ME8091 AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

OBJECTIVES:
To understand the construction and working principle of various parts of an automobile.
To have the practice for assembling and dismantling of engine parts and transmission
system
UNIT I VEHICLE STRUCTURE AND ENGINES
Types of automobiles vehicle construction and different layouts, chassis, frame and body,
Vehicle aerodynamics (various resistances and moments involved), IC engines
–components-functions and materials, variable valve timing (VVT).
INTRODUCTION

Introduction of Automobile or Vehicle:

An Automobile is a self propelled vehicle which contains the power source
for its propulsion and is used for carrying passengers and goods on the ground, such
as car, bus, trucks, etc.,,
Types of Automobile;
The automobiles are classified by the following ways,
1. On the Basis of Load:
 Heavy transport vehicle (HTV) or heavy motor vehicle (HMV),
 Light transport vehicle (LTV), Light motor vehicle (LMV),
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
2. On the Basis of Wheels :
 Two wheeler vehicle, for example : Scooter, motorcycle, scooty, etc.
 Three wheeler vehicle, for example : Autorickshaw,
 Three wheeler scooter for handicaps and tempo, etc.
 Four wheeler vehicle, for example : Car, jeep, trucks, buses, etc.
 Six wheeler vehicle, for example : Big trucks with two gear axles.
3. On the basis of Fuel Used:
 Petrol vehicle, e.g. motorcycle, scooter, cars, etc.
 Diesel vehicle, e.g. trucks, buses, etc.
 Electric vehicle which use battery to drive.
 Steam vehicle, e.g. an engine which uses steam engine.
 Gas vehicle, e.g. LPG and CNG vehicles, where LPG is liquefied
4. On the basis of body style:
 Sedan Hatchback car.
 Coupe car Station wagon Convertible.
 Van Special purpose vehicle, e.g. ambulance, milk van, etc.
5. On the basis of Transmission:
 Conventional vehicles with manual transmission, e.g. car with 5 gears.
 Semi-automatic
 Automatic : In automatic transmission, gears are not required to be
 changed manually.
6. On the basis of Drive:
 Left hand drive
 Right hand drive
7. On the basis of Driving Axle
 Front wheel drive
 Rear wheel drive
 All wheel drive
8. Position of Engine:
 Engine in Front - Most of the vehicles have engine in the front. Example : most of
the cars,
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
  Engine in the Rear Side Very few vehicles have engine located in the rear. Example : Nano car.
1.3. Vehicle construction and Components;

The main components of an automobile refer to the following components;

1. Frame,
2. Chassis,
3. Body,
4. Power unit,
5. Transmission system.
An automobile is made up of mainly two units, these are Chassis and Body.
“Frame” + “Base components” = “Chassis”
“Chassis” + “Body” = “Vehicle”
Frame :
The frame is the skeleton of the vehicle. It servers as a main foundation and base for
alignment for the chassis.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Types;
Conventional frame,
Semi integral frame;
Integral or untidiest frame.
Chassis;
If the frame contains the base components its called as chassis. The components are like
Engine, radiator, clutch, gearbox, silencer, road wheels, fuel tank, wirings, differential units,
etc..,
Body:
Body is the superstructure of the vehicle and it is bolted to the chasis.
Types;
Car,
Truck,
Tractor,
Delivery van,
Jeep,
Bus, etc..,

The following forces act on vehicle in motion:

(1) Aerodynamic drag:.

 Aerodynamic means the behavior of the air motion relative to the car body.
Aerodynamic drag is also called as air resistance.
 Air drag force acts in the direction of vehicle motion.
 The total aerodynamic drag of a vehicle include many factors such as profile drag
(57%), induced drag (8%), skin friction (10%), interference drag (15%) and cooling
and ventilation drag (10%).
 Stream line of air flow around the vehicle should be continuous and separation of the
boundary layer with its attendant vertices should be avoided. Skin drag coefficient
should be decrease by smooth and well-polished of body surface.
 The accessories such as mirror, door handle aerials and badges which project outward
from normal surface of body produce interference drag and projection below the
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
 vehicle such as axle, propeller shaft, tow bar also contribute interference drag hence
such projection should be avoided.

