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Operation
Method of CI
engine

Chapter 2 Operation Method of IC engine

1. Introduction.
2. Operational
Terminology.
3. Diesel cycle
3.1. Assumptions
3.2. theory
4. Four-stroke engine.
Two-stroke engine.
5. Combustion processes.
6. Stage of combustion in
CI engine.
6.1. Ignition delay
6.2. Premixed
combustion
6.3. Mixing controlled
combustion.
6.4. Late combustion
phase.
7. Cetane Number and its
Significance.
8. Detonation in CI
engines.
9. Combustion chamber
design in CI engine.

2.1.
Introduction
Like a gasoline engine, a diesel is an internal
combustion engine that converts chemical energy in
fuel to mechanical energy that moves pistons up and
down inside enclosed spaces called cylinders.
The pistons are connected to the engines crankshaft,
which changes their linear motion into the rotary
motion needed to propel the vehicles wheels. With
both gasoline and diesel engines, energy is released in a
series of small explosions (combustion) as fuel reacts
chemically with oxygen from the air. This chapter will

discuss the operation method of compression ignition engines.

2.2. Operational Terminology
Before a detailed operation of a diesel engine can be explained, several terms must be
defined.
Bore and Stroke

Bore and stroke are terms used to define the size of an engine. As previously stated, bore
refers to the diameter of the engine's cylinder, and stroke refers to the distance the piston
travels from the top of the cylinder to the bottom. The highest point of travel by the
piston is called top dead center (TDC), and the lowest point of travel is called bottom
dead center (BDC). There are 180of travel between TDC and BDC, or one stroke.
Engine Displacement

Engine displacement is one of the terms used to compare one engine to another.
Displacement refers to the total volume displaced by all the pistons during one stroke.
The displacement is usually given in cubic inches or liters. To calculate the displacement
of an engine, the volume of one cylinder must be determined (volume of a cylinder
=(r2)h where h = the stroke). The volume of one cylinder is multiplied by the number
of cylinders to obtain the total engine displacement.
Degree of Crank shaft Rotation

All events that occur in an engine are related to the location of the piston. Because the
piston is connected to the crankshaft, any location of the piston corresponds directly to a
specific number of degrees of crankshaft rotation .
Firing Order

Firing order refers to the order in which each of the cylinders in a multicylinder engine
fires (power stroke). For example, a four cylinder engine's firing order could be 1-4-3-2.
This means that the number 1 cylinder fires, then the number 4 cylinder fires, then the
number 3 cylinder fires, and so on. Engines are designed so that the power strokes are as
uniform as possible, that is, as the crankshaft rotates a certain number of degrees, one of
the cylinders will go through a power stroke. This reduces vibration and allows the
power generated by the engine to be applied to the load in a smoother fashion than if they
were all to fire at once or in odd multiples.
Compression Ratio and Clearance Volume

Clearance volume is the volume remaining in the cylinder when the piston is at TDC.
Because of the irregular shape of the combustion chamber (volume in the head) the
clearance volume is calculated empirically by filling the chamber with a measured
amount of fluid while the piston is at TDC. This volume is then added to the
displacement volume in the cylinder to obtain the cylinders total volume.

Horsepower

Power is the amount of work done per unit time or the rate of doing work. For a diesel
engine, power is rated in units of horsepower. Indicated horsepower is the power
transmitted to the pistons by the gas in the cylinders and is mathematically
calculated .
Brake horsepower refers to the amount of usable power delivered by the engine to the
crankshaft. Indicated horsepower can be as much as 15% higher than brake horsepower.
The difference is due to internal engine friction, combustion inefficiencies, and parasitic
losses, for example, oil pump, blower, water pump, etc.
The ratio of an engine's brake horsepower and its indicated horsepower is called the
mechanical efficiency of the engine. The mechanical efficiency of a four-cycle diesel is
about 82 to 90 percent. This is slightly lower than the efficiency of the two-cycle diesel
engine. The lower mechanical efficiency is due to the additional friction losses and
power needed to drive the piston through the extra 2 strokes .
Engines are rated not only in horsepower but also by the torque they produce. Torque Is
a measure of the engine's ability to apply the power it is generating. Torque is commonly
given in units of J-m.
2.3. Diesel cycle
Diesels differ from gasoline engines primarily in the way the explosions occur. Gasoline
engines start the explosions with sparks from spark plugs, whereas in diesel engines, fuel
ignites on its own. Air heats up when its compressed.This fact led German engineer
Rudolf Diesel to theorize that fuel could be made to ignite spontaneously if the air inside
an engines cylinders became hot enough through compression.
2.3.1. Assumptions
Working fluid is air. There is no friction. Compression and expansion are isentropic -there is no entropy change. During heat addition and heat rejection, the air temperature
does change. Ideal gas state equation is valid PV = RT. Air behaves as a perfect gas -specific heat has a constant value.
2.3.2. Theory
The ideal cycle for a simple diesel engine is the Diesel Cycle. The Diesel Cycle thermal
efficiency is presented only for the air as the working fluid. The thermal efficiency
derivation is presented with a simple mathematical approach. The Diesel Cycle is
presented in the p-V and T - s diagrams and its major performance trends (thermal
efficiency and power output) are plotted in a few figures as a function of compression
and cut off ratio values, combustor outlet temperature and some fixed cylinder geometry.
It should be noted that this online course does not deal with costs (capital, operational or
maintenance).

