Sir Dugald Clerk (sometimes written as Dugald Clark) KBE, LLD

FRS (1854, Glasgow – 1932, Ewhurst, Surrey) was a Scottish

engineer who designed the world's first successful two-stroke engine
in 1878 and patented it in England in 1881. He was a graduate of
Anderson's University in Glasgow (now the University of
Strathclyde), and Yorkshire College, Leeds (now the University of
Leeds). He formed the intellectual property firm with George
Croydon Marks, called Marks & Clerk. He was knighted on 24
August 1917.

In 1877 the Otto cycle was patented, immediately recognised to

have a significant practical value. Clerk quickly followed with his concept of a two stroke engine
of 1880, that would not infringe the Otto's patent (being a four stroke engine).

Clerk describes a Cambell engine as using his cycle, as follows: "It has two cylinders,
respectively pump and motor, driven from cranks placed at almost right angles to each other, the
pump crank leading. The pump takes in a charge of gas and air, and the motor piston overruns a
port in the side of the cylinder at the out-end of its stroke to discharge the exhaust gases. When
the pressure in the motor cylinder has fallen to atmosphere, the pump forces its charge into the
back cover of the motor cylinder through a check valve, displacing before it the products of
combustion through an exhaust port ; the motor piston then returns, compressing the contents of
the cylinder into the compression space. The charge is then fired and the piston performs its
working stroke. This is the Clerk cycle."

DEFINING TWO STROKE ENGINE

A two-stroke, or two-cycle, engine
is a type of internal combustion
engine which completes a power
cycle with two strokes (up and down
movements) of the piston during only
one crankshaft revolution. This is in
contrast to a "four-stroke engine",
which requires four strokes of the
piston to complete a power cycle. In a
two-stroke engine, the end of the
combustion stroke and the beginning
of the compression stroke happen
simultaneously, with the intake and
exhaust (or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time.
Advantages of two stroke engines

•Two stroke engines do not have valves which are easy to construct and lowers their weight

•Two stroke engines fire once every revolution while four stroke every other revolution,

this two stroke engines lower output in horse power

•Two stroke engines can work in any position, since oil flow is not a concern with any valves to
worry about.

Disadvantages of two stroke engines

•Two stroke engines do not last as long as four stroke engines; there is no lubrication system in a
two stroke engine so parts wear out a lot faster.

•Two stroke oil is expensive; you would burn a gallon every 1000 miles if it were in a car

•Two stroke engines use more fuel

•Two stroke engines produce a lot of pollution, and the way the engine is designed that part of
the air/fuel leaks out of the chamber through the exhaust port, which is why you see a small thin
film, or sheen, of oil around any two stroke outboard motor, and this leaking oil is a real mess for
the environment. This is the reason why two stroke engines are used only in application where
the motor is not used very often and a fantastic power-to-weigh ratio is important.
 Nickolaus Otto invented the 4 stroke cycle in 1862. More details of how the four stroke
spark ignition cycle works, together with pictures of Otto's first engines

In 1892 Rudolph Diesel invented the

compression ignition engine, now
named after him. The first working
engine was built at the Augsburg
Maschinenfabrik (now part of the
MAN B&W group) in 1897. The
single cylinder engine was used to
power stationary machinery. It
weighed five tonnes and produced 20
hp at 172 rpm! The engine operated at
26.2% efficiency, a very significant
improvement on the 20% achieved by the best petrol engines
of the time.

In 1912 the first ocean going vessel to have diesel engines installed was the Selandia. The
engines were 8 cylinder 4 strokes. An idea of their size can be got from the man standing by the
engine controls half way down the engine.
The four stroke cycle is so called because it takes four strokes of the piston to complete the
processes needed to convert the energy in the fuel into work. Because the engine is reciprocating,
this means that the piston must move up and down the cylinder twice, and therefore the
crankshaft must revolve twice.

The four strokes of the piston are known as the induction stroke, the compression stroke, the
power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. Students sometimes remember this as "suck, squeeze,
bang, blow."

DEFINING FOUR STROKE ENGINE

A four-stroke engine (also known as four cycle) is an internal
combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four
separate strokes while turning a crankshaft. A stroke refers to the
full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direction. The
four separate strokes are termed:

Intake: This stroke of the piston begins at top dead center

(T.D.C.) and ends at bottom dead center (B.D.C.). In this stroke
the intake valve must be in the open position while the piston
pulls an air-fuel mixture into the cylinder by producing vacuum
pressure into the cylinder through its downward motion.

Compression: This stroke begins at B.D.C, or just at the end of the suction stroke, and ends at
T.D.C. In this stroke the piston compresses the air-fuel mixture in preparation for ignition during
the power stroke (below). Both the intake and exhaust valves are closed during this stage.

Combustion: This is the start of the second revolution of the four stroke cycle. At this point the
crankshaft has completed a full 360 degree revolution. While the piston is at T.D.C. (the end of
the compression stroke) the compressed air-fuel mixture is ignited by a spark plug (in a gasoline
engine) or by heat generated by high compression (diesel engines), forcefully returning the
piston to B.D.C. This stroke produces mechanical work from the engine to turn the crankshaft.

Exhaust: During the exhaust stroke, the piston once again returns from B.D.C. to T.D.C. while
the exhaust valve is open. This action expels the spent air-fuel mixture through the exhaust
valve.
Advantages
More torque
This is the most important reasons why people choose a 4-stroke engine. The two-stroke boasts
its speed and power, but the four-stroke shows extra torque. It is more reliable and quitter.

Last longer
Four stroke engines last longer and use much, much less oil. Compared to two-stroke engines,
the four stroke engine is durable for use. The more times an engine goes around, the quicker it
will wear out. As 2-strokes must rev to very high RPM to make any power, most applications
using them are geared toward maintaining that RPM. Thus, they can’t live as long as four-stroke
engine.

Run much cleaner than 2 strokes

A 2 stroke makes a lot of exhaust smoke because it burns oil mixed with fuel. On the contrary,
four-stroke engines have a dedicated oiling system that’s kept largely separate from the
combustion chamber, which help to ensure that the only thing burning in the engine is gasoline.

More efficient use of gas

If you have picked up both of them, you may obviously realize the problem. The intake and
exhaust accounted 360 °crank angle, the exhaust top dead center the piston upward, the residual
gas is exhaust forcibly. When a mixture of fuel and air is forced by atmospheric pressure into the
cylinder, the piston down to the intake bottom dead center, the incoming fresh mixture almost
combust. Substantially, there is no wasted fresh mixture. However, for two-stroke engine, the
fresh mixture is escaping with exhaust gases during exhaust stroke.

Disadvantages
Complicated
Two-stroke engines do not have valves, simplifying their construction. However, there are more
parts to worry about in a four-stroke engine which results in harder to troubleshoot.

Half as powerful as two stroke engines

For equivalent engines, the four stroke ones fire once every two revolutions, while two stroke
engines are more powerful because every revolution of the engine includes a power stroke.

More expensive than 2 stroke

A four-stroke engine is much more expensive and complex than a two-stroke one. It has more
complied with more parts so they often require repairs more often and it is usually more
expensive.