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A four-stroke engine is an internal combustion engine that utilizes four distinct piston
strokes to complete one full operating cycle. A stroke refers to the travel of the piston along the
cylinder in either direction. It can be the movement of the piston from 'top dead center', which is
the farthest position of the piston from the crankshaft to bottom dead center, which is the
closest position of the piston to the crankshaft. The movement can also be reversed from bottom
dead center to top dead center. The four stroke engine is the most common engine type and
powers many different mechanisms including:
Motorcycles
Automobiles
Boats
Trucks
Aircrafts
Ships
Heavy duty machinery
Power generators
three elements present in order to run. These elements include, a burnable mixture
(gasoline, starting fluid, carb cleaner, etc.), compression, and ignition/spark.
Stroke Stages
As one may guess, there are four separate strokes that take place in a fourstroke engine, which means the engine completes a cycle of tasks that is separated into
four stages. These four strokes take place in the following order and are termed:
Intake Stroke
Compression Stroke
Combustion/Power Stroke
Exhaust Stroke
Cycle Summary
In summary, the combustion is able to cause piston motion through the four
separate strokes described above. First, during the intake stroke the intake valve is opened and
the fuel/air mixture is drawn in as the piston travels downward. Second, during the compression
stroke the intake and exhaust valves are closed and the piston travels back up the cylinder
compressing the fuel/air mixture. Just before the piston reaches the top of its compression stroke,
the spark plug emits a spark to combust the fuel/air mixture. Third, during the combustion/power
stroke the piston is now forced down by the pressure wave of the combustion of the fuel/air
mixture. The engines power is derived from this particular stroke. Lastly, during the exhaust
stroke the exhaust valve is opened and the piston travels back up the cylinder expelling the
exhaust gasses through the oultet valve. At the top of the stroke the exhaust valve is closed and
this process is repeated continuously. This summary describes the cycle of operation of one
cylinder of a four-stroke engine. Generally, engines have two or more cylinders acting in concert
with each other to produce the engines power.