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Internal combustion engine

An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of
a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the
working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-
temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some
component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons (piston engine), turbine blades
(gas turbine), a rotor (Wankel engine), or a nozzle (jet engine). This force moves the component
over a distance. This process transforms chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to
propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to.

Diagram of a cylinder as found in an

overhead cam 4-stroke gasoline
engine:
C – crankshaft
E – exhaust camshaft
I – inlet camshaft
P – piston
R – connecting rod
S – spark plug
V – valves. red: exhaust, blue: intake.
W – cooling water jacket
gray structure – engine block

The first commercially successful internal combustion engine was created by Étienne Lenoir
around 1860,[1] and the first modern internal combustion engine, known as the Otto engine, was
created in 1876 by Nicolaus Otto. The term internal combustion engine usually refers to an engine
in which combustion is intermittent, such as the more familiar two-stroke and four-stroke piston
engines, along with variants, such as the six-stroke piston engine and the Wankel rotary engine. A
second class of internal combustion engines use continuous combustion: gas turbines, jet
engines and most rocket engines, each of which are internal combustion engines on the same
principle as previously described.[1][2] (Firearms are also a form of internal combustion engine,[2]

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though of a type so specialized that they are commonly treated as a separate category, along
with weaponry such as mortars and anti-aircraft cannons.) In contrast, in external combustion
engines, such as steam or Stirling engines, energy is delivered to a working fluid not consisting
of, mixed with, or contaminated by combustion products. Working fluids for external combustion
engines include air, hot water, pressurized water or even boiler-heated liquid sodium.

While there are many stationary applications, most ICEs are used in mobile applications and are
the primary power supply for vehicles such as cars, aircraft and boats. ICEs are typically powered
by hydrocarbon-based fuels like natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, or ethanol. Renewable fuels like
biodiesel are used in compression ignition (CI) engines and bioethanol or ETBE (ethyl tert-butyl
ether) produced from bioethanol in spark ignition (SI) engines. As early as 1900 the inventor of
the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel, was using peanut oil to run his engines.[3] Renewable fuels are
commonly blended with fossil fuels. Hydrogen, which is rarely used, can be obtained from either
fossil fuels or renewable energy.

History

Brayton walking beam engine from

1872

Various scientists and engineers contributed to the development of internal combustion engines.
In 1791, John Barber developed the gas turbine. In 1794 Thomas Mead patented a gas engine.
Also in 1794, Robert Street patented an internal combustion engine, which was also the first to
use liquid fuel, and built an engine around that time. In 1798, John Stevens built the first
American internal combustion engine. In 1807, French engineers Nicéphore Niépce (who went on
to invent photography) and Claude Niépce ran a prototype internal combustion engine, using
controlled dust explosions, the Pyréolophore, which was granted a patent by Napoleon
Bonaparte. This engine powered a boat on the Saône river in France.[4][5] In the same year, Swiss
engineer François Isaac de Rivaz invented a hydrogen-based internal combustion engine and
powered the engine by electric spark. In 1808, De Rivaz fitted his invention to a primitive working

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vehicle – "the world's first internal combustion powered automobile".[6] In 1823, Samuel Brown
patented the first internal combustion engine to be applied industrially.

In 1854, in the UK, the Italian inventors Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci obtained the
certification: "Obtaining Motive Power by the Explosion of Gases". In 1857 the Great Seal Patent
Office conceded them patent No.1655 for the invention of an "Improved Apparatus for Obtaining
Motive Power from Gases".[7][8][9][10] Barsanti and Matteucci obtained other patents for the same
invention in France, Belgium and Piedmont between 1857 and 1859.[11][12] In 1860, Belgian
engineer Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir produced a gas-fired internal combustion engine.[13] In
1864, Nicolaus Otto patented the first atmospheric gas engine. In 1872, American George
Brayton invented the first commercial liquid-fueled internal combustion engine. In 1876, Nicolaus
Otto began working with Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, patented the compressed
charge, four-cycle engine. In 1879, Karl Benz patented a reliable two-stroke gasoline engine.
Later, in 1886, Benz began the first commercial production of motor vehicles with an internal
combustion engine, in which a three-wheeled, four-cycle engine and chassis formed a single
unit.[14] In 1892, Rudolf Diesel developed the first compressed charge, compression ignition
engine. In 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. In 1939, the Heinkel He
178 became the world's first jet aircraft.

Etymology

At one time, the word engine (via Old French, from Latin ingenium, "ability") meant any piece of
machinery—a sense that persists in expressions such as siege engine. A "motor" (from Latin
motor, "mover") is any machine that produces mechanical power. Traditionally, electric motors are
not referred to as "engines"; however, combustion engines are often referred to as "motors". (An
electric engine refers to a locomotive operated by electricity.)

In boating, an internal combustion engine that is installed in the hull is referred to as an engine,
but the engines that sit on the transom are referred to as motors.[15]

Applications

Reciprocating engine of a car

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Diesel generator for backup power

Reciprocating piston engines are by far the most common power source for land and water
vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, ships and to a lesser extent, locomotives (some are
electrical but most use diesel engines[16][17]). Rotary engines of the Wankel design are used in
some automobiles, aircraft and motorcycles. These are collectively known as internal-
combustion-engine vehicles (ICEV).[18]

Where high power-to-weight ratios are required, internal combustion engines appear in the form
of combustion turbines, or sometimes Wankel engines. Powered aircraft typically use an ICE
which may be a reciprocating engine. Airplanes can instead use jet engines and helicopters can
instead employ turboshafts; both of which are types of turbines. In addition to providing
propulsion, airliners may employ a separate ICE as an auxiliary power unit. Wankel engines are
fitted to many unmanned aerial vehicles.

ICEs drive large electric generators that power electrical grids. They are found in the form of
combustion turbines with a typical electrical output in the range of some 100 MW. Combined
cycle power plants use the high temperature exhaust to boil and superheat water steam to run a
steam turbine. Thus, the efficiency is higher because more energy is extracted from the fuel than
what could be extracted by the combustion engine alone. Combined cycle power plants achieve
efficiencies in the range of 50–60%. In a smaller scale, stationary engines like gas engines or
diesel generators are used for backup or for providing electrical power to areas not connected to
an electric grid.

Small engines (usually 2‐stroke gasoline/petrol engines) are a common power source for
lawnmowers, string trimmers, chain saws, leafblowers, pressure washers, snowmobiles, jet skis,
outboard motors, mopeds, and motorcycles.

Classification

There are several possible ways to classify internal combustion engines.

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Reciprocating

By number of strokes:

Two-stroke engine
Clerk cycle[19]

Day cycle

Four-stroke engine (Otto cycle)

Six-stroke engine

By type of ignition:

Compression-ignition engine

Spark-ignition engine (commonly found as gasoline engines)

By mechanical/thermodynamic cycle (these cycles are infrequently used but are commonly found
in hybrid vehicles, along with other vehicles manufactured for fuel efficiency[20]):

Atkinson cycle

Miller cycle

Rotary
Wankel engine

Pistonless rotary engine

Continuous combustion
Gas turbine engine
Turbojet, through a propelling nozzle

Turbofan, through a duct-fan

Turboprop, through an unducted propeller, usually with variable pitch

Turboshaft, a gas turbine optimized for producing mechanical torque instead of thrust

Ramjet,[21] similar to a turbojet but uses vehicle speed to compress (ram) the air instead of a
compressor.

Scramjet, a variant of the ramjet that uses supersonic combustion.

