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Abstract. This report overviews the historical background, development, and thermodynamic conventions of
the Otto and Stirling Cycles. The Otto Cycle is found in engines used for automobiles and consists of a spark
ignition engine. Nikolaus Otto, around the late 1800s, was the first to create a working four-stroke engine that
used a coal gas to air mixture that would fuel his engine. The Otto cycle was then created and now is also
known as the four-stroke principle which most commonly uses spark plugs to ignite the fuel added. The fuel
is contained in a closed system of a certain mass that is taken through different process to output work. Each
Otto Cycle has four stages that is passes through, expansion, cooling, compression, and combustion. The Otto
Cycle consists of two isentropic and two isochoric processes. The isentropic processes insinuates there is no
loss of energy and therefore no heat transfer during those two processes. The heat transfer occurs in both of
the isochoric processes. The Stirling Cycle is found in engines usually attached to a machine that requires
a continuous power intake, such as solar power plants. Robert Stirling in 1816 created the first example of
a closed system air engine which then was known to be the Stirling Cycle. The Stirling engine is known as
an external combustion engine that isolates the combustion process using a heat exchanger boundary. This
cycle also consists of four stages, compression, heat addition, expansion, and heat removal. The Stirling Cycle
consists of two isothermal processes and two isochoric processes. The Stirling Cycle has a high efficiency
due to the heat exchanger mechanism which allows for no heat to be lost or wasted during the process. The
fluid contained in a Stirling Engine can be any gas that will not change states when being heated or cooled,
such as hydrogen. Both cycles output a certain amount of work to power their relative machines in the proper
environment they are created for.
1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction to The Otto Cycle
1.2 Introduction to The Stirling Cycle Figure 3. The First Commercially Successful 4-Cycle I.C. En-
gine
The Stirling Cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that analyzes
the different classes of Stirling engines. The purpose of
a Stirling engine is to take a fluid, that is then recycled
continuously throughout the engine to produce power. To development of the early internal combustion engine. It
understand the operation of a Stirling Engine, one has to wasnt until 1862 that Otto started to break ground on the
comprehend the functionality of the components. Stirling four-cycle engine. The engine that he created, however,
Engine, also known as a heat engine operates through si- broke within a few minutes of running, but this did not de-
multaneous processes of compressing and expanding air ter Otto. Unfortunately for Otto, he wouldnt progress his
or other fluids such as hydrogen or helium. A Stirling En- research on the four-cycle combustion engine until nearly
gine consists of a closed system with one side that is hot a decade after his first experiments for various reasons.
and the other side that is cold. The gas inside the engine is Research is by no means cheap, so Otto had to look for
being continuously rotated between the hot and cold sides investors to fund his vision. Luckily a man by the name of
of the engine using a piston assembly. When the gas is Eugen Langen liked Ottos vision so much that they even-
leaning towards the hot side, the pressure is higher which tually created a company for the sole purpose of engineer-
expands the piston; when the gas is towards the cold side ing engines. Although, Ottos intention was to produce a 4
the pressure is lower which contracts the piston. The two cycle internal combustion engine, Otto and Langens com-
pistons have different tasks on hand, one piston is used to pany actually developed an atmospheric engine shortly af-
move the gas between the heat source and the heat sink, ter the company was founded. Believe it or not the engine
the other piston is used to take the work that is being out- was actually commercially successful and compared to to-
putted and through the cranks power the machine. The days standards only produced 3 horsepower and it needed
Stirling engine also has a very high efficiency compared a whopping 10 ft of room to operate. It wasnt until 1876,
to others due to a heat exchanger which is incorporated 12 years after the Otto Langen engine, that the four-cycle
to pick up heat when the hot gas is moving through, this internal combustion engine finally come into fruition with
allows for no heat to be lost or wasted to the atmosphere. the help of Franz Rings and Herman Schumm.
A Stirling Engine is ideal to be used in situations where
there needs to be continuous power being produced, such
as solar power plants or high-efficiency combined heat and
power plants. The Stirling Cycle is a closed system that 2.2 Implementation of The Stirling Cycle
takes a fixed amount of fluid and while changing the pres-
sure the system then outputs work. The Stirling engine has an interesting history timeline.
The reason being, the design and patent submitted in 1816
preceded the birth of thermodynamics and the writing
2 Origins and Societal Implementation of M. Sadi Carnot by some 40 years[10]. Stirling de-
2.1 Implementation of The Otto Cycle signed an engine before the advent of thermodynamics it-
self, and incredibly, the Stirling engine is still used till this
This section will overview the history and development day. The man reason for Stirlings drive to produce such
of the Otto Cycle. Necessary figures and equations will an engine was actually a safety reason. During his time,
be added. To understand the history behind the Otto cy- steam engines were in heavy use and, unfortunately, ma-
cle, we must first delve into the past of inventor him- terial science hadnt progressed enough to make steam en-
selfNikolaus Otto. Interestingly enough, Otto wasnt an gines reliably safe. The problem was the boilers would ex-
engineer by trade; however, he and his brother were fasci- plode causing high pressure steam to injure factory work-
nated with engines. After learning of a new engine called ers. With Stirlings goal in mind he set out to engineer
the Lenoir engine, the brothers built a copy of the engine the Stirling engine, which did see some production usage.
and from then on Otto started his progression toward the However, a man by the name of Bessimer found a way
Figure 4. The Apparatus of Robert Stirlings 1816 Patent Figure 5. The Atkinson Cycle, which employs a smaller com-
pression stroke than the Otto Cycle
4 Important Thermodynamic Relations The following processes encompass the definition of the
ideal Otto Cycle, which is subject to Air Standard Analysis
4.1 Air Standard Analysis of an Internal conditions. The processes enumeration is assigned based
Combustion Engine on Figures 3 and 4, respectively.
