Engine Cycles

“Nature, in providing us with combustibles on all sides, has given

us the power to produce, at all times and in all places, heat and the
propelling power which is the result of it. To develop this power, to
appropriate it to our uses, is the object of heat engines. The study
of these engines is of the greatest interest, their importance is
enormous, their use is continually increasing, and they seem des-
tined to produce a great revolution in the civilized world.”

On Heat Engines

by Sadi Carnot (1824)

This chapter presents the basic cycles used in reciprocating internal combustion en-
gines, both four-stroke and two-stroke. The most common four-stroke SI and CI cycles
are analyzed in detail using air-standard analysis. Lesser used cycles, including some
historic cycles, are analyzed in less detail.

1 AIR-STANDARD CYCLES
The cycle experienced in the cylinder of an internal combustion engine is very com-
plex. 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. This mixture
is then compressed and combusted, changing the composition to exhaust products con-
sisting largely of CO2, H 2O, and N2 with many other lesser components. Then, after an
expansion process, the exhaust valve is opened and this gas mixture is expelled to the
surroundings. Thus, it is an open cycle with changing composition, a difficult system to
analyze. 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
cycle in the following ways:

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 Engine Cycles

1. The gas mixture in the cylinder is treated as air for the entire cycle, and property
values of air are used in the analysis. This is a good approximation during the first
half of the cycle, when most of the gas in the cylinder is air with only up to about
7% fuel vapor. Even in the second half of the cycle, when the gas composition is
mostly CO2, H 2O, and N2, using air properties does not create large errors in the
analysis. Air will be treated as an ideal gas with constant specific heats.
2. The real open cycle is changed into a closed cycle by assuming that the gases
being exhausted are fed back into the intake system. This works with ideal air-
standard cycles, as both intake gases and exhaust gases are air. Closing the cycle
simplifies the analysis.
3. The combustion process is replaced with a heat addition term Qin of equal ener-
gy value. Air alone cannot combust.
4. 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 en-
ergy value.
5. Actual engine processes are approximated with ideal processes.

(a) The almost-constant-pressure intake and exhaust strokes are assumed to be

constant pressure. At WOT, the intake stroke is assumed to be at a pressure
Po of one atmosphere. At partially closed throttle or when supercharged,
inlet pressure will be some constant value other than one atmosphere. The
exhaust stroke pressure is assumed constant at one atmosphere.
(b) Compression strokes and expansion strokes are approximated by isentropic
processes. To be truly isentropic would require these strokes to be reversible
and adiabatic. There is some friction between the piston and the cylinder
walls, but because the surfaces are highly polished and lubricated, this fric-
tion is kept to a minimum and the processes are close to frictionless and re-
versible. If this were not true, automobile engines would wear out long
before the 150–200 thousand mile lifetimes they now have if properly main-
tained. There is also fluid friction because of the gas motion within the cylin-
ders during these strokes. This too is minimal. Heat transfer for any one
stroke will be negligibly small due to the very short time involved for that
single process. Thus, an almost reversible and almost adiabatic process can
quite accurately be approximated with an isentropic process.
(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.

In air-standard cycles, air is considered an ideal gas such that the following ideal
gas relationships can be used:
Pv = RT (a)
PV = mRT (b)
P = rRT (c)
dh = cp dT (d)

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 Engine Cycles

du = cv dT (e)
Pvk = constant isentropic process (f )
Tvk - 1 = constant isentropic process (g)
TP11 - k2>k = constant isentropic process (h)
w1 - 2 = 1P2v2 - P1v12>11 - k2 isentropic work in closed system
= R1T2 - T12>11 - k2 (i)
c = 2kRT speed of sound (j) (1)
where
P = gas pressure in cylinder
V = volume in cylinder
v = specific volume of gas
R = gas constant of air
T = temperature
m = mass of gas in cylinder
r = density
h = specific enthalpy
u = specific internal energy
cp, cv = specific heats
k = cp>cv
w = specific work
c = speed of sound
In addition to these, the following variables are used in this chapter for cycle analy-
sis:
AF = air–fuel ratio
#
m = mass flow rate
q = heat transfer per unit mass for one cycle
#
q = heat transfer rate per unit mass
Q = heat transfer for one cycle
#
Q = heat transfer rate
QHV = heating value of fuel
rc = compression ratio
W = work for one cycle
#
W = power
hc = combustion efficiency
Subscripts used include the following:
a = air
f = fuel
ex = exhaust
m = mixture of all gases

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 Engine Cycles

For thermodynamic analysis, the specific heats of air can be treated as functions
of temperature, which they are, or they can be treated as constants, which simplifies
calculations at a slight loss of accuracy. In this text, constant specific heat analysis will
be used. Because of the high temperatures and large temperature range experienced
during an engine cycle, the specific heats and ratios of specific heats k do vary by a fair
amount (see Table 1 in the Appendix). At the low-temperature end of a cycle during in-
take and start of compression, a value of k = 1.4 is correct. However, at the end of
combustion the temperature has risen such that k = 1.3 would be more accurate. A
constant average value between these extremes is found to give better results than a
standard condition (25°C) value, as is often used in elementary thermodynamics
textbooks.
An algebraic average gives k = 1k1 + k22>2 = 11.40 + 1.302>2 = 1.35, as does a
geometric average k = 2k1k2 = 211.40211.302 = 1.35.
When analyzing what occurs within engines during the operating cycle and ex-
haust flow, this text uses the following air property values:

cp = 1.108 kJ>kg-K = 0.265 BTU>lbm-°R

cv = 0.821 kJ>kg-K = 0.196 BTU>lbm-°R
k = cp>cv = 1.108>0.821 = 1.35
R = cp - cv = 0.287 kJ>kg-K
= 0.069 BTU>lbm-°R = 53.33 ft-lbf>lbm-°R

Air flow before it enters an engine is usually closer to standard temperature, and
for these conditions a value of k = 1.4 is correct. This would include processes such as
inlet flow in superchargers, turbochargers, and carburetors, and air flow through the
engine radiator. For these conditions, the following air property values are used:

cp = 1.005 kJ>kg-K = 0.240 BTU>lbm-°R

cv = 0.718 kJ>kg-K = 0.172 BTU>lbm-°R
k = cp>cv = 1.005>0.718 = 1.40
R = cp - cv = 0.287 kJ>kg-K

HISTORIC—SIX-STROKE CYCLES

During the second half of the 19th century, when development of the modern reciprocat-
ing internal combustion engine was in its early stages, many types of engines operating on
many different cycles were tried. These included various two-, four-, and even six-stroke
cycles. Six-stroke cycles were similar to four-stroke cycles with two added strokes for addi-
tional exhaust removal (i.e., three revolutions per cycle instead of two). With poor fuel
quality, low compression ratios, and large clearance volumes, early engines had problems
with excessive exhaust residual. After the exhaust stroke, an additional intake stroke was
added which ingested only air. The air mixed with the exhaust residual and was then
expelled with a second exhaust stroke. Compare this with the concept of EGR, which
adds exhaust gas to the incoming air of all modern automobile engines [29].

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 Engine Cycles

2 OTTO CYCLE
This is the cycle of many automobile engines and other four-stroke SI engines. For
analysis, this cycle is approximated by the air-standard cycle shown in Fig. 1. This ideal
cycle is called an Otto cycle, named after one of the early developers of this type of en-
gine. The Otto cycle is the air-standard model of most four-stroke SI engines of the last
140 years, including many of today’s automobile engines.
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. 1). 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.
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 approxima-
tion 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

3
Pressure, P

4
1
Po
6 5

FIGURE 1
Ideal air-standard Otto cycle, 6-1-2-3-4-
5-6, which approximates the four-stroke
cycle of an SI engine on P–V TDC BDC
coordinates. Volume, V

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 Engine Cycles

firing of the spark plug before TDC. Not only is there an increase in pressure during the
compression stroke, but the temperature within the cylinder is increased substantially
due to compressive heating.
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 cylin-
der. 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.
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 approxi-
mated with an isentropic process in the Otto cycle. This is a good approximation, sub-
ject 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.
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. Blowdown in a real en-
gine 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 atmosphere,
and the temperature has been substantially reduced by expansion cooling.
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 of the real
exhaust stroke, which occurs at a pressure slightly higher than the surrounding pres-
sure due to the small pressure drop across the exhaust valve and in the exhaust system.
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.
When analyzing an Otto cycle, it is more convenient to work with specific prop-
erties by dividing by the mass of air within the cylinder. Figure 2 shows the Otto cycle
in P–v and T–s coordinates. It is not uncommon to find the Otto cycle shown with

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 Engine Cycles

Temperature, T
Pressure, P

2 2
4
6 1
Po
5 1
TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v Entropy, s
(a) (b)

FIGURE 2
Otto cycle, 6-1-2-3-4-5-6, on (a) pressure-specific volume coordinates, and (b) temperature-
entropy coordinates.

processes 6–1 and 5–6 left off the figure. The reasoning to justify this is that these two
processes cancel each other thermodynamically and are not needed in analyzing the
cycle.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Air-Standard Otto Cycle at WOT

Process 6-1—constant-pressure intake of air at Po.
Intake valve open and exhaust valve closed:

P1 = P6 = Po (2)
w6 - 1 = Po1v1 - v62 (3)

Process 1-2—isentropic compression stroke.

All valves closed:

T2 = T11v1>v22k - 1 = T11V1>V22k - 1 = T11rc2k - 1 (4)

P2 = P11v1>v22k = P11V1>V22k = P11rc2k (5)
q1 - 2 = 0 (6)

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 Engine Cycles

w1 - 2 = 1P2v2 - P1v12>11 - k2 = R1T2 - T12>11 - k2 (7)

= 1u1 - u22 = cv1T1 - T22

Process 2-3—constant-volume heat input (combustion).

All valves closed:

v3 = v2 = vTDC (8)
w2 - 3 = 0 (9)
Q2 - 3 = Qin = mfQHVhc = mmcv1T3 - T22
= 1ma + mf2cv1T3 - T22 (10)
QHVhc = 1AF + 12cv1T3 - T22 (11)
q2 - 3 = qin = cv1T3 - T22 = 1u3 - u22 (12)
T3 = Tmax (13)
P3 = Pmax (14)

Process 3-4—isentropic power or expansion stroke.

All valves closed:

q3 - 4 = 0 (15)
T4 = T31v3>v42k - 1 = T31V3>V42k - 1 = T311>rc2k - 1 (16)
P4 = P31v3>v42k = P31V3>V42k = P311>rc2k (17)
w3 - 4 = 1P4v4 - P3v32>11 - k2 = R1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 1u3 - u42 = cv1T3 - T42 (18)

Process 4-5—constant-volume heat rejection (exhaust blowdown).

Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:

v5 = v4 = v1 = vBDC (19)
w4 - 5 = 0 (20)
Q4 - 5 = Qout = mmcv1T5 - T42 = mmcv1T1 - T42 (21)
q4 - 5 = qout = cv1T5 - T42 = 1u5 - u42 = cv1T1 - T42 (22)

Process 5-6—constant-pressure exhaust stroke at Po.

Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:

P5 = P6 = Po (23)
w5 - 6 = Po1v6 - v52 = Po1v6 - v12 (24)

Thermal efficiency of Otto cycle:

1ht2OTTO = ƒ wnet ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ = 1 - 1 ƒ qout ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ 2

= 1 - [cv1T4 - T12>cv1T3 - T22]
= 1 - [1T4 - T12>1T3 - T22] (25)

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 Engine Cycles

Only cycle temperatures need to be known to determine thermal efficiency. This

can be simplified further by applying ideal gas relationships for the isentropic com-
pression and expansion strokes and recognizing that v1 = v4 and v2 = v3:
1T2>T12 = 1v1>v22k - 1 = 1v4>v32k - 1 = 1T3>T42 (26)

Rearranging the temperature terms gives

T4>T1 = T3>T2 (27)
Equation (25) can be rearranged to
1ht2OTTO = 1 - 1T1>T225[1T4>T12 - 1]>[1T3>T22 - 1]6 (28)
Using Eq. (27) gives
1ht2OTTO = 1 - 1T1>T22 (29)
Combining this with Eq. (4)
1ht2OTTO = 1 - [1>1v1>v22k - 1] (30)

With v1>v2 = rc, the compression ratio is

1ht2OTTO = 1 - 11>rc2k - 1 (31)

Only the compression ratio is needed to determine the thermal efficiency of the
Otto cycle at WOT. As the compression ratio goes up, the thermal efficiency goes up as
seen in Fig. 3. This efficiency is the indicated thermal efficiency, as the heat transfer val-
ues are those to and from the air within the combustion chamber.

70

60
Thermal Efficiency, ␩t (%)

50

40

30

20

10
FIGURE 3
Indicated thermal efficiency as a function of 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
compression ratio for SI engines operating at
WOT on air-standard Otto cycle 1k = 1.352. Compression Ratio, rc

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 Engine Cycles

Example Problem 1
A four-cylinder, 2.5-liter, SI automobile engine operates at WOT on a four-stroke air-standard
Otto cycle at 3000 RPM. The engine has a compression ratio of 8.6:1, a mechanical efficiency of
86%, and a stroke-to-bore ratio S>B = 1.025. Fuel is isooctane with AF = 15, a heating value of
44,300 kJ/kg, and combustion efficiency hc = 100%. At the start of the compression stroke, con-
ditions in the cylinder combustion chamber are 100 kPa and 60°C. It can be assumed that there
is a 4% exhaust residual left over from the previous cycle.
Do a complete thermodynamic analysis of this engine.
For one cylinder, the displacement volume is
Vd = 2.5 liter>4 = 0.625 L = 0.000625 m3
Clearance volume is
rc = V1>V2 = 1Vc + Vd2>Vc = 8.6 = 1Vc + 0.0006252>Vc
Vc = 0.0000822 m3 = 0.0822 L = 82.2 cm3
Bore and stroke is
Vd = 1p>42B2S = 1p>42B211.025B2 = 0.000625 m3
B = 0.0919 m = 9.19 cm
S = 1.025B = 0.0942 m = 9.42 cm
State 1:
T1 = 60°C = 333 K given in problem statement
P1 = 100 kPa given
V1 = Vd + Vc = 0.000625 + 0.0000822 = 0.000707 m3
Mass of gas mixture in the cylinder can be calculated at State 1. The mass within the cylinder will
then remain the same for the entire cycle.
mm = P1V1>RT1 = 1100 kPa210.000707 m32>10.287 kJ>kg-K21333 K2
= 0.000740 kg
State 2: The compression stroke 1-2 is isentropic. Use Eqs. (4) and (5) to find the pressure
and temperature:
P2 = P11rc2k = 1100 kPa218.621.35 = 1826 kPa
T2 = T11rc2k - 1 = 1333 K218.620.35 = 707 K = 434°C
V2 = mRT2>P2 = 10.000740 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K21707 K2>11826 kPa2
= 0.0000822 m3 = Vc
This is the clearance volume of one cylinder, which agrees with the preceding. Another way of
getting this value is:
V2 = V1>rc = 0.000707 m3>8.6 = 0.0000822 m3
The mass of gas mixture mm in the cylinder is made up of air ma, fuel mf, and exhaust residual
mex:
mass of air ma = 115>16210.96210.0007402 = 0.000666 kg
mass of fuel mf = 11>16210.96210.0007402 = 0.000044 kg
mass of exhaust mex = 10.04210.0007402 = 0.000030 kg
Total mm = 0.000740 kg

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 Engine Cycles

State 3: Use Eq. (10) to calculate the heat added during one cycle:
Qin = mfQHVhc = mmcv1T3 - T22
= 10.000044 kg2144,300 kJ>kg211.002
= 10.000740 kg210.821 kJ>kg-K21T3 - 707 K2
Solving this for T3
T3 = 3915 K = 3642°C = Tmax
V3 = V2 = 0.0000822 m3
For constant volume
P3 = P21T3>T22 = 11826 kPa213915>7072 = 10,111 kPa = Pmax
State 4: Power stroke 4 is isentropic. Use Eq. (16) and (17) to find temperature and
pressure:
T4 = T311>rc2k - 1 = 13915 K211>8.620.35 = 1844 K = 1571°C
P4 = P311>rc2k = 110,111 kPa211>8.621.35 = 554 kPa
V4 = mRT4>P4 = 10.000740 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211844 K2>1554 kPa2
= 0.000707 m3 = V1
This agrees with the value of V1 found earlier.
Work produced in the isentropic power stroke for one cylinder during one cycle is
W3 - 4 = mR1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 10.000740 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211844 - 39152K>11 - 1.352
= 1.257 kJ
Work absorbed during the isentropic compression stroke for one cylinder during one cycle is
W1 - 2 = mR1T2 - T12>11 - k2
= 10.000740 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K21707 - 3332K>11 - 1.352
= -0.227 kJ
Work of the intake stroke is canceled by work of the exhaust stroke.
Net indicated work for one cylinder during one cycle is
Wnet = W1 - 2 + W3 - 4 = 1-0.2272 + 1+1.2572 = +1.030 kJ
Use Eq. (10) to find heat added for one cylinder during one cycle:
Qin = mfQHVhc = 10.000044 kg2144,300 kJ>kg211.002 = 1.949 kJ
Indicated thermal efficiency is
ht = Wnet>Qin = 1.030>1.949 = 0.529 = 52.9%
or, using Eqs. (29) and (31),
ht = 1 - 1T1>T22 = 1 - 11>rc2k - 1
= 1 - 1333>7072 = 1 - 11>8.620.35 = 0.529
Indicated mean effective pressure is
imep = Wnet>1V1 - V22 = 11.030 kJ2>10.000707 - 0.00008222m3 = 1649 kPa

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 Engine Cycles

indicated power at 3000 RPM is

#
Wi = WN>n
= [11.030 kJ>cyl-cycle213000>60 rev>sec2>12 rev>cycle2]14 cyl2
= 103 kW = 138 hp
Mean piston speed is
Up = 2SN = 12 strokes>rev210.0942 m>stroke213000>60 rev>sec2
= 9.42 m>sec
Net brake work for one cylinder during one cycle is
Wb = hmWi = 10.86211.030 kJ2 = 0.886 kJ
Brake power at 3000 RPM is
Wb = 13000>60 rev>sec210.5 cycle>rev210.886 kJ>cyl-cycle214 cyl2
#

= 88.6 kW = 119 hp
or
Wb = hmWi = 10.8621103 kW2 = 88.6 kW
# #

Torque is
t = Wb>2pN = 188.6 kJ>sec2>12pradians>rev213000>60 rev>sec2
#

= 0.282 kN-m = 282 N-m

Friction power lost is
# # #
Wf = Wi - Wb = 103 - 88.6 = 14.4 kW = 19.3 hp
Brake mean effective pressure is
bmep = hm1imep2 = 10.86211649 kPa2 = 1418 kPa
This allows another way of finding torque, which gives consistent results:
t = 1bmep2Vd>4p = 11418 kPa210.0025 m32>4p = 0.282 kN-m
Brake specific power is
BSP = Wb>A p = 188.6 kW2>5[1p>4219.19 cm22]14 cyl26 = 0.334 kW>cm2
#

Output per displacement is

OPD = Wb>Vd = 188.6 kW2>12.5 L2 = 35.4 kW>L
#

Brake specific fuel consumption is

bsfc = mf>Wb
# #

= 10.000044 kg>cyl-cycle2 150 rev>sec2 10.5 cycle>rev2 14 cyl2>188.6 kW2

= 0.000050 kg>sec>kW = 180 gm>kW-hr
Volumetric efficiency using one cylinder and standard air density is
hv = ma>raVd = 10.000666 kg2>11.181 kg>m3210.000625 m32
= 0.902 = 90.2%

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 Engine Cycles

3 REAL AIR–FUEL ENGINE CYCLES

The actual cycle experienced by an internal combustion engine is not, in the true sense,
a thermodynamic cycle. An ideal air-standard thermodynamic cycle occurs on a closed
system of constant composition. This is not what actually happens in an IC engine, and
for this reason air-standard analysis gives, at best, only approximations to actual condi-
tions and outputs. Major differences include the following:

1. Real engines operate on an open cycle with changing composition. Not only does
the inlet gas composition differ from that of the gas which exits, but often the
mass flow rate is not the same. Those engines that add fuel into the cylinders after
air induction is complete (CI engines and some SI engines) change the amount of
mass in the gas composition part way through the cycle. The gaseous mass exiting
the engine in the exhaust is greater than the gaseous mass that entered in the in-
duction process. This difference can be on the order of several percent. Other en-
gines carry liquid fuel droplets with the inlet air that are idealized as part of the
gaseous mass in air-standard analysis. During combustion, total mass remains
about the same but molar quantity changes. Finally, there is a loss of mass during
the cycle due to crevice flow and blowby past the pistons. Most of the crevice flow
is a temporary loss of mass from the cylinder, but because it is greatest at the start
of the power stroke, some output work is lost during expansion. Blowby can de-
crease the amount of mass in the cylinders by as much as 1% during compression
and combustion.
2. Air-standard analysis treats the fluid flow through the entire engine as air and ap-
proximates air as an ideal gas. In a real engine inlet flow may be all air, or it may
be air mixed with up to 7% fuel, either gaseous or as liquid droplets, or both. Dur-
ing combustion the composition is then changed to a gas mixture of mostly
CO2, H 2O, and N2, with lesser amounts of CO and hydrocarbon vapor. In CI en-
gines there will also be solid carbon particles in the combustion products gas mix-
ture. Approximating exhaust products as air simplifies analysis but introduces
some error.
Even if all fluid in an engine cycle were air, some error would be introduced
by assuming it to be an ideal gas with constant specific heats in air-standard
analysis. At the low pressures of inlet and exhaust, air can accurately be treated as
an ideal gas, but at the higher pressures during combustion, air will deviate from
ideal gas behavior. A more serious error is introduced by assuming constant spe-
cific heats for the analysis. Specific heats of a gas have a fairly strong dependency
on temperature and can vary as much as 30% in the temperature range of an en-
gine (for air, cp = 1.004 kJ>kg-K at 300 K and cp = 1.292 kJ>kg-K at 3000 K [73];
see Review Problem 5).
3. There are heat losses during the cycle of a real engine that are neglected in air-
standard analysis. Heat loss during combustion lowers the actual peak tempera-
ture and pressure from that predicted. The actual power stroke, therefore, starts
at a lower pressure, and work output during expansion is decreased. Heat trans-
fer continues during expansion, and this lowers the temperature and pressure
below the ideal isentropic process towards the end of the power stroke. The result

