Fuel-Air cycles and their Analysis

Day 1
Introduction
• The estimated engine performance by air standard cycle is on the higher side compared
to the actual cycle. This is because of the simplifying assumptions.
• In an actual engine the working medium is a mixture of air, fuel vapour and residual
gases.
• The specific heat of the working fluid is not constant, but increase with temperature.
• The products of combustion are subjected to a certain disassociation at higher
temperature.
• The analysis based on the actual properties of working medium is called fuel-air cycle.
• The fuel-air cycle analysis takes into account the following:
• The actual composition of the cylinder gasses (fuel, air, water vapour, and residual
gases).
• The variation in specific heat with temperature.
• The effect of disassociation.
• The variation in the number of molecules.
Assumption in Fuel-air Cycle Analysis
• There is no chemical change in fuel or air prior to combustion.
• After combustion, the change is always in chemical equilibrium.
• There is no heat exchange between the gases and the cylinder walls. Thee compression
and expansion processes are frictionless.
• Fluid motion can be ignored inside the cylinder.
• Fuel is completely vaporized and mixed with air.
• Burning takes place instantaneously at the top dead centre.

Composition of Cylinder Gases

• The fuel-air ratio changes during the engine operation.
• This change effects the composition of gases before combustion as well as after
combustion.
• In four stroke engines, fresh charge as it enters the engine cylinder, comes in contact
with the burnt gases. The amount of exhaust gases in the clearance space varies with
speed and load on the engine.
• Fuel-air cycle analysis takes into account this face and the results are computed for
preparing the combustion charts.
Variable Specific Heats
• All non mono- atomic gases show an increase in specific heats with temperature. This
increase does not follow any law.
• Over the temperature range generally encountered in the heat engines (300K to 2000K),
the specific heat curve is nearly a straight line.
• This may be approximated and expressed in the form:
Cp = a1 + k1 T
Cv = b1 + k1 T
a1, b1, k1 are constants. R = Cp – Cv = a1 – b1
• Above 1500K the increase is much rapid and may be expressed in the form:
Cp = a1 + k1 T + k2 T2
Cv = b1 + k1 T + k2 T2
• Physical explanation is that as temperature is raised, larger fractions of heat would be
required to produce motion of the atoms within the molecules.
 • Since temperature is the result of motion of the molecules, the energy which goes into
moving the atoms does not contribute to proportional temperature rise.
• Hence more heat is required to raise the temperature of unit mass through one degree at
higher levels.
• For air at 300K:
• Cp = 1.005 kJ/kg K
• Cv = 0.717 kJ/kg K
At 2000 K
• Cp = 1.345 kJ/kg K
• Cv = 1.057 kJ/kg K.
• Since difference between Cp and Cv is constant (R), γ decreases with increase in
temperature.
• The final temperature and pressure is lower than if constant values of specific heat are
used.

Disassociation
• The process of disintegration of combustion products at higher temperature.
• During disassociation heat is absorbed.
• In SI engines disassociation of CO2 into CO and O2 occurs, in addition to a little
disassociation of H2O.
• Disassociation of CO2 starts at 1000oC.
2CO2 2CO + O2.
• Disassociation of H2O occurs at temperatures above 1300oC.

• Maximum extent of disassociation occurs in the burnt gases of the chemically correct
fuel-air mixture when the temperatures are expected to be high but decreases with the
leaner and richer mixtures.
• As the temperature falls during the expansion stroke, the separated constituents
recombine, releasing energy. A portion of this heat is carried away by the exhaust
gases.
 • Disassociation reduces the maximum temperature by 300oC.

Effect of disassociation on Otto cycle

• Lower maximum temperature.

• Maximum pressure is also reduced.
• This causes a loss of power.
• Efficiency reduces.

Disassociation in CI Engine
• Effects of disassociation are not so pronounced in the CI engine as in the SI engine due
to:
• The presence of a heterogeneous mixture,
• Excess air to ensure complete combustion.
Effect of Number of Moles
• Number of molecules present in the cylinder after combustion depends upon the fuel-air
ratio, type and extend of reaction in the cylinder.
• According to gas law:
 pV = NRT

• The pressure depends on the number of molecules or moles present.

• This has direct effect on the amount of work the gasses can do.

Comparison of Air-Standard Cycles and Fuel-Air Cycles

Variation of efficiency with mixture strength:
• Efficiency ratio: Fuel-Air cycle Efficiency/ Air standard cycle efficiency.
• Efficiency ratio increases as mixture becomes leaner.
• Thermal efficiency will deteriorate as the mixture supplied to the engine is enriched,
due to increasing losses due to variable specific heats and disassociation.
• Enrichment beyond the chemically correct ratio would lead to incomplete combustions
and loss in thermal efficiency.
• Beyond a certain leaning the combustion becomes erratic.
• Maximum efficiency is within the lean zone near the stoichiometric ratio.

Effect of operating variables

• Effect of Compression ratio:

• Fuel air efficiency increases with the compression ratio.
• Indicated thermal efficiency:
• Equivalence ratio: ratio of actual fuel-air ratio to chemically correct fuel-air
ratio
Fuel-Air Ratio
• As mixture is made lean, the temperature rise due to combustion will be lowered as a
result of reduced energy input per unit mass of mixture, resulting in lower specific
heat.
• It will also lower losses due to disassociation and variation in specific heat.
• Thermal Efficiency will therefore increase as the fuel-air ratio is reduced.
• As the mixture becomes richer, in addition to higher specific heat and chemical losses
there is insufficient air, leading to formation of CO and H2. Therefore efficiency and
power output decreases.

Effect on maximum temperature and maximum pressure:

• At a given compression ratio, the temperature after combustion reaches a maximum
when the mixture is slightly rich.
• At chemically correct ratio, there is some oxygen left.
• A rich mixture will cause more fuel to combine with oxygen at that point thereby
raising the temperature.
• A richer mixture will result in the increased formation of CO.
• Maximum pressure depends on the maximum temperature and the no of moles.
 • Because of the no of molecules, pressure decreases at a richer ratio than required for
maximum temperature.

Effect on exhaust temperature:

• Exhaust gas temperature T4 is maximum at chemically correct ratio.
• At lean mixtures, T3 is less; hence T4 is less.
• At rich mixtures, less sensible energy is developed hence T4 is less.
• At high compression ratios, T4 is lower, because the increased expansion causes the gas
to do more work on the piston, leaving less heat to be rejected.

Effect of fuel-air ratio on mean effective pressure:

• Mean effective pressure increases with compression ratio.
• Maximum at fuel-air ratio slightly richer than the chemically correct ratio
a) Name four important variables that affect the volumetric efficiency. [4]
b) Explain the phenomenon of loss due to rubbing friction in actual cycle [3]
c) What is firing order for a multi cylinder engine? Mention the commonly used firing
orders for a four cylinder and a six cylinder engines. [3]
d) Represent the contributions of various losses in an actual cycle of an IC engine with
PV diagram [5]