MOTOR VEHICLE MECHANICS,MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE

II Engine system
Objective (theory)

By the end of the sub module unit the trainee should be able to;

 Explain the operating principles of various types of vehicle engines.

 Describe the engine components.
 Describe various engine valve arrangements and their limitations.
 Describe the types of combustion chambers.
 Examine engine balancing.

Introduction

Engines can be classified into two categories; external combustion engines and internal
combustion engines.

External combustion engines - It refers to those engines in which combustion takes place
outside of the engine e.g. steam engines.

Internal combustion engine - It refers to those engines in which combustion takes place
inside the engine e. g petrol and diesel engines.

Modern vehicles use internal combustion. With regard of their construction and operation,
these engines can be classified into three types;

1. Piston type
2. Turbine type
3. Rotary type
Piston engine

The reciprocating piston engine is the most popular engine used in modern vehicles.
It contains piston reciprocating inside the cylinder for development of power. The
pistons are connected to a crankshaft by means of connecting rods.

Classification of reciprocating piston engines

Piston engines can be classified in the following ways;

I. Type of fuel used

Fuel used can either be petrol or diesel hence having petrol engine and diesel
engine.

II. The engine position / location

Engine can be positioned in any of the following locations; front, centre and rear
thus having front engine, central engine and rear engine.

III. Engine layout / arrangement

This refers to the shape and design of the engine block. An engine block can be
inline, V – shape and horizontal opposed hence having in – line engine, V – engine
and horizontally opposed engine.

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IV. Arrangement of cylinders

Cylinders are arranged as per the engine block shape and design. These are in - line,
v – shape and horizontal opposed.

V Methods of ignition / power generation

There are two methods of power generation; spark ignition and compression
ignition thus spark ignition engine and compression ignition engine.

VI Number of strokes per cycle

Engines are classified as four stroke and two stroke. In four stroke engine all the
events of a cycle are completed in four strokes of the piston while in two stroke
engines all the events of the cycle are completed in two strokes of the piston.

VII Number of cylinders

An engine can have one cylinder or several cylinders. Those with one cylinder are

Single cylinder engines while those with many cylinders are called multi – cylinder

Engines. The number of cylinders can also be used to classify e. g 4 cylinder engine

3 cylinder engine, 8 cylinder engine etc.

VIII Type of cooling system

These are the air cooling and water cooling, thus air cooled engine and water
cooled engine.

IX Arrangement of valves

Valves can be arranged in the following ways;

 Overhead – valve (OHV)

 Overhead – camshaft (OHC)
 Double overhead – camshaft (DOHC)

X Type of combustion chamber

These are direct injection combustion chamber and indirect injection

combustion chamber hence having direct injection engine and indirect injection
engine.

Engine performance terminologies

 Top Dead Centre (TDC) – It is the piston position when the piston has
reached the upper limit of its travel in the cylinder and the centre line of the
connecting rod is parallel to the cylinder walls.
 Bottom Dead Centre (BDC) – It is the piston position at the lower limit of its
travel in the cylinder when the cylinder volume is at its maximum.

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  Stroke – It is a single movement of the piston from BDC to TDC or from TDC
to BDC.
 Bore – It is the diameter of each cylinder in an engine.
 Capacity – It is the maximum intake at full load.

Engine operating principles

The operation of an engine is classified according to the method of ignition and
the number of strokes per cycle. The difference between spark ignition and
compression ignition is;

 Type of fuel used.

 The way the fuel gets into the engine cylinders.
 The way the fuel is ignited

SPARK IGNITION ENGINE

It uses highly volatile fuel which turns into vapour easily. The fuel is mixed
with air before it enters the engine cylinders. It turns into a vapour and mixes with the air to
form a combustible air- fuel mixture. The mixture enters the cylinders and is compressed.
An electric spark produced by the ignition system sets fire to ignite the compressed air- fuel
mixture.

