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Questions and Answers
What is the purpose of internal combustion engines?
What is the purpose of internal combustion engines?
What distinguishes internal combustion engines from external combustion engines?
What distinguishes internal combustion engines from external combustion engines?
What are the two main types of internal combustion engines discussed in this book?
What are the two main types of internal combustion engines discussed in this book?
What makes the design and operating characteristics of internal combustion engines fundamentally different from other types of engines?
What makes the design and operating characteristics of internal combustion engines fundamentally different from other types of engines?
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What was used as an intermediate step between the combustion gases and the work-producing piston-in-cylinder expander for the first 150 years of power-producing engines?
What was used as an intermediate step between the combustion gases and the work-producing piston-in-cylinder expander for the first 150 years of power-producing engines?
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What is a characteristic of spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines that has led to their widespread application?
What is a characteristic of spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines that has led to their widespread application?
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What was the primary fuel source for the early internal combustion engines developed for commercial use in the 1860s?
What was the primary fuel source for the early internal combustion engines developed for commercial use in the 1860s?
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Who developed the first marketable engine that burned coal-gas air mixtures at atmospheric pressure?
Who developed the first marketable engine that burned coal-gas air mixtures at atmospheric pressure?
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What was the thermal efficiency of the engines developed by Lenoir between 1860 and 1865?
What was the thermal efficiency of the engines developed by Lenoir between 1860 and 1865?
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What was the innovation introduced by Nicolaus A. Otto in 1867?
What was the innovation introduced by Nicolaus A. Otto in 1867?
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What was the significance of Otto's four-stroke engine cycle?
What was the significance of Otto's four-stroke engine cycle?
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How many of Otto's four-stroke engines had been sold by 1890?
How many of Otto's four-stroke engines had been sold by 1890?
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Study Notes
Internal Combustion Engines
- Produce mechanical power from the chemical energy contained in fuel by burning or oxidizing the fuel inside the engine
- Fuel-air mixture before combustion and burned products after combustion are the working fluids
- Work transfers that provide the desired power output occur directly between these working fluids and the mechanical components of the engine
Types of Internal Combustion Engines
- Spark-ignition (SI) engines, also called Otto engines, or gasoline or petrol engines
- Compression-ignition (CI) or diesel engines
Characteristics and Applications
- Simplicity, ruggedness, high power to weight ratio, efficiency, and low cost
- Wide application in transportation (land, sea, and air) and power generation
History of Internal Combustion Engines
- Power-producing engines have served human beings for over two and a half centuries
- Initially, water, converted to steam, was interposed between the combustion gases and the work-producing piston-in-cylinder expander
- The internal combustion engine became a practical reality in the 1860s
Early Engines
- Early engines developed for commercial use burned coal-gas air mixtures at atmospheric pressure
- J.J.E.Lenoir developed the first marketable engine of this type in the 1860s
- Efficiency was at best about 5%
Development of Otto's Engine
- Nicolaus A. Otto and Eugen Langen introduced an atmospheric engine in 1867
- This engine used the pressure rise resulting from combustion to accelerate a free piston and rack assembly
- Thermal efficiencies of up to 11% were achieved
- Production engines, of which about 5000 were built, obtained thermal efficiencies of up to 11%
Otto's Four-Stroke Engine
- Proposed an engine cycle with four piston strokes: intake, compression, expansion, and exhaust
- First prototype four-stroke engine ran in 1876
- Comparison to Otto-Langen's engine shows enormous reduction in engine weight and volume
- Founded the internal combustion engine industry
Patents and Controversies
- Alphonse Beau de Rochas held an unpublished French patent issued in 1862 for the principles of the four-stroke cycle
- This discovery cast doubt on the validity of Otto's own patent for this concept
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Description
Learn about the principles and types of internal combustion engines, including spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines.
