MECHANICAL POWER ENGINEERING DEPT.

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING - MANSOURA UNIVERSITY

FUNDAMENTALS OF
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

CHAPTER 5
Combustion
Prof. Dr. Salah El-Emam
Dr. Waleed Shaaban
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 FUNDAMENTALS OF
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

CHAPTER 5 COMBUSTION

5.1 Combustion in SI Engines with Homogeneous Air-Fuel Mixtures

5.2 Combustion in Divided-Chamber Engines and Stratified Charge
lean-Burn Engines
5.3 Engine Operating Characteristics
5.4 Modern Fast-Burn Combustion Chambers
5.5 Combustion in CI Engines
5.6 Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition—HCCI
5.7 Variable Compression Ratio

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5.1 Combustion in SI Engines with Homogeneous Air-Fuel Mixtures

The combustion process of SI engines can be divided into three

broad regions:

Ignition and
Flame Flame
flame
propagation, termination.
development,

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5.1 Combustion in SI Engines with Homogeneous Air-Fuel Mixtures

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Ignition and Flame Development

• Combustion is initiated by an electrical discharge across the

electrodes of a spark plug. This occurs anywhere from 10° to
30° before TDC.
• Combustion starts very slowly because of the high heat losses
to the relatively cold spark plug and gas mixture. Flame can
generally be detected at about 6° of crank rotation after spark
plug firing.
• Energy dissipation versus time across the electrodes of a
spark plug. Applied potential is generally 25,000-40,000 volts,
with a maximum current on the order of 200 amps lasting about
10 nsec.

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Ignition and Flame Development

•This gives a peak temperature on the order of 60,000 K.

Overall spark discharge lasts about 0.001 second, with an
average temperature of about 6000 K.
• This creates a spherical flame front that propagates outward
into the combustion chamber. At first, the flame front moves
very slowly because of its small original size.
• It does not generate enough energy to quickly heat the sur-
rounding gases and thus propagates very slowly.
• It is desirable to have a slightly rich air-fuel mixture around
the electrodes of the spark plug at ignition.

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Ignition and Flame Development

Maximum voltage can be

greater than 40,000 volts,
with a maximum current on
the order of 200 amps lasting
for about 10-8 second. The
total energy delivered during
one discharge is generally
about 30 to 50 mJ.

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Flame Propagation in SI Engines

• By the time the first 5-10% of the air-fuel mass has been burned, the combustion
process is well established and the flame front moves very quickly through the com-
bustion chamber.
• Due to induced turbulence, swirl, and squish, flame propagation speed is about 10
times faster than if there were a laminar flame front moving through a stationary gas
mixture.
• In addition, the flame front, which would expand spherically from the spark plug in
stationary air, is greatly distorted and spread by these motions.
• As the gas mixture burns, the temperature, and consequently the pressure, rises to
high values. Burned gases behind the flame front are hotter than the unburned gases
before the front, with all gases at about the same pressure.
• When only 30% of the gas mass is burned, the. burned gases already occupy almost
60% of the total volume, compressing 70% of the mixture that is not yet burned into
40% of the total volume.
• Compression of the unburned gases raises their temperature by compressive
heating. In addition, radiation heating emitted from the flame reaction zone, which is at
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a temperature on the order of 3000 K.
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Flame Propagation in SI Engines

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•Ideally the air-fuel mixture should be about two-thirds burned at about 15° aTDC. This
causes maximum temperature and maximum pressure of the cycle to occur somewhere
between 5° and 10° aTDC, about optimum for a four-stroke cycle SI engine at 15° aTDC.
•During combustion, a maximum pressure rise of about 240 kPa per degree of engine rotation
is desirable for a smooth transfer of force to the face of the piston.
•In addition to the effects of turbulence, swirl, and squish, the flame speed depends on the
type of fuel and the air-fuel ratio. Lean mixtures have slower flame speeds,
•Slightly rich mixtures have the fastest flame speeds, with the maximum for most fuels
occurring at an equivalence ratio near 1.2.
•Exhaust residual and recycled exhaust gas slow the flame speed. Flame speed increases
with engine speed due to the higher turbulence, swirl, and squish.