In the presented Diesel Cycle analysis, only air is considered as the working fluid
behaving as a perfect gas -- specific heat has a constant value. Ideal gas state equation is
valid PV = RT .
Air enters a cylinder at point 1 when compression starts and it ends at point 2. Isentropic
compression is considered with no entropy change. Heat addition starts at point 2 and it
ends at point 3. At a constant pressure, combustion takes place (fuel is added to the
cylinder and the air temperature raises) and/or heat gets added to air. Expansion starts at
point 3 and it ends at point 4. Isentropic expansion is considered with no entropy change.
Air heat rejection starts at point 4 and it ends at point 1. At a constant volume ,air gets
cooled and the working fluid temperature goes down. It should be mentioned that air at
point 1enters the compression process again and the cycle is repeated. Figure 2.1 presents
a Diesel Cycle pressure volume diagram. Figure 2.2, presents a diesel cycle temperature
- entropy diagram. (1)

Figure 2.1 diesel cycle P-V diagram

Figure 2.2 diesel cycle T-S diagram

The thermo dynamic relations of the ideal diesel cycle:

Compression stroke:

Heat addition:
Expansion stroke:
Heat rejection:

)
)

The theoretical efficiency of the cycle is determined as follows:

)
(

(
)

)
(

Where: - the compression ratio.

- cut off ratio.

Differences between theoretical and real processes:

The main differences are the following:
These cycles are reciprocating cycles, not steady flow cycles, like the Joule
cycle in gas turbine, which means that in every cycle a certain amount of fluid takes
part.
In the theoretical cycle there is not chemical changes, the heat is exchanged from
externally to the cycle. In the real process the heat is supplied by combustion in the
engine.
Because the combustion takes place inside the engine, fuel and air have to
induct into the engine, and combustion products must be exhausted. So the real process
consists of induction and exhaust processes together with the processes which take place
in the theoretical cycles.
Compression and expansion processes are irreversible
Combustion running not exactly at constant volume or pressure
There is heat exchange from the working fluid to the walls
There are fluid flow friction losses at the induction and exhaust process. (2)
2.4. Four-stroke Engine:
1. First Stroke: Intake Stroke or Induction The piston travels from top dead center (TDC)
to bottom dead center (BDC) with the intake valve open and exhaust valve closed. This
creates an increasing volume in the combustion chamber, which in turn creates a vacuum.
The resulting pressure differential through the intake system from atmospheric pressure
on the outside to the vacuum on the inside causes air to be pushed into the cylinder.
2. Second Stroke: Compression Stroke When the piston reaches BDC, the intake valve
closes and the piston travels back to TDC with all valves closed. This compresses the air
raising both the pressure and temperature in the cylinder.

The finite time required to close the intake valve means that actual compression doesn't
start until sometime after BDC. Near the end of the compression stroke, fuel is injected
then self-ignited.
3. Combustion: In diesel engine, combustion is fully developed by TDC and continues at
about constant pressure until fuel injection is complete and the piston has started towards
BDC. Combustion changes the composition of the gas mixture to that of exhaust products
and increases the temperature in the cylinder to a very high peak value. This, in turn,
raises the pressure in the cylinder to a very high peak value.
4. Third Stroke: Expansion Stroke or
Power Stroke With all valves closed,
the high pressure created by the
combustion process pushes the piston
away from TDC. This is the stroke
which produces the work output of
the engine cycle. As the piston travels
from TDC to BDC, cylinder volume
is increased, causing pressure and
temperature to drop.
5. Exhaust Blowdown: Late in the
power stroke, the exhaust valve is
opened and exhaust blow down
occurs. Pressure and temperature in
the cylinder are still high relative to
the surroundings at this point, and a
pressure differential is created
through the exhaust system which is
open to atmospheric pressure. This
pressure differential causes much of
the hot exhaust gas to be pushed out
of the cylinder and through the
exhaust system when the piston is
Figure 2.3 4-stroke diesel engine
near BDC. This exhaust gas carries
away a high amount of enthalpy,
which lowers the cycle thermal efficiency. Opening the exhaust valve before BDC
reduces the work obtained during the power stroke but is required because of the finite
time needed for exhaust blowdown.
6. Fourth Stroke: Exhaust Stroke By the time the piston reaches BDC, exhaust
blowdown is complete, but the cylinder is still full of exhaust gases at approximately