Operation

 Four stroke

It involves four movements of the piston;

 From top dead centre to bottom dead centre

 From bottom dead centre to top dead centre
 From top dead centre to bottom dead centre
 From bottom dead centre to top dead centre

The whole cycle of events takes place during the four movements of the piston. This
movement can also be referred as strokes. A four stroke spark ignition engine has four
complete cycles. These are;
 Intake/ induction stroke
 Compression stroke
 Power stroke
 Exhaust stroke

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 Intake/ induction stroke

The piston moves down the cylinder with the intake port open and exhaust port closed, filling the
cylinder with a mixture of petrol and air vapour usually called charge. The charge is supplied by the
carburettor to the cylinder through the induction manifold inlet port and intake valve. The charge is
normally sacked into the cylinder due to the suction created when the piston moves from TDC to
BDC; this is referred as natural aspiration.

Compression stroke

Piston moves up with both ports/ valves closed. The charge is compressed to the top and
high temperatures created. Due to compression the charge can easily ignite.

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 Power stroke

When the piston reaches nearly about TDC during the compression process, ignition
is introduced by means of a spark produced by the spark plug. The ignition results
into the combustion of the mixture hence power is developed. The mixture burns
very rapidly heating the gas in the cylinder to high temperatures and pressure. The
pressure forces the piston down the cylinder both ports remaining closed. This force
is imparted to the crankshaft thus power is generated.

Exhaust stroke

The piston moves up again from BDC to TDC opening the exhaust port/ valve. This
releases the burnt gases out of the cylinder by expelling them. At the end of the stroke, the exhaust
port closes and the inlet re – opens for the next induction stroke.

COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINE

It uses diesel. Air alone is taken into the cylinders of the diesel engine. The air is
compressed until its temperature goes up to or higher. Diesel engine fuel is

injected (sprayed) into the cylinders. The hot air or heat of compression ignites the fuel.
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Operation

 Four stroke

Its operation is similar to the four stroke petrol cycle i e induction, compression,
power and exhaust.

Induction stroke

The descending piston increases the cylinder volume and decreases the pressure.
Atmospheric pressure forces air through the open inlet port into the cylinder.

Compression stroke

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Both valves are closed and so the ascending piston compresses and raises the
temperature of the air.

Power stroke

Just before TDC fuel having a self – ignition temperature is injected into the cylinder
at a high pressure. The fuel begins to burn and liberates heat which raises the
pressure providing the thrust necessary for the power stroke.

Exhaust stroke

As the piston nears the end of the power stroke, the exhaust port is opened. The
ascending piston pumps out the burnt gas in readiness of the new cycle.

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Engine components

The engine is made of stationary and moving parts.

Stationary parts

The stationary parts include; cylinder block, cylinder liners, cylinder head, head gasket and sump.

Cylinder block

It is the foundation of the engine and all other parts can be either attached or assembled to it. It has
large holes known as cylinder bores and water jackets for coolant passages. Cylinder block provides
mountings for the crankshaft and camshaft (for some engines).

Most blocks are cast from cast iron mixed with other metals e g Nickel and Chromium. Other blocks
are cast from Aluminium alloy.

Cylinder liners

Cylinder block contains one or more cylinder liners in which the piston is located and guides the
movement of the piston. Individual liners must be kept rigidly in space when the engine is assembled
to prevent coolant from leaking out.

Types of liners

 Wet liner – The liner is in direct contact with the coolant i e cooling water directly touches
the outer wall of the liner.
 Dry liner – The liner is placed directly to the engine block thus cooling water does not
directly touch the outer wall of the cylinder.

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Cylinder head

It seals the working end of the cylinder block and forms the top of combustion chamber. Some heads
are recessed to form combustion chamber and others are left flat. The inlet and exhaust ports
together with inlet and outlet valves are located at the head. The head is also machined to take
various parts that are attached/ installed to it. Cylinder head is casted from cast iron or aluminium
alloy.

Head gasket

The head gasket forms a gas, water and oil tight seal between the cylinder head and block. Water
passages, oil feeds and returns, and studs for bolt holes are cut through the gasket.