Rocket engine

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Reciprocating engines

Structure

Bare cylinder block of a V8 engine

Piston, piston ring,

gudgeon pin and
connecting rod

The base of a reciprocating internal combustion engine is the engine block, which is typically
made of cast iron (due to its good wear resistance and low cost)[22] or aluminum. In the latter
case, the cylinder liners are made of cast iron or steel,[23] or a coating such as nikasil or alusil. The
engine block contains the cylinders. In engines with more than one cylinder they are usually
arranged either in 1 row (straight engine) or 2 rows (boxer engine or V engine); 3 or 4 rows are
occasionally used (W engine) in contemporary engines, and other engine configurations are
possible and have been used. Single-cylinder engines (or thumpers) are common for motorcycles
and other small engines found in light machinery. On the outer side of the cylinder, passages that
contain cooling fluid are cast into the engine block whereas, in some heavy duty engines, the
passages are the types of removable cylinder sleeves which can be replaceable.[22] Water-cooled
engines contain passages in the engine block where cooling fluid circulates (the water jacket).
Some small engines are air-cooled, and instead of having a water jacket the cylinder block has
fins protruding away from it to cool the engine by directly transferring heat to the air. The

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cylinder walls are usually finished by honing to obtain a cross hatch, which is able to retain more
oil. A too rough surface would quickly harm the engine by excessive wear on the piston.

The pistons are short cylindrical parts which seal one end of the cylinder from the high pressure
of the compressed air and combustion products and slide continuously within it while the engine
is in operation. In smaller engines, the pistons are made of aluminum; while in larger applications,
they are typically made of cast iron.[22] In performance applications, pistons can also be titanium
or forged steel for greater strength. The top surface of the piston is called its crown and is
typically flat or concave. Some two-stroke engines use pistons with a deflector head. Pistons are
open at the bottom and hollow except for an integral reinforcement structure (the piston web).
When an engine is working, the gas pressure in the combustion chamber exerts a force on the
piston crown which is transferred through its web to a gudgeon pin. Each piston has rings fitted
around its circumference that mostly prevent the gases from leaking into the crankcase or the oil
into the combustion chamber.[24] A ventilation system drives the small amount of gas that
escapes past the pistons during normal operation (the blow-by gases) out of the crankcase so
that it does not accumulate contaminating the oil and creating corrosion.[22] In two-stroke
gasoline engines the crankcase is part of the air–fuel path and due to the continuous flow of it,
two-stroke engines do not need a separate crankcase ventilation system.

Valve train above a diesel engine

cylinder head. This engine uses rocker
arms but no pushrods.

The cylinder head is attached to the engine block by numerous bolts or studs. It has several
functions. The cylinder head seals the cylinders on the side opposite to the pistons; it contains
short ducts (the ports) for intake and exhaust and the associated intake valves that open to let
the cylinder be filled with fresh air and exhaust valves that open to allow the combustion gases to
escape. However, 2-stroke crankcase scavenged engines connect the gas ports directly to the
cylinder wall without poppet valves; the piston controls their opening and occlusion instead. The
cylinder head also holds the spark plug in the case of spark ignition engines and the injector for
engines that use direct injection. All CI (compression ignition) engines use fuel injection, usually
direct injection but some engines instead use indirect injection. SI (spark ignition) engines can
use a carburetor or fuel injection as port injection or direct injection. Most SI engines have a
single spark plug per cylinder but some have 2. A head gasket prevents the gas from leaking
between the cylinder head and the engine block. The opening and closing of the valves is
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controlled by one or several camshafts and springs—or in some engines—a desmodromic

mechanism that uses no springs. The camshaft may press directly the stem of the valve or may
act upon a rocker arm, again, either directly or through a pushrod.

Engine block seen from below. The

cylinders, oil spray nozzle and half of
the main bearings are clearly visible.

The crankcase is sealed at the bottom with a sump that collects the falling oil during normal
operation to be cycled again. The cavity created between the cylinder block and the sump houses
a crankshaft that converts the reciprocating motion of the pistons to rotational motion. The
crankshaft is held in place relative to the engine block by main bearings, which allow it to rotate.
Bulkheads in the crankcase form a half of every main bearing; the other half is a detachable cap.
In some cases a single main bearing deck is used rather than several smaller caps. A connecting
rod is connected to offset sections of the crankshaft (the crankpins) in one end and to the piston
in the other end through the gudgeon pin and thus transfers the force and translates the
reciprocating motion of the pistons to the circular motion of the crankshaft. The end of the
connecting rod attached to the gudgeon pin is called its small end, and the other end, where it is
connected to the crankshaft, the big end. The big end has a detachable half to allow assembly
around the crankshaft. It is kept together to the connecting rod by removable bolts.

The cylinder head has an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold attached to the corresponding
ports. The intake manifold connects to the air filter directly, or to a carburetor when one is
present, which is then connected to the air filter. It distributes the air incoming from these
devices to the individual cylinders. The exhaust manifold is the first component in the exhaust
system. It collects the exhaust gases from the cylinders and drives it to the following component
in the path. The exhaust system of an ICE may also include a catalytic converter and muffler. The
final section in the path of the exhaust gases is the tailpipe.

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Four-stroke engines

Diagram showing the operation of a

4-stroke SI engine. Labels:
1 ‐ Induction
2 ‐ Compression
3 ‐ Power
4 ‐ Exhaust

The top dead center (TDC) of a piston is the position where it is nearest to the valves; bottom dead
center (BDC) is the opposite position where it is furthest from them. A stroke is the movement of
a piston from TDC to BDC or vice versa, together with the associated process. While an engine is
in operation, the crankshaft rotates continuously at a nearly constant speed. In a 4-stroke ICE,
each piston experiences 2 strokes per crankshaft revolution in the following order. Starting the
description at TDC, these are:[25][26]

1. Intake, induction or suction: The intake valves are open as a result of the cam lobe pressing
down on the valve stem. The piston moves downward increasing the volume of the
combustion chamber and allowing air to enter in the case of a CI engine or an air-fuel mix in
the case of SI engines that do not use direct injection. The air or air-fuel mixture is called the
charge in any case.

2. Compression: In this stroke, both valves are closed and the piston moves upward reducing
the combustion chamber volume which reaches its minimum when the piston is at TDC. The
piston performs work on the charge as it is being compressed; as a result, its pressure,
temperature and density increase; an approximation to this behavior is provided by the
ideal gas law. Just before the piston reaches TDC, ignition begins. In the case of a SI engine,
the spark plug receives a high voltage pulse that generates the spark which gives it its name
and ignites the charge. In the case of a CI engine, the fuel injector quickly injects fuel into
the combustion chamber as a spray; the fuel ignites due to the high temperature.

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3. Power or working stroke: The pressure of the combustion gases pushes the piston
downward, generating more kinetic energy than is required to compress the charge.
Complementary to the compression stroke, the combustion gases expand and as a result
their temperature, pressure and density decreases. When the piston is near to BDC the
exhaust valve opens. In the blowdown, the combustion gases expand irreversibly due to the
leftover pressure—in excess of back pressure, the gauge pressure on the exhaust port.

4. Exhaust: The exhaust valve remains open while the piston moves upward expelling the
combustion gases. For naturally aspirated engines a small part of the combustion gases may
remain in the cylinder during normal operation because the piston does not close the
combustion chamber completely; these gases dissolve in the next charge. At the end of this
stroke, the exhaust valve closes, the intake valve opens, and the sequence repeats in the
next cycle. The intake valve may open before the exhaust valve closes to allow better
scavenging.

Two-stroke engines

The defining characteristic of this kind of engine is that each piston completes a cycle every
crankshaft revolution. The 4 processes of intake, compression, power and exhaust take place in
only 2 strokes so that it is not possible to dedicate a stroke exclusively for each of them. Starting
at TDC the cycle consists of:

1. Power: While the piston is descending the combustion gases perform work on it, as in a 4-
stroke engine. The same thermodynamics for the expansion apply.

2. Scavenging: Around 75° of crankshaft rotation before BDC the exhaust valve or port opens,
and blowdown occurs. Shortly thereafter the intake valve or transfer port opens. The
incoming charge displaces the remaining combustion gases to the exhaust system and a
part of the charge may enter the exhaust system as well. The piston reaches BDC and
reverses direction. After the piston has traveled a short distance upwards into the cylinder
the exhaust valve or port closes; shortly the intake valve or transfer port closes as well.

3. Compression: With both intake and exhaust closed the piston continues moving upwards
compressing the charge and performing work on it. As in the case of a 4-stroke engine,
ignition starts just before the piston reaches TDC and the same consideration on the
thermodynamics of the compression on the charge apply.