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 Engine Cycles

of heat transfer is a lower indicated thermal efficiency than that predicted by air-
standard analysis. Heat transfer is also present during compression which devi-
ates the process from isentropic. However, this deviation is less than the
deviation during the expansion stroke due to the lower temperatures at this time.
4. Combustion requires a short but finite time to occur, and heat addition is not in-
stantaneous at TDC, as approximated in an Otto cycle. A fast but finite flame
speed is desirable in an engine. This results in a finite rate of pressure rise in the
cylinders, a steady force increase on the piston face, and a smooth engine cycle. A
supersonic detonation would give almost instantaneous heat addition to a cycle,
but would result in a rough cycle and quick engine destruction. Because of the fi-
nite time required, combustion is started before TDC and ends after TDC, not at
constant volume as in air-standard analysis. By starting combustion bTDC, cylin-
der pressure increases late in the compression stroke, requiring greater negative
work in that stroke. Because combustion is not completed until aTDC, some
power is lost at the start of the expansion stroke. Another loss in the combustion
process of an actual engine occurs because combustion efficiency is less than
100%. This happens because of less-than-perfect mixing, local variations in tem-
perature and air–fuel due to turbulence, flame quenching, etc. SI engines will gen-
erally have a combustion efficiency of about 95%, while CI engines are generally
about 98% efficient.
5. The blowdown process requires a finite real time and a finite cycle time, and does
not occur at constant volume as in air-standard analysis. For this reason, the ex-
haust valve must open 40° to 60° bBDC, and some output work at the latter end
of expansion is lost.
6. In an actual engine, the intake valve is not closed until after bottom-dead-center
at the end of the intake stroke. Because of the flow restriction of the valve, air is
still entering the cylinder at BDC, and volumetric efficiency would be lower if the
valve closed here. Because of this, however, actual compression does not start at
BDC but only after the inlet valve closes. With ignition then occurring before
top-dead-center, temperature and pressure rise before combustion is less than
predicted by air-standard analysis.
7. Engine valves require a finite time to actuate. Ideally, valves would open and
close instantaneously, but this is not possible when using a camshaft. Cam profiles
must allow for smooth interaction with the cam follower, and this results in fast
but finite valve actuation. To assure that the intake valve is fully open at the start
of the induction stroke, it must start to open before TDC. Likewise, the exhaust
valve must remain fully open until the end of the exhaust stroke, with final clo-
sure occurring after TDC. The resulting valve overlap period causes a deviation
from the ideal cycle. When electronic valve actuation replaces the use of
camshafts, the time to open or close any valve will be greatly reduced.
8. Some error is introduced when the lower heating value of the fuel QLHV is used
as the energy input to the cycle during combustion in air-standard analysis. Heat-
ing value of any fuel is calculated on conditions of 25°C in and 25°C out. This is
not what happens in an engine cycle. Actual energy input during combustion in a
real engine will be less than that predicted by QLHV.

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 Engine Cycles

Because of these differences between real air-fuel cycles and ideal cycles, results
from air-standard analysis will have errors and will deviate from actual conditions. In-
terestingly, however, the errors are not great, and property values of temperature and
pressure are very representative of actual engine values, depending on the geometry
and operating conditions of the real engine. By changing operating variables such as
inlet temperature or pressure, compression ratio, peak temperature, etc., in Otto cycle
analysis, good approximations can be obtained for output changes that will occur in a
real engine as these variables are changed. Good approximation of power output, ther-
mal efficiency, and mep can be expected.
Indicated thermal efficiency of a real four-stroke SI engine is always somewhat
less than that predicted by air-standard Otto cycle analysis. This is due to the heat loss-
es, friction, ignition timing, valve timing, finite time of combustion and blow-down, and
deviation from ideal gas behavior of the real engine. Reference [120] shows that, over
a large range of operating variables, the indicated thermal efficiency of an actual SI
four-stroke cycle engine can be approximated by
1ht2actual L 0.851ht2OTTO (32)

This will be correct to within a few percent for large ranges of air–fuel equiva-
lence ratio, ignition timing, engine speed, compression ratio, inlet pressure, exhaust
pressure, and valve timing.

4 SI ENGINE CYCLE AT PART THROTTLE

When a four-stroke cycle SI engine is run at less than WOT conditions, air–fuel input is
reduced by partially closing the throttle (butterfly valve) in the intake system. This cre-
ates a flow restriction and consequent pressure drop in the incoming air. Fuel input is
then also reduced to match the reduction of air. Lower pressure in the intake manifold
during the intake stroke and the resulting lower pressure in the cylinder at the start of
the compression stroke are shown in Fig. 4. Although the air experiences an expansion
cooling because of the pressure drop across the throttle valve, the temperature of the
air entering the cylinders is about the same as at WOT because it first flows through
the hot intake manifold.
Figure 4 shows that the net indicated work for the Otto cycle engine will be less at
part throttle than at WOT. The upper loop of the cycle, made up of the compression and
power strokes, represents positive work output, while the lower loop, consisting of the
exhaust and intake strokes, is negative work absorbed off the rotating crankshaft. The
more closed the throttle position, the lower will be the pressure during the intake stroke
and the greater the negative pump [Link] main factors contribute to the reduced net
work at part-throttle operation. The lower pressure at the start of compression results in
lower pressures throughout the rest of the cycle except for the exhaust stroke. This low-
ers mep and net work. In addition, when less air is ingested into the cylinders during in-
take because of this lower pressure, fuel input by injectors or carburetor is also
proportionally reduced. This results in less thermal energy from combustion in the cylin-
ders and less resulting work out. It should be noted that although Qin is reduced, the
temperature rise in process 2-3 in Fig. 4 is about the same. This is because the mass of
fuel and the mass of air being heated are both reduced by an equal proportion.

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 Engine Cycles

Pressure, P

4
6
Po 5

1
6a

TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v

FIGURE 4
Four-stroke air-standard Otto cycle, 6-6a-1-2-3-4-5-6, for SI engine operating at
part throttle.

If an engine is equipped with a supercharger or turbocharger the corresponding

air-standard cycle is shown in Fig. 5, with intake pressure higher than atmospheric pres-
sure. This results in more air and fuel in the combustion chamber during the cycle, and
the resulting net indicated work is increased. Higher intake pressure increases all pres-
sures thoughout the cycle, and increased air and fuel give greater Qin in process 2-3.
When air is compressed to a higher pressure by a supercharger or turbocharger, the
temperature is also increased due to compressive heating. This would increase air
temperature at the start of the compression stroke, which in turn raises all tempera-
tures in the remaining cycle. This can cause self-ignition and knocking problems in the
latter part of compression or during combustion. For this reason, engine compressors
can be equipped with an aftercooler to again lower the compressed incoming air tem-
perature. Aftercoolers are heat exchangers, which often use outside air as the cooling
fluid. In principle, aftercoolers are desirable, but cost and space limitations often
make them impractical on automobile engines. Instead, engines equipped with a su-
percharger or turbocharger will usually have a lower compression ratio to reduce

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 Engine Cycles

Pressure, P

6a
1

Po 5
6

TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v

FIGURE 5
Four-stroke air-standard Otto cycle, 6-6a-1-2-3-4-5-6, for SI engine equipped with
a turbocharger or supercharger.

knocking problems. With a lower compression ratio there will be less compressive
heating in the compression stroke, which will compensate for the higher temperature
at the start of the stroke.
When an engine without a supercharger or turbocharger is operated at WOT, it
can be assumed that the air pressure in the intake manifold is Po = one atmosphere.
At part throttle, the partially closed butterfly valve creates a flow restriction, resulting
in a lower inlet pressure Pi in the intake manifold (point 6a in Fig. 4). Work done dur-
ing the intake stroke is, therefore,
W6 - 1 = Pi1V1 - V62 = PiVd (33)

where Vd is the displacement volume.

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 Engine Cycles

Work done during the exhaust stroke where the pressure is about constant at one
atmosphere is
W5 - 6 = Pex1V6 - V52 = -PexVd (34)

The net indicated pumping work for the cycle at part throttle is
1Wpump2net = 1Pi - Pex2Vd (35)

The negative value of this pump work means that it lowers the net indicated work
of the cycle.
If the engine is equipped with a supercharger or turbocharger, the inlet pressure
can be greater than one atmosphere, as shown in Fig. 5. Net indicated pump work for
this cycle is still given by Eq. (35), but now Pi 7 Pex, pump work is positive, and net in-
dicated work is increased.
Using Eq. (35) for pump mean effective pressure, we have
pmep = 1Wpump2net>Vd = 1Pi - Pex2 (36)

This can have positive or negative values.

5 EXHAUST PROCESS
The exhaust process consists of two steps: blowdown and exhaust stroke. When the ex-
haust valve opens near the end of the expansion stroke (point 4 in Fig. 6), the high-tem-
perature gases are suddenly subjected to a pressure decrease as the resulting
blowdown occurs. A large percentage of the gases leaves the combustion chamber dur-
ing this blowdown process, driven by the pressure differential across the open exhaust
valve. When the pressure across the exhaust valve is finally equalized, the cylinder is
still filled with exhaust gases at the exhaust manifold pressure of about one atmos-
phere. These gases are then pushed out of the cylinder through the still open exhaust
valve by the piston as it travels from BDC to TDC during the exhaust stroke.
Temperature of the exhaust gases is cooled by expansion cooling when the pres-
sure is suddenly reduced during blowdown. Although this expansion is not reversible,
the ideal gas isentropic relationship between pressure and temperature serves as a
good model to approximate the exhaust temperature T7 in the hypothetical process 4-7
of Fig. 6. According to that model,
T7 = T41P7>P421k - 12>k = T31P7>P321k - 12>k
= T41Pex>P421k - 12>k = T41Po>P421k - 12>k (37)
where
P7 = Pex = Po
Pex = exhaust pressure, which generally can be considered equal to
surrounding pressure
P7 is the pressure in the exhaust system and is almost always very close to one at-
mosphere in value.

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 Engine Cycles

3
Pressure, P

6 7 7c 7b 7a
Po
5 1

TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v
(a)

3
Temperature, T

2 4

7a
7b
7 7c

Entropy, s
(b)

FIGURE 6
Air-standard Otto cycle for engine at WOT, showing process 4-7 experienced by exhaust during
blowdown.

