Four-stroke petrol engine

Four-stroke engine

Four-stroke cycle used in gasoline/petrol engines. The right blue side is the intake and the left brown side is the exhaust. The cylinder wall is a thin sleeve surrounded by cooling liquid.A four-stroke engine, also known as four-cycle, is an internal combustion engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes—intake, compression, power, and exhaust—during two separate revolutions of the engine’s crankshaft, and one single thermodynamic cycle.

There are two common types of engines, which are closely related to each other but have major differences in their design and behavior. The earliest of these to be developed is the Otto cycle engine which was developed in 1876 by Nikolaus August Otto in Cologne, Germany, after the operation principle described by Alphonse Beau de Rochas in 1861. This engine is most often referred to as a petrol engine or gasoline engine, after the fuel that powers it. The second type of four-cycle engine is the Diesel engine developed in 1893 by Rudolph Diesel, also of Germany. Diesel created his engine to maximize efficiency which was lacking in the Otto engine. There are several major differences between the Otto cycle engine and the four-cycle diesel engine. The diesel engine is made in both a two-cycle and a four-cycle version. Ironically Otto’s company Deutz AG produces primarily diesel engines in the modern era.

The Otto cycle is named after the 1876 engine of Nikolaus A. Otto, who built a successful four-cycle engine which was based on the work of Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir. It was the third engine type that Otto developed. It used a sliding flame gateway for ignition of its fuel which was a mixture of illuminating gas and air. After 1884 Otto also developed the magneto allowing the use of an electrical spark for ignition, which had been unreliable on the Lenoir engine.

The internal combustion engine (ICE) is used in motorcycles, automobiles, boats, trucks, aircraft, ships, heavy duty machinery, and in its original intended use as stationary power both for kinetic and electrical power generation. Diesel engines are found in virtually all heavy duty applications such as trucks, ships, locomotives, power generation, and stationary power. Many of these diesel engine are two-cycle with power ratings up to 105,000 hp (78,000 kW).

The four cycles refer to suction(intake), compression, combustion (power), and exhaust cycles that occur during two crankshaft rotations per power cycle of the four-cycle engines. The cycle begins at Top Dead Centre (TDC), when the piston is farthest away from the axis of the crankshaft. A cycle refers to the full travel of the piston from Top Dead Centre (TDC) to Bottom Dead Centre (BDC).

 

Working Principle Of Four Stroke Spark Ignition Engine.

Many of us may know about two stroke or four stroke engine.Those who are from mechanical or automobile field must have to familiar with this term.Actually two stroke or four stroke is the cycle of any reciprocating engine.When only two stroke required to complete the reciprocating engine cycle then that engine is known as two stroke engine,and when four stroke required to complete the cycle then it is known as four stroke engine.

In four stroke engine the work is obtained only during one stroke out of these for a single cylinder engine or for every cylinder individually for multi cylinder engine.If you have any automobile vehicle or machine,then you better know the above terms.

1)Suction Stroke.
This is first stroke of your engine.During this stroke the piston is moved downward from Top Dead Centre by means of crankshaft which is rotate by electric motor.This movement increases the size of combustion space thereby reducing the pressure inside the cylinder,as the result,the higher pressure of the outside atmosphere forces the air into combustion space through suction valve.The exhaust valve remain closed in this stroke.

A carburettor is put in the passage of incoming air which supplies a controlled quantity of fuel to this air.This air-fuel mixture thus comes in engine cylinder.

2)Compression Stroke.
This is second stroke of your engine.The air-fuel mixture is compressed during this upward stroke.The compression,forces the fuel into closer combination with air.Heat is produced due to compression aids the combustion of fuel.Just a little before the end of compression stroke the mixture is ignited by a spark produced by spark plug.During this stroke suction and exhaust valve remain closed.

3)Power Stroke.
This is third stroke of your engine.You may call it as Expansion Stroke also.The air-fuel mixture which burns at the end of compression stroke expands due to heat of combustion.This expansion of burnt air-fuel mixture exerts pressure in the cylinder and on the piston,and under this impulse the piston moves downward thus doing useful work.Suction and exhaust valve remain closed during this stroke.

4)Exhaust Stroke.
This is last stroke of your engine.During this stroke the suction valve remain closed while the exhaust valve opens.The greater part of burnt gases escape because of their own expansion.The upward movement of piston pushes the remaining gases out of the open exhaust valve.Thus complete the exhaust stroke and one cycle of engine.

Number of cycles are depend upon the rotation per minute of your engine.Higher the R.P.M.,higher the work done carried out by engine.I hope,this information will better help you to understand the working of your four
stroke engine.

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