While a 4-stroke engine uses the piston as a positive displacement pump to accomplish
scavenging taking 2 of the 4 strokes, a 2-stroke engine uses the last part of the power stroke and
the first part of the compression stroke for combined intake and exhaust. The work required to
displace the charge and exhaust gases comes from either the crankcase or a separate blower. For
scavenging, expulsion of burned gas and entry of fresh mix, two main approaches are described:

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Loop scavenging, and Uniflow scavenging. SAE news published in the 2010s that 'Loop
Scavenging' is better under any circumstance than Uniflow Scavenging.[19]

Crankcase scavenged

Diagram of a crankcase
scavenged valveless 2-
stroke engine in operation

Some SI engines are crankcase scavenged and do not use poppet valves. Instead, the crankcase
and the part of the cylinder below the piston is used as a pump. The intake port is connected to
the crankcase through a reed valve or a rotary disk valve driven by the engine. For each cylinder,
a transfer port connects in one end to the crankcase and in the other end to the cylinder wall.
The exhaust port is connected directly to the cylinder wall. The transfer and exhaust port are
opened and closed by the piston. The reed valve opens when the crankcase pressure is slightly
below intake pressure, to let it be filled with a new charge; this happens when the piston is
moving upwards. When the piston is moving downwards the pressure in the crankcase increases
and the reed valve closes promptly, then the charge in the crankcase is compressed. When the
piston is moving downwards, it also uncovers the exhaust port and the transfer port and the
higher pressure of the charge in the crankcase makes it enter the cylinder through the transfer
port, blowing the exhaust gases. Lubrication is accomplished by adding two-stroke oil to the fuel
in small ratios. Petroil refers to the mix of gasoline with the aforesaid oil. This kind of 2-stroke
engine has a lower efficiency than comparable 4-strokes engines and releases more polluting
exhaust gases for the following conditions:

They use a total-loss oiling system: all the lubricating oil is eventually burned along with the
fuel.

There are conflicting requirements for scavenging: On one side, enough fresh charge needs to
be introduced in each cycle to displace almost all the combustion gases but introducing too
much of it means that a part of it gets in the exhaust.

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They must use the transfer port(s) as a carefully designed and placed nozzle so that a gas
current is created in a way that it sweeps the whole cylinder before reaching the exhaust port
so as to expel the combustion gases, but minimize the amount of charge exhausted. 4-stroke
engines have the benefit of forcibly expelling almost all of the combustion gases because
during exhaust the combustion chamber is reduced to its minimum volume. In crankcase
scavenged 2-stroke engines, exhaust and intake are performed mostly simultaneously and with
the combustion chamber at its maximum volume.

The main advantage of 2-stroke engines of this type is mechanical simplicity and a higher power-
to-weight ratio than their 4-stroke counterparts. Despite having twice as many power strokes per
cycle, less than twice the power of a comparable 4-stroke engine is attainable in practice.

In the US, 2-stroke engines were banned for road vehicles due to the pollution. Off-road only
motorcycles are still often 2-stroke but are rarely road legal. However, many thousands of 2-
stroke lawn maintenance engines are in use.

Blower scavenged

Diagram of uniflow
scavenging

Using a separate blower avoids many of the shortcomings of crankcase scavenging, at the
expense of increased complexity which means a higher cost and an increase in maintenance
requirement. An engine of this type uses ports or valves for intake and valves for exhaust, except
opposed piston engines, which may also use ports for exhaust. The blower is usually of the
Roots-type but other types have been used too. This design is commonplace in CI engines, and
has been occasionally used in SI engines.

CI engines that use a blower typically use uniflow scavenging. In this design the cylinder wall
contains several intake ports placed uniformly spaced along the circumference just above the
position that the piston crown reaches when at BDC. An exhaust valve or several like that of 4-
stroke engines is used. The final part of the intake manifold is an air sleeve that feeds the intake
ports. The intake ports are placed at a horizontal angle to the cylinder wall (I.e: they are in plane
of the piston crown) to give a swirl to the incoming charge to improve combustion. The largest
reciprocating IC are low speed CI engines of this type; they are used for marine propulsion (see
marine diesel engine) or electric power generation and achieve the highest thermal efficiencies

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among internal combustion engines of any kind. Some diesel–electric locomotive engines
operate on the 2-stroke cycle. The most powerful of them have a brake power of around 4.5 MW
or 6,000 HP. The EMD SD90MAC class of locomotives are an example of such. The comparable
class GE AC6000CW, whose prime mover has almost the same brake power, uses a 4-stroke
engine.

An example of this type of engine is the Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged 2-stroke diesel,
used in large container ships. It is the most efficient and powerful reciprocating internal
combustion engine in the world with a thermal efficiency over 50%.[27][28][29] For comparison, the
most efficient small four-stroke engines are around 43% thermally-efficient (SAE 900648); size is
an advantage for efficiency due to the increase in the ratio of volume to surface area.

See the external links for an in-cylinder combustion video in a 2-stroke, optically accessible
motorcycle engine.

Historical design

Dugald Clerk developed the first two-cycle engine in 1879. It used a separate cylinder which
functioned as a pump in order to transfer the fuel mixture to the cylinder.[19]

In 1899 John Day simplified Clerk's design into the type of 2 cycle engine that is very widely used
today.[30] Day cycle engines are crankcase scavenged and port timed. The crankcase and the part
of the cylinder below the exhaust port is used as a pump. The operation of the Day cycle engine
begins when the crankshaft is turned so that the piston moves from BDC upward (toward the
head) creating a vacuum in the crankcase/cylinder area. The carburetor then feeds the fuel
mixture into the crankcase through a reed valve or a rotary disk valve (driven by the engine).
There are cast in ducts from the crankcase to the port in the cylinder to provide for intake and
another from the exhaust port to the exhaust pipe. The height of the port in relationship to the
length of the cylinder is called the "port timing".

On the first upstroke of the engine there would be no fuel inducted into the cylinder as the
crankcase was empty. On the downstroke, the piston now compresses the fuel mix, which has
lubricated the piston in the cylinder and the bearings due to the fuel mix having oil added to it.
As the piston moves downward it first uncovers the exhaust, but on the first stroke there is no
burnt fuel to exhaust. As the piston moves downward further, it uncovers the intake port which
has a duct that runs to the crankcase. Since the fuel mix in the crankcase is under pressure, the
mix moves through the duct and into the cylinder.

Because there is no obstruction in the cylinder of the fuel to move directly out of the exhaust
port prior to the piston rising far enough to close the port, early engines used a high domed
piston to slow down the flow of fuel. Later the fuel was "resonated" back into the cylinder using
an expansion chamber design. When the piston rose close to TDC, a spark ignited the fuel. As the

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piston is driven downward with power, it first uncovers the exhaust port where the burned fuel is
expelled under high pressure and then the intake port where the process has been completed
and will keep repeating.

Later engines used a type of porting devised by the Deutz company to improve performance. It
was called the Schnurle Reverse Flow system. DKW licensed this design for all their motorcycles.
Their DKW RT 125 was one of the first motor vehicles to achieve over 100 mpg as a result.[31]

Ignition

Internal combustion engines require ignition of the mixture, either by spark ignition (SI) or
compression ignition (CI). Before the invention of reliable electrical methods, hot tube and flame
methods were used. Experimental engines with laser ignition have been built.[32]

Spark ignition process

Bosch magneto

Points and coil ignition

The spark-ignition engine was a refinement of the early engines which used Hot Tube ignition.
When Bosch developed the magneto it became the primary system for producing electricity to
energize a spark plug.[33] Many small engines still use magneto ignition. Small engines are
started by hand cranking using a recoil starter or hand crank. Prior to Charles F. Kettering of

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Delco's development of the automotive starter all gasoline engined automobiles used a hand
crank.[34]

Larger engines typically power their starting motors and ignition systems using the electrical
energy stored in a lead–acid battery. The battery's charged state is maintained by an automotive
alternator or (previously) a generator which uses engine power to create electrical energy
storage.