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 Engine Cycles

Gas leaving the combustion chamber during the blowdown process will also have
kinetic energy due to high velocity flow through the exhaust valve. This kinetic energy
will very quickly be dissipated in the exhaust manifold, and there will be a subsequent
rise in enthalpy and temperature. The first elements of gas leaving the combustion
chamber will have the highest velocity and will therefore reach the highest tempera-
ture when this velocity is dissipated (point 7a in Fig. 6). Each subsequent element of
gas will have less velocity and will thus experience less temperature rise (points 7b, 7c,
etc.). The last elements of gas leaving the combustion chamber during blowdown and
the gas pushed out during the exhaust stroke will have relatively low kinetic energy
and will have a temperature very close to T7. Choked flow (sonic velocity) will be ex-
perienced across the exhaust valve at the start of blowdown, and this determines the
resulting gas velocity and kinetic energy. If possible, it is desirable to mount the turbine
of a turbocharger very close to the exhaust manifold. This is done so that exhaust ki-
netic energy can be utilized in the turbine.
The state of the exhaust gas during the exhaust stroke is best approximated by a
pressure of one atmosphere, a temperature of T7 given in Eq. (37), and a specific volume
shown at point 7 in Fig. 6. It will be noted that this is inconsistent with Fig. 6 for the ex-
haust stroke process [Link] figure would suggest that the specific volume v changes dur-
ing process 5-6. This inconsistency occurs because Fig. 6 uses a closed system model to
represent an open system process, the exhaust [Link], it should be noted that point 7
is a hypothetical state and corresponds to no actual physical piston position.
At the end of the exhaust stroke, there is still a residual of exhaust gas trapped in the
clearance volume of the cylinder. This exhaust residual gets mixed with the new incoming
charge of air and fuel and is carried into the new cycle. Exhaust residual is defined as
xr = mex>mm (38)
where mex is the mass of exhaust gas carried into the next cycle and mm is the mass of
gas mixture within the cylinder for the entire cycle. Values of exhaust residual range
from 3% to 7% at full load, increasing to as much as 20% at part-throttle light loads. CI
engines generally have less exhaust residual because their higher compression ratios
give them smaller relative clearance volumes. In addition to the effect of the clearance
volume, the location of the valves and the amount of valve overlap affect the amount
of exhaust residual.
In Fig. 6, if the blowdown process 4-7 is modeled as an isentropic expansion,
then
P4>P7 = 1v7>v42k = P4>Pex = P4>Po (39)
P3>P7 = 1v7>v32 = P3>Pex = P3>Po
k
(40)

The mass of exhaust in the cylinder after blowdown, but before the exhaust
stroke, will be
m7 = V5>vex = V5>v7 = V1>v7 (41)

The mass of exhaust in the cylinder at the end of the exhaust stroke will be

mex = V6>v7 = V2>v7 (42)

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 Engine Cycles

where v7 is calculated using either Eq. (39) or (40) and represents the constant specific
volume of exhaust gas within the cylinder for the entire exhaust stroke 5-6. The mass of
gas mixture in Eq. (38) can be obtained from
mm = V1>v1 = V2>v2 = V3>v3 = V4>v4 = V7>v7 (43)

Combining this with Eqs. (38) and (42), we get

xr = 1V2>v72>1V7>v72 = V2>V7 (44)
V7 is the hypothetical volume of mm expanded to Po after combustion. Using Eqs. (42)
and (43), the exhaust residual can also be written as
xr = 1V6>v72>1V4>v42 = 1V6>V421v4>v72 = 11>rc21v4>v72 (45)
= 11>rc2[1RT4>P42>1RT7>P72]
xr = 11>rc21T4>Tex21Pex>P42 (46)
where
rc = compression ratio
Pex = P7 = Po = one atmosphere under most conditions
Tex = T7 from Eq. 1372

and T4 and P4 are conditions in the cylinder when the exhaust valve opens.
When the intake valve opens, a new charge of inlet air ma enters the cylinder and
mixes with the remaining exhaust residual from the previous cycle. The mixing occurs
such that total enthalpy remains constant and
mexhex + maha = mmhm (47)
where hex, ha, and hm are the specific enthalpy values of exhaust, air, and mixture, all of
which are treated as air in air-standard analysis. If specific enthalpy values are refer-
enced to zero value at an absolute temperature value of zero, then h = cpT and
mexcpTex + macpTa = mmcpTm (48)

Canceling cp and dividing by mm, we have

1mex>mm2Tex + 1ma>mm2Ta = Tm (49)

Combining this equation with Eq. (38) gives the temperature of the gas mixture in the
cylinder at the start of compression in terms of the exhaust residual xr:
1Tm21 = xrTex + 11 - xr2Ta (50)

where Tex = T7 and Ta is the temperature of the incoming air in the intake manifold.
As air enters the cylinder, it mixes with the small charge of hot exhaust residual,
heating the air and reducing its density. This, in turn, reduces the volumetric efficiency
of the engine. Part of this loss is gained back by the substantial cooling of the small
amount of exhaust residual, which increases its density. The partial vacuum this creates
in the clearance volume can then be filled with additional intake air.

108
 Engine Cycles

Example Problem 2
The engine operating at the conditions of Example Problem 1 has an exhaust pressure of
100 kPa.
Calculate:
1. exhaust temperature
2. exhaust residual
3. temperature of air entering cylinder
(1) Use Fig. 6 and Eq. (37) to calculate the exhaust temperature:

Tex = T7 = T31P7>P321k - 12>k

= 13915 K21100>10,111211.35 - 12>1.35 = 1183 K = 910°C

(2) Use Eq. (46) to find exhaust residual:

xr = 11>rc21T4>Tex21Pex>P42 = 11>8.6211844>118321100>5542 = 0.033

It was assumed that xr = 0.04 when the engine was analyzed in Example Problem 1.
That analysis should now be redone using this better value of xr = 0.033. When this is
done, the following corrected values are obtained:

P3 = 10,300 kPa
T3 = 3988 K
P4 = 564 kPa
T4 = 1878 K
Tex = 1199 K
xr = 0.033

The consistent value for the exhaust residual means that an additional iteration is not
needed. With a reasonable exhaust residual approximation to start with, two itera-
tions in the analysis will normally be sufficient. Other parameters (e.g., power, mep,
etc.) should now be recalculated, with slight changes in their values to be expected.
(3) Equation (50) is now used to find the temperature of the air entering the cylinder
from the intake manifold:

T1 = xrTex + 11 - xr2Ta
333 = 10.0332111992 + 11 - 0.0332Ta
Ta = 303 K = 30°C

Example Problem 3
The engine in Example Problems 1 and 2 is now run at part throttle such that the intake
pressure is 50 kPa. Calculate the temperature in the cylinder at the start of the compression
stroke.
The temperature of the intake air can be assumed to be the same even though it has expe-
rienced a pressure reduction expansion when passing the throttle valve. This is because it still
flows through the same hot intake manifold after the throttle. However, the temperature of the

109
 Engine Cycles

exhaust residual will be reduced due to the expansion cooling it undergoes when the intake
valve opens and the pressure in the cylinder drops to 50 kPa. The temperature of the exhaust
residual after expansion can be approximated using Fig. 4 and the isentropic expansion model
such that
T6a = Tex1P6a>P621k - 12>k = 11199 K2150>100211.35 - 12>1.35 = 1002 K = 729°C
Equation (50) is now used to find the temperature at the start of compression (point 1):
T1 = xrT6a + 11 - xr2Ta
T1 = 10.033211002 K2 + 11 - 0.03321303 K2 = 326 K = 53°C
This temperature and pressure of 50 kPa should now be used as a starting point and a complete
thermodynamic analysis should be done on the cycle with iterations until consistent results are
obtained. This is left as an exercise for the student.

6 DIESEL CYCLE
Early CI engines injected fuel into the combustion chamber very late in the compres-
sion stroke, resulting in the indicator diagram shown in Fig. 7. Due to ignition delay
and the finite time required to inject the fuel, combustion lasted into the expansion
stroke. This kept the pressure at peak levels well past TDC. This combustion process is
best approximated as a constant-pressure heat input in an air-standard cycle, resulting
in the Diesel cycle shown in Fig. 8. The rest of the cycle is similar to the air-standard
Otto cycle. The Diesel cycle is sometimes called a Constant-Pressure cycle.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Air-Standard Diesel Cycle

Process 6-1—constant-pressure intake of air at Po.
Intake valve open and exhaust valve closed:

w6 - 1 = Po1v1 - v62 (51)

Pressure, P

FIGURE 7
Indicator diagram of a historic CI
engine operating on an early four-stroke
cycle. Volume, V

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 Engine Cycles

3
2 3

4
2

Temperature, T
Pressure, P

6
Po 1
5
1
TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v Entropy, s
(a) (b)

FIGURE 8
Air-standard Diesel cycle, 6-1-2-3-4-5-6, which approximates the four-stroke cycle of an early CI
engine on (a) pressure-specific volume coordinates, and (b) temperature-entropy coordinates.

Process 1-2—isentropic compression stroke.

All valves closed:
T2 = T11v1>v22k - 1 = T11V1>V22k - 1 = T11rc2k - 1 (52)
P2 = P11v1>v22k = P11V1>V22k = P11rc2k (53)
V2 = VTDC (54)
q1 - 2 = 0 (55)
w1 - 2 = 1P2v2 - P1v12>11 - k2 = R1T2 - T12>11 - k2
= 1u1 - u22 = cv1T1 - T22 (56)
Process 2-3—constant-pressure heat input (combustion).
All valves closed:

Q2 - 3 = Qin = mfQHVhc = mmcp1T3 - T22 = 1ma + mf2cp1T3 - T22 (57)

QHVhc = 1AF + 12cp1T3 - T22 (58)
q2 - 3 = qin = cp1T3 - T22 = 1h3 - h22 (59)
w2 - 3 = q2 - 3 - 1u3 - u22 = P21v3 - v22 (60)
T3 = Tmax (61)
Cutoff ratio is defined as the change in volume that occurs during combustion, given as
a ratio:
b = V3>V2 = v3>v2 = T3>T2 (62)

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 Engine Cycles

Process 3-4—isentropic power or expansion stroke.

All valves closed:
q3 - 4 = 0 (63)
T4 = T31v3>v42k - 1 = T31V3>V42k - 1 (64)
P4 = P31v3>v42k = P31V3>V42k (65)
w3 - 4 = 1P4v4 - P3v32>11 - k2 = R1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 1u3 - u42 = cv1T3 - T42 (66)
Process 4-5—constant-volume heat rejection (exhaust blowdown).
Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:
v5 = v4 = v1 = vBDC (67)
w4 - 5 = 0 (68)
Q4 - 5 = Qout = mmcv1T5 - T42 = mmcv1T1 - T42 (69)
q4 - 5 = qout = cv1T5 - T42 = 1u5 - u42 = cv1T1 - T42 (70)
Process 5-6—constant-pressure exhaust stroke at Po.
Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:
w5 - 6 = Po1v6 - v52 = Po1v6 - v12 (71)
Thermal efficiency of Diesel cycle
1ht2DIESEL = ƒ wnet ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ = 1 - 1 ƒ qout ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ 2
= 1 - [cv1T4 - T12>cp1T3 - T22]
= 1 - 1T4 - T12>[k1T3 - T22] (72)
With rearrangement, this can be shown to equal
1ht2DIESEL = 1 - 11>rc2k - 1[1b k - 12>5k1b - 126] (73)
where
rc = compression ratio
k = cp>cv
b = cutoff ratio
If representative numbers are introduced into Eq. (73), it is found that the value of
the term in brackets is greater than one. When this equation is compared with Eq. (31), it
can be seen that for a given compression ratio the thermal efficiency of the Otto cycle
would be greater than the thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle. Constant-volume com-
bustion at TDC is more efficient than constant-pressure combustion. However, it must
be remembered that CI engines operate with much higher compression ratios than SI
engines (12 to 24 versus 8 to 11) and thus have higher thermal efficiencies.

