oO oO CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY CIVIL AIRCRAFT INSPECTION PROCEDURES Aviation @ @ — www.amevoice.com COMUNITY EL/I-I Everything from aviation videos to aircraft manuabs ‘and fellow Issue |. ‘aviation enthusiasts. AIRCRAFT ENGINES PISTON ENGINE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION 14th May, 1976. 1 INTRODUCTION — This Leaflet is the first in a series of Leaflets which cover the 2 principles of operation, design, construction and maintenance of aircraft piston éngines, such as are used in civil aircraft throughout the world. This Leaflet deals with the general principles of operation, the design features and constructional details of typical aircraft engines. INDUCTION COMPRESSION EXHAUST Figure 1 OPERATION OF FOUR-STROKE CYCLE PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION _ A piston (or reciprocating) engine is a device for converting the heat energy of a fuel into mechanical energy, by internal combustion. The principles which govern the relationship between pressure, temperature and volume in a 4a, are stated in the Laws of Boyle and Charles, and these principles are applicable to the operation of a piston engine. Boyle's Law states that, for a given mass of gas at constant temperature, the volume of the gas varies inversely as its pressure, and Charles’ Law states that, at constant pressure the volume of a gas vaties directly as its absolute temperature. 1EL/I-1 Ina piston engine, a fuel/air mixture is drawn or forced into a cylinder, compressed, and ignited, thus increasing temperature and pressure; this pressure acts on a piston and forces itdown the cylinder. The linear movement of the piston is converted into rotary movement by the engine mechanism. Piston engines are designed to operate on a “2-stroke” of “4.stroke” cycle, but since the vast majority of aircraft engines operate according to the latter, this Leaflet deals solely with the 4-stroke or “Otto” cycle, which is named after its inventor (Figure !). 2.1 The movement of the piston from its highest to its lowest position in a cylinder is known as a “stroke”, and corresponds to one half of a revolution of the crankshaft. Two upward and two downward strokes make up the complete cycle, and the purpose of each stroke, together with theoretical valve movement, is described below. 2.1.1 Induction Stroke. When the piston is at the top of its stroke, an “inlet” valve in the cytinder head is opened, and as the piston travels down to the bottom of its stroke, a combustible mixture of fuel and air is drawn into the cylinder. ‘The valve closes ‘when the piston reaches the bottom of the stroke. 2.1.2 Compression Stroke. As the piston travels up to the top of its stroke both the let valve and the “exhaust” valve are closed and the combustible gas is compressed in the cylinder. 2.1.3 Power Stroke. As the piston commences its second downward stroke the combustible mixture is electrically ignited (by means of a magneto and sparking plug, see Leaflet EL/3-9) and the gas expands, thus building up pressure and forcing the piston down. 2.14 Exhaust Stroke. ‘The exhaust valve in the cylinder head now opens, and as the piston continues its second upward stroke the burnt gases are forced out through the ‘exhaust port to atmosphere. At the completion of this stroke the exhaust valve is closed. 2.2 Because there is only one power stroke in the cycle, a single cylinder engine is ‘dependent upon the inertia of the rotating parts to carry it over the other three strokes. ‘When weight is not a major problem (e.g. on stationary engines and automobile engines), a large, heavy flywheel is often fitted to the end of the crankshaft to provide the necessary inertia'and fo smooth out the impulses. With aircraft engines the propeller acts as flywheel and the multiplicity of cylinders (generally between 4 and 18) provides regular power strokes, but nevertheless small balance weights or vibration dampers may be required. 23 The theoretical 4stroke cycle is very ineficient, for several reasons, and must be ‘modified to produce acceptable power. The main factors which necessitate these modifications are, inertia of the gases, burning rate of the fuel/air mixture, and the ineffective crank angle, the last being defined as the angular position of the crankshaft when, for a large angular movement of the crankshaft at both ends of the stroke, the linear movement of the piston is small. Ideally, best power would be produced by varying the valve timing (i.e. the times at which the valves open and close in relation to the crankshaft position) according to the rotational speed of the engine, but the mechan jsm necessary would result in such increased weight and complication that the valves of an aircraft engine are usually timed to provide the greatest ffciency at cruising speed. ‘The actual timing of the valves on a particular engine is often illustrated in the form of a diagram, known as a Valve Timing Diagram, such as is shown in Figure 2. The terms Top Dead Centre (TDC) and Bottom Dead Centre (BDC) are used to define the positions of the crankshaft when the piston is exactly at the top or bottom ofits stroke, respectively. 2EL/I-1 EXHAUST Iter ‘choses ‘OPENS IGNITION’ ERausT OPENS. aoc Figure 2. VALVE TIMING DIAGRAM 23.1 For the induction stroke, the opening of the inlet valve is initiated before TDC to ensure that itis partially open when the piston commences its downward stroke, so reducing the lag between the piston and the gases. 23.2 The inlet valve closes after BDC, to take advantage of the inertia of the incoming gases and fil the cylinder as completely as possible. “Movement of the piston for a short period after BDC, is insufficient to oppose the incoming gases before the valve closes. 23.3 Although the fuel/air mixture buras quickly, combustion is not instantaneous. ‘The ignition is therefore arranged to occur before TDC at the end of the compression stroke, 50 that maximum pressure is achieved shortly after TDC on the power stroke. 234 The exhaust valve opens before BDC on the power stroke, when most of the ‘expansion due to combustion has taken place, and further useful work is limited by the ineffective crank angle. Residual gas pressure initiates scavenging of the burnt gases through the exhaust port. 2.3.5 The exhaust valve closes after TDC, to make use of the inertia of the outgoing {gases to completely scavenge the cylinder, and to assist in overcoming the inertia of the incoming gases. 234 The manber of eget nore by ch ae opening pret hbo Hoes ts uae et aod te ce a doe eet tenet by whch ong lone BDC of TE fate wae ‘guia tad ane Sha ves ent iaown she vate ee si ta tnt OTE eh sr man lo rat is mf SS ty is aaron a boas ae ae 24. ‘The main components of an engine are described in detail in peragraph 6 and are illustrated in Figures 4 to 13.