Internal Combustion engines

Introduction: (Initial Observation)

Internal combustion engines are used in every automobile and are the driving force for many electric generators and other industrial and household machines. Many studies have been done in the past and is in progress today by scientists, manufacturers and students about internal combustion engines. Most of these studies focus on increasing the efficiency and reducing the pollution caused by internal combustion engines. Today internal combustion engines have an efficiency rate of about 30%.

In other words 70% of the fuel energy is being wasted mostly in the form of heat and only about 30% is converted to mechanical energy. Also the large amount of carbon dioxide produced by such engines is contributing to air pollution and global warming.

This project is an opportunity to learn about the structure and design of an internal combustion engine.

Information Gathering:

Find out about Internal combustion engines. Read books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the principles and effects of internal combustion engins. Keep track of where you got your information from.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the principles of a combustion engine.
• Explain the process of an engine cycle.
• State the classifications of engines.
• Discuss the construction of an engine.
• List the auxiliary assemblies of an engine.

The automobile is a familiar object to all of us. The engine that moves it is one of the most fascinating and talked about of all the complex machines we use today. In this chapter we will explain briefly some of the operational principles and basic mechanisms of this machine. As you study its operation and construction, notice that it consists of many of the devices and basic mechanisms covered earlier in this book.

COMBUSTION ENGINE

We define an engine simply as a machine that converts heat energy to mechanical energy. The engine does this through either internal or external combustion.

Combustion is the act of burning. Internal means inside or enclosed. Thus, in internal combustion engines, the burning of fuel takes place inside the engine; that is, burning takes place within the same cylinder that produces energy to turn the crankshaft. In external combustion engines, such as steam engines, the burning of fuel takes place outside the engine. Figure 12-1 shows, in the simplified form, an external and an internal combustion engine.

The external combustion engine contains a boiler that holds water. Heat applied to the boiler causes the water to boil, which, in turn, produces steam. The steam passes into the engine cylinder under pressure and forces the piston to move downward. With the internal

Figure 12-1.-Simple external and internal combustion engine.

Figure 12-2.-Cylinder, piston, connecting rod, and crankshaft for a one-cylinder engine.

combustion engine, the combustion takes place inside the cylinder and is directly responsible for forcing the piston to move downward.

The change of heat energy to mechanical energy by the engine is based on a fundamental law of physics. It states that gas will expand upon the application of heat. The law also states that the compression of gas will increase its temperature. If the gas is confined with no outlet for expansion, the application of heat will increase the pressure of the gas (as it does in an automotive cylinder). In an engine, this pressure acts against the head of a piston, causing it to move downward.

As you know, the piston moves up and down in the cylinder. The up-and-down motion is known as reciprocating motion. This reciprocating motion (straight line motion) must change to rotary motion (turning motion) to turn the wheels of a vehicle. A crank and a connecting rod change this reciprocating motion to rotary motion.

All internal combustion engines, whether gasoline or diesel, are basically the same. They all rely on three elements: air, fuel, and ignition.

Fuel contains potential energy for operating the engine; air contains the oxygen necessary for combustion; and ignition starts combustion. All are fundamental, and the engine will not operate without any one of them. Any discussion of engines must be based on these three elements and the steps and mechanisms involved in delivering them to the combustion chamber at the proper time.

So what is “External Combustion Engine”?

Question/ Purpose:

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.

The purpose of this project is to learn and display the principles of an Internal Combustion Engine.

Identify Variables:

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other.

As a display project you will not need to define variables. But if you decide to study on one feature such as the effect of engine temperature on efficiency of engines, then you will need to define variables. For example the engine temperature will be an independent variable and the efficiency will be a dependent variable.

If you want to do the spudgun experiment suggested below, you may define your variables as described on that experiment.

Hypothesis:

Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis.

As a display project you will not need a hypothesis. But if you decide to study on one question such as the effect of engine temperature on efficiency of engines, then you will need to have a hypothesis. For example you may hypothesize that the efficiency of engine will increase with any increase on engine temperature.

Experiment Design:

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must have a “control.” A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. Dependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that includes a control is called a “controlled experiment.”

Use the information on the “gathering information” section and the links offered at the reference section to prepare your display board. If you have a sample of a small engine such as those used in model airplanes, you can use that as a part of your display.

You may also use wood to make a model of a simple one cylinder engine.

If you want to make a simple model to show “how internal combustion happens?”, you may make a potato gun as described in the following experiment.

Adult supervision, help and safety precautions is required for this experiment.

Experiment: (Combustion spudgun)

A potato gun sometimes called a spudzooka or spud gun is weapon that can launch spuds at over 200 ft/s. It is a propellant based gun that uses any propane based aerosol as a propellant (most experiments use hair spray, for it is inexpensive and easy to use). The way it works is propellant is injected into the combustion chamber and ignited with a BBQ sparker, as the gas expands it pushes the potato up the barrel and out of the gun.

Building a potato gun is fairly simple provided some basic tools are available. The most basic potato gun consists of three main components: a combustion chamber, a barrel, and an igniter. The combustion chamber and the barrel are usually constructed out of pressure rated PVC or ABS piping and the igniter can be any type of sparker, but most potato gun experimenter’s prefer to use BBQ igniters, for they provide a large and effective spark.