•The typical burn angle, the angle through which the crankshaft turns during the flame
propagation mode of combustion, is about 25° for most engines.
•If combustion is to be completed at 15° aTDC, the ignition should occur at about 10° bTDC.
If ignition is too early,
•Actual ignition timing is typically anywhere from 10° to 30° bTDC, depending on the fuel
used, engine geometry, and engine speed. For any given engine, combustion occurs faster at
higher engine speed.
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Flame Termination
•At about 15° to 20° aTDC, 90-95% of the air-fuel mass has been
combusted and the flame front has reached the extreme corners of the
combustion chamber
•During the flame termination period, self-ignition will occur in the end gas
in front of the flame front, and engine knock will occur. The temperature of
the unburned gases in front of the flame front continues to rise during the
combustion process, reaching a maximum in the last end gas. This
maximum temperature is often above self-ignition temperature.

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5.2 Combustion in Divided-Chamber Engines and Stratified

Charge lean-Burn Engines
•Some engines have the combustion chamber divided into a main chamber and a smaller
secondary chamber
•The volume of the small secondary chamber is typically up to about 20% of the total
clearance volume.
•The secondary chamber is designed to provide very high swirl. The orifice between the
chambers is contoured to create high swirl during the compression stroke.
•This promotes good combustion ignition in the swirl chamber.
•Some modern combustion technologies use very large amounts of recycled exhaust gases
(EGR) in lean-burn engines, which helps keep harmful emissions to a minimum.
•Some engines have one intake valve in the main chamber and one in the secondary
chamber of each cylinder. These engines supply air and fuel at different air-fuel ratios. with
a rich mixture in the secondary chamber. large amounts of recycled exhaust gases (EGR) in
lean-burn engines. The actual air and fuel combination used is then near stoichiometric,
which helps keep harmful emissions to a minimum.

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Divided combustion chambers of CI engines with fuel injector mounted in

secondary chamber.
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Divided-chamber stratified charge engine at end of intake stroke (left) and end of
compression stroke (right).

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5.3 Engine Operating Characteristics

1. Power Operation
For maximum power, fuel injectors and carburetors are adjusted to give a rich mixture.
The rich mixture burns faster and allows the pressure peak to be more concentrated near
TDC, with the probable compromise of rougher operation. At high engine speeds, there is
less time for heat transfer to occur from the cylinders.
2. Cruising Operation
For cruising operation such as steady freeway driving or long-distance airplane travel,
less power is needed and brake-specific fuel consumption becomes important. For this
type of operation a lean mixture is supplied to the engine.
3. Idle and Low Engine Speed
At very low engine speeds the throttle will be almost closed, resulting in a high vacuum in
the intake manifold. This high vacuum and low engine speed generate a large exhaust
residual during valve overlap. This creates poor combustion, which must be compensated
for by supplying a rich mixture to the engine.
4. Closing Throttle at High Engine Speed
When quick deceleration is desired and the throttle is closed at high engine speed, a very
large vacuum is created in the intake system. High engine speed wants a large inflow of
air, but the closed throttle allows very little air flow. The result is a high intake vacuum,
high exhaust residual, a rich mixture, and poor combustion.
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5. Starting a Cold Engine

When a cold engine is started, an over rich supply of fuel must be supplied to assure
enough fuel vapor to create a combustible gas mixture. When the walls of the intake
system and cylinders are cold, a much smaller percentage of the fuel will vaporize than in
normal steady-state operation. The engine turns very slowly, being driven only by the
starting motor, and a greater amount of the compressive heating during compression is
lost by heat transfer to the cold walls.

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5.4 Modern Fast-Burn Combustion Chambers

The combustion chamber for a modern high-speed SI engine must be able to burn the
contained air-fuel mixture very rapidly without creating excess exhaust emissions.
It must provide a smooth power stroke, low specific fuel consumption, and maximum
thermal efficiency .
Two general designs for such a combustion chamber are shown in Figure.

Advanced engine combustion chambers (a) and (b), and old version L head combustion chamber ( c).