The battery supplies electrical power for starting when the engine has a starting motor system,
and supplies electrical power when the engine is off. The battery also supplies electrical power
during rare run conditions where the alternator cannot maintain more than 13.8 volts (for a
common 12 V automotive electrical system). As alternator voltage falls below 13.8 volts, the lead-
acid storage battery increasingly picks up electrical load. During virtually all running conditions,
including normal idle conditions, the alternator supplies primary electrical power.

Some systems disable alternator field (rotor) power during wide-open throttle conditions.
Disabling the field reduces alternator pulley mechanical loading to nearly zero, maximizing
crankshaft power. In this case, the battery supplies all primary electrical power.

Gasoline engines take in a mixture of air and gasoline and compress it by the movement of the
piston from bottom dead center to top dead center when the fuel is at maximum compression.
The reduction in the size of the swept area of the cylinder and taking into account the volume of
the combustion chamber is described by a ratio. Early engines had compression ratios of 6 to 1.
As compression ratios were increased, the efficiency of the engine increased as well.

With early induction and ignition systems the compression ratios had to be kept low. With
advances in fuel technology and combustion management, high-performance engines can run
reliably at 12:1 ratio. With low octane fuel, a problem would occur as the compression ratio
increased as the fuel was igniting due to the rise in temperature that resulted. Charles Kettering
developed a lead additive which allowed higher compression ratios, which was progressively
abandoned for automotive use from the 1970s onward, partly due to lead poisoning concerns.

The fuel mixture is ignited at different progressions of the piston in the cylinder. At low rpm, the
spark is timed to occur close to the piston achieving top dead center. In order to produce more
power, as rpm rises the spark is advanced sooner during piston movement. The spark occurs
while the fuel is still being compressed progressively more as rpm rises.[35]

The necessary high voltage, typically 10,000 volts, is supplied by an induction coil or transformer.
The induction coil is a fly-back system, using interruption of electrical primary system current
through some type of synchronized interrupter. The interrupter can be either contact points or a
power transistor. The problem with this type of ignition is that as RPM increases the availability of

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electrical energy decreases. This is especially a problem, since the amount of energy needed to
ignite a more dense fuel mixture is higher. The result was often a high RPM misfire.

Capacitor discharge ignition was developed. It produces a rising voltage that is sent to the spark
plug. CD system voltages can reach 60,000 volts.[36] CD ignitions use step-up transformers. The
step-up transformer uses energy stored in a capacitance to generate electric spark. With either
system, a mechanical or electrical control system provides a carefully timed high-voltage to the
proper cylinder. This spark, via the spark plug, ignites the air-fuel mixture in the engine's
cylinders.

While gasoline internal combustion engines are much easier to start in cold weather than diesel
engines, they can still have cold weather starting problems under extreme conditions. For years,
the solution was to park the car in heated areas. In some parts of the world, the oil was actually
drained and heated overnight and returned to the engine for cold starts. In the early 1950s, the
gasoline Gasifier unit was developed, where, on cold weather starts, raw gasoline was diverted to
the unit where part of the fuel was burned causing the other part to become a hot vapor sent
directly to the intake valve manifold. This unit was quite popular until electric engine block
heaters became standard on gasoline engines sold in cold climates.[37]

Compression ignition process

For ignition, diesel, PPC and HCCI engines rely solely on the high temperature and pressure
created by the engine in its compression process. The compression level that occurs is usually
twice or more than a gasoline engine. Diesel engines take in air only, and shortly before peak
compression, spray a small quantity of diesel fuel into the cylinder via a fuel injector that allows
the fuel to instantly ignite. HCCI type engines take in both air and fuel, but continue to rely on an
unaided auto-combustion process, due to higher pressures and temperature. This is also why
diesel and HCCI engines are more susceptible to cold-starting issues, although they run just as
well in cold weather once started. Light duty diesel engines with indirect injection in automobiles
and light trucks employ glowplugs (or other pre-heating: see Cummins ISB#6BT) that pre-heat
the combustion chamber just before starting to reduce no-start conditions in cold weather. Most
diesels also have a battery and charging system; nevertheless, this system is secondary and is
added by manufacturers as a luxury for the ease of starting, turning fuel on and off (which can
also be done via a switch or mechanical apparatus), and for running auxiliary electrical
components and accessories. Most new engines rely on electrical and electronic engine control
units (ECU) that also adjust the combustion process to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.

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Lubrication

Diagram of an engine using

pressurized lubrication

Surfaces in contact and relative motion to other surfaces require lubrication to reduce wear, noise
and increase efficiency by reducing the power wasting in overcoming friction, or to make the
mechanism work at all. Also, the lubricant used can reduce excess heat and provide additional
cooling to components. At the very least, an engine requires lubrication in the following parts:

Between pistons and cylinders

Small bearings

Big end bearings

Main bearings

Valve gear (The following elements may not be present):

Tappets

Rocker arms

Pushrods

Timing chain or gears. Toothed belts do not require lubrication.

In 2-stroke crankcase scavenged engines, the interior of the crankcase, and therefore the
crankshaft, connecting rod and bottom of the pistons are sprayed by the two-stroke oil in the air-
fuel-oil mixture which is then burned along with the fuel. The valve train may be contained in a
compartment flooded with lubricant so that no oil pump is required.

In a splash lubrication system no oil pump is used. Instead the crankshaft dips into the oil in the
sump and due to its high speed, it splashes the crankshaft, connecting rods and bottom of the
pistons. The connecting rod big end caps may have an attached scoop to enhance this effect. The
valve train may also be sealed in a flooded compartment, or open to the crankshaft in a way that
it receives splashed oil and allows it to drain back to the sump. Splash lubrication is common for
small 4-stroke engines.

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In a forced (also called pressurized) lubrication system, lubrication is accomplished in a closed-

loop which carries motor oil to the surfaces serviced by the system and then returns the oil to a
reservoir. The auxiliary equipment of an engine is typically not serviced by this loop; for instance,
an alternator may use ball bearings sealed with their own lubricant. The reservoir for the oil is
usually the sump, and when this is the case, it is called a wet sump system. When there is a
different oil reservoir the crankcase still catches it, but it is continuously drained by a dedicated
pump; this is called a dry sump system.

On its bottom, the sump contains an oil intake covered by a mesh filter which is connected to an
oil pump then to an oil filter outside the crankcase. From there it is diverted to the crankshaft
main bearings and valve train. The crankcase contains at least one oil gallery (a conduit inside a
crankcase wall) to which oil is introduced from the oil filter. The main bearings contain a groove
through all or half its circumference; the oil enters these grooves from channels connected to the
oil gallery. The crankshaft has drillings that take oil from these grooves and deliver it to the big
end bearings. All big end bearings are lubricated this way. A single main bearing may provide oil
for 0, 1 or 2 big end bearings. A similar system may be used to lubricate the piston, its gudgeon
pin and the small end of its connecting rod; in this system, the connecting rod big end has a
groove around the crankshaft and a drilling connected to the groove which distributes oil from
there to the bottom of the piston and from then to the cylinder.

Other systems are also used to lubricate the cylinder and piston. The connecting rod may have a
nozzle to throw an oil jet to the cylinder and bottom of the piston. That nozzle is in movement
relative to the cylinder it lubricates, but always pointed towards it or the corresponding piston.

Typically forced lubrication systems have a lubricant flow higher than what is required to
lubricate satisfactorily, in order to assist with cooling. Specifically, the lubricant system helps to
move heat from the hot engine parts to the cooling liquid (in water-cooled engines) or fins (in
air-cooled engines) which then transfer it to the environment. The lubricant must be designed to
be chemically stable and maintain suitable viscosities within the temperature range it encounters
in the engine.

Cylinder configuration

Common cylinder configurations include the straight or inline configuration, the more compact V
configuration, and the wider but smoother flat or boxer configuration. Aircraft engines can also
adopt a radial configuration, which allows more effective cooling. More unusual configurations
such as the H, U, X, and W have also been used.