Example Problem 4
A large vintage straight six CI truck engine operates on an air-standard Diesel cycle (Fig. 8)
using heavy diesel fuel with a combustion efficiency of 98%. The engine has a compression ratio

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 Engine Cycles

Indicated Thermal Efficiency, ␩ t(%) 80

70

60
rc ⫽ 18
50 rc ⫽ 14

40

30
FIGURE 9
20
Indicated thermal efficiency as a
0 1 2 3 4 function of cutoff ratio for air-
Cutoff Ratio, ␤ standard Diesel cycle 1k = 1.352.

of 16.5:1. Temperature and pressure in the cylinders at the start of the compression stroke are
55°C and 102 kPa, and maximum cycle temperature is 2410°C. Calculate:
1. temperature, pressure, and specific volume at each state of the cycle
2. air–fuel ratio of the cylinder gas mixture
3. cylinder temperature when the exhaust valve opens
4. indicated thermal efficiency of the engine

(1) State 1:

T1 = 55°C = 328 K given in problem statement

P1 = 102 kPa given
v1 = RT1>P1 = 10.287 kJ>kg-K21328 K2>1102 kPa2 = 0.9229 m3>kg
State 2:
Equations (52) and (53) give temperature and pressure after isentropic compression:

T2 = T11rc2k - 1 = 1328 K2116.521.35 - 1 = 875 K = 602°C

P2 = P11rc2k = 1102 kPa2116.521.35 = 4490 kPa
v2 = RT2>P2 = 10.287 kJ>kg-K21875 K2>14490 kPa2 = 0.0559 m3>kg

Or,
v2 = v1>rc = 10.9229 m3>kg2>116.52 = 0.0559 m3>kg
State 3:
T3 = Tmax = 2410°C = 2683 K given in problem statement
P3 = P2 = 4490 kPa
v3 = RT3>P3 = 10.287 kJ>kg-K212683 K2>14490 kPa2 = 1715 m3>kg

Using Eq. (62) for cutoff ratio,

b = v3>v2 = 10.17152>10.05592 = 3.08

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 Engine Cycles

State 4:
v4 = v1 = 0.9229 m3>kg
Equations (64) and (65) give temperature and pressure after isentropic expansion:

T4 = T31v3>v42k - 1 = 12683 k210.1715>0.922921.35 - 1 = 1489 K = 1216°C

P4 = P31v3>v42k = 14490 kPa210.1715>0.922921.35 = 463 kPa
(2) Eq. (58) is used to find the air–fuel ratio:

QLHVhc = 1AF + 12cp1T3 - T22

= 141,400 kJ>kg210.982 = 1AF + 1211.108 kJ>kg-K212683 - 8752K
AF = 19.25
(3) In air-standard Diesel cycle, the exhaust valve opens at state 4:

TEVO = T4 = 1489 K = 1216°C

(4) The work produced during the compression stroke is found using Eq. (56):

w1 - 2 = R1T2 - T12>11 - k2 = 10.287 kJ>kg-K21875 - 3282K>11 - 1.352

= -448.5 kJ>kg
The work produced during combustion is found using Eq. (60):

w2 - 3 = P21v3 - v22 = 14490 kPa210.1715 - 0.05592m3>kg = +519.0 kJ>kg

Work during power stroke is calculated using Eq. (66):
w3 - 4 = R1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 10.287 kJ>kg-K211489 - 26832K>11 - 1.352
= +979.1 kJ>kg
Work during constant-volume blowdown is w4 - 1 = 0
Net work per unit mass of gas in cylinder for one cycle
wnet = w1 - 2 + w2 - 3 + w3 - 4 = 1-448.52 + 1+519.02 + 1+979.12 = +1049.6 kJ>kg
Equation (59) gives the heat added per unit mass for one cycle:
qin = q2 - 3 = cp1T3 - T22 = 11.108 kJ>kg-K212683 - 8752K = 2003.3 kJ>kg
The indicated thermal efficiency is
ht = w>qin = 11049.62>12003.32 = 0.524 = 52.4%

Thermal efficiency can also be found using either Eq. (72) or Eq. (73):

ht = 1 - 1T4 - T12>[k1T3 - T22] = 1 - 11489 - 3282>[1.3512683 - 8752] = 0.524

ht = 1 - 11>rc21 - k51b k - 12>[k1b - 12]6
= 1 - 11>16.521.35 - 15[13.0821.35 - 1]>[1.3513.08 - 12]6 = 0.524

7 DUAL CYCLE
If Eqs. (31) and (73) are compared, it can be seen that to have the best of both worlds,
an engine ideally would be compression ignition but would operate on the Otto cycle.
Compression ignition would operate on the more efficient higher compression

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 Engine Cycles

ratios, while constant-volume combustion of the Otto cycle would give higher efficien-
cy for a given compression ratio.
The modern high-speed CI engine accomplishes this in part by a simple operating
change from early Diesel engines. Instead of injecting the fuel late in the compression
stroke near TDC, as was done in early engines, modern CI engines start to inject the
fuel much earlier in the cycle, somewhere around 20° bTDC. The first fuel then ignites
late in the compression stroke, and some of the combustion occurs almost at constant
volume at TDC, much like the Otto cycle. A typical indicator diagram for a modern CI
engine is shown in Fig. 10. Peak pressure still remains high into the expansion stroke
due to the finite time required to inject the fuel. The last of the fuel is still being inject-
ed at TDC, and combustion of this fuel keeps the pressure high into the expansion
stroke. The resulting cycle shown in Fig. 10 is a cross between an SI engine cycle and
the early CI cycles. The air-standard cycle used to analyze this modern CI engine cycle
is called a Dual cycle or sometimes a Limited Pressure cycle (Fig. 11). It is a Dual cycle
because the heat input process of combustion can best be approximated by a Dual
process of constant volume followed by constant pressure. It can also be considered a
modified Otto cycle with a limited upper pressure.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Air-Standard Dual Cycle

The analysis of an air-standard Dual cycle is the same as that of the Diesel cycle, except
for the heat input process (combustion) 2-x-3.
Process 2-x—constant-volume heat input (first part of combustion).
All valves closed:
Vx = V2 = VTDC (74)
w2 - x = 0 (75)
Pressure, P

Volume, V

FIGURE 10
Indicator diagram of a modern CI engine operating on a four-stroke cycle.

115
 Engine Cycles

x 3

2 3
Pressure, P

Temperature, T
x

4 4
2
6
Po
5 1

TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v Entropy, s
(a) (b)

FIGURE 11
Air-standard Dual cycle, 6-1-2-x-3-4-5-6, which approximates the four-stroke cycle of a modern CI
engine on (a) pressure-specific volume coordinates, and (b) temperature-entropy coordinates.

Q2 - x = mmcv1Tx - T22 = 1ma + mf2cv1Tx - T22 (76)

q2 - x = cv1Tx - T22 = 1ux - u22 (77)
Px = Pmax = P21Tx>T22 (78)
Pressure ratio is defined as the rise in pressure during combustion, given as a ratio:
a = Px>P2 = P3>P2 = Tx>T2 = 11>rc2k1P3>P12 (79)
Process x-3—constant-pressure heat input (second part of combustion).
All valves closed:
P3 = Px = Pmax (80)
Qx - 3 = mmcp1T3 - Tx2 = 1ma + mf2cp1T3 - Tx2 (81)
qx - 3 = cp1T3 - Tx2 = 1h3 - hx2 (82)
wx - 3 = qx - 3 - 1u3 - ux2 = Px1v3 - vx2 = P31v3 - vx2 (83)
T3 = Tmax (84)
Cutoff ratio:
b = v3>vx = v3>v2 = V3>V2 = T3>Tx (85)
Heat in:
Qin = Q2 - x + Qx - 3 = mfQHVhc (86)

116
 Engine Cycles

qin = q2 - x + qx - 3 = 1ux - u22 + 1h3 - hx2 (87)

Thermal efficiency of Dual cycle:

1ht2DUAL = ƒ wnet ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ = 1 - 1 ƒ qout ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ 2

= 1 - cv1T4 - T12>[cv1Tx - T22 + cp1T3 - Tx2]
= 1 - 1T4 - T12>[1Tx - T22 + k1T3 - Tx2] (88)

This can be rearranged to give

1ht2DUAL = 1 - 11>rc2k - 1[5ab k - 16>5ka1b - 12 + a - 16] (89)
where
rc = compression ratio
k = cp>cv
a = pressure ratio
b = cutoff ratio
As with the Otto cycle, the air-standard thermal efficiency obtained for CI en-
gines using Eqs. (73) or (89) is slightly higher than that of real air–fuel cycles [120]. This
is because of the same reasons of changing composition, heat losses, valve overlap, and
finite time required for cycle processes.
1ht2actual L 0.851ht2DIESEL (90)
1ht2actual L 0.851ht2DUAL (91)

8 COMPARISON OF OTTO, DIESEL, AND DUAL CYCLES

Figure 12 compares Otto, Diesel, and Dual cycles with the same inlet conditions and
the same compression ratios. The thermal efficiency of each cycle can be written as

ht = 1 - ƒ qout ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ (92)

The area under the process lines on T–s coordinates is equal to the heat transfer,
so in Fig. 12(b) the thermal efficiencies can be compared. For each cycle, qout is the
same (process 4-1). qin of each cycle is different, and using Fig. 12(b) and Eq. (92), it is
found that, for these conditions,
1ht2OTTO 7 1ht2DUAL 7 1ht2DIESEL (93)
However, this is not the best way to compare these three cycles, because they do
not operate on the same compression ratio. Compression ignition engines that operate
on the Dual cycle or Diesel cycle have much higher compression ratios than do spark
ignition engines operating on the Otto cycle. A more realistic way to compare these
three cycles would be to have the same peak pressure—an actual design limitation in
engines. This is done in Fig. 13. When this figure is compared with Eq. (92), it is found
that
1ht2DIESEL 7 1ht2DUAL 7 1ht2OTTO (94)

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 Engine Cycles

3A Otto : 1-2-3A-4-1
Dual: 1-2-x-3B-4-1
Diesel : 1-2-3C-4-1

x 3B

Pressure, P
2 3C

4
6
Po
5 1
TDC BDC
Specific Volume, v
(a)

3A
Otto : 1-2-3A-4-1
Dual: 1-2-x-3B-4-1
Diesel : 1-2-3C-4-1
3B

x
3C
Temperature, T

2
4

FIGURE 12
Comparison of air-standard Otto cycle, 1
Dual cycle, and Diesel cycle. All engines
Entropy, s
have the same cylinder input conditions
and the same compression ratio. (b)

118
 Engine Cycles

2C x 3 Otto : 1-2A-3-4-1
Pmax
Dual: 1-2B-x-3-4-1
Diesel : 1-2C-3-4-1

2B
Pressure, P

2A
4

Po
6 6A 6B 5 1

Specific Volume, v
(a)

Tmax 3

x
Temperature, T

2C
4

2B

2A
Otto : 1-2A-3-4-1
FIGURE 13
Dual: 1-2B-x-3-4-1
Diesel : 1-2C-3-4-1 Comparison of air-standard Otto cycle,
1 Dual cycle, and Diesel cycle. All engines
have the same cylinder input conditions
Entropy, s
and the same maximum temperature and
(b) pressure.

Comparing the ideas of Eqs. (93) and (94) would suggest that the most efficient
engine would have combustion as close as possible to constant volume but would be
compression ignition and operate at the higher compression ratios which that requires.
This is an area where more research and development is needed.

Example Problem 5
A small truck has a four-cylinder, four-liter CI engine that operates on the air-standard Dual cycle
(Fig. 11) using light diesel fuel at an air–fuel ratio of [Link] compression ratio of the engine is 16:1
and the cylinder bore diameter is 10.0 cm. At the start of the compression stroke, conditions in the
cylinders are 60°C and 100 kPa with a 2% exhaust residual. It can be assumed that half of the heat
input from combustion is added at constant volume and half at constant pressure.

