compressor. This compressor compresses
the incoming air, which again results in a better filling of
the cylinder. See figure 3.5
Figure 3.3: turbo compressor
2.
Cool the incoming air
Compressing air causes it to heat up. The density of air is strongly temperature
dependant, the higher the temperature the lower the density. The heating of the air due
to compression is thus an unwanted effect. This air can be cooled back to ambient
temperature with help of a simple radiator. Because further cooling would require
expensive refrigeration techniques this method is only used in combination with a
compressor. See figure 3.4

Figure 3.4: Intercooler configuration

23

3.5

Availability

Diesel engines are available in a very large range.

The smallest can only deliver a few horsepower and have a displacement of only
about 200 cm3 . For example:

1B20
The Challenger. Small, light, silent, with universal applications.
Air-cooled with integral flywheel fan. Pressure lubricated. Single Cam System.
Engine type

1B20

Swept volume cm3

232

Weight kg

28

dimensions (mm)
Length

Width

Height

268

360

400

Figure 3.5: small diesel engine

The biggest diesel engines deliver up to 100.000 Hp and have a displacement of
several cubic meters. For example:

Figure 3.6:

High as a building, this 12 cylinders marine diesel develops 93360 hp

at 102 rpm.

24

3.6

Nothing is perfect

Because nothing is perfect the diesel engine will never go through the diesel cycle like
figure (x). The real diesel cycle will be more like:

Figure 3.7: The actual diesel cycle

Consider the differences between the actual and the ideal cycles:
1.
Compression: processes are similar, with only a small heat loss.
2.
Expansion: heat transfer is significant. The cylinder pressure also falls
from c due to exhaust blow down.
3.
Pumping loss: negative work out because the exhaust needs to be expelled
and the fresh mixture induced
4.
Other: gas leakage past pistons combustion duration depends on:
- Type of fuel
- Chamber design and shape
- Number and position of ignition sites
- Engine speed
5.
Physical delay: the time taken to atomise, vaporize and mix the fuel with
the air
6.
Chemical delay: the time taken for pre-flame reactions to initiate a fuel
combustion reaction.
This all results in a lower efficiency than predicted with the theoretical diesel cycle.
The achieved efficiency for modern diesel engines goes up to 44%.

3.7

Environment

The environmental legislation has been the main incentive in the development of
modern diesel engines For diesel engine developments the biggest challenge has been
the balance in particle emissions and NOx. The fuel injection system has been the
main target of developments in order to reduce the emissions of particles and NOx.

25

The goal is to keep up with the legislation, which demands decreasing emissions. For
example: the European legislation.

Figure 3.8: European emission goals

All new diesel-powered engines have to comply with the Euro3 norm for emissions.
In the future the engines will have to comply with the new Euro4 norm. There is still a
lot of development is necessary to achieve this goal. These developments are covered
in chapter 4

26

Chapter 4:
Diesel engines performance and
developments
4.1

General

Diesel engines can be classified by two major characteristics: two-stroke or fourstroke and direct injection open combustion chamber or indirect injection closed
combustion chamber. For many years inline-six configuration diesel engine has been
standard design. Nevertheless V-type engine configurations have also been used in
many well-known engines. V-engine design reduces both the length and overall
dimensions of a comparable six-cylinder inline engine that would produce the same
horsepower characteristics. But generally speaking, the inline engine configuration is
cheaper to produce. Figure 4.1 shows a six-cylinder inline diesel engine. Details of
engine design, like different combustion chamber geometrys and fuel injection
characteristics, vary significantly over the diesel size range.

Figure 4.1:

The Caterpillar 3406E electronically controlled unit injector truck

engine.