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• It is desirable to have the minimum combustion time possible. If the combustion time is
less than the ignition delay time of the air-fuel mixture after the temperature has been
raised above self-ignition temperature, The faster the burn time, the higher the allowable
compression ratio and the lower the octane number required in the fuel.
• In addition to fast combustion time, the combustion chambers would provide smooth
engine operation during the power stroke. With the spark plug located near the center of
the clearance volume, pressure buildup at the start of combustion will be slow due to the
large volume of surrounding gas that must be compressed.
• In addition to being placed near the center of the clearance volume, the spark plug should
be positioned near both the intake and exhaust valves. It should be near the intake valve
to assure a richer mixture between the spark plug electrodes, combustion being easier to
ignite in a rich mixture.
• Probably the greatest disadvantage of this type of combustion chamber is the limited
design flexibility it offers. Because of the limited wall surface area, it is extremely difficult
to fit the needed valves, spark plugs, and fuel injectors.
• Some modern engines have divided combustion chambers, as described earlier. These
offer high volumetric efficiency, good fuel economy, and cycle operation flexibility. Two of
their main disadvantages are greater heat loss, due to high surface area, and higher cost
and difficulty in manufacturing.
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5.5 Combustion in CI Engines

• Combustion in a CI engine is an unsteady process occurring

simultaneously at many spots in a very non homogeneous mixture at a rate
controlled by fuel injection.
5.5 Combustion in CI Engines
• Air intake into the engine is unthrottled, with engine torque and power
output controlled by the amount of fuel injected per cycle.
• Because the incoming air is not throttled, pressure in the intake manifold
is consistently at a value close to one atmosphere.
• Fuel is injected into the cylinders late in the compression stroke by one or
more injectors located in each cylinder combustion chamber .
• Injection time is usually about 20° of crankshaft rotation, starting at about
15° bTDC and ending about 5° aTDC.
• Ignition delay is fairly constant in real time, so at higher engine speeds
fuel injection must be started slightly earlier in the cycle.

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5.5 Combustion in CI Engines

Fuel jet of a CI engine showing air-fuel vapor zones around the inner liquid core.
The liquid core is surrounded by successive zones of vapor that are
(A) too rich to burn,
(B) rich combustible,
(C) stoichiometric,
(D) lean combustible, and
(E) too lean to burn. Self-ignition starts mainly in zone B. Solid carbon soot is generated
mostly in zones A and B.
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Cylinder pressure as a function of crank angle for a CI engine.

Point A is where fuel injection starts,
Point B is ignition delay,
point C is the end of fuel injection. If the cetane number of the fuel is too low, a greater amount of
fuel will be injected during ignition delay time. When combustion then starts, the additional fuel will
cause the pressure at point B to increase to fast, resulting in a rough engine cycle.
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After injection, the fuel must go through the following series of events to assure
the proper combustion process:
1. Atomization
Fuel drops break into very small droplets. The smaller the original drop size emitted by the
injector, the quicker and more efficient will be this atomization process
2. Vaporization 5.5 Combustion in CI Engines
The small droplets of liquid fuel evaporate to vapor. This occurs very quickly due to the hot air
temperatures created by the high compression of CI engines.. About 90% of the fuel injected
into the cylinder has been vaporized within 0.001 seconds after injection.

3. Mixing
After vaporization, the fuel vapor must mix with air to form a mixture within the AF range that
is combustible. This mixing comes about because of the high fuel injection velocity added to
the swirl and turbulence in the cylinder air Combustion can occur within the equivalence ratio
limits of = 1.8 (rich) and = 0.8 (lean).

4. Self-Ignition
At about 8° bTDC, 6-8° after the start of injection, the air-fuel mixture starts to self-ignite.
Actual combustion is preceded by secondary reactions, including breakdown of large
hydrocarbon molecules into smaller species and some oxidation. These reactions, are
exothermic and further raise the air temperature in the immediate local vicinity.