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Some popular cylinder configurations:

a – straight
b–V
c – opposed
d–W

Multiple cylinder engines have their valve train and crankshaft configured so that pistons are at
different parts of their cycle. It is desirable to have the pistons' cycles uniformly spaced (this is
called even firing) especially in forced induction engines; this reduces torque pulsations[38] and
makes inline engines with more than 3 cylinders statically balanced in its primary forces.
However, some engine configurations require odd firing to achieve better balance than what is
possible with even firing. For instance, a 4-stroke I2 engine has better balance when the angle
between the crankpins is 180° because the pistons move in opposite directions and inertial forces
partially cancel, but this gives an odd firing pattern where one cylinder fires 180° of crankshaft
rotation after the other, then no cylinder fires for 540°. With an even firing pattern, the pistons
would move in unison and the associated forces would add.

Multiple crankshaft configurations do not necessarily need a cylinder head at all because they
can instead have a piston at each end of the cylinder called an opposed piston design. Because
fuel inlets and outlets are positioned at opposed ends of the cylinder, one can achieve uniflow
scavenging, which, as in the four-stroke engine is efficient over a wide range of engine speeds.
Thermal efficiency is improved because of a lack of cylinder heads. This design was used in the
Junkers Jumo 205 diesel aircraft engine, using two crankshafts at either end of a single bank of
cylinders, and most remarkably in the Napier Deltic diesel engines. These used three crankshafts
to serve three banks of double-ended cylinders arranged in an equilateral triangle with the
crankshafts at the corners. It was also used in single-bank locomotive engines, and is still used in
marine propulsion engines and marine auxiliary generators.

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Diesel cycle

p–V diagram for the ideal diesel cycle.

The cycle follows the numbers 1–4 in
clockwise direction.

Most truck and automotive diesel engines use a cycle reminiscent of a four-stroke cycle, but with
temperature increase by compression causing ignition, rather than needing a separate ignition
system. This variation is called the diesel cycle. In the diesel cycle, diesel fuel is injected directly
into the cylinder so that combustion occurs at constant pressure, as the piston moves.

Otto cycle

The Otto cycle is the most common cycle for most cars' internal combustion engines that use
gasoline as a fuel. It consists of the same major steps as described for the four-stroke engine:
Intake, compression, ignition, expansion and exhaust.

Five-stroke engine

In 1879, Nicolaus Otto manufactured and sold a double expansion engine (the double and triple
expansion principles had ample usage in steam engines), with two small cylinders at both sides of
a low-pressure larger cylinder, where a second expansion of exhaust stroke gas took place; the
owner returned it, alleging poor performance. In 1906, the concept was incorporated in a car
built by EHV (Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company);[39] and in the 21st century Ilmor designed
and successfully tested a 5-stroke double expansion internal combustion engine, with high power
output and low SFC (Specific Fuel Consumption).[40]

Six-stroke engine

The six-stroke engine was invented in 1883. Four kinds of six-stroke engines use a regular piston
in a regular cylinder (Griffin six-stroke, Bajulaz six-stroke, Velozeta six-stroke and Crower six-
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stroke), firing every three crankshaft revolutions. These systems capture the waste heat of the
four-stroke Otto cycle with an injection of air or water.

The Beare Head and "piston charger" engines operate as opposed-piston engines, two pistons in
a single cylinder, firing every two revolutions rather than every four like a four-stroke engine.

Other cycles

The first internal combustion engines did not compress the mixture. The first part of the piston
downstroke drew in a fuel-air mixture, then the inlet valve closed and, in the remainder of the
down-stroke, the fuel-air mixture fired. The exhaust valve opened for the piston upstroke. These
attempts at imitating the principle of a steam engine were very inefficient. There are a number of
variations of these cycles, most notably the Atkinson and Miller cycles.

Split-cycle engines separate the four strokes of intake, compression, combustion and exhaust
into two separate but paired cylinders. The first cylinder is used for intake and compression. The
compressed air is then transferred through a crossover passage from the compression cylinder
into the second cylinder, where combustion and exhaust occur. A split-cycle engine is really an air
compressor on one side with a combustion chamber on the other.

Previous split-cycle engines have had two major problems—poor breathing (volumetric
efficiency) and low thermal efficiency. However, new designs are being introduced that seek to
address these problems. The Scuderi Engine addresses the breathing problem by reducing the
clearance between the piston and the cylinder head through various turbocharging techniques.
The Scuderi design requires the use of outwardly opening valves that enable the piston to move
very close to the cylinder head without the interference of the valves. Scuderi addresses the low
thermal efficiency via firing after top dead center (ATDC).

Firing ATDC can be accomplished by using high-pressure air in the transfer passage to create
sonic flow and high turbulence in the power cylinder.

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Combustion turbines

Jet engine

Turbofan jet engine

Jet engines use a number of rows of fan blades to compress air which then enters a combustor
where it is mixed with fuel (typically JP fuel) and then ignited. The burning of the fuel raises the
temperature of the air which is then exhausted out of the engine creating thrust. A modern
turbofan engine can operate at as high as 48% efficiency.[41]

There are six sections to a turbofan engine:

Fan

Compressor

Combustor

Turbine

Mixer

Nozzle[42]

Gas turbines

Turbine power plant

A gas turbine compresses air and uses it to turn a turbine. It is essentially a jet engine which
directs its output to a shaft. There are three stages to a turbine: 1) air is drawn through a
compressor where the temperature rises due to compression, 2) fuel is added in the combuster,
and 3) hot air is exhausted through turbine blades which rotate a shaft connected to the
compressor.
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A gas turbine is a rotary machine similar in principle to a steam turbine and it consists of three
main components: a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The temperature of the
air, after being compressed in the compressor, is increased by burning fuel in it. The heated air
and the products of combustion expand in a turbine, producing work output. About 2⁄3 of the
work drives the compressor: the rest (about 1⁄3) is available as useful work output.[43]

Gas turbines are among the most efficient internal combustion engines. The General Electric 7HA
and 9HA turbine combined cycle electrical plants are rated at over 61% efficiency.[44]

Brayton cycle

Brayton cycle

A gas turbine is a rotary machine somewhat similar in principle to a steam turbine. It consists of
three main components: compressor, combustion chamber, and turbine. The air is compressed
by the compressor where a temperature rise occurs. The temperature of the compressed air is
further increased by combustion of injected fuel in the combustion chamber which expands the
air. This energy rotates the turbine which powers the compressor via a mechanical coupling. The
hot gases are then exhausted to provide thrust.

Gas turbine cycle engines employ a continuous combustion system where compression,
combustion, and expansion occur simultaneously at different places in the engine—giving
continuous power. Notably, the combustion takes place at constant pressure, rather than with the
Otto cycle, constant volume.

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Wankel engines

The Wankel rotary cycle. The

shaft turns three times for
each rotation of the rotor
around the lobe and once for
each orbital revolution
around the eccentric shaft.

The Wankel engine (rotary engine) does not have piston strokes. It operates with the same
separation of phases as the four-stroke engine with the phases taking place in separate locations
in the engine. In thermodynamic terms it follows the Otto engine cycle, so may be thought of as
a "four-phase" engine. While it is true that three power strokes typically occur per rotor
revolution, due to the 3:1 revolution ratio of the rotor to the eccentric shaft, only one power
stroke per shaft revolution actually occurs. The drive (eccentric) shaft rotates once during every
power stroke instead of twice (crankshaft), as in the Otto cycle, giving it a greater power-to-
weight ratio than piston engines. This type of engine was most notably used in the Mazda RX-8,
the earlier RX-7, and other vehicle models. The engine is also used in unmanned aerial vehicles,
where the small size and weight and the high power-to-weight ratio are advantageous.

Forced induction

Forced induction is the process of delivering compressed air to the intake of an internal
combustion engine. A forced induction engine uses a gas compressor to increase the pressure,
temperature and density of the air. An engine without forced induction is considered a naturally
aspirated engine.

Forced induction is used in the automotive and aviation industry to increase engine power and
efficiency. It particularly helps aviation engines, as they need to operate at high altitude.

