internal-combustion engine: Definition from Answers.com

internal-combustion engine, one in which combustion of the fuel takes place in a confined space, producing expanding gases that are used directly to provide mechanical power. Such engines are classified as reciprocating or rotary, spark ignition or compression ignition, and two-stroke or four-stroke; the most familiar combination, used from automobiles to lawn mowers, is the reciprocating, spark-ignited, four-stroke gasoline engine. Other types of internal-combustion engines include the reaction engine (see jet propulsion, rocket), and the gas turbine. Engines are rated by their maximum horsepower, which is usually reached a little below the speed at which undue mechanical stresses are developed.

Reciprocating Engines

The most common internal-combustion engine is the piston-type gasoline engine used in most automobiles. The confined space in which combustion occurs is called a cylinder. The cylinders are now usually arranged in one of four ways: a single row with the centerlines of the cylinders vertical (in-line engine); a double row with the centerlines of opposite cylinders converging in a V (V-engine); a double zigzag row somewhat similar to that of the V-engine but with alternate pairs of opposite cylinders converging in two Vs (W-engine); or two horizontal, opposed rows (opposed, pancake, flat, or boxer engine). In each cylinder a piston slides up and down. One end of a connecting rod is attached to the bottom of the piston by a joint; the other end of the rod clamps around a bearing on one of the throws, or convolutions, of a crankshaft; the reciprocating (up-and-down) motions of the piston rotate the crankshaft, which is connected by suitable gearing to the drive wheels of the automobile. The number of crankshaft revolutions per minute is called the engine speed. The top of the cylinder is closed by a metal cover (called the head) bolted onto it. Into a threaded aperture in the head is screwed the spark plug, which provides ignition.

Two other openings in the cylinder are called ports. The intake port admits the air-gasoline mixture; the exhaust port lets out the products of combustion. A mushroom-shaped valve is held tightly over each port by a coil spring, and a camshaft rotating at one-half engine speed opens the valves in correct sequence. A pipe runs from each intake port to a carburetor or injector, the pipes from all the cylinders joining to form a manifold; a similar manifold connects the exhaust ports with an exhaust pipe and noise muffler. A carburetor or fuel injector mixes air with gasoline in proportions of weight varying from 11 to 1 at the richest to a little over 16 to 1 at the leanest. The composition of the mixture is regulated by the throttle, an air valve in the intake manifold that varies the flow of fuel to the combustion chambers of the cylinders. The mixture is rich at idling speed (closed throttle) and at high speeds (wide-open throttle), and is lean at medium and slow speeds (partly open throttle).

The other main type of reciprocating engine is the diesel engine, invented by Rudolf Diesel and patented in 1892. The diesel uses the heat produced by compression rather than the spark from a plug to ignite an injected mixture of air and diesel fuel (a heavier petroleum oil) instead of gasoline. Diesel engines are heavier than gasoline engines because of the extra strength required to contain the higher temperatures and compression ratios. Diesel engines are most widely used where large amounts of power are required: heavy trucks, locomotives, and ships.

Rotary Engines

The most successful rotary engine is the Wankel engine. Developed by the German engineer Felix Wankel in 1956, it has a disk that looks like a triangle with bulging sides rotating inside a cylinder shaped like a figure eight with a thick waist. Intake and exhaust are through ports in the flat sides of the cylinder. The spaces between the sides of the disk and the walls of the cylinder form combustion pockets. During a single rotation of the disk each pocket alternately grows smaller, then larger, because of the contoured outline of the cylinder. This provides for compression and expansion. The engine runs on a four-stroke cycle.

The Wankel engine has 48% fewer parts and about a third the bulk and weight of a reciprocating engine. Its main advantage is that advanced pollution control devices are easier to design for it than for the conventional piston engine. Another advantage is that higher engine speeds are made possible by rotating instead of reciprocating motion, but this advantage is partially offset by the lack of torque at low speeds, leading to greater fuel consumption.

Engine Operation

The Four-Stroke Cycle

In most engines a single cycle of operation (intake, compression, power, and exhaust) takes place over four strokes of a piston, made in two engine revolutions. When an engine has more than one cylinder the cycles are evenly staggered for smooth operation, but each cylinder will go through a full cycle in any two engine revolutions. When the piston is at the top of the cylinder at the beginning of the intake stroke, the intake valve opens and the descending piston draws in the air-fuel mixture.