27

4.2

Performance

Internal combustion engines are used worldwide in 4500 plus applications to produce
work. What is work? If you have applied a force to move an object through a given
distance, you have done work. The work done is expressed in Nm , work = force x
distance. The term power is used to describe how much work has been done in a
work
given period of time, power =
, In the metric system power is expressed in
time
kW , however usually the unit horsepower hp is used for internal combustion
engines. 1kW = 1.341hp . James Watt determined the term horsepower when he
studied the average rate of work for a horse with respect to the work his steam engine
could do. Horsepower is generally considered to be one of two types. Brake
horsepower or bhp is actual useful horsepower developed at the crankshaft, usually a
dynamometer is used to measure the data needed to calculate bhp a typical bhp curve is shown in figure 2. Indicated horsepower or ihp is the power developed
within the cylinder based on the amount of heat released, it doesnt take into account
any frictional losses.

4.3

Horsepower ratings for different applications

Basically there are seven general classifications of horsepower ratings.

1. Rated horsepower: the net horsepower available from the engine with a specified
injector fuel rate and engine speed.
2. Intermittent rated: Rating used for variable speed and load applications where
full output is required for short intervals of time. To obtain optimum life
expectancy, the average load should not exceed 60% (turbo), 70% (non-turbo) of
full load at average operating speed. Examples for this rating: a crane, a shovel,
and an earthmoving scraper.
3. Intermittent maximum: Rating used for applications in which maximum output is
desirable and long engine life between overhauls is of secondary importance or in
which the average load does not exceed 35% of the full load at the average
operating speed. Examples for this rating: stand-by generator set, stand-by fire
pump.
4. Continuous horsepower: Rating used for engines running under a constant load
for long periods of time without a reduction in speed or load. The average load
should not exceed the continuous rating of the engine. Examples for this rating: a
generator set, a pump.
5. Intermittent continuous: Rating used for applications that are primarily
continuous but have some variations in load and speed. Examples for this rating:
portable compressor, a railroad locomotive.
6. Shaft horsepower: The horsepower available at the output shaft of the application,
for example, the horsepower measured at the output flange of a marine gearbox.

28

7. Road horsepower: Rating of the power available at the road wheels, for example,
on a truck after losses due to transmission, and driveline.

4.4

Torque

Torque is a twisting and turning force that is developed at the engine crankshaft. It is
a measure of the engines capacity to do work. The units of torque are expressed in
Nm . Torque depends on the BMEP (brake mean effective pressure) and the engines
displacement. The BMEP is the average pressure on each square millimetre of the
piston crown throughout the actual power stroke. The mean force on the piston crown
is BMEP multiplied by the area of the piston crown. The torque is the force multiplied
by the length of the lever. One could calculate the torque of an engine by using the hp
and the rpm. The formula for a four-stroke engine is given in figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2: calculating torque from BMEP data

29

4.5

Performance curves

If we look at figure 4 we can see that this electronically controlled heavy-duty engine
is designed to produce its best power and fuel consumption at a midrange rpm, for
this engine around 1600 rpm. The torque drops fairly quickly as the engine speed is
increased beyond this range, but also, as the rpm is reduced, the torque increases until
it reaches its peak torque point, for this engine at 1200 rpm.

Figure 4.3: Performance curves for the Caterpillar 3406E electronically controlled
unit injector truck engine.
Sometimes you will also find the term torque rise, this term expresses in a percentage
the increase in engine torque as the engine speed is reduced from its maximum noload rpm. To be more precise the torque rise is the peak torque minus the torque at
rated speed divided by the torque at rated speed. This engine is rated at 1800 rpm, the
torque at 1800 rpm is 1900 Nm, and the peak torque is 2370 Nm. Or
2370 1900
torque _ rise =
= 25% . What does this mean, lets take a truck for an
1900
example. Suppose you are driving up a hill and the hill is getting steeper, if you have
a relative big torque rise you dont have to shift down immediately. With a higher
torque rise the engine is able to hang on to the load longer.
To specify the amount of fuel burnt we use the term BSFC. BSFC is the Break
Specific Fuel Consumption its unit is g/kWh. Figure 4.3 shows that the BSFC
increases with increasing rpm. Table 4.1 shows engine characteristics for different
types of diesel engine applications