(2) Aerodynamic lift:

 It is the vertical component of the resultant force caused by the pressure distribution on
the vehicle body.
 The aerodynamic lift and pitching moment are undesirable effects. The aerodynamic lift
tends to reduce the pressure between the tyre and the ground. This causes the loss of
steering on the front axle and loss of traction on the rear axle.
 Pitching causes rear wheel lift off the ground and reduces available traction. It is the
rocking chair or rotating action about the transverse axis through the vehicle parallel to
ground. Due to pitching, the front suspension moves out of phase with the rear resulting in
rocking effect in a vehicle.


(3) Side force:

 The imbalance of the wheel due to centrifugal force acts on the vehicle during turning
which produces a side thrust.
 To sustain that force, the plane of the wheel makes some angle with the direction of
motion of the vehicle. This is achieved by the direction of tyre which is flexible.
 The angle form during taking turn to sustain the side thrust is known as slip angle and
the force produce to counter acts the side thrust is called as cornering force.

(4) Yawing movement (Bouncing):

 It is vertical movement of the complete body .When complete body of vehicle goes up
and down which is known as bounce or bouncing. Depending upon the movement of front
end or rear end the bounce is known as front end bounce or rear end bounce.

(5) Rolling movement:

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
 It is the movement of a vehicle about its longitudinal axis produced due to centrifugal
force act during cornering.
 The retarding and cornering forces are applied at road levels but the centre of gravity of
a vehicle is at a certain height. During cornering, a turning couple is produced about the
longitudinal axis of the vehicle owing to centrifugal force acting at centre of gravity and
forces acting at the point of contact of road and tyre patch. This results in a motion known
as rolling.
 A combination of rolling and pitching is called diagonal pitch.

(6) Remedies:

 In order to control all the above suspension movements; anti roller bar, stabilizer, pitch
and roll control bars, hydraulic systems, mechanical levelling devices etc. are provided to
vehicles

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

An Internal Combustion Engine (IC Engine) is a type of combustion engine that
converts chemical energy into thermal energy, to produce useful mechanical work. In
an IC engine, combustion chamber is an integral part of the working fluid circuit.

Principle of operation:

Air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber (inside the cylinder) is ignited, either by a
spark plug (in case of Spark Ignition Engines) or by compression (in case of Compression

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Ignition engines). This ignition produces tremendous amount of heat and pressure inside the
cylinder. This induces reciprocating motion in the piston.

Power of the piston is transmitted to a crankshaft which undergoes rotary motion. The
rotary motion is ultimately transmitted to the wheels of the vehicle, via a transmission system,
to produce propulsion in the vehicle.
As the combustion takes place internally inside the cylinder (a part of working fluid circuit),
the engine is called internal combustion engine.

CONSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES OF IC ENGINE:

The cross section of IC engine is shown in Fig. 1. A brief description of these parts is
given below.

Cylinder:
The cylinder of an IC engine constitutes the basic and supporting portion of the engine
power unit. Its major function is to provide space in which the piston can operate to draw in
the fuel mixture or air (depending upon spark ignition or compression ignition), compress it,
allow it to expand and thus generate power.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
 The cylinder is usually made of high-grade cast iron. In some cases, to give greater
strength and wear resistance with less weight, chromium, nickel and molybdenum are added
to the cast iron.

Piston:
The piston of an engine is the first part to begin movement and to transmit power to the
crankshaft as a result of the pressure and energy generated by the combustion of the fuel. The
piston is closed at one end and open on the other end to permit direct attachment of the
connecting rod and its free action. The materials used for pistons are grey cast iron, cast steel
and aluminium alloy. However, the modern trend is to use only aluminium alloy pistons in the
tractor engine.