The basis of the Otto Cycle is defined upon a certain set of Process 1-2: An isentropic compression of the air as the
ideal conditions. In an air standard analysis of an internal piston moves from maximum to minimum volume.
combustion engine, which are the conditions assumed for
the Otto Cycle, the following conditions are assumed: Process 2-3: A constant volume heat transfer to the air
A fixed amount of air modeled as an ideal gas is the from an external source while the piston is at minimum
working fluid. volume.
The combustion process is replaced by an external
source heat transfer. Process 3-4: An isentropic expansion of the air as the
There is no exhaust and intake processes like an ac- piston moves from minimum to maximum volume.
tual engine. The cycle is completed by a constant volume
heat transfer process taking place while the piston is at Process 4-1: A constant volume heat rejection from the
maximum volume. air to an external source while the piston is at maximum
All processes are internally reversible. volume.
4.3 Thermodynamic Equations of the Otto Cycle In order to retrieve specific internal energies prescribed by
the energy balance equations of the Otto Cycle, the param-
The energy balance of the closed system is shown be- eter vr is used to relate states using the compression ratio,
low. Regarding the mechanical processes of the Piston- as shown below.
Cylinder apparatus of the Otto Cycle, kinetic and potential
effects may be neglected. V2 vr1
vr2 = vr1 =
V1 r
Q W = U + KE + PE ; (KE = 0, PE = 0)
V4
By rearrangement of the energy balance for the Otto Cy- vr4 = vr3 = rvr3
V3
cle, work input during process 1-2 and work output during
process during process 3-4 are as shown below, both of In cold air standard analysis, where specific heats are as-
which are given in positive terms. sumed constant, the following relations of thermodynam-
ics is applied.
W12
= u2 u1 ; (dQ = 0) T2 v1 k1
m = ( ) ; (s2 = s1 , constant k)
T1 v2
W34
= u3 u4 ; (dQ = 0)
m cp
k=
By rearrangement of the energy balance for the Otto Cy- cv
cle, heat added during process 2-3 and heat rejection dur-
ing process during process 4-1 are shown as the equations u (T 2 ) u (T 1 ) = cv (T 2 T 1 )
below, both of which are given in positive terms. Thus, by assuming constant specific heats, the following
Q23 relation is met with the compression ratio as shown below
= u3 u2 ; (dW = 0) of the Otto Cycle under cold air standards.
m
Q41 T2 V1 k1
= u4 u1 ; (dW = 0) = ( ) = rk1
m T1 V2
The net work of the Otto Cycle is the work output sub-
tracted by the work input of the cycle, and the respective T4 V3 k1 1
= ( ) = k1
equation is shown below. T3 V4 r
Wcycle W34 W12 Additionally, by assuming constant specific heats, the ther-
= = (u3 u4 ) (u2 u1 ) mal efficiency under Cold Air Standard Analysis can be
m m m
successfully defined as shown below.
Alternatively, the net work of the Otto Cycle is the heat
added subtracted by the heat rejection of the cycle, and the cv (T 4 T 1 ) T 1 [T 4 /(T 1 1)]
Otto Cycle (C.S .A.) = 1 = 1
respective equation is shown below. cv (T 3 T 2 ) T 2 [T 3 /(T 2 1)]
Wcycle Q23 Q41 Given the isentropic processes described during process 1-
= = (u3 u2 ) (u4 u1 ) 2 and process 3-4 of the reversible Otto cycle, the follow-
m m m
ing relations of temperature ratios exist as shown below.
The thermal efficiency of the Otto Cycle is the ratio of the
work of the cycle to the heat added to the cycle, and the T4 T3
respective equation under Air Standard Analysis is shown =
T1 T2
below.
Wcycle (u3 u2 ) (u4 u1 ) u4 u1 Thus, the thermal efficiency under Cold Air Standard
Otto Cycle (A.S .) = = =1 Analysis can be further rearranged due to the temperature
Q23 u3 u2 u3 u2
ratio relation as shown below.
Given the constant volume processes described during
process 2-3 and process 4-1 of the Otto cycle, the follow- T1
Otto Cycle (C.S .A) = 1
ing relations of volume exist as shown below. T2
V1 V4 1
r= = Otto Cycle (C.S .A.) = 1
V2 V3 rk1
Figure 10. P-V Diagram of a Stirling Cycle
Figure 9. Compression Ratio vs. Thermal Efficiency of an Otto
Cycle