atmospheric pressure. With the exhaust valve remaining open, the piston now travels
from BDC to TDC in the exhaust stroke. This pushes most of the remaining exhaust
gases out of the cylinder into the exhaust system at about atmospheric pressure, leaving
only that trapped in the clearance volume when the piston reaches TDC. Near the end of
the exhaust stroke before TDC, the intake valve starts to open, so that it is fully open by
TDC when the new intake stroke starts the next cycle. Near TDC the exhaust valve starts
to close and finally is fully closed sometime before TDC. This period when both the
intake valve and exhaust valve are open is called valve overlap. Figure 2.3 illustrates the
cycle strokes of 4-stroke diesel engine.
2.5. Two-stroke Engine
1. Combustion: With the piston
at TDC combustion occurs very
quickly, raising the temperature
and pressure to peak values,
almost at constant volume.
2. First Stroke: Expansion
Stroke or Power Stroke Very
high pressure created by the
combustion process forces the
piston down in the power stroke.
The expanding volume of the
combustion chamber causes
pressure and temperature to
decrease as the piston travels
towards BDC.
3. Exhaust Blowdown: At about
75 before BDC, the piston
reaches the exhaust valve (slot in
the side of cylinder) and
blowdown
occurs.
After
blowdown the cylinder remains
filled with exhaust gas at lower
pressure.

Figure 2.4 2-stroke diesel engine

4. Intake and Scavenging: When blowdown is nearly complete, at about 50 before

BDC, the intake slot on the side of the cylinder is uncovered and intake air enters under
pressure. This incoming mixture pushes much of the remaining exhaust gases out the
open exhaust valve and fills the cylinder with fresh air, a process called scavenging. The
piston passes BDC and very quickly covers the intake port and then the exhaust port. The

higher pressure at which the air enters the cylinder is established in one of two ways.
Large two stroke cycle engines generally have a supercharger, while small engines will
intake the air through the crankcase. On these engines the crankcase is designed to serve
as a compressor in addition to serving its normal function.
5. Second Stroke: Compression Stroke With all valves (ports) closed, the piston travels
towards TDC and compresses the air to a higher pressure and temperature. Near the end
of the compression stroke, the spark fuel is injected; by the time the piston gets to IDC,
combustion occurs and the next engine cycle begins. Figure 2.4 illustrates cycle strokes
of 2-stroke diesel engine. (3)
2.6. Stages of CI Combustion:
CI combustion can be divided into following four stages, as shown in Figure 2.5:
(a) Ignition Delay Period (Pre-flame combustion)
(b) Uncontrolled combustion (Premixed Combustion)
(c)Mixing Controlled combustion
(d) After burning (Late Combustion)

Figure 2.5 Stages of CI Combustion

2.6.1. Ignition delay (ab)

The time required to start the actual combustion after starting the fuel injection is known
as Delay period and the crank angle required for this is known as Delay period
angle. The air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber before starting the combustion is
very heterogeneous and concentration of fuel may vary from 0 to 100%. The first ignition