30

N
Multi purpose
Car
Truck

Highspeed heavy duty

Middlespeed
Lowspeed 2-stroke
N

max

Turbo
Turbo
Turbo-intercooler
Turbo-intercooler
Turbo-intercooler
Turbo-intercooler
Maximum engine speed
Cylinder bore

s
D

Bore stroke ratio

Compression ratio

cm

Mean piston speed

w e max

Specific work

Specific power

Pe

max

s
D

2300-3600
4200-5000
4200-5000
2000-4000
1800-2800
1800-2800
1000-2000
350 -750
58 -250

70-100
75-100
75-100
90-140
90-170
90-170
165-280
240-620
260-900

0.7-1.3
0.9-1.1
0.9-1.1
0.9-1.35
0.9-1.35
0.9-1.35
1.0-1.35
1.0-1.5
2.8-3.8

19.6
22.3
22.3
17.0
15.0
14.5
12.0
12.0
12.0

cm

we max

8.5
12.8
12.8
10.2
10.0
10.0
10.3
8.7
8.0

0.60
0.75
1.06
0.80
1.30
1.50
2.3
2.2
1.8

m
Pe

9.0
3.6
3.6
5.4
4.3
3.8
5.8
13
36

[rpm]
[mm]
[]
[]

[ ]
m

[ ]
s

kJ

dm

[kg / kW ]

Table 4.1: engine characteristics for different types of diesel engine applications
Traditional fuel injection systems for diesel engines
The tasks of the fuel injection system are injection of the proper amount of fuel with
the right timing and providing an optimal mixture of the fuel and air. In the first fuel
systems compressed air was used to blow the fuel in the cylinder. Because of the need
of an air compressor these engines were fairly heavy. Then Robert Bosh invented the
inline fuel injection pump.

31

4.6

In-line pump

Figure 4.4: The in-line pump system

The working principle of the in line pump is as follows. The plunger moves upward
by rotation of the pump camshaft, some fuel will spill back out of the two ports until
the top area of the plunger covers them. The fuel pressure will rise until its high
enough to lift the discharge valve of its seat, allowing the displaced fuel to pass
through the fuel line to the nozzle and on into the cylinder, with the delivery valve
open. Injection will continue until the helical area of the plunger uncovers the control
port, figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5: Helix control

32

The port is uncovered ahead of the actual ending of the upward plunger movement,
therefore the plunger will displace the remaining fuel back to the reservoir. The
discharge valve closes and the plunger completes its stroke. By rotating the plunger
one can adjust at what point of the upward stroke of the plunger the port is uncovered.
Thus the amount of fuel injected can be adjusted by rotating the plunger. In line
pumps can achieve pressures up to 1200 bar. The pressure depends on the camshaft
rpm and the injection trajectory, therefore at low rpm and high load the injection
quality is not optimal. The in line pump has proven to be reliable, it has been used for
years.

4.7

Emissions

Because manufacturers have to meet the targeted emission goals like Euro 4, the
development in diesel engines is focused on reduction of emissions. Especially fuel
injection has proven to be an important issue. Before we will discuss the newest
developments in diesel engines we will show the causes of the emission of HC, NOx
and soot.

HC
Hc emission for direct injected diesel engines is caused by:
Low air/fuel rates
Fuel on the cylinder surface
Drops of fuel from injector after injection

NOx
NOx is formed because of temperature peaks in the combustion process, therefore
local flame temperatures should be kept as low as possible.

Particles
Low air/fuel rates combined with high combustion temperatures cause high soot
particles emissions.

33

4.8

New systems

Unit-injector
In case of a unit injector the pump and injector are combined in one instrument.
Injection is now controlled by an electromagnetic valve and is far more flexible and
precise compared with the in line pump. The plunger pumps the fuel into a lowpressure return line or into the injector with orifice check valve depending on the
position of the electro magnetic valve.