At the bottom of the stroke the intake valve closes and the piston starts upward on the compression stroke, during which it squeezes the air-fuel mixture into a small space at the top of the cylinder. The ratio of the volume of the cylinder when the piston is at the bottom to the volume when the piston is at the top is called the compression ratio. The higher the compression ratio, the more powerful the engine and the higher its efficiency. However, in order to accommodate air pollution control devices, manufacturers have had to lower compression ratios.

Just before the piston reaches the top again, the spark plug fires, igniting the air-fuel mixture (alternatively, the heat of compression ignites the mixture). The mixture on burning becomes a hot, expanding gas forcing the piston down on its power stroke. Burning should be smooth and controlled. Faster, uncontrolled burning sometimes occurs when hot spots in the cylinder preignite the mixture; these explosions are called engine knock and cause loss of power. As the piston reaches the bottom, the exhaust valve opens, allowing the piston to force the combustion products-mainly carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned hydrocarbons-out of the cylinder during the upward exhaust stroke.

The Two-Stroke Cycle

The two-stroke engine is simpler mechanically than the four-stroke engine. The two-stroke engine delivers one power stroke every two strokes instead of one every four; thus it develops more power with the same displacement, or can be lighter and yet deliver the same power. For this reason it is used in lawn mowers, chain saws, small automobiles, motorcycles, and outboard marine engines.

However, there are several disadvantages that restrict its use. Since there are twice as many power strokes during the operation of a two-stroke engine as there are during the operation of a four-stroke engine, the engine tends to heat up more, and thus is likely to have a shorter life. Also, in the two-stroke engine lubricating oil must be mixed with the fuel. This causes a very high level of hydrocarbons in its exhaust, unless the fuel-air mixture is computer calculated to maximize combustion. A highly efficient, pollution-free two-stroke automobile engine is currently being developed by Orbital Engineering, under arrangements with all the U.S. auto makers.

Cooling and Lubrication of Engines

Most small two-stroke engines are air-cooled. Air flows over cooling fins around the outside of the cylinder and head, either by the natural motion of the vehicle or from a fan. Many aircraft four-stroke engines are also air-cooled; larger engines have the cylinders arranged radially so that all cylinders are directly in the airstream. Most four-stroke engines, however, are water-cooled. A water jacket encloses the cylinders; a water pump forces water through the jacket, where it draws heat from the engine. Next, the water flows into a radiator where the heat is given off to the air; it then moves back into the jacket to repeat the cycle. During warm-up a thermostatic valve keeps water from passing to the radiator until optimum operating temperatures are attained.

Four-stroke engines are lubricated by oil from a separate oil reservoir, either in the crankcase, which is a pan attached to the underside of the engine, or in an external tank. In an automobile engine a gear pump delivers the oil at low pressure to the bearings. Some bearings may depend on oil splashed from the bottom of the crankcase by the turning crankshaft. In a two-stroke engine the lubricating oil is mixed with the fuel.

Environmental Considerations in Engine Design

In order to meet U.S. government restrictions on exhaust emissions, automobile manufacturers have had to make various modifications in the operation of their engines. For example, to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides, one modification involves sending a certain proportion of the exhaust gases back into the air-gasoline mixture going into the engine. This cuts peak temperatures during combustion, lessening the amount of nitrogen oxides produced. In the stratified charge piston engine two separate air-fuel mixtures are injected into the engine. A small, rich mixture that is easily ignited is used to ignite an exceptionally lean mixture that drives the piston. This results in much more efficient burning of the gasoline, further reducing emissions. Another device, the catalytic converter, is connected to the exhaust pipe; exhaust gases travel over bars or pellets coated with certain metals that promote chemical reactions, reducing nitrogen oxide and burning hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.

For many years engine knock (rapid uncontrolled burning that sometimes occurs when hot spots in the cylinder preignite the mixture causing loss of power) was fought through the introduction of lead into gasoline. However, concern over air pollution and lead's destructive effect on catalytic converters forced its removal. The state of California, with the worst air pollution in the United States, has instituted a series of measures designed to reduce automobile emissions; these include special gasolines, different air-gas mixtures, and higher compression ratios. All cars, trucks, and gasolines sold in California must comply with these regulations.

