Combustion chamber and piston design – Motorcycle studies 2nd year - 2010 1

Combustion chamber and piston design

Today’s internal combustion engines are required to be both powerful
enough in relation to the machine they are used for, and to withstand
very strict pollution regulations.

Two of the major aspects that affect the above requirements are the
combustion chamber and piston design.

When a combustion chamber is designed few factors are taking into

consideration:

1. High volumetric efficiency (valve head size and lift, valve port
shape etc.) – in order to make the most out of the volume of the
cylinder (i.e. to get as much mixture as possible for that volume)
2. Maximum thermal efficiency (highest compression rate without
having knocks)
3. Minimum heat loss.
4. Minimum flame travel with maximum frontal area – in order to
create a fast and efficient burning of the mixture that will prevent
unburned fuel to be exhausted.
5. Generated and controlled turbulence to match engine speed.
6. Compression squish (force movement of the mixture), that cause
by the piston moving to TDC in the compression stroke - to speed
up the mixing of the mixture that is in the chamber.
7. End gas quench area – in order to overcool small portion of
mixture, which in turn help to prevent detonation at the end of
the combustion.
8. Good scavenging of exhaust gases.
9. Adequate cooling for the spark plug and exhaust valves in order to
prevent hot spots in the combustion chamber that might lead to
detonation.

As you can see, the general purpose of the every design, is to make sure
that the engine will run at while optimum levels of performance and
combustion at all times, meaning that all the mixture will be almost
completely burnt while preventing any knockings in the engine.

To achieve the above, there is a need to control the movement of the

mixture in the chamber, during its induction and compression.
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This is done in order to first fill the combustion chamber fully and evenly
with the fuel/air mixture, and secondly to make sure that all the mixture
is burned at all engine speeds.

When the mixture is induced to the chamber, the shape and positioning
of the valves are creating a swirl, which is insuring that the mixture is
evenly filling the whole chamber.
As the mixture fills the chamber, turbulence is also caused in the stream.

Turbulences, which are random dispersed vortices of different size that

are accruing in the mixture, are most important, especially in high
revving engines, as without them, the combustion will not be able to be
fast enough when the engine speed rises.
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All the above will lead to a very efficient combustion process, which also
means better performance while still keeping low levels of pollution.

After an optimal design was achieved (in relation to what is expect from
the engine), all this power needs to be transferred somehow.

In order to achieve this the piston is has to be designed while taking few
factors into consideration:
1. To be strong to withstand the explosion forces acting on it.
2. To be light so it will be able to work at very high speeds without
loading the crank bearings with every change of direction during
strokes.
3. To act as a bearing surface to the side movement that is created
by the connecting rod.
4. To conduct heat well - a too hot piston can cause knocking or/and
even engine failure.
5. To help the combustion process, by design the crown in such way,
that it participates, with the combustion chamber, in mixture
distributing.

This is done by using Y alloy (4% copper and 2.5% nickel) which have the
best characteristics when it comes to all the above.

More features which are affecting the piston design:

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1. The piston skirt – designed to act as a bearing surface.

2. Piston ring belts – groves that are machined into the piston, and
are designed to carry the piston rings. This is has to be done very
accurately in order to prevent lost of compression and pass of
burned gases to the crank case, and from oil passing into the
combustion chamber.
3. Piston webs – casts between the piston crown and the piston pin
that are acting as struts that allow the great forces to be
transferred to the connecting rod.

Both combustion chamber and piston are designed to give the best
performance and fuel consumption, which are in direct relation with the
pollution levels an engine is producing.

Today, the new designs are going towards engines that work with leaner
mixtures that are improving performance and pollution even more. This
is requiring even more complex designs, as the 4-stroke engine of today
is pushed to its limits.

References
Combustion chamber and piston design – Motorcycle studies 2nd year - 2010 5

Heisler, H. (1995). Advanced Engine Technology. London, UK: Edward Arnold.

Heisler, H. (1999). Vehicle and engine technology (2nd Edition ed.). London, UK:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hillier, V. A., & Coombes, P. (2004). Hillier's Fundamentals of Motor Vehicle
Technology (Vol. I). Cheltenham, UK: Nelson Thorens Ltd.