Forced induction is achieved by a supercharger, where the compressor is directly powered from
the engine shaft or, in the turbocharger, from a turbine powered by the engine exhaust.

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Fuels and oxidizers

All internal combustion engines depend on combustion of a chemical fuel, typically with oxygen
from the air (though it is possible to inject nitrous oxide to do more of the same thing and gain a
power boost). The combustion process typically results in the production of a great quantity of
thermal energy, as well as the production of steam and carbon dioxide and other chemicals at
very high temperature; the temperature reached is determined by the chemical make up of the
fuel and oxidizers (see stoichiometry), as well as by the compression and other factors.

Fuels

The most common modern fuels are made up of hydrocarbons and are derived mostly from
fossil fuels (petroleum). Fossil fuels include diesel fuel, gasoline and petroleum gas, and the rarer
use of propane. Except for the fuel delivery components, most internal combustion engines that
are designed for gasoline use can run on natural gas or liquefied petroleum gases without major
modifications. Large diesels can run with air mixed with gases and a pilot diesel fuel ignition
injection. Liquid and gaseous biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel (a form of diesel fuel that is
produced from crops that yield triglycerides such as soybean oil), can also be used. Engines with
appropriate modifications can also run on hydrogen gas, wood gas, or charcoal gas, as well as
from so-called producer gas made from other convenient biomass. Experiments have also been
conducted using powdered solid fuels, such as the magnesium injection cycle.

Presently, fuels used include:

Petroleum:
Petroleum spirit (North American term: gasoline, British term: petrol)

Diesel fuel.

Autogas (liquified petroleum gas).

Propane.

Compressed natural gas.

Jet fuel (aviation fuel)

Residual fuel

Coal:
Gasoline can be made from carbon (coal) using the Fischer–Tropsch process

Diesel fuel can be made from carbon using the Fischer–Tropsch process

Biofuels and vegetable oils:

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Peanut oil and other vegetable oils.

Woodgas, from an onboard wood gasifier using solid wood as a fuel

Biofuels:
Biobutanol (replaces gasoline).

Biodiesel (replaces petrodiesel).

Dimethyl Ether (replaces petrodiesel).

Bioethanol and biomethanol (wood alcohol) and other biofuels (see Flexible-fuel
vehicle).

Biogas

Hydrogen (mainly spacecraft rocket engines)

Even fluidized metal powders and explosives have seen some use. Engines that use gases for fuel
are called gas engines and those that use liquid hydrocarbons are called oil engines; however,
gasoline engines are also often colloquially referred to as "gas engines" ("petrol engines" outside
North America).

The main limitations on fuels are that it must be easily transportable through the fuel system to
the combustion chamber, and that the fuel releases sufficient energy in the form of heat upon
combustion to make practical use of the engine.

Diesel engines are generally heavier, noisier, and more powerful at lower speeds than gasoline
engines. They are also more fuel-efficient in most circumstances and are used in heavy road
vehicles, some automobiles (increasingly so for their increased fuel efficiency over gasoline
engines), ships, railway locomotives, and light aircraft. Gasoline engines are used in most other
road vehicles including most cars, motorcycles, and mopeds. In Europe, sophisticated diesel-
engined cars have taken over about 45% of the market since the 1990s. There are also engines
that run on hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biodiesel, paraffin and
tractor vaporizing oil (TVO).

Hydrogen

Hydrogen could eventually replace conventional fossil fuels in traditional internal combustion
engines. Alternatively fuel cell technology may come to deliver its promise and the use of the
internal combustion engines could even be phased out.

Although there are multiple ways of producing free hydrogen, those methods require converting
combustible molecules into hydrogen or consuming electric energy. Unless that electricity is
produced from a renewable source—and is not required for other purposes—hydrogen does not
solve any energy crisis. In many situations the disadvantage of hydrogen, relative to carbon fuels,

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is its storage. Liquid hydrogen has extremely low density (14 times lower than water) and requires
extensive insulation—whilst gaseous hydrogen requires heavy tankage. Even when liquefied,
hydrogen has a higher specific energy but the volumetric energetic storage is still roughly five
times lower than gasoline. However, the energy density of hydrogen is considerably higher than
that of electric batteries, making it a serious contender as an energy carrier to replace fossil fuels.
The 'Hydrogen on Demand' process (see direct borohydride fuel cell) creates hydrogen as
needed, but has other issues, such as the high price of the sodium borohydride that is the raw
material.

Oxidizers

One-cylinder gasoline
engine, c. 1910

Since air is plentiful at the surface of the earth, the oxidizer is typically atmospheric oxygen, which
has the advantage of not being stored within the vehicle. This increases the power-to-weight and
power-to-volume ratios. Other materials are used for special purposes, often to increase power
output or to allow operation under water or in space.

Compressed air has been commonly used in torpedoes.[45]

Compressed oxygen, as well as some compressed air, was used in the Japanese Type 93
torpedo. Some submarines carry pure oxygen. Rockets very often use liquid oxygen.[46]

Nitromethane is added to some racing and model fuels to increase power and control
combustion.

Nitrous oxide has been used—with extra gasoline—in tactical aircraft, and in specially
equipped cars to allow short bursts of added power from engines that otherwise run on
gasoline and air. It is also used in the Burt Rutan rocket spacecraft.

Hydrogen peroxide power was under development for German World War II submarines. It
may have been used in some non-nuclear submarines, and was used on some rocket engines
(notably the Black Arrow and the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket fighter).

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Other chemicals such as chlorine or fluorine have been used experimentally, but have not been
found practical.

Cooling

Cooling is required to remove excessive heat—high temperature can cause engine failure, usually
from wear (due to high-temperature-induced failure of lubrication), cracking or warping. Two
most common forms of engine cooling are air-cooled and water-cooled. Most modern
automotive engines are both water and air-cooled, as the water/liquid-coolant is carried to air-
cooled fins and/or fans, whereas larger engines may be singularly water-cooled as they are
stationary and have a constant supply of water through water-mains or fresh-water, while most
power tool engines and other small engines are air-cooled. Some engines (air or water-cooled)
also have an oil cooler. In some engines, especially for turbine engine blade cooling and liquid
rocket engine cooling, fuel is used as a coolant, as it is simultaneously preheated before injecting
it into a combustion chamber.

Starting

0:34

Hand-cranking a boat diesel motor in

Inle Lake (Myanmar)

Electric starter as used in automobiles

Internal combustion engines must have their cycles started. In reciprocating engines this is
accomplished by turning the crankshaft (Wankel Rotor Shaft) which induces the cycles of intake,
compression, combustion, and exhaust. The first engines were started with a turn of their
flywheels, while the first vehicle (the Daimler Reitwagen) was started with a hand crank. All ICE
engined automobiles were started with hand cranks until Charles Kettering developed the electric

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starter for automobiles.[47] This method is now the most widely used, even among non-
automobiles.

As diesel engines have become larger and their mechanisms heavier, air starters have come into
use.[48] This is due to the lack of torque in electric starters. Air starters work by pumping
compressed air into the cylinders of an engine to start it turning.

Two-wheeled vehicles may have their engines started in one of four ways:

By pedaling, as on a bicycle

By pushing the vehicle and then engaging the clutch, known as "run-and-bump starting"

By kicking downward on a single pedal, known as "kick starting"

By an electric starter, as in cars

There are also starters where a spring is compressed by a crank motion and then used to start an
engine.

Some small engines use a pull-rope mechanism called "recoil starting", as the rope rewinds itself
after it has been pulled out to start the engine. This method is commonly used in pushed lawn
mowers and other settings where only a small amount of torque is needed to turn an engine
over.

Turbine engines are frequently started by an electric motor or by compressed air.

Measures of engine performance

Engine types vary greatly in a number of different ways:

energy efficiency

fuel/propellant consumption (brake specific fuel consumption for shaft engines, thrust specific
fuel consumption for jet engines)

power-to-weight ratio

thrust to weight ratio

torque curves (for shaft engines), thrust lapse (jet engines)

compression ratio for piston engines, overall pressure ratio for jet engines and gas turbines

Energy efficiency

Once ignited and burnt, the combustion products—hot gases—have more available thermal
energy than the original compressed fuel-air mixture (which had higher chemical energy). This
available energy is manifested as a higher temperature and pressure that can be converted into
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kinetic energy by the engine. In a reciprocating engine, the high-pressure gases inside the
cylinders drive the engine's pistons.

