Engine Testing

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”

Chinese proverb

𝑉𝑠 + 𝑉𝑐
𝐶𝑅 =
𝑉𝑐
6
𝐶𝑅 =
1
Where:
𝐶𝑅 = 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜
𝑉𝑠 = 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 [𝑐𝑚3 ]
𝑉𝑐 = 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 [𝑐𝑚3 ]
The maximum figure is:
𝐶𝑅 = 12 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝐼 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠
𝐶𝑅 = 16~23 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐶𝐼 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠
𝜋
𝑉𝑠 = (𝐵)2 ∗ 𝑆 Figure 1 Engine compression ratio
4
Where:
𝐵 = 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑒 [𝑐𝑚]
𝑆 = 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒 [𝑐𝑚]
𝑆 = 2𝑟
𝑟 = 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 [𝑐𝑚]

𝜋 ∗ 𝐵2
𝑉 = 𝑉𝑐 + (𝐿 + 𝑟 − 𝑌)
4

−1
𝑌 2 − 𝐿2 + 𝑟 2
𝜃 = cos [ ]
2𝑌𝑟

𝑌𝑖 = 𝑟 cos 𝜃 + √𝐿2 − 𝑟 2 sin2 𝜃

Figure 2 Engine dimensions.

1
where:
𝐿 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑜𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ [𝑐𝑚]
𝑉 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 [𝑐𝑚3 ]
𝑌 = 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 [𝑐𝑚]
𝜃 = 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 [𝑑𝑒𝑔. ]
𝑉𝑑 = 𝑛 ∗ 𝑉𝑠
Where:
𝑉𝑑 = 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 [𝑐𝑚3 ]
𝑛 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠
2𝑆𝑁
𝑣=
60
Where:
𝑣 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 [𝑐𝑚⁄𝑠]
𝑁 = 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 [𝑟𝑝𝑚]

Measurement of Torque and Power

The engine torque is measured by the dynamometer. All types of dynamometers
operate on the same principle which is to measure a force acting through a
distance.

P
Stator

Rotor f
r
Wc

Figure 3 The principle of the brake dynamometer.

2
The distance (D) moved by a certain point on the rotor periphery in one
revolution of the crankshaft is:
𝐷 = 2𝜋𝑟
Whatever the coupling matter between the rotor and the stator, (fluidic,
magnetic flux, or electric field), a drag force applied by the stator will resist the
rotation. The amount of work produced per revolution is:

𝑊 =𝑓∗𝐷
𝑊 = 2𝜋𝑟 ∗ 𝑓
Where:
𝐷 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 [𝑚]
𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 [𝑚]
𝑓 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 [𝑁]

The amount of torque exerted on the stator by the coupling is:

𝑇 =𝑓∗𝑟
This torque could be measured by the scale reading (P) and the distance (R)
between scale centerline and the center of rotation as follows:
𝑇 =𝑃∗𝑅
𝑃 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙 [𝑁]
𝑃 = 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

Therefore,
𝑓∗𝑟 =𝑃∗𝑅
And the work is:
𝑊 = 2𝜋 ∗ 𝑃 ∗ 𝑅 [𝐽]
The brake power of the engine is:
𝑊
𝐵𝑃 = [𝑘𝑊]
𝑡

2𝜋
𝐵𝑃 = ∗𝑁∗𝑇 [𝑘𝑊]
60

1 ℎ𝑝 = 0.746 𝑘𝑊

3
Eg:
A diesel engine was tested with a dynamometer having a tare weight of 214 N.
The arm was 0.61 m in length. At a certain setting of the fuel pump, the engine
ran at 1140 rpm and the gross weight on the scale showed 2176 N. Find:
a. The engine torque.
b. The power developed by the engine.

Solution:
𝑃 = 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 − 𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑃 = 2176 − 214 = 1962 𝑘𝑔
𝑇 =𝑃∗𝑅
𝑇 = 1962 ∗ 0.61 = 1,196.82 𝑁. 𝑚
2𝜋
𝐵𝑃 = ∗𝑁∗𝑇
60
2𝜋
𝐵𝑃 = ∗ 1,140 ∗ 1,196.82 = 142.87 𝑘𝑊
60

4
Dynamometers
A. Fluid Dynamometers
There are two types of fluid dynameters as follows:
• The friction fluid dynamometer: the coupling force between the rotor and
the stator is produced by the friction between the fluid layers which
strongly depend on fluid viscosity and is affected by fluid temperature.

