Mechanical Engineering Dept.

CEME NUST 1
ENGINE CYCLES

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 2

 AIR-STANDARD CYCLES
 The cycle experienced in the cylinder of an internal combustion
engine is very complex or a difficult system to analyze as it is an
open cycle with changing composition, due to following reasons
1. First, air (CI engine) or air mixed with fuel (SI engine) is ingested
and mixed with the slight amount of exhaust residual remaining
from the previous cycle
2. This mixture is then compressed and combusted, changing the
composition to exhaust products consisting largely of CO2, H2O,
and N2 with many other lesser components
3. After an expansion process, the exhaust valve is opened and this
gas mixture is expelled to the surroundings
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 3
 AIR-STANDARD CYCLES

 To make the analysis of the engine cycle much more manageable, the
real cycle is approximated with an ideal air-standard cycle which
differs from the actual by the following
i. The gas mixture in the cylinder is treated as air (an ideal gas) with
constant specific heats for the entire cycle, and property values of
air are used in the analysis.
ii. The real open cycle is changed into a closed cycle by assuming that
the gases being exhausted are fed back into the intake system
iii. The combustion process is replaced with a heat addition term Qin
of equal energy value. Air alone cannot combust.
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 4
 AIR-STANDARD CYCLES

iv. The open exhaust process, which carries a large amount of

enthalpy out of the system is replaced with a closed system
heat rejection process Qout of equal energy value
v. Actual engine processes are approximated with ideal
processes
a) The almost constant-pressure intake and exhaust strokes
are assumed to be constant pressure
b) Compression strokes and expansion strokes are
approximated by isentropic processes

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 5

 AIR-STANDARD CYCLES
c) The combustion process is idealized by a constant-volume
process (SI cycle), a constant-pressure process (CI cycle), or
a combination of both (CI Dual cycle)
d) Exhaust blowdown is approximated by a constant-volume
process
e) All processes are considered reversible

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 6

 TERMS
 Enthalpy, the sum of the internal energy and the product of the
pressure and volume of a thermodynamic system.
 Entropy, the measure of a system’s thermal energy per
unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work
 Isentropic process is an idealized thermodynamic process that is
both adiabatic and reversible. The work transfers of the system are
frictionless, and there is no transfer of heat or matter. Such an idealized
process is useful in engineering as a model of and basis of comparison
for real processes.
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 7
 TERMS
 Adiabatic process is a type of thermodynamic process which occurs
without transferring heat or mass between the system and its
surroundings. Unlike an isothermal process, an adiabatic process
transfers energy to the surroundings only as work
 Reversible process is a process whose direction can be reversed to
return the system to its original state 
 Isothermal process is thermodynamic process in which the temperature
of a system remains constant. The transfer of heat into or out of the
system happens so slowly that thermal equilibrium is maintained. 
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 8
IDEAL GAS RELATIONS

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 9

 AIR PROPERTY VALUES
 Specific heats of air can be treated as functions of
temperature but for simplification, specific heats of air can
be treated as constants due to little variations in its values
even in large temperature difference range.
 Different values of Cp and Cv used for operating
cycle/ exhaust flow and inlet flow
 At the low-temperature end of a cycle during intake and start
of compression, a value of k = Cp/Cv=1.4 is correct
 However, at the end of combustion the temperature has
risen such that k = 1.3 would be more accurate

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 10

 OTTO CYCLE

TDC BDC

Ideal air standard Otto Cycle Actual indicator diagram four stroke SI Engine
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 11
 OTTO CYCLE
 The intake stroke of the Otto cycle starts with the piston at TDC
and is a constant-pressure process at an inlet pressure of one
atmosphere (process 6-1 in Fig).
 This is a good approximation to the inlet process of a real engine
at WOT, which will actually be at a pressure slightly less than
atmospheric due to pressure losses in the inlet air flow.
 The temperature of the air during the inlet stroke is increased as
the air passes through the hot intake manifold.
 The temperature at point 1 will generally be on the order of 25°
to 35°C hotter than the surrounding air temperature.