(flame) generally occurs in the region of chemically correct A:F mixture because it
requires minimum reaction time.
Once the ignition takes place, the flame formed propagates through the mixture of air and
vaporized fuel and ignites the adjacent part of charge or it may initiate the auto-ignition
in the part of A:F mixture away from the flame front by transferring the heat by radiation.
Ignition delay can be divided to:
Physical Delay:
Physical processes include fuel spray atomization, evaporation and mixing of fuel vapor
with air. Good atomization requires high fuel pressure, small injector hole diameter,
optimum fuel viscosity, high cylinder pressure (large divergence angle).
Rate of vaporization of the fuel droplets depends on droplet diameter, velocity, fuel
volatility, pressure and temperature of the air.
Chemical Delay:
Chemical processes similar to auto ignition phenomenon in premixed fuel-air, but more
complex since heterogeneous reactions (reactions occurring on the liquid fuel drop
surface) also occur.
Factors Affecting Ignition Delay:
Injection timing: At normal engine conditions the minimum delay occurs with the
start of injection at about 10-15 BTDC Earlier 10 BTDC. or later injection timing
results in a lower air temperature and pressure during the delay period increase
in the ignition delay time.
Load: For a CI engine the air is not throttled so the load is varied by changing the
amount of fuel injected. Increasing the load (BMEP) increases the residual gas and
wall temperature which results in a higher charge temperature at injection will
decrease in the ignition delay.
Intake air temperature and pressure: An increase in either will result in a decrease in
the ignition delay due to better atomization and fuel mixing.
Compression Ratio: An increase in the compression ratio also decreases ignition
delay.
Fuel Quality: The properties of the fuel affect the ignition delay. The ignition
quality of a fuel is defined by its cetane number (CN). For low cetane fuels the
ignition delay is long and for high cetane fuels the ignition delay is short .
2.6.2. Premixed combustion phase (bc):
Combustion of the fuel which has mixed with the air to within the flammability limits (air
at high temperature and high- pressure) during the ignition delay period occurs rapidly in
a few crank angles. A considerable amount of fuel is accumulated in the combustion

chamber during the delay period. This accumulated fuel burns very rapidly causing a
steep rise in the cylinder pressure. The rate of pressure rise increases with the increase in
delay period because the amount of fuel taking part in this combustion increases with an
increase in delay period.
This phase of combustion causing rapid pressure rise in the cylinder is known as Period
of uncontrolled combustion.
2.6.3. Mixing controlled combustion phase (cd)
After premixed gas consumed, the burning rate is controlled by the rate at which mixture
becomes available for burning. The burning rate is controlled primarily by the fuel-air
mixing process.
The fuel injected after the process of uncontrolled combustion burns at the same rate at
which it is injected because, the vaporization of fuel, mixing with the air and burning
takes place at almost instantaneously as the fuel leaves the nozzle. This is because , the
temperature and pressure inside the cylinder are sufficiently high and sufficient
turbulence is created due to previous burning, thus the delay period for the fuel injected
after the process of uncontrolled combustion is almost zero. This period of combustion is
known as Controlled combustion.
2.6.4. Late combustion phase (de)
Heat release may proceed at a lower rate well into the expansion stroke (no additional
fuel injected during this phase). Combustion of any unburned liquid fuel and soot is
responsible for this. The Thermal decomposition of the part of fuel takes place during
uncontrolled and controlled combustion.
The decomposed fuel molecules contain enough number of hydrocarbons and carbon
particles which have lower reaction rate. Some carbon and hydrocarbons, decomposed
from fuel are left in the combustion products because the rate of decomposition during
uncontrolled and controlled combustion I more than the rate of reaction of these
molecules during that period.
These unburned hydrocarbons and carbon generally burn after stopping the fuel injection
or during the expansion stroke. This process of combustion of decomposed carbon atoms
is known as After Burning.
Once the ignition takes place, the flame formed propagates through the mixture of air and
vaporized fuel and ignites the adjacent part of charge or it may initiate the auto-ignition
in the part of A:F mixture away from the flame front by transferring the heat by radiation.
2.7. Cetane Number and its Significance:
The cetane number scale is defined by blends of two pure hydrocarbon reference fuels:
isocetane and cetane.

For low cetane fuels the ignition delay is long and most of the fuel is injected before auto
ignition and rapid combustion, under extreme cases this produces an audible knocking
sound referred to as diesel knock.
For high cetane fuels the ignition delay is short and very little fuel is injected before auto
ignition, the heat release rate is controlled by the rate of fuel injection and fuel-air mixing
smoother engine operation.
2.8. Detonation in CI engines
If the rate of fuel supply is very large than the rate of fuel burned then the accumulated
fuel in the combustion chamber is considerably large and the burning of fuel in some
pocket suddenly starts as a bomb. A very high pressure wave is generated and pressurizes
the mixture to that pressure and temperature which is much higher than the self-ignition
temperature.
That part of mixture also suddenly ignites creating another pressure wave and this is
continued till all the fuel in the combustion chamber burns. This creates highly pulsating
combustion and is known as Detonation.
Factors Affecting the Detonation in C.I. Engines:
The factors which are responsible for the delay period also responsible for the
detonation.
If the injection of fuel is too far advanced, the rate of pressure rise during autoignition is very high and causes detonation.
Inferior fuels (having lower cetane number)promote diesel knock but this can be
avoided by using better types of fuel(higher cetane number)
Fuel injection parameters (better penetration and distribution) better combustion
chamber design(split type) influences detonation tendency.
Initial condition of the air (higher temperature or higher pressure in case of
supercharged engine) influences detonation tendency.
The fuel having longer delay period and higher self-ignition temperature lead to
detonation.
Following factors can effectively control the detonation in CI combustion;

Using a better fuel.