Figure 4 Sectional view of the friction fluid dynamometer.

The stator is cradled by the bearings (a) on the dynameter holding frame. The
angular displacement of the stator actuates the strain gage which sends a
voltage proportional to the angular displacement to the digital display.
• The agitator fluid dynamometer: the coupling force between the rotor
and the stator is produced by the change in momentum of the fluid as it

5
 is directed from the rotor vanes to the stator vanes and circulates back to
the rotor vanes.
The continuous change in fluid direction results in the change in fluid
momentum which will intern produce a force on the stator. The force tries to
rotate the stator which is cradled on the dyno frame. That angular motion of the
stator is detected by the strain gage and converted to an electric signal as
voltage to the digital display.
In both cases the absorbed power varies with the cube of rotor speed.

Figure 5 Sectional view in the agitator fluid dynamometer.

Dynamometers measure the torque developed by the engine while tachometers

measure the speed of the engine. The final product is the brake power.

6
 Figure 6 The agitator fluid dynamometer.

Engine Speed Measurement

The tachometer consists of a DC generator and a voltmeter. The higher the
speed of rotation the higher the voltage indicated by the voltmeter. This voltage
is converted to speed and calibrated by a precise speed pick-up sensor, a signal
counter, and a stopwatch.

Figure 7 The speed measurement and calibration system.

7
Fuel Consumption Measurement:

Figure 8 A balance for fuel consumption measurement.

When the engine consumes the fuel from the bottle, this side of the balance will
become lighter therefore, when the dial reaches the zero reading, the time to
consume a specified mass of fuel could be measured by a stopwatch. This
quantity of fuel is called the mass flowrate of fuel.
𝑚𝑓
𝑚̇𝑓 =
𝑡
Where:
𝑚̇𝑓 = 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 [𝑔⁄𝑠]
𝑚𝑓 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 [𝑔]
𝑡 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 [𝑠]
The volumetric flowrate of fuel could be measured instantly by a rotameter
which is merely a graduated cylinder open on both sides and held vertically. The
fuel enters the pipe from the lower side to move upwards. In the pipe there is a
conical float which is lifted by the fuel. The higher the fuel flowrate the greater
the change in momentum and higher the lift force. The float is carefully selected
to match the type of flowing fluid then the rotameter should be calibrated. It is
very important to keep the pipe vertical and enable the float to rotate by helical
grooves carved on the sides of the float. This will guarantee a central position of
the float to avoid friction with the pipe walls.

8
 𝑚̇𝑓 = 𝜌𝑓 ∗ 𝑄𝑓
Where:
𝜌𝑓 = 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 [𝑔⁄𝑐𝑚3 ]
𝑄𝑓 = 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 [𝑐𝑚3 ⁄𝑠]

Figure 9 The rotameter for instant flow measurement.

Air Consumption Measurement

The amount of fuel consumed by the engine should be proportional to the
amount of fuel consumed at each operational condition and engine demand.
The flow of air in the intake manifold is intermittent especially in engines of less
than four cylinders. This makes air flow measurement very complicated.
Therefore, this intermittent flow could be dampened by passing the air in a large
diameter surge tank. An orifice or flow nozzle is fitted to the far end of the
container. The volumetric air flow is obtained by measuring the pressure drop
across the orifice by an inclined manometer.
For large engines a few orifices are installed in parallel. The orifice should be
calibrated to indicate the coefficient of discharge.

9
 Figure 10 Engine air and fuel consumption measurement systems.

𝑚̇𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑡 = 𝜌𝑎 𝐶𝑣 𝐶𝑐 𝐴𝑜 √2𝑔ℎ
Where:
𝑚̇𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑡 = 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 [𝑘𝑔⁄𝑠]
𝜌𝑎 = 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 [𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3 ]
𝐶𝑣 = 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝐶𝑐 = 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝐴𝑜 = 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 [𝑚2 ]
𝑔 = 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 [𝑚⁄𝑠 2 ]
ℎ = 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 [𝑚]

Engine Performance ratings

These are a group of engine parameters which are used to determine the real
performance of the engine, also to compare the performance of different
engines regardless to their size and speed.

10
 A. The Brake Mean Effective Pressure
The indicated mean effective pressure (i.m.e.p.) is the algebraic sum of the mean
pressures acting on the piston during each stroke over one complete cycle as
shown in fig.11. It is calculated using the indicator diagram drawn by the engine
indicator. Thus,

Figure 11 P-V diagram and the mep.

𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚

𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑝 =
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑚∗𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥

The brake-mean effective pressure (b.m.e.p.) is the m.e.p. which could have
developed power equivalent to the BP. It is a comparative measure of the power
capabilities of engines per unit displacement, which operate with the same
speed, and forms a basis for the index of performance.
60 ∗ 𝑥 ∗ 𝐵𝑃
𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝 =
𝐴𝑆𝑛𝑁
The b.m.e.p. unlike i.m.e.p. cannot be measured directly. Both b.m.e.p. and
i.m.e.p of a petrol engine increase with the compression ratio up to the limit of
compression fixed by the detonating properties of the fuel used.
The b.m.e.p. indicates how well the engine is using its displacement to produce
work (torque).
2𝜋𝑁𝑇 (𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝)𝐴𝑆𝑛𝑁
𝐵𝑃 = = [𝑊]
60 60 ∗ 𝑥
Therefore,
𝑇
𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝 = 2𝜋𝑥
𝑉𝑑

11
This indicates that bmep is a specific torque.
The torque and the b.m.e.p. of a given engine are linearly related. Since,

𝑉𝑑
𝑇= ∗ 𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝 = 𝐶 ∗ 𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝
2𝜋𝑥
where,
𝑉𝑑
𝐶=
2𝜋𝑥
𝐶 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒.
𝑥 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒.
𝑥 = 1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 2 − 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒.
𝑥 = 2 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 4 − 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒.
𝑁⁄𝑥 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑠.

Thus, when brake torque and b.m.e.p. are plotted against rpm., the shapes of
the resulting curves should be similar.
B. Specific Fuel Consumption
The total consumption of fuel by an engine under test conditions in a given
duration of time is determined by measuring its volume or weight. The specific
fuel consumption (s.f.c) is defined as the total fuel consumption per hour per
kW developed [kg/kW.h]. In other words, s.f.c. is the rate of fuel consumption
per kW. When IP is used to calculate s.f.c, it is known as indicated specific fuel
consumption (i.s.f.c) and when BP is used, it is termed brake specific fuel
consumption (b.s.f.c). Thus,
𝑚̇𝑓
𝑖𝑠𝑓𝑐 =
𝐼𝑃
𝑚̇𝑓
𝑏𝑠𝑓𝑐 =
𝐵𝑃
The b.s.f.c. shows how well the engine is converting fuel into work. It is more
reliable than thermal efficiency because it doesn’t comprise the heating value
of the fuel. In practice the exact value of HV is unpredictable in a running engine,
it could take any value between the HHV and LHV.

12
 C. Volumetric Efficiency, ηv
It is defined as the ratio of the actual weight of air induced by the engine in the
intake stroke to the theoretical weight of air that should have been induced due
to piston displacement at a defined intake temperature and pressure. Thus,
neglecting the presence of fuel in the mixture,

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

𝜂𝑣 =
𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 ∗ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒
𝑚̇𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙
𝜂𝑣 = 60 ∗
𝑁
𝜌𝑎 ∗ 𝑉𝑑 ∗
𝑥

As the volume of petrol present in the mixture is negligible in petrol engines, its
presence may be overlooked without getting appreciable errors in ηv. In case of
gas engines, the presence of gas displaces a significant part of the volume of air
supplied to the engine; hence its influence on ηv cannot be overlooked.
The actual weight of air aspirated under maximum output conditions is always
less than the theoretically possible weight due to the following reasons:
• Long and tortuous inlet passage and the presence of the throttle valve in
SI engines.
• Insufficient inlet and exhaust valve area.
• Excessive friction of the mixture due to passage through rough surfaces
and sudden changes in section of the inlet pipe and the throttle valve.
• Premature heating of the mixture by induction manifold, valves and ports,
combustion chamber and cylinder walls, before inlet valve closes.
• Heating of the fresh charge by the residual exhaust gases in clearance
volume.
• Excessive back pressures due to exhaust gases.
• Cooling water temperature in cylinder block passages.
• Poor valve design causes insufficient valve lift.
• Incorrect valve timing, i.e., the opening and closing points are incorrect.

Volumetric efficiency is a measure of the breathing ability of an engine. In

supercharged engines, the volumetric efficiency is dependent upon the
following factors:

13
 • Engine speed
The volumetric efficiency ηv, after attaining a maximum value at a certain
speed, falls with any further increase in speed. This generally happens in
the case of petrol engines.
• Compression Ratio
ηv tends to decrease with increase in the compression ratio.
• Mixture Strength.
ηv is a minimum for correct and slightly lean mixtures but is a maximum
for rich mixtures.
• Temperature of Inlet Air
ηv decreases as the air temperature increases.
• Temperature of Cooling Water
ηv increases slightly with a reduction in the temperature of cooling water.