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 12

THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE at WOT

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 13

 OTTO CYCLE
 The second stroke of the cycle is the compression stroke, which in
the Otto cycle is an isentropic compression from BDC to TDC
(process 1-2).
 This is a good approximation to compression in a real engine,
except for the very beginning and the very end of the stroke
 In a real engine, the beginning of the stroke is affected by the
intake valve not being fully closed until slightly after BDC
 The end of compression is affected by the firing of the spark plug
before TDC
 Also there is an increase in pressure during the compression
stroke, but the temperature within the cylinder is increased
substantially due to compressive heating.
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 14
THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 15

 OTTO CYCLE

 The compression stroke is followed by a constant-volume

heat input process 2-3 at TDC
 This replaces the combustion process of the real engine
cycle, which occurs at close to constant-volume conditions
 In a real engine combustion is started slightly bTDC, reaches
its maximum speed near TDC, and is terminated a little aTDC
 During combustion or heat input, a large amount of energy is
added to the air within the cylinder

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 16

 OTTO CYCLE

 This energy raises the temperature of the air to very high

values, giving peak cycle temperature at point 3
 This increase in temperature during a closed constant-
volume process results in a large pressure rise also
 Thus, peak cycle pressure is also reached at point 3.

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 17

THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 18

 OTTO CYCLE
 The very high pressure and enthalpy values within the
system at TDC generate the power stroke (or expansion
stroke) which follows combustion (process 3-4)
 High pressure on the piston face forces the piston back
towards BDC and produces the work and power output of
the engine
 The power stroke of the real engine cycle is approximated
with an isentropic process in the Otto cycle

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 19

 OTTO CYCLE

 This is a good approximation, subject to the same arguments

as the compression stroke on being frictionless and adiabatic
 In a real engine, the beginning of the power stroke is affected
by the last part of the combustion process

 The end of the power stroke is affected by the exhaust valve

being opened before BDC.
 During the power stroke, values of both the temperature and
pressure within the cylinder decrease as volume increases
from TDC to BDC.

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 20

 OTTO CYCLE
 Near the end of the power stroke of a real engine cycle, the
exhaust valve is opened and the cylinder experiences
exhaust blowdown
 A large amount of exhaust gas is expelled from the cylinder,
reducing the pressure to that of the exhaust manifold
 The exhaust valve is opened bBDC to allow for the finite time
of blowdown to occur
 It is desirable for blowdown to be complete by BDC so that
there is no high pressure in the cylinder to resist the piston in
the following exhaust stroke

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 21

THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 22

 OTTO CYCLE
 Blowdown in a real engine is therefore almost, but not quite,
constant volume
 A large quantity of enthalpy is carried away with the exhaust
gases, limiting the thermal efficiency of the engine
 The Otto cycle replaces the exhaust blowdown open-system
process of the real cycle with a constant-volume pressure
reduction, closed-system process 4-5
 Enthalpy loss during this process is replaced with heat
rejection in the engine analysis
 Pressure within the cylinder at the end of exhaust blowdown
has been reduced to about one atm, and the temperature
has been substantially reduced by expansion cooling.
Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 23
THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 24

 OTTO CYCLE
 The last stroke of the four-stroke cycle now occurs as the
piston travels from BDC to TDC
 Process 5-6 is the exhaust stroke that occurs at a constant
pressure of one atmosphere due to the open exhaust valve
 This is a good approximation to the real exhaust stroke,
which occurs at a pressure slightly higher than the
surrounding pressure due to the small pressure drop across
the exhaust valve and in the exhaust system.

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 25

THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 26

 OTTO CYCLE
 At the end of the exhaust stroke the engine has experienced
two revolutions, the piston is again at TDC, the exhaust valve
closes, the intake valve opens, and a new cycle begins.

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 27

THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 28

 OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 29

 OTTO CYCLE

Mechanical Engineering Dept. CEME NUST 30