Figure 4.6: The unit injector

Common rail
The common rail system works as follows. A high-pressure pump keeps a commonrail on a constant high pressure. Normally only the fuel needed to keep the pressure
constant is pumped. There is a low-pressure and high-pressure part. The low-pressure
part adjusts the amount of fuel that can be sucked into the high-pressure part via an
electromagnetic valve. In some cases a valve directly controls the rail pressure, in this
case there is some loss of efficiency. Injectors with electromagnetic valves are
connected to the rail. With this system the pressure and the injection timing do not

34

dependent of the engine rpm or load. Also pre- and post-injections are possible.
Figure 4.7 shows the major components of a common rail system and their position
for 4-cylinder inline engine.

Figure 4.7:

the major components of the common rail system: high pressure

pump, common-rail and fuel lines (yellow), injectors (black)

HEUI
HEUI stands for hydraulically actuated electronically controlled unit injector. The
parts of a hydraulically actuator system are a high-pressure pump, a high-pressure oil
manifold and injectors. Normal engine oil is pumped into the manifold and kept at
high pressure. The manifold is connected with injectors. The injectors have an
intensifier, basically a plunger with two areas of different size. When the
electromagnetic valve is opened engine oil from the manifold comes in contact with
the greater area side of the intensifier. The pressure of the fuel under the smaller area
of the intensifier increases and the fuel is injected. When the electromagnetic valve
closes both the fuel and oil pressures drop and injection stops. The intensifier is
moved upwards again by a spring, during this movement new fuel is sucked into the
high-pressure chamber. The HEUI system has two fluid circuits an engine oil circuit
and a fuel circuit.

35

Fuel circuit: The fuel is first pumped through a fuel filter and than through the
cylinder-head to the injectors. The pressure is around 200 kPa.
Oil circuit: The oil circuit has a high and low-pressure part. The low-pressure circuit
delivers filtered oil to the engine lubrication system and to the high-pressure pump.
The pressure is around 300 kPa. The high-pressure pump delivers oil to the manifold,
when the pressure in the manifold is getting to high the oils leaks away through the oil
sump via a pressure valve. The pressure of this high-pressure circuit is between 4 and
23 MPa.

Particle filters
The particles that are found in diesel engine exhaust gas contain the following
components:
carbon,
carbohydrates from unburned fuel and oil
sulphates in water and inorganic particles like ash, metal, and rust.
The particle size varies between 0.03m and 1.0m . At this moment ceramic and
porous-metal filters are used. Ceramic filters have very small holes to filter the
particles, the porous metal filters have bigger openings and the particles are absorbed
by the porous structure. There are two types of regeneration of the filters.
By periodically heating the filter up to 600 C if air is supplied the particles will
burn away. The temperature can easily rise up to 1000 C. Raising the temperature
can be done electrically or by diesel burners. Because of these high temperatures
the life span of this type of filters is relatively short.
The second way of regeneration is by lowering the self-ignition temperature. This
way regeneration takes place during normal engine use T= 250-400C.
Lowering the self-ignition temperature can be done by three different ways.
By fuel additives, Ce, Cu, Fe.
By using an oxidation-catalyser before the filter, the catalyser makes NO2 from
the NO in the exhaust gasses. The NO2 lowers the self ignition temperature.
By applying a layer of catalytic precious-metal on the filter.

36

HAM, Humid Air Motor

NOx is formed because of temperature peaks in the combustion process, by injection
of water into the combustion chamber the specific heat capacity of the mixture is
higher therefore temperature peaks are less high. With the newest HAM systems NOx
reductions up to 70% can be achieved.

Literature
Robert N. Brady, Modern diesel technology, 1996 Prentice-Hall
John B. Heywood, Internal combustion engine fundamentals, 1988 McGraw-Hill
Motor Technischer Zeitung, no5 2002
Dictaat verbrandingsmotoren 2
Diktaat Zuigermotoren,
Prof. Dr. Ir. Ch. Van Aken, Universiteit Gent 1996-97
Engineering Fundamentals of the Internal Combustion Engine, Willard W. Pulkrabek
1997.
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/inter/technology/GDI/page5.html
http://www.visionengineer.com/mech/variable_valve_timing.html

37