D. The power-over-weight ratio

It is a ratio between the amount of power (BP) developed by the engine divided
by the weight of the engine.
𝑃 𝐵𝑃
=
𝑊 𝑊
In automotive practice, the higher the P/GVW the better is the vehicle, however,
if the weight of the vehicle is reduced beyond certain limits, the safety of the
vehicle might be compromised.

Figure 12 Typical performance graphs of an automotive CI engine.

14
Example
An eight-cylinder automobile engine of 85.7 mm bore and 82.5 mm stroke with
a compression ratio of 7 is tested at 4000 rpm. on a dynamometer which has a
0.5335 m arm. During a 10 minutes test at a dynamometer scale beam reading
of 400 N, 4.55 kg of gasoline for which the heating value is 46 MJ/kg are burnt,
and air at 294°K and 10 x 104 Pa is supplied to the carburetor at the rate of 5.44
kg per min. Find:
a. the BP delivered,
b. the b.m.e.p,
c. the b.s.f.c,
d. the specific air consumption,
e. the brake thermal efficiency,
f. the volumetric efficiency,
g. the air-fuel ratio.
Solution:
a.
2𝜋𝑁𝑇
𝐵𝑃 =
60

2𝜋 ∗ 4000 ∗ 400 ∗ 0.5335

𝐵𝑃 = = 89.34 𝑘𝑊
60 ∗ 1000
b.

60 ∗ 𝑥 ∗ 𝐵𝑃
𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝 =
𝐴𝑆𝑛𝑁
60 ∗ 2 ∗ 89.34 ∗ 1000
𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑝 = = 704.36 𝑘𝑃𝑎
𝜋(0.0857)2
0.0825 ∗ ∗ 8 ∗ 4000
4
c.
4.55
𝑚̇𝑓 = = 0.455 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑖𝑛
10
𝑚̇𝑓
𝑏𝑠𝑓𝑐 =
𝐵𝑃
0.455
𝑏𝑠𝑓𝑐 = 60 ∗ = 0.306 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑘𝑊. ℎ
89.34
d.
15
 𝑚̇𝑎
𝑏𝑠𝑎𝑐 = 60 ∗
𝐵𝑃
5.44
𝑏𝑠𝑎𝑐 = 60 ∗ = 3.65 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑘𝑊. ℎ
89.34
e.
𝐵𝑃
𝜂𝑡ℎ𝑏 =
𝑚̇𝑓 ∗ 𝐶𝑉
89.34 ∗ 60
𝜂𝑡ℎ𝑏 = = 25.6 %
0.455 ∗ 46000
f. The theoretical air volume at this engine speed is:

𝐴𝑆𝑛𝑁
𝑉𝑡ℎ =
𝑥
0.0825 ∗ 𝜋(0.0857)2 ∗ 8 ∗ 4000
𝑉𝑡ℎ = = 7.62 𝑚3 ⁄𝑚𝑖𝑛
4∗2
𝑃 ∗ 𝑉𝑎 = 𝑚̇𝑎 ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 𝑇
5.44 ∗ 287.1 ∗ 294
𝑉𝑎𝑐𝑡 = = 4.56 𝑚3 ⁄𝑚𝑖𝑛
10 ∗ 104
𝑉𝑎𝑐𝑡
𝜂𝑣 =
𝑉𝑡ℎ
4.56
𝜂𝑣 = ∗ 100% = 60%
7.62
g.
𝑚̇𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑡
𝐴 ⁄𝐹 =
𝑚̇𝑓

5.44
𝐴 ⁄𝐹 = = 11.96
0.455

16
Energy Losses (Heat Balance)
Only part of the energy supplied to the engine is transformed into useful work
whereas the rest is either wasted or utilized for heating purposes. The main part
of the unutilized heat goes to exhaust gases and to the cooling system. To draw
a heat balance chart for an engine, tests should be conducted to give the
following information.
• Energy supplied to an engine which is known from the heating value of
the fuel consumed.
• Heat converted to useful work.
• Heat carried away by cooling water.
• Heat carried away by exhaust gases.
• Heat unaccounted for (radiation etc.)
It is expected that the heat balance results of CI engine must differ from that of
SI engine due to much higher compression and expansion ratios in the former.
The higher compression ratio results in lower exhaust gas temperature and
lower flame temperature that in turn causes lower heat loss to the cylinder walls
in CI engines. The utilization of the fuel’s heat energy is also higher in CI engines
because of its higher compression ratio.