119
 Engine Cycles

Calculate:
1. temperature and pressure at each state of the cycle
2. indicated thermal efficiency
3. exhaust temperature
4. air temperature in intake manifold
5. engine volumetric efficiency
(1) For one cylinder,

Vd = 14 L2>4 = 1 L = 0.001 m3 = 1000 cm3

rc = VBDC>VTDC = 1Vd + Vc2>Vc = 16 = 11000 + Vc2>Vc

Vc = 66.7 cm3 = 0.0667 L = 0.0000667 m3

Vd = 1p>42B2S = 0.001 m3 = 1p>4210.10 m22S

S = 0.127 m = 12.7 cm
State 1:
T1 = 60°C = 333 K given in problem statement
P1 = 100 kPa given
V1 = VBDC = Vd + Vc = 0.001 + 0.0000667 = 0.0010667 m3
Mass of gas in one cylinder at start of compression is
mm = P1V1>RT1 = 1100 kPa210.0010667 m32>10.287 kJ>kg-K21333 K2
= 0.00112 kg
Mass of fuel injected per cylinder per cycle is
mf = 10.00112210.98211>192 = 0.0000578 kg
State 2: Equations (52) and (53) give temperature and pressure after
compression:
T2 = T11rc2k - 1 = 1333 K211620.35 = 879 K = 606°C
P2 = P11rc2k = 1100 kPa211621.35 = 4222 kPa
V2 = mRT2>P2 = 10.00112 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K21879 K2>14222 kPa2

= 0.000067 m3 = Vc
or,
V2 = V1>rc = 10.00106672>1162 = 0.0000667 m3
State x: Heating value of light diesel fuel is obtained:
Qin = mfQHV = 10.0000578 kg2142,500 kJ>kg2 = 2.46 kJ
If half of Qin occurs at constant volume, then Eq. (76) yields:
Q2 - x = 1.23 kJ = mmcv1Tx - T22
= 10.00112 kg210.821 kJ>kg-K21Tx - 879 K2

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 Engine Cycles

Tx = 2217 K = 1944°C
Vx = V2 = 0.0000667 m3
Px = mRTx>Vx
= 10.00112 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K212217 K2>10.0000667 m32
= 10,650 kPa = Pmax
or
Px = P21Tx>T22 = 14222 kPa212217>8792 = 10,650 kPa
State 3:
P3 = Px = 10,650 kPa = Pmax
Equation (81) gives
Qx - 3 = 1.23 kJ = mmcp1T3 - Tx2
= 10.00112 kg211.108 kJ>kg-K21T3 - 2217 K2
T3 = 3208 K = 2935°C = Tmax
V3 = mRT3>P3 = 10.00112 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K213208 K2>110,650 kPa2
= 0.000097 m3
State 4:
V4 = V1 = 0.0010667 m3
Equations (64) and (65) give temperature and pressure after expansion:
T4 = T31V3>V42k - 1 = 13208 K210.000097>0.001066720.35

= 1386 K = 1113°C
P4 = P31V3>V42k = 110,650 kPa210.000097>0.001066721.35 = 418 kPa
Work out for process x-3 for one cylinder for one cycle, using Eq. (83), is
Wx - 3 = P1V3 - Vx2 = 110,650 kPa210.000097 - 0.00006672m3 = 0.323 kJ
Work out for process 3-4, using Eq. (66), is
W3 - 4 = mR1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 10.00112 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211386 - 32082K>11 - 1.352
= 1.673 kJ
Work in for process 1-2, using Eq. (56), is
W1 - 2 = mR1T2 - T12>11 - k2
= 10.00112 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K21879 - 3332K>11 - 1.352
= -0.501 kJ
Wnet = 1+0.3232 + 1+1.6732 + 1-0.5012 = +1.495 kJ

(2) Equation (88) gives indicated thermal efficiency:

1ht2DUAL = ƒ Wnet ƒ > ƒ Qin ƒ = 11.495 kJ2>12.46 kJ2 = 0.607 = 60.7%

Pressure ratio is
a = Px>P2 = 10,650>4222 = 2.52

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 Engine Cycles

Cutoff ratio is

b = V3>Vx = 0.000097>0.0000667 = 1.45

Use Eq. (89) to find thermal efficiency:

1ht2DUAL = 1 - 11>rc2k - 1[5ab k - 16>5ka1b - 12 + a - 16]

= 1 - 11>1620.35[512.52211.4521.35 - 16>511.35212.52211.45 - 12 + 2.52 - 16]
= 0.607

(3) Assuming exhaust pressure is the same as intake pressure, and using Eq. (37) for ex-
haust temperature, we get

Tex = T41Pex>P421k - 12>k = 11386 K21100>418211.35 - 12>1.35 = 957 K = 684°C

Equation (46) gives exhaust residual:

xr = 11>rc21T4>Tex21Pex>P42
= 11>16211386>95721100>4182 = 0.022 = 2.2%

(4) Use Eq. (50) to find air temperature entering the cylinder:

1Tm21 = xrTex + 11 - xr2Ta

1333 K2 = 10.02221957 K2 + 11 - 0.0222Ta
Ta = 319 K = 46°C

(5) Mass of air entering one cylinder during intake is

ma = 10.00112 kg210.982 = 0.00110 kg

Volumetric efficiency is

hv = ma>raVd = 10.00110 kg2>11.181 kg>m3210.001 m32

= 0.931 = 93.1%

HISTORIC—ATKINSON CYCLE

In Otto and Diesel cycles, when the exhaust valve is opened near the end of the expansion
stroke, pressure in the cylinder is still on the order of three to five atmospheres. A potential
for doing additional work during the power stroke is therefore lost when the exhaust valve
is opened and pressure is reduced to atmospheric. If the exhaust valve is not opened until
the gas in the cylinder is allowed to expand down to atmospheric pressure, a greater amount
of work would be obtained in the expansion stroke, with an increase in engine thermal effi-
ciency. Such an air-standard cycle is called an Atkinson cycle or Overexpanded cycle (or
Complete Expansion cycle) and is shown in Fig. 14.
Starting in 1885, a number of crank and valve mechanisms were tried to achieve this
cycle, which has a longer expansion stroke than compression stroke. No large number of
these engines has ever been marketed, indicating the failure of this development [58].

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 Engine Cycles

Pressure, P

2
4a
4
Po
6 5a 1 5

Specific Volume, v

FIGURE 14
Air-standard Atkinson cycle, 6-1-2-3-4-5-6, with larger expansion ratio v4>v3 than compression
ratio v1>v3. The same engine operating on an Otto cycle would follow cycle 6-1-2-3-4a-5a-6.

9 MILLER CYCLE

The Miller cycle, named after R. H. Miller (1890–1967), is a modern modification of the
Atkinson cycle and has an expansion ratio greater than the compression ratio. This is
accomplished, however, in a much different way. Whereas an engine designed to oper-
ate on the Atkinson cycle needed a complicated mechanical linkage system of some
kind, a Miller cycle engine uses unique valve timing to obtain the same desired results.
Air intake in a Miller cycle is unthrottled. The amount of air ingested into each
cylinder is then controlled by closing the intake valve at the proper time, long before
BDC (point 7 in Fig. 15). As the piston then continues towards BDC during the latter
part of the intake stroke, cylinder pressure is reduced along process 7-1. When the pis-
ton reaches BDC and starts back towards TDC, cylinder pressure is again increased
during process 1-7. The resulting cycle is 6-7-1-7-2-3-4-5-6. The work produced in the
first part of the intake process 6-7 is canceled by part of the exhaust stroke 7-6, process
7-1 is canceled by process 1-7, and the net indicated work is the area within loop 7-2-3-
4-5-7. There is essentially no pump work. The compression ratio is

rc = V7>V2 (95)

and the larger expansion ratio is

re = V4>V2 = V4>V3 (96)

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 Engine Cycles

Pressure, P
2

7
Po 5
FIGURE 15 6
1
Air-standard Miller cycle for unthrottled
naturally aspirated four-stroke cycle SI
engine. If the engine has early intake valve
closing, the cycle will be 6-7-1-7-2-3-4-5-7-6. If
the engine has late intake valve closing, the TDC BDC
cycle will be 6-7-5-7-2-3-4-5-7-6. Specific Volume, v

The shorter compression stroke, which absorbs work, combined with the longer ex-
pansion stroke, which produces work, results in a greater net indicated work per cycle. In
addition, by allowing air to flow through the intake system unthrottled, a major loss ex-
perienced by most SI engines is eliminated. This is especially true at part throttle, when
an Otto cycle engine would experience low pressure in the intake manifold and a corre-
sponding high negative pump work. The Miller cycle engine has essentially no pump
work (ideally none), much like a CI engine. This results in higher thermal efficiency.
The mechanical efficiency of a Miller cycle engine would be about the same as
that of an Otto cycle engine, which has a similar mechanical linkage system. An Atkin-
son cycle engine, on the other hand, requires a much more complicated mechanical
linkage system, resulting in lower mechanical efficiency.
Another variation of this cycle can be obtained if the intake air is unthrottled and
the intake valve is closed after BDC. When this is done, air is ingested during the entire
intake stroke, but some of it is then forced back into the intake manifold before the in-
take valve closes. This results in cycle 6-7-5-7-2-3-4-5-6 in Fig. 15. The net indicated
work is again the area within loop 7-2-3-4-5-7, with the compression and expansion ra-
tios given by Eqs. (95) and (96).
For either variation of the cycle to work efficiently, it is extremely important to
be able to close the intake valve at the precise correct moment in the cycle (point 7).

124
 Engine Cycles

However, this point where the intake valve must close changes as the engine speed or
load is changed. This control was not possible until variable valve timing was perfect-
ed and introduced. Automobiles with Miller cycle engines were first marketed in the
latter half of the 1990s. A typical value of the compression ratio is about 8:1, with an
expansion ratio of about 10:1.
The first production automobile engines operating on Miller cycles used both
early intake valve closing methods and late intake valve closing methods. Several
types of variable valve timing systems have been developed and used. Opening and
closing valves with electronic actuators, without the use of a camshaft, offers the
greatest flexibility, both for variable timing and variable lift. This method will be-
come common with the transition to 42-volt electrical systems.
If the intake valve is closed bBDC, less than full displacement volume of the
cylinder is available for air ingestion. If the intake valve is closed aBDC, the full dis-
placement volume is filled with air, but some of it is expelled out again before the valve
is closed (process 5-7 in Fig. 15). In either case, less air and fuel end up in the cylinder
at the start of compression, resulting in low output per displacement and low indicated
mean effective pressure. To counteract this, Miller cycle engines are usually super-
charged or turbocharged with peak intake manifold pressures of 150–200 kPa. Fig. 16
shows a supercharged Miller engine cycle.

3
Pressure, P

4
7
8
FIGURE 16
1 Air-standard Miller cycle for a four-stroke
Po 5
6 cycle SI engine equipped with a
turbocharger or supercharger. If the engine
has early intake valve closing, the cycle will
be 6-7-1-7-2-3-4-5-6. If the engine has late
TDC BDC intake valve closing, the cycle will be 6-7-8-
Specific Volume, v 7-2-3-4-5-6.