Controlling the rate of fuel supply.

Knock reducing fuel injector. (4)

2.9. Combustion chamber design in CI engine
In CI combustion, Creating high turbulence is essential to evaporate fuel and air-fuel
mixing. several methods for creating good swirling in CI engine as following:

Swirl in induction (suction) struck: swirling can be created by tangential inlet at

intake valve housing or by directing air by special valve designs, thus, when air is
induced to the cylinder, it is swirled during the iterance.
Swirling during compression stroke: a cavity in piston can create swirling motion
during compression process as shown in the figure below.
Swirling during combustion: it is applicable in the pre-combustion chamber
design. Rich fuel combustion occurs in the pre-combustion chamber then high
speed gasses flows to the main chamber causing high turbulence and swirling.

Figure 2.6, shows the different types of swirling in CI engines.

Figure 2.6 types of swirling in CI engines

2.9.1. Types of Combustion Chambers in CI Engines:

The most important function of CI engine combustion chamber is to provide proper
mixing of fuel and air in short time. In order to achieve this, an organized air movement
called swirl is provided to produce high relative velocity between the fuel droplets and
the air.
When the liquid fuel is injected into combustion chamber, the spray cone gets disturbed
due to air motion and turbulence inside. The onset of combustion will cause an added
turbulence that can be guided by the shape of the combustion chamber. C I engine
combustion chambers are classified into two categories:
Direct Injection Chambers Open Combustion Chambers:
An open combustion chamber is defined as one in which the combustion space is
essentially a single cavity with little restriction from one part of the chamber to the other
and hence with no large difference in pressure between parts of the chamber during the
combustion process. There are many designs of open chamber some of which are shown
below :

Shallow Depth Chamber: In shallow depth chamber the depth of the cavity provided in
the piston is quite small. This chamber is usually adopted for large engines running at low
speeds. Since the cavity diameter is very large, the squish is negligible.
Hemispherical Chamber: This chamber also gives small squish. However, the depth to
diameter ratio for a cylindrical chamber can be varied to give any desired squish to give
better performance.
Cylindrical Chamber: This design was attempted in recent diesel engines. This is a
modification of the cylindrical chamber in the form of a truncated cone with base angle
of 30. The swirl was produced by masking the valve for nearly 1800 of circumference.
Squish can also be varied by varying the depth.
Toroidal Chamber: The idea behind this shape is to provide a powerful squish along with
the air movement, similar to that of the familiar smoke ring, within the toroidal chamber.
Due to powerful squish the mask needed on inlet valve is small and there is better
utilization of oxygen. The cone angle of spray for this type of chamber is 150 to 160.
The main advantages of this type of chambers are:
Minimum heat loss during compression because of lower surface area to volume
ratio and hence, better efficiency.
No cold starting problems.
Fine atomization because of multi hole nozzle.
The drawbacks of these combustion chambers are:
High fuel-injection pressure required and hence complex design of fuel injection
pump.
Necessity of accurate metering of fuel by the injection system, particularly for
small engines.
In Direct Injection Chambers:
A divided combustion chamber is defined as one in which the combustion space is
divided into two or more distinct compartments connected by restricted passages. This
creates considerable pressure differences between them during the combustion process.
Pre-combustion chamber: It contains two combustion chambers with narrow passage
(throat) between them. The pre-chamber contains only 25-30% of the air, thus, rich
combustion occurs first in it then gases are pushed with high turbulence to the main
chamber to complete the combustion. This design has no knocking tendency and can use
low-pressure single-hole nozzle. However, it suffers from the lower efficiency due to
high thermal losses through pre-chamber and high pressure drop through the throat.

Turbulence combustion chamber: It is similar to the pre-combustion design but with

high 90-95% air concentration at the first chamber with special design for the throat to
create high turbulence and swirling. Advantages and disadvantages of this design are
similar to the previous design.
Air-cell combustion chamber: It contains a small cylindrical chamber in front of the
nozzle known as air-cell. A single-hole injector with narrow spray pattern is used to
create the first ignition inside the air-cell. This results in a jet of flame shooting back out
of the air cell directly into the jet of fuel that still injecting. The heat and turbulence give
excellent fuel vaporization and mixing properties. Since the majority of the combustion
takes place outside the air cell in the main chamber, there is less heat loss compared to
the pre-chamber design. (5; 3)