Although the actual value of heat utilization is dependent upon many factors like
compression ratio, engine load, fuel injection quantity, timing etc. Some average
figures for heat are presented in the following table:
Table 1 Typical values for fuel energy fractioning in SI and CI engines.

If the shaft work (BP) is considered instead of useful work, the mechanical losses
are to be accounted for or are generally included in the cooling water heat.

17
 Figure 13 Energy Balance

Factors Affecting Engine Performance

A. Heat Transfer
The heat is exchanged in both directions between the gases and engine cylinder
walls and the other parts of the engine being in contact with the gases. During
combustion, expansion, exhaust and the later part of the compression, heat
transfer takes place from the gases to the walls and from the wall to the cooling
water or ambient air. During suction and the earlier part of the compression,
heat transfer takes place from the walls to the gases. The heat lost to the walls
during the later part of compression is almost equal to or less than the heat
received by the gases from the walls during early part of compression. The
amount of heat lost during exhaust stroke is unavoidable. The heat lost during
combustion and expansion lowers the thermal efficiency of the engine. The
factors that affect the heat losses to the walls are as follows:
i Charge combustion duration
A prolonged combustion duration increases heat loss.
ii Combustion temperature
This depends upon the fuel type, compression ratio and the load on the engine.
The temperature increases with load and compression ratio. It increases the
thermal loss.

18
 iii Engine speed.
The increase of the engine speed decreases the duration of combustion hence
decreases the heat loss.
iv Combustion chamber configuration.
Increasing the surface to volume ratio of the combustion chamber decreases the
heat loss. However, turbulence and flame propagation also affect the heat
transfer to the combustion chamber walls.
v The number of cylinders for a given engine capacity.
The effect of cylinder size is rather complicated. An increase in the cylinder size
decreases the surface to volume ratio but increases the flame travel. This
increases the combustion duration and hence engine speed is decreased.
vi Ignition timing in S.I. engines and fuel injection timing in C.I. engines.
Proper ignition and injection timings accelerate the combustion process with
less after burning and hence less heat loss. The heat flow from the walls to the
fresh charge during suction stroke increases the temperature of the charge and
hence decreases the density of charge. This decreases the amount of power
developed by the engine.
B. Residual Gas
The residual gases left in the compression chamber from the previous cycle
dilute the fresh charge by increasing the amount of inert gases in it. This affects
the ignition and combustion. The residual gases also lower the volumetric
efficiency of the engine and raise the temperature of the charge. They both act
to lower the amount of fresh charge induction.
C. Valve Resistance
In the theoretical cycle of four-stroke engines, it is assumed that the exhaust
and intake pressures are equal to the atmospheric pressure. But the exhaust
pressure is higher, and the suction pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure
due to the resistances in exhaust and intake manifolds and valves. The valve
resistance affects the volumetric efficiency. The valve resistance causes the
pumping losses, which is the negative loop on the P-V diagram. The pumping
losses increase with an increase in speed. In two-stroke engines, the power
consumption of scavenge and charging pumps corresponds to the pumping
losses in four-stroke engines.
D. Valve Timing
In ideal cycles, it is assumed that opening and closing of the intake and exhaust
valves take place on dead centers. However, in practice, the exhaust valve
closes, and intake valve opens approximately on TDC, but the opening of the

19
exhaust valve and the closing of the intake valve vary considerably from the BDC,
depending principally on the desired speed. The net result due to deviations of
valve opening and closing other than at dead centers is that the indicator
diagram is rounded at the exhaust corner. This reduces the work output by 1 to
2%.

Figure 14 Valve timing, injection timing and combustion during one cycle of a four-stroke engine.

E. Combustion Duration
In ideal cycles, it is assumed that the time of combustion is zero for the constant-
volume process and combustion occurs at a rate necessary to maintain constant
pressure during the constant pressure process. Actually, the combustion process
requires an appreciable amount of time, which depends upon various factors.
The increase in combustion time decreases the ideal efficiency by 2 to 3%.