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5. Combustion
Combustion starts from self-ignition simultaneously at many locations in the slightly rich
zone of the fuel jet, where the equivalence ratio is = 1 to 1.5 (zone B)
• At this time, somewhere between 70% and 95% of the fuel in the combustion chamber is in the
vapor state.
5.5 Combustion in CI Engines
•When combustion starts, multiple flame fronts spreading from the many self-ignition sites
quickly consume all the gas mixture that is in a correct combustible air-fuel ratio, even where self-
ignition wouldn't occur.
•Liquid fuel is still being injected into the cylinder after the first fuel is already burning. After the
initial start of combustion, when all the air-fuel mixture that is in a combustible state is quickly
consumed, the rest of the combustion process is controlled by the rate at which fuel can be
injected, atomized, vaporized, and mixed into the proper AF.
•This rate of combustion, now controlled by injection rate. Combustion lasts for about 40° to 50°
of engine rotation, much longer than the 20° of fuel injection. This is because some fuel particles
take a long time to mix into a combustible mixture with the air, and combustion therefore lasts well
into the power stroke.
•About 60% of the fuel is burned in the first third of combustion time. Burning rate increases with
engine speed, so the burn angle remains about constant. During the main part of the combustion
process, anywhere from 10% to 35% of the fuel vapor in the cylinder will be in a combustible AF..
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Fuel Injection
• The nozzle diameter of a typical fuel injector is 0.2-1.0 mm. An injector may have
one nozzle or several.
•The velocity of liquid
5.5 fuel leavinginaCInozzle
Combustion Enginesis usually about 100 to 200 m/sec.
This is quickly reduced by viscous drag, evaporation, and combustion chamber swirl.
•The vapor jet extends past the liquid jet and, ideally, just reaches the far walls of
the combustion chambers.
• Evaporation occurs on the outside of the fuel jet while the center remains liquid.
• Liquid drop diameter size leaving the injector is on the order of 10"5 m (10-2 mm)
and smaller,
•Factors that affect droplet size include pressure differential across the nozzle,
nozzle size and geometry.
•Higher nozzle pressure differentials produce smaller droplets.

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Ignition Delay and Cetane Number

Ignition delay(ID) is the time between the start of fuel injection into the combustion
chamber and the start of combustion, , ignition delay in range of 0.4 to 3 msec
(0.0004 to 0.003 sec).
•An increase in 5.5 Combustion
temperature, in CI Engines
pressure, engine speed, or compression ratio
will decrease ignition delay time. Fuel droplet size, injection velocity, injection
rate, and physical characteristics of the fuel seem to have little or no effect on
ignition delay time.
•At higher engine speeds, turbulence is increased, wall temperature is higher,
and ignition delay is decreased in real time. However, ID is almost constant in
cycle time, which results in a fairly constant crankshaft angle position for the
combustion process at all speeds.
•If injection occurs too early, ignition delay time will increase because
temperature and pressure will be lower.
•If injection occurs late, the piston will move past TDC, pressure and
temperature will decrease, and again ignition delay time will increase.
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Cetane Number
Cetane number(CN) is a measure of ignition delay and must be matched to a given
engine cycle and injection process.

•If the cetane number is low, ignition delay will be too long, and a more-than-
desirable amount5.5of Combustion
fuel will beininjected into the cylinder before combustion
CI Engines
starts. Then, when combustion does start, a greater amount of fuel will be
quickly consumed, and the initial cylinder pressure rise will be greater. This
causes a very large initial force to be applied to the piston face and a rough
engine cycle.
• If the cetane number is high, combustion will start too early before TDC, with
a resulting loss in engine power.
•Normal cetane numbers of commonly used fuels are in the range of 40-60. In
this range, ignition delay time is inversely proportional to cetane number.

ID  1/CN
•Cetane number can be changed by blending small amounts of certain
additives to the fuel. Additives that accelerate ignition include nitrites, nitrates,
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Soot
The flame in a CI engine is highly nonuniform.
• When self-ignition occurs, the flame will quickly engulf all parts of the
combustion chamber that have an air-fuel mixture in a combustible ratio.
5.5equivalence
•Mixtures with an Combustion ratio
in CI Engines
in the range of 0.8 to 1.5 will be in a lean
mixture, some will be at or close to stoichiometric, and some will be in a rich
mixture.
•In the combustion zone, where the mixture is rich, there is not enough oxygen
to from stoichiometric CO2. Instead, some carbon monoxide and some solid
carbon will be formed in the reaction products, yielding.