Once the available energy has been removed, the remaining hot gases are vented (often by
opening a valve or exposing the exhaust outlet) and this allows the piston to return to its
previous position (top dead center, or TDC). The piston can then proceed to the next phase of its
cycle, which varies between engines. Any thermal energy that is not translated into work is
normally considered a waste product and is removed from the engine either by an air or liquid
cooling system.

Internal combustion engines are considered heat engines (since the release of chemical energy in
combustion has the same effect as heat transfer into the engine) and as such their theoretical
efficiency can be approximated by idealized thermodynamic cycles. The thermal efficiency of a
theoretical cycle cannot exceed that of the Carnot cycle, whose efficiency is determined by the
difference between the lower and upper operating temperatures of the engine. The upper
operating temperature of an engine is limited by two main factors; the thermal operating limits
of the materials, and the auto-ignition resistance of the fuel. All metals and alloys have a thermal
operating limit, and there is significant research into ceramic materials that can be made with
greater thermal stability and desirable structural properties. Higher thermal stability allows for a
greater temperature difference between the lower (ambient) and upper operating temperatures,
hence greater thermodynamic efficiency. Also, as the cylinder temperature rises, the fuel
becomes more prone to auto-ignition. This is caused when the cylinder temperature nears the
flash point of the charge. At this point, ignition can spontaneously occur before the spark plug
fires, causing excessive cylinder pressures. Auto-ignition can be mitigated by using fuels with
high auto-ignition resistance (octane rating), however it still puts an upper bound on the
allowable peak cylinder temperature.

The thermodynamic limits assume that the engine is operating under ideal conditions: a
frictionless world, ideal gases, perfect insulators, and operation for infinite time. Real world
applications introduce complexities that reduce efficiency. For example, a real engine runs best at
a specific load, termed its power band. The engine in a car cruising on a highway is usually
operating significantly below its ideal load, because it is designed for the higher loads required
for rapid acceleration. In addition, factors such as wind resistance reduce overall system
efficiency. Vehicle fuel economy is measured in miles per gallon or in liters per 100 kilometers.
The volume of hydrocarbon assumes a standard energy content.

Even when aided with turbochargers and stock efficiency aids, most engines retain an average
efficiency of about 18–20%.[49] However, the latest technologies in Formula One engines have
seen a boost in thermal efficiency past 50%.[50] There are many inventions aimed at increasing
the efficiency of IC engines. In general, practical engines are always compromised by trade-offs
between different properties such as efficiency, weight, power, heat, response, exhaust emissions,
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or noise. Sometimes economy also plays a role in not only the cost of manufacturing the engine
itself, but also manufacturing and distributing the fuel. Increasing the engine's efficiency brings
better fuel economy but only if the fuel cost per energy content is the same.

Measures of fuel efficiency and propellant efficiency

For stationary and shaft engines including propeller engines, fuel consumption is measured by
calculating the brake specific fuel consumption, which measures the mass flow rate of fuel
consumption divided by the power produced.

For internal combustion engines in the form of jet engines, the power output varies drastically
with airspeed and a less variable measure is used: thrust specific fuel consumption (TSFC), which
is the mass of propellant needed to generate impulses that is measured in either pound force-
hour or the grams of propellant needed to generate an impulse that measures one kilonewton-
second.

For rockets, TSFC can be used, but typically other equivalent measures are traditionally used, such
as specific impulse and effective exhaust velocity.

Air and noise pollution

Air pollution

Internal combustion engines such as reciprocating internal combustion engines produce air
pollution emissions, due to incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuel. The main derivatives of
the process are carbon dioxide CO2, water and some soot—also called particulate matter (PM).[51]
The effects of inhaling particulate matter have been studied in humans and animals and include
asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, and premature death.[52] There are, however, some
additional products of the combustion process that include nitrogen oxides and sulfur and some
uncombusted hydrocarbons, depending on the operating conditions and the fuel-air ratio.

Carbon dioxide emissions from internal combustion engines (particularly ones using fossil fuels
such as gasoline and diesel) contribute to human-induced climate change. Increasing the
engine's fuel efficiency can reduce, but not eliminate, the amount of CO2 emissions as carbon-
based fuel combustion produces CO2. Since removing CO2 from engine exhaust is impractical,
there is increasing interest in alternatives. Sustainable fuels such as biofuels, synfuels, and electric
motors powered by batteries are examples.

Not all of the fuel is completely consumed by the combustion process. A small amount of fuel is
present after combustion, and some of it reacts to form oxygenates, such as formaldehyde or

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acetaldehyde, or hydrocarbons not originally present in the input fuel mixture. Incomplete
combustion usually results from insufficient oxygen to achieve the perfect stoichiometric ratio.
The flame is "quenched" by the relatively cool cylinder walls, leaving behind unreacted fuel that is
expelled with the exhaust. When running at lower speeds, quenching is commonly observed in
diesel (compression ignition) engines that run on natural gas. Quenching reduces efficiency and
increases knocking, sometimes causing the engine to stall. Incomplete combustion also leads to
the production of carbon monoxide (CO). Further chemicals released are benzene and 1,3-
butadiene that are also hazardous air pollutants.

Increasing the amount of air in the engine reduces emissions of incomplete combustion
products, but also promotes reaction between oxygen and nitrogen in the air to produce
nitrogen oxides (NOx). NOx is hazardous to both plant and animal health, and leads to the
production of ozone (O3). Ozone is not emitted directly; rather, it is a secondary air pollutant,
produced in the atmosphere by the reaction of NOx and volatile organic compounds in the
presence of sunlight. Ground-level ozone is harmful to human health and the environment.
Though the same chemical substance, ground-level ozone should not be confused with
stratospheric ozone, or the ozone layer, which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Carbon fuels containing sulfur produce sulfur monoxides (SO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2)
contributing to acid rain.

In the United States, nitrogen oxides, PM, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone, are
regulated as criteria air pollutants under the Clean Air Act to levels where human health and
welfare are protected. Other pollutants, such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene, are regulated as
hazardous air pollutants whose emissions must be lowered as much as possible depending on
technological and practical considerations.

NOx, carbon monoxide and other pollutants are frequently controlled via exhaust gas
recirculation which returns some of the exhaust back into the engine intake. Catalytic converters
are used to convert exhaust chemicals to CO2 (a greenhouse gas), H2O (water vapour, also a
greenhouse gas) and N2 (nitrogen).

Non-road engines

The emission standards used by many countries have special requirements for non-road engines
which are used by equipment and vehicles that are not operated on the public roadways. The
standards are separated from the road vehicles.[53]

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Noise pollution

Significant contributions to noise pollution are made by internal combustion engines.

Automobile and truck traffic operating on highways and street systems produce noise, as do
aircraft flights due to jet noise, particularly supersonic-capable aircraft. Rocket engines create the
most intense noise.

Idling

Internal combustion engines continue to consume fuel and emit pollutants while idling. Idling is
reduced by stop-start systems.

Carbon dioxide formation

A good way to estimate the mass of carbon dioxide that is released when one litre of diesel fuel
(or gasoline) is combusted can be found as follows:[54]

As a good approximation the chemical formula of diesel is CnH2n. In reality diesel is a mixture of
different molecules. As carbon has a molar mass of 12 g/mol and hydrogen (atomic) has a molar
mass of about 1 g/mol, the fraction by weight of carbon in diesel is roughly 12⁄14.

The reaction of diesel combustion is given by:

2CnH2n + 3nO2 ⇌ 2nCO2 + 2nH2O

Carbon dioxide has a molar mass of 44 g/mol as it consists of 2 atoms of oxygen (16 g/mol) and
1 atom of carbon (12 g/mol). So 12 g of carbon yields 44 g of carbon dioxide.

