Engine Performance

Section 2

Geometric Properties
VC
TC
y

Piston displacement: y = l + a - s

s a cos l 2 a 2 sin 2

L
BC

1/ 2

When the piston is at TC (s= l+a) the cylinder

volume equals the clearance volume Vc
The cylinder volume at any crank angle is:

Connecting rod

B 2
V Vc Ac y Vc
(l a s )
4
Maximum displacement, or swept, volume:

B 2
Vd
L
4
Compression ratio:

For most engines B ~ L

(square engine)

rc

VBC Vc Vd

VTC
Vc

Geometric Properties
VC

TC

s a cos l 2 a 2 sin 2

1/ 2

Average and instantaneous piston velocity are:

L

U p 2 LN
BC

Up

ds
dt

Where N is the rotational speed of the crank shaft

in units revolutions per second

cos
sin 1
Up 2

l / a 2 sin 2
Up

1/ 2

Average piston speed for standard auto engine is

about 15 m/s. Ultimately limited by material
strength. Therefore engines with large strokes run
at lower speeds than those with small strokes run
at higher speeds.

Piston Velocity vs Crank Angle

R = l/a

Piston Acceleration

a
s a cos l 1 sin 2
l

For most modern engines (a/l)2 ~ 1/9

Piston displacement is:

1/ 2

Using series expansion approximate (1-)2 ~ 1-(/2) and subst = t

So

a2 2
s a cos t 1 sin t
2l

Substituting

sin 2 t (1 cos 2t ) / 2

yields
differentiating

a2
s a cos t 1 (1 cos 2t )
4l

d 2s
a

cos

cos
2

dt 2
l

Piston Inertia Force

The inertia force is simply the piston mass multiplied by the acceleration
d 2s
a

Inertia Force m 2 am 2 cos t cos 2t

dt
l

Primary term

Secondary term

The maximum force occurs at TC, = t = 0 F = -am2

The primary term varies at the same speed as the crankshaft
and the secondary term varies at twice the crank shaft speed
For a very long connecting rod (a/l) << 1 secondary term vanishes
and the force is harmonic
Complete cancellation of the forces is possible for, in-line 6 and 8
as well as for V-12 and V-16
6

Torque and Power

Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.
b
Force F

Stator
Rotor
N

Load cell

The torque exerted by the engine is T:

T F b

units : Nm J

Torque and Power

Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.
b
Force F

Stator
Rotor
N

Load cell

The torque exerted by the engine is T:

T F b

units : J

The power W delivered by the engine turning at a speed N and

absorbed by the dynamometer is:
W T (2 N ) T

rad rev

( J ) Watt
rev s

units :

Note: is the shaft angular velocity in units rad/s

Brake Power
Torque is a measure of an engines ability to do work and power is
the rate at which work is done
Note torque is independent of crank speed.
The term brake power, W b , is used to specify that the power is
measured at the output shaft, this is the usable power delivered by
the engine to the load.
The brake power is less than the power generated by the gas in
the cylinders due to mechanical friction and parasitic loads (oil
pump, air conditioner compressor, etc)
The power produced in the cylinder is termed the indicated
power,W i .
9

Indicated Work per Cycle

Given the cylinder pressure data over the operating cycle of the engine one
can calculate the work done by the gas on the piston. This data is
typically given as P vs V
The indicated work per cycle is given by Wi PdV

WA > 0

WB < 0

Compression
W<0

Power
W>0

Exhaust
W<0

Intake
W>0

10

Work per Cycle

Gross indicated work per cycle net work delivered to the piston over
the compression and expansion strokes only:
Wi,g = area A + area C (>0)
Pump work net work delivered to the gas over the intake and exhaust
strokes:
Wp = area B + area C (<0)
Net indicated work per cycle work delivered over all strokes:
Wi,n = Wi,g Wp = (area A + area C) (area B + area C)
= area A area B
11

Indicated Power
Indicated power:
WN
W i i
nR

(kJ cycle)(rev s )
rev cycle

where N crankshaft speed in rev/s

nR number of crank revolutions per cycle
= 2 for 4-stroke W
= 1 for 2-stroke
Power can be increased by increasing:
the engine size, Vd
compression ratio, rc
engine speed, N

12

Indicated Work at WOT

The pressure at the intake port is just below atmospheric pressure
Po

Pintake

Pintake

The pump work (area B+C) is small compared to the gross indicated
work (area A+C)
Wi,n = Wi,g - Wp = area A - area B
13