125
 Engine Cycles

Example Problem 6
The four-cylinder, 2.5-liter SI automobile engine of Example Problem 1 is converted to operate
on an air-standard Miller cycle with early valve closing (cycle 6-7-1-7-2-3-4-5-6 in Fig. 16). It has
a compression ratio of 8:1 and an expansion ratio of 10:1. A supercharger is added that gives a
cylinder pressure of 160 kPa when the intake valve closes, as shown in Fig. 16. The temperature
is again 60°C at this point. The same fuel and AF are used with combustion efficiency
hc = 100%.
Calculate:
1. temperature and pressure at all points in the cycle
2. indicated thermal efficiency
3. indicated mean effective pressure
4. exhaust temperature
From Example Problem 1, for one cylinder,
Vd = 0.000625 m3
Expansion ratio is calculated using Eq. (94):

re = V4>V3 = 1Vd + Vc2>Vc = 10 = 10.000625 + Vc2>Vc

Vc = 0.000069 m3 = V2 = V3 = V6
V1 = V4 = V5 = Vd + Vc = 0.000625 + 0.000069 = 0.000694 m3

Compression ratio is calculated using Eq. (93):

V7 = V2rc = 10.0000692182 = 0.000552 m3

(1) Temperatures and pressures:

T7 = 60°C = 333 K given in problem statement

P7 = P8 = 160 kPa given
P1 = P71V7>V12k = 1160 kPa210.000552>0.00069421.35 = 117 kPa
T1 = T71V7>V12k - 1 = 1333 K210.000552>0.00069420.35 = 307 K = 34°C
T2 = T71rc2k - 1 = 1333 K21820.35 = 689 K = 416°C
P2 = P71rc2k = 1160 kPa21821.35 = 2650 kPa

Mass of gas in cylinder is

m1 = P1V1>RT1 = 1117 kPa210.000694 m32>10.287 kJ>kg-K21307 K2

= 0.000922 kg

If AF = 15 and the exhaust residual xr = 4%, the mass of fuel will be

mf = 11>16210.96210.0009222 = 0.000055 kg
Qin = mfQHVhc = 10.000055 kg2144,300 kJ>kg211.002 = 2.437 kJ
Qin = mmcv1T3 - T22 = 2.437 kJ
= 10.000922 kg210821 kJ>kg-K21T3 - 689 K2
T3 = 3908 K = 3635°C
P3 = P21T3>T22 = 12650 kPa213908>6892 = 15,031 kPa

126
 Engine Cycles

T4 = T31V3>V42k - 1 = T311>re2k - 1 = 13908 K211>1020.35

= 1746 K = 1473°C
P4 = P311>re2k = 115,031 kPa211>1021.35 = 671 kPa
V4 = mRT4>P4 = 10.000922 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211746 K2>1671 kPa2
= 0.000694 m3 This agrees with the value for V4 obtained earlier.
P5 = Pex = 100 kPa
T5 = T41P5>P42 = 11746 K21100>6712 = 260 K

(2) Indicated thermal efficiency is calculated as follows:

W3 - 4 = mR1T4 - T32>11 - k2
= 10.000922 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211746 - 39082K>11 - 1.352
= 1.635 kJ
W7 - 2 = mR1T2 - T72>11 - k2
= 10.000922 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K21689 - 3332K>11 - 1.352
= -0.269 kJ
W6 - 7 = P71V7 - V62 = 1160 kPa210.000552 - 0.0000692m3 = 0.077 kJ
W5 - 6 = P51V6 - V52 = 1100 kPa210.000069 - 0.0006942m3 = -0.063 kJ
Wnet = 1+1.6352 + 1-0.2692 + 1+0.0772 + 1-0.0632 = +1.380 kJ
1ht2MILLER = ƒ Wnet ƒ > ƒ Qin ƒ = 11.380 kJ2>12.437 kJ2 = 0.566 = 56.6%

(3) Indicated mean effective pressure is

imep = Wnet>Vd = 11.380 kJ2>10.000625 m32 = 2208 kPa

(4) The exhaust temperature is
Tex = T41Pex>P421k - 12>k = 11746 K21100>671211.35 - 12>1.35 = 1066 K = 793°C

10 COMPARISON OF MILLER CYCLE AND OTTO CYCLE

When the Otto cycle engine of Example Problems 1 and 2 is compared with a similar
engine operating on a Miller cycle as in Example Problem 6, the superiority of the
Miller cycle can be seen. Table 1 gives such a comparison.
Temperatures in the two cycles are about the same, except for the exhaust tem-
perature. It is important that the temperature at the beginning of combustion for either
cycle be low enough so that self-ignition and knock do not become problems. The lower
exhaust temperature of the Miller cycle is the result of greater expansion cooling that
occurs from the essentially identical maximum cycle temperature. Lower exhaust tem-
perature means less energy is lost in the exhaust, with more of it used as work output in
the longer expansion stroke. Pressures throughout the Miller cycle are higher than
those of the Otto cycle, mainly because of the super-charged input. The output parame-
ters of imep, thermal efficiency, and work are all higher for the Miller cycle, showing the
technical superiority of this cycle. Some of the indicated work and indicated thermal ef-
ficiency of the Miller cycle will be lost due to the need to drive the supercharger. Even

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 Engine Cycles

TABLE 1 Comparison of Otto and Miller Cycles

Miller Cycle Otto Cycle

Temperature at start of combustion T2: 689 K 707 K
Pressure at start of combustion P2: 2650 kPa 1826 kPa
Maximum temperature T3: 3908 K 3915 K
Maximum pressure P3: 15,031 kPa 10,111 kPa
Exhaust temperature: 1066 K 1183 K
Indicated net work per cylinder
per cycle for same Qin: 1.380 kJ 1.030 kJ
Indicated thermal efficiency: 56.6 % 52.9 %
Indicated mean effective pressure: 2208 kPa 1649 kPa

with this considered, however, brake work and brake thermal efficiency will be substan-
tially greater than in an Otto cycle engine. If a turbocharger were used instead of a su-
percharger, brake output parameter values would be even higher.

11 TWO-STROKE CYCLES
The first practical two-stroke cycle engines appeared about 1887, and since then many
CI and SI engines have been manufactured. The very smallest engines and the largest
engines almost always operate on a two-stroke cycle. It is desirable for most small en-
gines (chain saws, leaf blowers, etc.) to be lightweight and inexpensive. Both of these
requirements can be met by eliminating engine valves, possible with two-stroke cycles.
Very large engines operate at very low speeds, and thus need the two-stroke cycle for
smoothness of operation. At very low RPM, a power stroke in every cylinder on every
cycle is needed for smoothness.
Two-stroke cycle engines have been used in vehicles off and on throughout the
history of the automobile, the last two being made in East Germany until 1990. No
modern automobile is now made in high volume with a two-stroke cycle engine be-
cause of emission laws of the various countries. Using a two-stroke cycle engine in au-
tomobiles is very attractive because of the lower specific weight (engine weight/power)
and smoothness of operation (power stroke on every revolution). However, satisfying
pollution laws has so far been an insurmountable obstacle. Starting in the late 1980s
and going through the 1990s, a large program was instigated by several major world au-
tomobile companies to develop a two-stroke cycle automobile engine. This came about
after the Orbital Company of Australia developed an air-assisted direct-fuel-injection
system for two-stroke cycle engines. Although this greatly reduced hydrocarbon emis-
sions, ever more stringent pollution laws doomed the two-stroke cycle for automobile
application, and most development programs were put on the back burner. However,
many modern two-stroke cycle engines are being manufactured for applications other
than road vehicles (e.g., outboard motors).
With no exhaust stroke and imperfect scavenging, large amounts of exhaust
residual remain in the cylinder at the start of the next cycle. This dilutes the air–fuel
mixture in the cylinder and results in lower combustion temperature. This reduces the
generation of NOx emissions, but the lower exhaust temperature creates other re-
quirements in the catalytic system.

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 Engine Cycles

HISTORIC—TWO-STROKE CYCLE AUTOMOBILES

The last two automobile models manufactured with two-stroke cycle engines were made
in the German Democratic Republic until 1990. These were the 0.6 liter Trabant with two-
cylinder air-cooled engine, and the 1.0 liter Wartburg with three-cylinder liquid-cooled
engine.

Two-Stroke SI Engine Cycle

An air-standard approximation to a typical two-stroke SI engine cycle is shown in
Fig. 17.
Process 1-2—isentropic power or expansion stroke.
All ports (or valves) closed:

T2 = T11V1>V22k - 1 (97)
P2 = P11V1>V22k (98)
q1 - 2 = 0 (99)
w1 - 2 = 1P2v2 - P1v12>11 - k2 = R1T2 - T12>11 - k2 (100)

1
Pressure, P

3
4
6 5
Po

FIGURE 17
TDC BDC
Air-standard approximation for a two-
Volume, V stroke cycle SI engine, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1.

129
 Engine Cycles

Process 2-3—exhaust blowdown.

Exhaust port open and intake port closed.
Process 3-4-5—intake, and exhaust scavenging.
Exhaust port open and intake port open.

Intake air entering at an absolute pressure on the order of 140–180 kPa fills and
scavenges the cylinder. Scavenging is a process in which the air pushes out most of the
remaining exhaust residual from the previous cycle through the open exhaust port into
the exhaust system, which is at about one atmosphere pressure. The piston uncovers the
intake port at point 3, reaches BDC at point 4, reverses direction, and again closes the
intake port at point 5. In some engines fuel is mixed with the incoming air. In other en-
gines the fuel is injected later, after the exhaust port is closed.

Process 5-6—exhaust scavenging.

Exhaust port open and intake port closed.
Exhaust scavenging continues until the exhaust port is closed at point 6.
Process 6-7—isentropic compression.
All ports closed:

T7 = T61V6>V72k - 1 (101)
P7 = P61V6>V72k (102)
q6 - 7 = 0 (103)
w6 - 7 = 1P7v7 - P6v62>11 - k2 = R1T7 - T62>11 - k2 (104)

In some engines, fuel is added very early in the compression process. The spark plug is
fired near the end of process 6-7.
Process 7-1—constant-volume heat input (combustion).
All ports closed:

V7 = V1 = VTDC (105)
W7 - 1 = 0 (106)
Q7 - 1 = Qin = mfQHVhc = mmcv1T1 - T72 (107)
T1 = Tmax (108)
P1 = Pmax = P71T1>T72 (109)

Two-Stroke CI Engine Cycle

Many compression ignition engines—especially large ones—operate on two-stroke cy-
cles. These cycles can be approximated by the air-standard cycle shown in Fig. 18. This
cycle is the same as the two-stroke SI cycle except for the fuel input and combustion
process. Instead of adding fuel to the intake air or early in the compression process,
fuel is added with injectors late in the compression process, the same as with four-
stroke cycle CI engines. Heat input or combustion can be approximated by a two-step
(dual) process.

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x 1

7
Pressure, P

3
4
6 5
Po

FIGURE 18
Air-standard approximation for a
TDC BDC
two-stroke cycle CI engine, 1-2-3-
Volume, V 4-5-6-7-x-1.

Process 7-x—constant-volume heat input (first part of combustion).

All ports closed:

V7 = Vx = VTDC (110)
W7 - x = 0 (111)
Q7 - x = mmcv1Tx - T72 (112)
Px = Pmax = P71Tx>T72 (113)

Process x-1—constant-pressure heat input (second part of combustion).