Diesel has a density of 0.838 kg per litre.

Putting everything together the mass of carbon dioxide that is produced by burning 1 litre of
diesel can be calculated as:

The figure obtained with this estimation is close to the values found in the literature.

For gasoline, with a density of 0.75 kg/L and a ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms of about 6 to
14, the estimated value of carbon dioxide emission from burning 1 litre of gasoline is:

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Parasitic loss

The term parasitic loss is often applied to devices that take energy from the engine in order to
enhance the engine's ability to create more energy or convert energy to motion. In the internal
combustion engine, almost every mechanical component, including the drivetrain, causes
parasitic loss and could thus be characterized as a parasitic load.

Examples

Bearings, oil pumps, piston rings, valve springs, flywheels, transmissions, driveshafts, and
differentials all act as parasitic loads that rob the system of power. These parasitic loads can be
divided into two categories: those inherent to the working of the engine and those drivetrain
losses incurred in the systems that transfer power from the engine to the road (such as the
transmission, driveshaft, differentials and axles).

For example, the former category (engine parasitic loads) includes the oil pump used to lubricate
the engine, which is a necessary parasite that consumes power from the engine (its host).
Another example of an engine parasitic load is a supercharger, which derives its power from the
engine and creates more power for the engine. The power that the supercharger consumes is
parasitic loss and is usually expressed in kilowatt or horsepower. While the power that the
supercharger consumes in comparison to what it generates is small, it is still measurable or
calculable. One of the desirable features of a turbocharger over a supercharger is the lower
parasitic loss of the former.[55]

Drivetrain parasitic losses include both steady state and dynamic loads. Steady state loads occur
at constant speeds and may originate in discrete components such as the torque converter, the
transmission oil pump, and/or clutch drag, and in seal/bearing drag, churning of lubricant and
gear windage/friction found throughout the system. Dynamic loads occur under acceleration and
are caused by inertia of rotating components and/or increased friction.[56]

Measurement

While rules of thumb such as a 15% power loss from drivetrain parasitic loads have been
commonly repeated, the actual loss of energy due to parasitic loads varies between systems. It
can be influenced by powertrain design, lubricant type and temperature and many other
factors.[56][57] In automobiles, drivetrain loss can be quantified by measuring the difference
between power measured by an engine dynamometer and a chassis dynamometer. However, this
method is primarily useful for measuring steady state loads and may not accurately reflect losses

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due to dynamic loads.[56] More advanced methods can be used in a laboratory setting, such as
measuring in-cylinder pressure measurements, flow rate and temperature at certain points, and
testing of individual parts or sub-assemblies to determine friction and pumping losses.[58]

For example, in a dynamometer test by Hot Rod magazine, a Ford Mustang equipped with a
modified 357ci small-block Ford V8 engine and an automatic transmission had a measured
drivetrain power loss averaging 33%. In the same test, a Buick equipped with a modified 455ci V8
engine and a 4-speed manual transmission was measured to have an average drivetrain power
loss of 21%.[59]

Laboratory testing of a heavy-duty diesel engine determined that 1.3% of the fuel energy input
was lost to parasitic loads of engine accessories such as water and oil pumps.[58]

Reduction

Automotive engineers and tuners commonly make design choices that reduce parasitic loads in
order to improve efficiency and power output. These may involve the choice of major engine
components or systems, such as the use of dry sump lubrication system over a wet sump system.
Alternately, this can be effected through substitution of minor components available as
aftermarket modifications, such as exchanging a directly engine-driven fan for one equipped with
a fan clutch or an electric fan.[59] Another modification to reduce parasitic loss, usually seen in
track-only cars, is the replacement of an engine-driven water pump for an electrical water
pump.[60] The reduction in parasitic loss from these changes may be due to reduced friction or
many other variables that cause the design to be more efficient.

See also

Energy portal

Adiabatic flame temperature

Aluminum internal combustion engine

Air-fuel ratio

Bore

Component parts of internal combustion engines

Crude oil engine – a two-stroke engine

Deglazing (engine mechanics)

Diesel engine

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Dieselisation

Direct injection

Dynamometer

Electric vehicle

Engine test stand – information about how to check an internal combustion engine

External combustion engine (EC engine)

Fossil fuels

Gasoline direct injection

Gas turbine

Heat pump

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI)

Hybrid vehicle

Indirect injection

Jet engine

Magnesium injection cycle

Model engine

Multi-valve

Petrofuel

Piston engine

Pistonless rotary engine

Reciprocating engine

Stroke

Turbocharger

Variable displacement / Variable compression ratio

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Anyebe, E.A (2009). Combustion Engine and Operations, Automobile Technology Handbook.
Vol. 2.

Denton, T. (2011). Automobile Mechanical and Electrical Systems (https://books.google.com/bo

oks?id=mXAQBAAAQBAJ) . Automobile Mechanical and Electrical Systems: Automotive
Technology : Vehicle Maintenance and Repair. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-27038-3.

Heywood, J. (2018). Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals 2E (https://books.google.com/b

ooks?id=OmJUDwAAQBAJ) . McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-1-260-11611-3.

Nunney, Malcolm J. (2007). Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology (4th ed.). Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-8037-0.

Ricardo, Harry (1931). The High-Speed Internal Combustion Engine (https://es.scribd.com/doc/4

0610101/The-High-Speed-Internal-Combustion-Engine-by-Sir-Harry-Ricardo) .

Singal, R.K. Internal Combustion Engines. New Delhi, India: Kataria Books. ISBN 978-93-5014-
214-1.

Stone, Richard (1992). Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines (2nd ed.). Macmillan.
ISBN 978-0-333-55083-0.

Yamagata, H. (2005). The Science and Technology of Materials in Automotive Engines (https://bo
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Patents:
ES 433850 (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=ES433850) ,
Ubierna Laciana, "Perfeccionamientos en Motores de Explosion, con Cinco Tiem-Pos y
Doble Expansion", published 1976-11-01

ES 230551 (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=ES230551) ,
Ortuno Garcia Jose, "Un Nuevo Motor de Explosion", published 1957-03-01

ES 249247 (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=ES249247) ,
Ortuno Garcia Jose, "Motor de Carreras Distintas", published 1959-09-01

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8/16/24, 4:45 AM Internal combustion engine - Wikipedia

Further reading

Singer, Charles Joseph; Raper, Richard (1978). Charles, Singer; et al. (eds.). A History of
Technology: The Internal Combustion Engine. Clarendon Press. pp. 157–176. ISBN 978-0-19-
858155-0.

Setright, LJK (1975). Some unusual engines. London: The Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
ISBN 978-0-85298-208-2.

Suzuki, Takashi (1997). The Romance of Engines. US: Society of Automotive Engineers.
ISBN 978-1-56091-911-7.

Hardenberg, Horst O. (1999). The Middle Ages of the Internal Combustion Engine. US: Society of
Automotive Engineers.

Gunston, Bill (1999). Development of Piston Aero Engines. PSL. ISBN 978-1-85260-619-0.

External links

Combustion video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObmAOJA__1k) – in-cylinder

combustion in an optically accessible, 2-stroke engine

Animated Engines (https://www.animatedengines.com) – explains a variety of types

Intro to Car Engines (https://www.autoeducation.com/rm_preview/engine_intro.htm) – Cut-

away images and a good overview of the internal combustion engine

Walter E. Lay Auto Lab (https://web.archive.org/web/20110720090822/http://me.engin.umich.e

du/autolab/Projects/index.html) – Research at The University of Michigan

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2eILCrW53M&NR) – Animation of the

components and built-up of a 4-cylinder engine

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QB7XPMeLnA) – Animation of the internal

moving parts of a 4-cylinder engine

Next generation engine technologies (https://web.archive.org/web/20090627061021/http://ww

w.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4261289.html?series=19) retrieved May 9,
2009

How Car Engines Work (https://www.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm)

Unusual Internal-Combustion Engines (http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/unusua

lICeng/unusualICeng.htm)

Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS) – AEHS Home (http://www.enginehistory.org)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine# 43/43