Sump

It holds engine oil and is shaped to fit the bottom of the cylinder block. A gasket is installed between
the sump and the block to seal the joint and prevent oil leaks. It is made of plastic or metal.

Moving parts

The moving parts are; flywheel, crankshaft, camshaft, piston, connecting rods and valves.

Crankshaft

It is similar to a crank in a bicycle which converts reciprocating motion to rotary motion. A crankshaft
converts a pushing effort to a turning force (torque).

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The crankshaft pattern depends on various factors;

 Number of cylinders
 Number of main bearings
 Length of stroke
 Arrangement of cylinders
 Firing order

Example - In a four cylinder in – line engine, all the crank throws are in a single plane whereas on a
six cylinder in – line engine they are offset at 120 degree intervals.

Construction

Main journal – Main journals are arranged along the centre line of the crankshaft, they are used to
install/ support the crankshaft in the cylinder block.

N/B Journals are parts supported to the crankshaft by means of bearings, and journals are the part
of the shaft rotating inside a bearing.

Crankpin journal – It is the part of the crankshaft to which the connecting rod is attached.

Crank radius – It is the offset from the main journal to the crank pin.

Web – It holds the crankpin journal( big end journal) and the main journal together.Webs may
incorporate counter balance weights. Counter weight improves balance of the crankshaft during
engine running.

Fillet radius – This radius is provided to avoid a sharp corner which may creat a weak spot due to
stress concentration.

Crankshaft throw – It describes how far the centre of the big end journal is offset from the centre of
the crankshaft main journal.

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Piston

The purpose of the piston is to receive the pressure created by the combustion process and transmit
that presure (force) to the crankshaft via the connecting rod.

Piston requirements

 Must carry piston rings to form a gas – tight and oil – tight seal in the cylinder.
 Must move freely with minimum friction.
 Must be as light as possible.
 Must be strong enough to cope with the high heat and pressure created during combustion
for long periods of time.

N/ B Pistons are made from aluminium alloy as these are light in weight and radiate heat more
efficiently.

Piston features

Crown – It is the top of the piston. Crown must be strong to cope with pressure and heat. A crown
may be flat, domed or recessed depending on the design of combustion chamber. There may be
recesses in the crown to accommodate the valve heads.

Rings – At the ring belt there are least two compression rings to seal against gas pressure leaking
into the crankcase and at least one oil control ring to prevent oil from rising up the piston into the
combustion chamber.

Skirt – It is the lowest part of the piston. Skirt should fit nicely inside the cylinder and yet allow
pistons to move freely to prevent piston slap (noise caused by excessive clearance).

Gudgeon pin bosses – They are built in the piston skirt. They provide swivel connection at the little
end of the connecting rod. Bosses are made from a steel forging in form of an H section to give them
strength.
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Piston rings

Since clearance is necessary between the piston and the cylinder walls, a gas – tight seal is not
possible. The purpose of the piston rings is to;

 Act as a gas seal

 Provide a path to help conduct the heat of combustion from the piston into the cylinder
walls and so into the coolant.
 Control the amount of oil on the cylinder walls to prevent any excess from entering the
combustion chambers.
Pistons are made from fine – grain cast iron with excellent wear qualities. A gap is necessary for
assembly and removal, and also to allow the ring to give a uniform radial pressure.

The oil control rings are mounted below the compression rings.

Connecting rod

It links the piston to the crankshaft enabling reciprocating motion to be converted into rotary
torque.

Piston pin/ gudgeon

It connects the piston and the small end of the connecting rod. Gudgeon pins are hollow inside to
reduce overall weight and are supported at both ends by gudgeon pin bosses.

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Flywheel

It is a cast iron disc attached to the rear end of the crankshaft. Its main purpose is to keep the engine
turning smoothly at idling speed and provide the face on which the clutch is mounted. It has the
starter motor ring gear attached to its outer edge.

Camshaft

It is driven by the crankshaft and operates the valve mechanism that opens and closes the inlet and
exhaust valves. The camshaft may also operate such other components as; fuel pump, ignition
distributor, oil pump e t c.

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