20
 F. Incomplete Combustion
A volumetric analysis of the products of combustion indicates an incomplete
combustion of about 2% of the heating value of the fuel. A mixture with excess
air tends to reduce this loss to zero; on the other hand, rich mixtures result in
considerable unburnt fuel due to oxygen deficiency.
G. Atmospheric Conditions
Air temperature, humidity and barometric pressure affect the air charge. The
weight of the air charge was found to be inversely proportional to the square
root of the temperature, especially in high-speed automobile engines.
Therefore, to obtain the performance at the standard conditions, the following
corrections on pressure, temperature and humidity are to be adopted.
i Pressure.
The standard pressure is taken as 760 mm Hg. Adopting correction on observed
BP:

760
𝐵𝑃𝑐 = 𝐵𝑃 ∗
𝑝
where,
𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦, [𝑚𝑚 𝐻𝑔]
𝐵𝑃𝑐 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 [𝑘𝑊]

ii Temperature.
The standard temperature is taken as 25°C.

273 + 𝑡
𝐵𝑃𝑐 = 𝐵𝑃 ∗ √
298

Where:
𝑡 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦, [°𝐶].
iii Humidity.
The correction for water vapor pressure present in atmosphere is to be made
for getting accurate results. The vapor pressure can be obtained by knowing the
wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures and using the psychometric chart. If pv is
the vapor pressure in the test laboratory in mm of Hg, then the corrected
barometric pressure of the test laboratory is p - pv.
Thus, the formula with the above corrections is:

21
 273 + 𝑡 760
𝐵𝑃𝑐 = 𝐵𝑃 ∗ √ ∗
298 𝑝 − 𝑝𝑣

The effect of change of pressure is to increase or decrease the output power as

the level in the barometer rises or falls respectively. The BP varies inversely as
the absolute temperature of the intake air increases.

Types of SI Engine Tests

There are two major types of tests for IC engines.
A. The Variable Speed Test
This test is conducted to mobile engines. The test is designed to imitate the real
conditions of variable speed and load conditions. The test is subdivided to:
i Full-Load Test:
The engine is started under no-load and left to warm-up. Then the throttle valve
is gradually opened however, to maintain the engine speed low, the brake load
is also increased simultaneously. As the throttle valve become wide open (WOT)
and the load is adjusted so that the engine is not labouring, the engine
temperature is watched to stabilise. The time required to collect a specified
amount of fuel is recorded. If the spark timing is not adjusted automatically,
then it should be optimised to the speed of maximum power. Engine speed,
brake load, and the temperatures should be recorded. This is considered as the
first run of the test. The second run is accomplished by reducing the brake load
while keeping the throttle position unchanged. The spark timing should be
optimised again, and the same procedure is repeated. This procedure continues
until the entire load is removed.
ii Part-Load Test
The same previous procedure is followed except that the throttle is partially
opened. Therefore, at half-load test the throttle is half open and so on.
The SI engine characteristic graphs are presented in fig.14. the following
features are perceived from the graphs.
I. Engine torque is strongly dependant on volumetric efficiency and friction
losses.
II. Doubling the engine displacement doubles the torque.

22
III. Brake mean effective pressure (bmep) curve is identical to torque curve.
It is independent of engine displacement, but it strongly depends on
volumetric efficiency and friction losses.
IV. The speed of maximum torque and mep is nearly half that of the
maximum power.
V. The maximum power of the engine depends on engine speed. Doubling
the speed of the engine could double the power output. This is achieved
by increasing the volumetric efficiency and reducing the friction losses.
VI. The brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) curve is an inverted mirror of
the (bmep) curve. Its minimum value corresponds to speed of maximum
torque.
VII. The friction power increases rapidly at high speeds because of the
high inertia and fluidic losses at high speeds.

Figure 15 Variable- speed test of automotive SI engine at WOT (CR=9)

23
B. Constant-Speed Test
I. The engine should warm up while idling until its temperature stabilizes.
II. A certain engine speed is selected at no load condition.
III. The throttle valve is adjusted to attain this particular speed.
IV. A set of engine data is taken which comprises the following parameters:
• Throttle position,
• Load,
• Speed,
• Time to consume a specified amount of fuel.
• The temperatures.
V. As the load increased, the previous engine speed should be maintained
by increasing the throttle opening.
VI. This procedure continues until the WOT is reached.
VII. Steps II through VI should be repeated a few times but at different
speeds.
VIII. The load should be removed, and the throttle opening reduced
simultaneously.
IX. The engine could be switched off safely as the temperature drops to
normal operational temperatures.

Figure 16 constant speed test of SI engine (CR=9).

24