All ports closed:
P1 = Px = Pmax (114)
Wx - 1 = P11V1 - Vx2 (115)
Qx - 1 = mmcp1T1 - Tx2 (116)
T1 = Tmax (117)

Example Problem 7
A fishing boat is equipped with an outboard motor that operates on an air-standard two-stroke
SI engine cycle at 3100 RPM. The four-cylinder engine has a bore and stroke of B = 5.2 cm and
S = 5.8 cm, a mechanical efficiency of hm = 77%, compression ratio of rc = 12, and a connect-
ing rod length to crankshaft offset ratio R = r>a = 3.2. The exhaust slot on the side of the cylin-
der opens at 105° aTDC and the intake slot opens at 50° bBDC. With crankcase compression, the
inlet air–fuel mixture enters at a pressure of P = 145 kPa and after mixing with the hot exhaust

131
 Engine Cycles

residual the cylinder gas temperature at the start of compression is T = 48°C. Maximum tem-
perature in the cycle is Tmax = 2250°C. Calculate:
1. effective compression ratio
2. cylinder temperature at the start of exhaust blowdown
3. indicated power
4. brake power
5. indicated mean effective pressure
(1) Using Fig. 17, we see that actual compression starts when the exhaust slot closes at
point 6, 105° bTDC or crank angle = 255°. Effective compression ratio is

1rc2eff = V>Vc = 1 + 1冫21rc - 12[R + 1 - cos u - 4R2 - sin2 u]

= 1 + 1冫2112 - 12[3.2 + 1 - cos1255°2 - 213.222 - sin21255°2] = 8.74
(2) Exhaust blowdown occurs when the exhaust slot is opened at point 2:

T2 = T1[1>1rc2eff2]k - 1 = 12523 K211>8.7421.35 - 1 = 1181 K = 908°C

(3) The displacement volume of one cylinder can be calculated as follows:

Vd = 1p>42B2S = 1p>4215.2 cm2215.8 cm2 = 123.2 cm3 = 0.0001232 m3

Clearance volume at TDC is
rc = 1Vd + Vc2>Vc = 12 = 1123.2 + Vc2>Vc, Vc = 11.20 cm3 = 0.0000112 m3
Temperature and pressure at end of compression:

T7 = T6[1rc2eff]k - 1 = 1321 K218.7421.35 - 1 = 686 K = 413°C

P7 = P6[1rc2eff]k = 1145 kPa218.7421.35 = 2707 kPa

Mass of gas in the cylinder during cycle, calculated at end of compression, is

m = P7Vc>RT7
= 12707 kPa210.0000112 m32>10.287 kJ>kg-K21686 K2 = 0.000154 kg

Work produced during the power stroke, using Eq. (1), is

W1 - 2 = mR1T2 - T12>11 - k2
= 10.000154 kg210.287 kJ>kg-K211181 K - 2523 K2>11 - 1.352 = 0.1695 kJ

Work during compression stroke is

W6 - 7 = mR1T7 - T62>11 - k2 = 10.000154210.28721686 - 3212>11 - 1.352

= -0.0461 kJ

The Cylinder volume at point 3 when the intake slot opens, 50° bBDC or a crank
angle of 130° can be calculated as follows:

V3>V1 = 1 + 1冫2112 - 12[3.2 + 1 - cos1130°2 - 冑13.222 - sin21130°2 = 10.547

V5 = V3 = 110.5472V1 = 110.547210.0000112 m32 = 0.000118 m3

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 Engine Cycles

Use effective compression ratio to find cylinder volume at point 6:

V6 = V2 = V11rc2eff = 10.0000112 m3218.742 = 0.0000979 m3

Work for process 5-6 is

W5 - 6 = P1V6 - V52 = 1145 kPa210.0000979 - 0.0001182m3 = -0.0029 kJ

W3 - 4 is canceled by W4 - 5
Net work for one cylinder for one cycle is

Wnet = 10.16952 + 1-0.04612 + 1-0.00292 = 0.1205 kJ>cylinder-cycle

Indicated power is
#
Wi = WN>n = [10.1205 kJ>cyl-cycle213100>60 rev>sec2>11 rev>cycle2]14 cyl2
= 24.9 kW = 33.4 hp

(4) Brake power is

Wb = hmWi = 10.772124.9 kW2 = 19.17 kW = 25.7 hp

# #

(5) Indicated mean effective pressure is:

imep = [110002124.92112]>[14 cylinders210.1232213100>602] = 978 kPa = 141.8 psia

12 STIRLING CYCLE
In recent years, a number of experimental engines that operate on the Stirling cycle
shown in Fig. 19 have been tested. The concept of the Stirling engine has been around
since 1816, and while it is not a true internal combustion engine, it is included here
briefly because it is a heat engine used to propel vehicles as one of its applications. The
basic engine uses a free-floating, double-acting piston with a gas chamber on both ends
of the cylinder. Combustion does not occur within the cylinder, but the working gas is
heated with an external combustion process. Heat input can also come from solar or
nuclear sources. Engine output is usually a rotating shaft [8].
A Stirling engine has an internal regeneration process that uses a heat exchanger.
Ideally, the heat exchanger uses the rejected heat in process 4-1 to preheat the internal
working fluid in the heat addition process 2-3. The only heat transfers with the sur-
roundings then occur with a heat addition process 3-4 at one maximum temperature
Thigh, and a heat rejection process 1-2 at one minimum temperature Tlow. If the process-
es in the air-standard cycle in Fig. 19 can be considered reversible, the thermal efficien-
cy of the cycle will be

1ht2STIRLING = 1 - 1Tlow>Thigh2 (118)

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 Engine Cycles

3 4

Temperature, T
Pressure, P

2
4 2 1

Specific Volume, v Entropy, s

(a) (b)

FIGURE 19
Ideal air-standard Stirling cycle, 1-2-3-4-1, on (a) pressure-specific volume coordinates, and
(b) temperature-entropy coordinates.

This is the same thermal efficiency as a Carnot cycle and is the theoretical maxi-
mum possible. Although a real engine cannot operate reversibly, a well-designed Stir-
ling engine can have a very high thermal efficiency. This is one of the attractions that is
generating interest in this type of engine. Other attractions include low emissions with
no catalytic converter and the flexibility of many possible fuels that can be used. This is
because heat input is from a continuous steady-state combustion in an external cham-
ber at a relatively low temperature around 1000 K. Fuels used have included gasoline,
diesel fuel, jet fuel, alcohol, and natural gas. In some engines, the fuel can be changed
with no adjustments needed.
Problems with Stirling engines include sealing, warm-up time needed, and high
cost. Other possible applications include refrigeration, stationary power, and heating of
buildings.

HISTORIC—LENOIR ENGINE

One of the first successful engines developed during the second half of the 1800s was the
Lenoir engine (Fig. 20). Several hundred of these were built in the 1860s. They operated
on a two-stroke cycle and had mechanical efficiencies up to 5% and power output up to
4.5 kW (6 hp). The engines were double acting, with combustion occurring on both ends of
the piston. This gave two power strokes per revolution from a single cylinder [29].

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 Engine Cycles

FIGURE 20
Lenoir noncompression engine of 1861. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [29], “Internal Fire” by
Lyle Cummins.

13 LENOIR CYCLE
The Lenoir cycle is approximated by the air-standard cycle shown in Fig. 21. The first
half of the first stroke was intake, with air–fuel entering the cylinder at atmospheric
pressure (process 1-2 in Fig. 21). At about halfway through the first stroke, the intake
valve was closed and the air–fuel mixture was ignited without any compression. Com-
bustion raised the temperature and pressure in the cylinder almost at constant volume
in the slow-moving engine (process 2-3). The second half of the first stroke then be-
came the power or expansion process 3-4. Near BDC, the exhaust valve opened and
blowdown occurred (4-5). This was followed by the exhaust stroke 5-1, completing the
two-stroke cycle. There was essentially no clearance volume.
Thermodynamic Analysis of Air-Standard Lenoir Cycle
The intake process 1-2 and the latter half of the exhaust stroke process 2-1 cancel each
other thermodynamically on P–V coordinates and can be left out of the analysis of the
Lenoir cycle. The cycle then becomes 2-3-4-5-2.
Process 2-3—constant volume heat input (combustion).
All valves closed:
P2 = P1 = Po (119)
v3 = v2 (120)

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 Engine Cycles

Pressure, P
4

1
Po 5
2

FIGURE 21
Air-standard approximation for a historic TDC BDC
Lenoir engine cycle, 1-2-3-4-5-1. Volume, V

w2–3 = 0 (121)
q2–3 = qin = cv1T3 - T22 = 1u3 - u22 (122)
Process 3-4—isentropic power or expansion stroke.
All valves closed:
q3–4 = 0 (123)
T4 = T31v3>v42k - 1 (124)
P4 = P31v3>v42k (125)
w3–4 = 1P4v4 - P3v32>11 - k2 = R1T4 - T32>11 - k2 (126)
= 1u3 - u42 = cv1T3 - T42

Process 4-5—constant-volume heat rejection (exhaust blowdown).

Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:

v5 = v4 = vBDC (127)
w4–5 = 0 (128)
q4–5 = qout = cv1T5 - T42 = 1u5 - u42 (129)

Process 5-2—constant-pressure exhaust stroke at Po.

Exhaust valve open and intake valve closed:

P5 = P2 = P1 = Po (130)
w5–2 = Po1v2 - v52 (131)
q5–2 = qout = 1h2 - h52 = cp1T2 - T52 (132)

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 Engine Cycles

Thermal efficiency of Lenoir cycle:

1ht2LENOIR = ƒ wnet ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ = 1 - 1 ƒ qout ƒ > ƒ qin ƒ 2

= 1 - [cv1T4 - T52 + cp1T5 - T22]>[cv1T3 - T22] (133)
= 1 - [1T4 - T52 + k1T5 - T22]>1T3 - T22

SUMMARY
This chapter reviewed the basic cycles used in internal combustion engines. Although
many engine cycles have been developed, for over a century most automobile engines
have operated on the basic SI four-stroke cycle developed in the 1870s by Otto and
others. This can be approximated and analyzed using the ideal air-standard Otto cycle.
During the 1990s a major effort was made by several car manufacturers to develop a
two-stroke cycle engine for automobiles. This effort failed because of pollution regula-
tions. Many small SI engines do operate on two-stroke cycles, sometimes (erroneously)
called a two-stroke Otto cycle.
Early four-stroke CI engines operated on a cycle that can be approximated by
the air-standard Diesel cycle. This cycle was improved in modern CI engines of the type
used in automobiles and trucks. Changing the injection timing resulted in a more effi-
cient engine operating on a cycle best approximated by an air-standard Dual cycle.
Due to the greater thermal efficiency of these engines, there is an ever-increasing per-
centage of vehicles being manufactured with four-stroke cycle CI engines, especially in
Europe. Most small CI engines and very large CI engines operate on a two-stroke
cycle.
At present, most automobiles operate on an SI four-stroke cycle, approximated
either by the air-standard Otto cycle, or the more modern Miller cycle. The Miller cycle
is an improvement on the Otto cycle brought about by several technology advance-
ments, mainly variable valve timing control. Valve control allows for a more efficient
cycle by reducing pumping losses and giving an expansion ratio that is greater than the
effective compression ratio.

PROBLEMS
1 Cylinder conditions at the start of compression in an SI engine operating at WOT on an
air-standard Otto cycle are 60°C and 98 kPa. The engine has a compression ratio of 9.5:1
and uses gasoline with AF = 15.5. Combustion efficiency is 96%, and it can be assumed
that there is no exhaust residual.
Calculate:

(a) Temperature at all states in the cycle. [°C]

(b) Pressure at all states in the cycle. [kPa]
(c) Specific work done during power stroke. [kJ/kg]
(d) Heat added during combustion. [kJ/kg]
(e) Net specific work done. [kJ/kg]
(f) Indicated thermal efficiency. [%]

137