Piston Rings:
These are made of cast iron on account of their ability to retain bearing qualities and
elasticity indefinitely. The primary function of the piston rings is to retain compression and at
the same time reduce the cylinder wall and piston wall contact area to a minimum, thus
reducing friction losses and excessive wear. The other important functions of piston rings are
the control of the lubricating oil, cylinder lubrication, and transmission of heat away from the
piston and from the cylinder walls. Piston rings are classed as compression rings and oil rings
depending on their function and location on the piston.
Compression rings are usually plain one-piece rings and are always placed in the grooves
nearest the piston head. Oil rings are grooved or slotted and are located either in the lowest
groove above the piston pin or in a groove near the piston skirt. Their function is to control the
distribution of the lubricating oil to the cylinder and piston surface in order to prevent
unnecessary or excessive oil consumption ion.
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Piston Pin:
The connecting rod is connected to the piston through the piston pin. It is made of case
hardened alloy steel with precision finish. There are three different methods to connect the
piston to the connecting rod.

Connecting Rod:
This is the connection between the piston and crankshaft. The end connecting the piston is
known as small end and the other end is known as big end. The big end has two halves of a
bearing bolted together. The connecting rod is made of drop forged steel and the section is of
the I-beam type.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Crankshaft:
This is connected to the piston through the connecting rod and converts the linear motion
of the piston into the rotational motion of the flywheel. The journals of the crankshaft are
supported on main bearings, housed in the crankcase. Counter-weights and the flywheel
bolted to the crankshaft help in the smooth running of the engine.

Engine Bearings:
The crankshaft and camshaft are supported on anti-friction bearings. These bearings must
be capable of withstanding high speed, heavy load and high temperatures. Normally, cadmium,
silver or copper lead is coated on a steel back to give the above characteristics. For single
cylinder vertical/horizontal engines, the present trend is to use ball bearings in place of main
bearings of the thin shell type.
Valves:
To allow the air to enter into the cylinder or the exhaust, gases to escape from the cylinder,
valves are provided, known as inlet and exhaust valves respectively. The valves are mounted
either on the cylinder head or on the cylinder block.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Camshaft:

The valves are operated by the action of the camshaft, which has separate cams for the
inlet, and exhaust valves. The cam lifts the valve against the pressure of the spring and as soon
as it changes position the spring closes the valve. The cam gets drive through either the gear
or sprocket and chain system from the crankshaft. It rotates at half the speed of the camshaft.

Flywheel
This is usually made of cast iron and its primary function is to maintain uniform engine speed
by carrying the crankshaft through the intervals when it is not receiving power from a piston.
The size of the flywheel varies with the number of cylinders and the type and size of the
engine. It also helps in balancing rotating masses.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Variable Valve Timing
VALVE TIMING (VT) is one of the most important aspects of consideration in the
design of an automobile engine. Simply defined, it is the timing, or regulation of the opening
and closing of the valves. In simpler terms, it is the way an engine 'breathes'.

In an I.C.engine, usually the inlet valves open a few degrees (of crank angle) prior to TDC,
and close after BDC. Similarly, the exhaust valves open a few degrees before BDC and close a
few degrees after TDC. This is done to maximize: " Intake of air/air-fuel mixture; and "
Scavenging, i.e. the exhaust of burnt gases.

Until recently, most engines around the world utilized ordinary or static VT, where
the parameters of valve opening, lift, and closing (VO, VL and VC) were fixed. This was
satisfactory at normal engine speeds, but posed problems at high and low speeds. Since the
VT did not vary with speed, the additional requirements that arose at the extreme speeds could
not be met with static VT. For example, at high speeds, the engine requires greater amounts of
air. This implies that the IV should remain open for a longer period of time. This, though
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
beneficial at high speeds, would be a menace at low speeds as it may lead to exhaust of un
burnt fuel, which results in fuel wastage, increased emissions and lower performance.

This is where variable valve timing (VVT) comes into play. As the name suggests,
the timing of the valves is not fixed, but varies, as per the demands of the situations. Therefore,
the extra demands of the engine can be met, which in turn, results in improved engine
performance.

Valve Timing
Valve timing is the regulation of the points in the combustion cycle, at which the
valves are set to open and close. Since the valves require a finite period of time in which to
open or close without abruptness, a slight lead-time is always necessary for proper operation.
The design of the valve-operating cam provides for the smooth transition from one position to
the other, while the cam setting determines the timing of the valve.
In a typical four-stroke engine, the inlet valve is set to open before TDC (top dead centre),
towards the end of the exhaust stroke and close after BDC (bottom dead centre), at the start of
the compression stroke.