Parts

• 2 feet of 2 inch diameter PVC or ABS pressure rated pipe
• 1 foot of 3 inch diameter PVC or ABS pressure rated pipe
• screw off end cap for 3 inch pipe (note: clean out plug may be used)
• slip to threaded 3 inch fitting
• 3 to 2 in reducer
• PVC or ABS cement (note: do NOT mix PVC pipes with ABS pipes or fitting, only use PVC cement on PVC and ABS on ABS)
• BBQ igniter
• 2 drywall screws
• hair spray
• plenty of spuds

Assembly Instructions

1. Cut pipes to correct length’s with a hacksaw
2. Glue the barrel and the chamber to the reducer as shown in the diagram. (if PVC is used don’t forget to apply primer first.

3. Close off the end of the chamber with the fitting and screw-on end cap or the drain plug cap.

4. Screw the drywall screws through the sides the combustion chamber so there is about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch gap

5. Connect the sparker to the drywall screw and make sure it fires properly, if no spark fires move screws closer and re-test.

6. Bevel the end of the barrel so that the potato will be cut to size when it is loaded. Beveling can be done with a Dermal or if one is not available a file can be used.

7. Let cement dry for about an hour (this time can be used to go buy some spuds!!)

Firing Tips

Caution: Only fire in open spaces far away from human life

1. Load the gun by cutting a large enough potato in half and then cutting it to the right size by pushing it into the barrel of the gun and letting the gun cut the potato’s shape. If the potato is too small the potato will not go very far, for most of the gas will escape. Providing a good seal is the key to distance spud launching. The gun barrel will be like a cylinder and the potato will be the piston in an internal combustion engine.

2. Get a stick that can be used to muzzle load the potato. Measure out how far on the stick the potato has to be pushed down to be right before the combustion chamber and push it down to that level.

3. Unscrew the back and fill with propellant. I like using pure propane from a blowtorch, but if one isn’t available then hair spray can be used. This is the trickiest part of all. The correct mixture of gas to air has to be present for the gun to fire. Experimenting is the best way. One thing that is important to remember is that the gas needs oxygen for combustion therefore after each time it is fired air must be allowed into the chamber.

4. Good Luck and be careful.

You can find more information about spudguns on the internet. Following link contains similar instructions.

http://www.aaroncake.net/spuds/econo/

Experiment question: How does the type of fuel affect the distance a ball or potato can be thrown?

Experiment variables: Independent variable is the type of fuel. Dependent variable is the distance a thrown ball will go.

Experiment procedures: Now that your device is ready, try same amounts of different fuels to see which one will provide more energy and throw the ball a longer distance. You may try any kind of spray as fuel.

Experiment 2: The effect of engine temperature on efficiency of engines.

Note: This experiment is described just for your information. You may try it only if you have the time and access to the required resources.

Introduction: The efficiency of engines are described by the amount of work that can be performed. For example you may want to know how many miles a car will drive for each gallon of fuel. This unit is generally known as miles per gallon. Miles per gallon may vary in different temperatures. Miles per gallon may also vary depending on the type of fuel. The engine temperature is adjusted by a thermostat. Most thermostats adjust the engine temperature to about 80º Celsius. By removing a thermostat, the engine will cool off faster. You may also find different thermostats that adjust the temperature at different temperatures. The effect of temperature on the efficiency of engine may be tested using any car.

Procedure:

1. Fill up the tank in your car and drive 100 miles.
2. Refill the tank to see how much of the fuel is consumed during the 100 miles distance.
3. Record the distance, amount of fuel and the average temperature of the engine while driving.
4. With the help of a mechanic either change the thermostat of remove it.
5. Drive another 100 miles in the same roads, same directions and the same average speeds.
6. Refill the tank again to see how much of the fuel is consumed during the second 100 miles driving.
7. Record the distance, amount of fuel and the average temperature of the engine while driving the second round.

Write your results in a table like this:

If you can try more than 2 different temperatures, then your table will have more than 2 rows of data.

To calculate the miles per gallon, simply divide the miles driven by the gallons of consumed fuel.

Materials and Equipment:

Depends on your display or experiment that you may select.

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Experiments are often done in series. A series of experiments can be done by changing one variable a different amount each time. A series of experiments is made up of separate experimental “runs.” During each run you make a measurement of how much the variable affected the system under study. For each run, a different amount of change in the variable is used. This produces a different amount of response in the system. You measure this response, or record data, in a table for this purpose. This is considered “raw data” since it has not been processed or interpreted yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.

Calculations:

If you do any calculations for your project, please write them in this section of your report.

Summary of Results:

Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments.

It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even more interesting and powerful.

Conclusion:

Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did.

Related Questions & Answers:

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.

Possible Errors:

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.

References:

List of References

http://www.siu.edu/~autoclub/frange.html

http://w3.one.net/~jschust/animations.html

http://www.steamengine.com.au/ic/engines/welcome.html

http://www.unc.edu/~prinarp/jamie.html

http://www-personal.wccnet.org/~eileen/agenda.html

http://www.bartleby.com/65/in/intern-co.html

http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm

http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/06415.html