Indicated Work at Part Throttle

The pressure at the intake port is significantly lower than atmospheric pressure

Pintake

The pump work (area B+C) can be significant compared to gross indicated
work (area A+C)
Wi,n = Wi,g - Wp = area A - area B
14

Indicated Work with Supercharging

Engines with superchargers or turbochargers have intake pressures
greater than the exhaust pressure, yielding a positive pump work

Compressor

Pintake

Wi,n = area A + area B

Supercharge increases the net indicated work but is a parasitic load
since it is driven by the crankshaft
15

Mechanical Efficiency
Some of the power generated in the cylinder is used to overcome engine
friction and to pump gas into and out of the engine.
The term friction power,W f , is used to describe collectively these
power losses, such that:
W f W i , g W b
Friction power can be measured by motoring the engine.
The mechanical efficiency is defined as:
W f
W b W i , g W f
m

Wi , g
Wi , g
W i , g

16

Mechanical Efficiency, contd

Mechanical efficiency depends on pumping losses (throttle position) and
frictional losses (engine design and engine speed).
Typical values for automobile engines at WOT are:
90% @2000 RPM and 75% @ max speed.
Throttling increases pumping power and thus the mechanical efficiency
decreases, at idle the mechanical efficiency approaches zero.

17

Power and Torque versus Engine Speed at WOT

W N Wcycle
Rated brake power

1 kW = 1.341 hp

T Wcycle
There is a maximum in the brake power
versus engine speed called the rated
brake power (RBP).
At higher speeds brake power decreases as
friction power becomes significant compared
to the indicated power W b W i , g W f

Max brake torque

There is a maximum in the torque versus

speed called maximum brake torque (MBT).
Brake torque drops off:
at lower speeds do to heat losses
at higher speeds it becomes more difficult to
ingest a full charge of air.
18

Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP)

imep is a fictitious constant pressure that would produce the same
work per cycle if it acted on the piston during the power stroke.
Wi W i nR
imep

Vd Vd N

imep Vd N
W i
nR

imep Ap U p
2 nR

imep does not depend on engine speed, just like torque

recall T Wcycle

so imep T

imep is a better parameter than torque to compare engines for design and
output because it is independent of engine size, Vd.
Brake mean effective pressure (bmep) is defined as:
bmep

Wb 2 T nR

Vd
Vd

bmep Vd
2 nR

19

The maximum bmep of good engine designs is well established:

Four stroke engines:
SI engines: bmep= 850-1050 kPa*
CI engines: bmep= 700 -900 kPa
Turbocharged SI engines: bmep= 1250 -1700 kPa
Turbocharged CI engines: bmep= 1000 - 1200 kPa
Two stroke engines:
Standard CI engines comparable bmep to four stroke
Large slow CI engines: 1600 kPa
*Values are at maximum brake torque and WOT
Note, at the rated (maximum) brake power the bmep is 10 - 15% less

Can use above maximum bmep in design calculations to estimate engine

displacement required to provide a given torque or power at a specified
speed.
20

Maximum BMEP
bmep

Wb 2 T nR

Vd
Vd

The maximum bmep is obtained at WOT at a particular engine speed

Closing the throttle decreases the bmep
For a given displacement, a higher maximum bmep means more torque
For a given torque, a higher maximum bmep means smaller engine
Higher maximum bmep means higher stresses and temperatures in the
engine hence shorter engine life, or bulkier engine.
For the same bmep 2-strokes have almost twice the power of 4-stroke
21

Typical 1998 Passenger Car Engine Characteristics

Vehicle

Engine
type

Displ.
(L)

Max Power
(HP@rpm)

Max Torque
(lb-ft@rpm)

BMEP at
Max BT
(bar)

BMEP at
Rated BP
(bar)

Mazda
Protg LX

L4

1.839

122@6000

117@4000

10.8

9.9

Honda
Accord EX

L4

2.254

150@5700

152@4900

11.4

10.4

Mazda
Millenia S

L4
Turbo

2.255

210@5300

210@3500

15.9

15.7

BMW
328i

L6

2.793

190@5300

206@3950

12.6

11.5

Ferrari
F355 GTS

V8

3.496

375@8250

268@6000

13.1

11.6

Ferrari
456 GT

V12

5.474

436@6250

398@4500

12.4

11.4

Lamborghini
Diablo VT

V12

5.707

492@7000

427@5200

12.7

11.0

22

Road-Load Power
A part-load power level useful for testing car engines is the power required
to drive a vehicle on a level road at a steady speed.
The road-load power, Pr, is the engine power needed to overcome rolling
resistance and the aerodynamic drag of the vehicle.
Pr (C R M v g 1 a C D Av S v2 ) Sv
2
Where CR = coefficient of rolling resistance (0.012 - 0.015)
Mv = mass of vehicle
g = gravitational acceleration
a = ambient air density
CD = drag coefficient (for cars: 0.3 - 0.5)
Av = frontal area of the vehicle
Sv = vehicle speed
*Modern midsize aerodynamic cars only need 5-6 kW (7-8 HP)
power to cruise at 90 km/hr, hence the attraction of hybrid cars!