Inlet Valve Timing

While the intake valve should open, theoretically at TDC, most engines utilise an
intake valve opening, which is timed to occur a few degrees prior to the arrival of the piston at
TDC on the exhaust stroke. This is because by the time the valve becomes fully open, the
piston would have travelled considerably down the bore, and since the valve would have to be
fully closed before BDC, the actual time the valve would be fully open would be minimal.
Additionally, the inertia of the incoming mixture plays a big role. Keeping the inlet
valve open after BDC forces more mixture to pack into the cylinder, in spite of the fact that
the piston is moving upwards.
Exhaust Valve Timing
The exhaust valve is set to open before BDC, towards the end of the power stroke and
close after TDC, at the beginning of the intake stroke. The reason the exhaust valve is opened
before BDC is to prevent the exhaust gases from forming a high-pressure cushion, which
ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
would impede the movement of the piston and rob the engine of power. This also ensures that
the valve is fully open at the start of the exhaust stroke. Keeping the exhaust valve open after
TDC ensures that the entire burnt mixture is thoroughly scavenged.

Valve Overlap
Valve overlap refers to the time when both the intake and exhaust valves are open. It
ensures that the exhaust gases rushing out of the cylinder create suction, in order to draw in
fresh mixture, and the fresh mixture entering the cylinder pushes out the burnt fuel mixture.
Therefore, valve timing of any engine depends on: " The amount of valve overlap "
Lag and lead, i.e. the degrees that the crankshaft turns between valve opening and TDC or
BDC " The intended usage of the engine.

Basic Mechanism
With VVT, a sensor is used to detect the engine's speed. An electronic system then
uses this information to adjust the valve opening and closing timings accordingly. This avoids
the problems associated with static valve timing, and also allows for maximum torque at all
engine speeds.

TYPES OF VVT MECHANISMS

Cam-Phasing VVT
Cam-phasing VVT is at present, the simplest, cheapest and most commonly used
mechanism. However, its performance gain is also the least. Basically, shifting the phase
angle of camshafts varies the valve timing. For example, at high speeds, the inlet camshaft
will be rotated in advance by 30° so as to enable earlier intake. This movement is controlled
by an engine management system according to need, and actuated by hydraulic valve gears.
Cam-phasing VVT cannot vary the duration of valve opening. It only allows earlier or later
valve opening. Earlier opening results in earlier close. It cannot vary the valve lift. However,
cam-phasing VVT is the simplest and cheapest form of VVT because each camshaft needs
only one hydraulic phasing actuator, unlike other systems that employ individual mechanism
for every cylinder.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
 Better systems have continuous variable shifting, say, any arbitrary value between 0°
and 30°, depending on r.p.m. This provides the most suitable valve timing at any speed, thus
greatly enhancing engine flexibility. Moreover, the transition is so smooth that it is hardly
noticeable.
Operation:
The end of camshaft incorporates a gear thread. The thread is coupled by a cap, which
can move towards and away from the camshaft. Because the gear thread is not in parallel to
the axis of camshaft, phase angle will shift forward if the cap is pushed towards the camshaft.
Similarly, pulling the cap away from the camshaft results in shifting the phase angle backward.
The hydraulic pressure determines push or pull. There are two chambers right beside the cap
and they are filled with liquid. A thin piston separates these two chambers, the former attaches
rigidly to the cap.

Liquid enter the chambers via electromagnetic valves, which controls the hydraulic
pressure acting on which chambers. For instance, if the engine management system signals the
valve at the green chamber open, then hydraulic pressure acts on the thin piston and push the
latter, accompany with the cap, towards the camshaft, thus shift the phase angle forward.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College
Continuous variation in timing is easily implemented by positioning the cap at a suitable
distance according to engine speed.

Difference between Normal engine and VVT in Valve timing

Advantages:
Cheap and simple; continuous VVT improves torque delivery across the whole rev
(speed) range.
Disadvantages:
Lack of variable lift and variable valve opening duration, thus it produces less top end
power.

ME8091 - AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING Rakeshkumar. A, Assistant Prof, Jeppiaar SRR Engg College