Where X=b+c+d
A = b + c/2 + e/2
e = y/2

These solid carbon particles are the black smoke seen in the exhaust of large
trucks and railroad locomotives.
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Cold-Weather Problems
Starting a cold CI engine can be very difficult. The air and fuel are cold, so fuel
evaporation is very slow and ignition delay time is lengthened.
To overcome this problem,
• A glow plug is used when starting CI engines. A glow plug is a simple resistance
heater connected 5.5to a Combustion
battery with in
theCI heated
Enginessurface located within the combustion
chamber of the engine. For a short time, 10-15 seconds, before starting the engine, the
glow plug is turned on and the resistor becomes red hot. Now, when the engine is started,
combustion in the first few cycles is not ignited by compressive heating, but by surface
ignition off the glow plug. After just a few cycles, the cylinder walls and lubricant are
warmed enough and more normal operation of the engine is possible.
•Another cold-weather method used to aid starting on some engines is an electrically
heated intake manifold that heats the air entering the cylinders. Due to their larger wall
surface area, engines with divided combustion chambers have a greater heat loss
problem than those with single open chambers and are generally more difficult to start.
•For very large CI engines, an electric motor powered from a battery is used. Instead, a
small internal combustion engine can be used as the starting motor for the larger
engine. This pony engine, usually having two or four cylinders, is first started and then
used to turn over the large engine by engaging it to the flywheel of the large engine. The
pony engine is then disengaged when the large engine is started.
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5.6 Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition—HCCI

Recent development work has been done on engines, using a new
combustion philosophy for CI engines.
•These engines add fuel with the input air much as an SI engine
does.
•This results in an almost homogeneous air-fuel mixture filling the
combustion chamber before combustion.
•Compression ignition is still used, but the resulting combustion is
a combination of diffusion flame combustion and homogeneous
mixture combustion.
•Some fuel is added with intake port injectors, while ignition occurs
from normal CI injection. The engine can operate on dual fuel, with
the homogeneous charge of fuel filling the combustion chamber being
one fuel (e.g., natural gas, methanol) and diesel fuel supplying
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5.7 Variable Compression Ratio

Combustion characteristics in an engine depend on many parameters, air-fuel

ratio and compression ratio being two important ones.
•Saab Motor Company introduced an experimental engine with a unique, very
promising design, which allows changing the compression ratio as the engine is
running.
• This engine has an engine block horizontally split at the center. The upper half of
the block, called the monohead, contains the cylinders cast as a single unit with
the head. The lower half contains the crankcase, crankshaft, and connected
pistons. The two halves of the engine are can be moved to changes the size of the
clearance volume of the cylinders and thus changes the compression ratio.
•A small displacement engine is generally overall more efficient than a large
displacement engine. At heavy load, a large engine can run efficiently, but at light
load the throttle is closed, and these results in a large negative work pumping loop.
• A small displacement engine will run efficiently at open throttle when less power
is needed, but then must be able to supply more power when that is needed.
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• Another engine system with the capability of changing compression ratio

as the engine is running. This system can modify, changing the stroke
length and thus changing the compression ratio. In addition, this system can
modify piston motion and give an elliptical path to the large end of the
connecting rod. This causes the piston to slow down immediately after
ignition, resulting in combustion being closer to constant volume, the most
efficient form of combustion. It is claimed that this system can be used with
four-stroke or two-stroke cycles, SI or CI engines, with or without
supercharging, and with variable valve timing.
• A third method of changing the compression ratio of a running engine is
to use an Alvar cycle engine. This is an engine that uses small secondary
pistons that reciprocate in secondary chambers which are housed in the
cylinder head and connected to the primary combustion chambers. By
phasing the motion of the secondary pistons relative to the motion of the
primary pistons, the displacement and the compression ratio of the cylinders
can be changed. This can be done with a movable idler pulley in the belt drive
of the secondary pistons.

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