23

Specific Fuel Consumption

For transportation vehicles fuel economy is generally given as mpg, or
L/100 km.
In engine testing the fuel consumption is measured in terms of the fuel
mass flow rate m f .
The specific fuel consumption, sfc, is a measure of how efficiently the
fuel supplied to the engine is used to produce power,
m f
bsfc
W b

m f
isfc
W i

units :

g
kW hr

Clearly a low value for sfc is desirable since for a given power level
less fuel is consumed

24

Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Size

Bsfc decreases with engine size due to reduced heat losses from gas to
cylinder wall.

Note cylinder surface to volume ratio increases with bore diameter.

cylinder surface area 2rL 1
2
cylinder volume
r L r

25

Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Speed

There is a minimum in the bsfc versus engine speed curve

At high speeds the bsfc increases due to increased friction i.e. smaller W b
At lower speeds the bsfc increases due to increased time for heat
losses from the gas to the cylinder and piston wall, and thus a smaller W i
Bsfc increases with compression ratio due to higher thermal efficiency 26

Performance Maps
Performance map is used to display the bsfc over the engines full load
and speed range. Using a dynamometer to measure the torque and fuel
mass flow rate for different throttle positions you can calculate:
bmep

2 T nR
Vd

m f
bsfc
W b

W b (2 N ) T

bmep@WOT

Constant bsfc contours from a

two-liter four cylinder SI engine

27

Engine Efficiencies
The time for combustion in the cylinder is very short so not all the fuel
may be consumed
A small fraction of the fuel may not react and exits with the exhaust gas
The combustion efficiency is defined as:
Qin
Q in
actual heat input
c

theoretica l heat input m f QHV m f QHV

Where Qin = heat added by combustion per cycle
mf = mass of fuel added to cylinder per cycle
QHV = heating value of the fuel (chemical energy per unit mass)

28

Engine Efficiencies (2)

The thermal efficiency is defined as:

th

work per cycle

W
W

heat input per cycle Qin c m f QHV

or in terms of rates
power out
W
W
th

rate of heat input Q in c m f QHV

Thermal efficiencies can be given in terms of brake or indicated values
Indicated thermal efficiencies are typically 50% to 60% and brake thermal
efficiencies are usually about 30%

29

Engine Efficiencies (3)

Fuel conversion efficiency is defined as:
W
W
f

m f QHV m f QHV
Note: f is very similar to th, difference is th takes into account actual
fuel combusted.
Recall:

m f
sfc
W

Therefore, the fuel conversion efficiency can also be obtained from:

1
( sfc ) QHV
30

Volumetric Efficiency
Due to the short cycle time at high engine speeds and flow restrictions
through the intake valve less than ideal amount of air enters the cylinder.
The effectiveness of an engine to induct air into the cylinders is measured
by the volumetric efficiency:

actual air inducted

ma
n m

R a
theoretical air
a Vd a Vd N

where a is the density of air at atmospheric conditions Po, To and for an

ideal gas a =Po / RaTo and Ra = 0.287 kJ/kg-K (at standard conditions
a= 1.181 kg/m3)
Typical values for WOT are in the range 75%-90%, and lower when the
throttle is closed

31

Air-Fuel Ratio
For combustion to take place the proper relative amounts of air and fuel
must be present in the cylinder.
The air-fuel ratio is defined as
AF

ma m a

m f m f

The ideal AF is about 15:1, with combustion possible in the range

of 6 to 19.
For a SI engine the AF is in the range of 12 to 18 depending on the
operating conditions.
For a CI engine, where the mixture is highly non-homogeneous, the
AF is in the range of 18 to 70.

32

Relationships Between Performance Parameters

By combining equations presented in this section the following additional
working equations are obtained:
W

f v N Vd QHV a (1 / AF )
nR

f v Vd QHV a (1 / AF )
T
2 nR
mep f v QHV a (1 / AF )

33