Evolution of the Internal-Combustion Engine

The first person to experiment with an internal-combustion engine was the Dutch physicist Christian Huygens, about 1680. But no effective gasoline-powered engine was developed until 1859, when the French engineer J. J. Étienne Lenoir built a double-acting, spark-ignition engine that could be operated continuously. In 1862 Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French scientist, patented but did not build a four-stroke engine; sixteen years later, when Nikolaus A. Otto built a successful four-stroke engine, it became known as the "Otto cycle." The first successful two-stroke engine was completed in the same year by Sir Dougald Clerk, in a form which (simplified somewhat by Joseph Day in 1891) remains in use today. George Brayton, an American engineer, had developed a two-stroke kerosene engine in 1873, but it was too large and too slow to be commercially successful.

In 1885 Gottlieb Daimler constructed what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine: small and fast, with a vertical cylinder, it used gasoline injected through a carburetor. In 1889 Daimler introduced a four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two cylinders arranged in a V, having a much higher power-to-weight ratio; with the exception of electric starting, which would not be introduced until 1924, most modern gasoline engines are descended from Daimler's engines.

Bibliography

See E. F. Obert, Internal Combustion Engine (1950); C. F. Taylor and E. S. Taylor, The Internal Combustion Engine (1984); and J. B. Heywood, Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals (1988).

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel (normally a fossil fuel) occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine. This force is applied typically to pistons, turbine blades, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into useful mechanical energy. The first internal combustion engine was created by Étienne Lenoir.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

The term internal combustion engine usually refers to an engine in which combustion is intermittent, such as the more familiar four-stroke and two-stroke piston engines, along with variants, such as the six-stroke piston engine and the Wankel rotary engine. A second class of internal combustion engines use continuous combustion: gas turbines, jet engines and most rocket engines, each of which are internal combustion engines on the same principle as previously described.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Animation of two-stroke engine in operation

The internal combustion engine (or ICE) is quite different from external combustion engines, such as steam or Stirling engines, in which the energy is delivered to a working fluid not consisting of, mixed with, or contaminated by combustion products. Working fluids can be air, hot water, pressurized water or even liquid sodium, heated in some kind of boiler.

A large number of different designs for ICEs have been developed and built, with a variety of different strengths and weaknesses. Powered by an energy-dense fuel (which is very frequently gasoline, a liquid derived from fossil fuels). While there have been and still are many stationary applications, the real strength of internal combustion engines is in mobile applications and they dominate as a power supply for cars, aircraft, and boats.

An automobile engine partly opened and colored to show components.

Applications

A 1906 gasoline engine

Internal combustion engines are most commonly used for mobile propulsion in vehicles and portable machinery. In mobile equipment, internal combustion is advantageous since it can provide high power-to-weight ratios together with excellent fuel energy density. Generally using fossil fuel (mainly petroleum), these engines have appeared in transport in almost all vehicles (automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and in a wide variety of aircraft and locomotives).

Where very high power-to-weight ratios are required, internal combustion engines appear in the form of gas turbines. These applications include jet aircraft, helicopters, large ships and electric generators.

History

Main article: History of the internal combustion engine

Nomenclature

At one time, the word, "Engine" (from Latin, via Old French, ingenium, "ability") meant any piece of machinery—a sense that persists in expressions such as siege engine. A "motor" (from Latin motor, "mover") is any machine that produces mechanical power. Traditionally, electric motors are not referred to as "Engines"; however, combustion engines are often referred to as "motors." (An electric engine refers to a locomotive operated by electricity.)

Types of internal combustion engine

Engines can be classified in many different ways: By the engine cycle used, the layout of the engine, source of energy, the use of the engine, or by the cooling system employed.

Engine configurations

Internal combustion engines can be classified by their configuration.

Common layouts of engines are:

Reciprocating:

Rotary:

Wankel engine

Continuous combustion:

Gas turbine
Jet engine (including turbojet, turbofan, ramjet, Rocket, etc.)

Operation

Four-stroke cycle (or Otto cycle)
1. Intake
2. Compression
3. Power
4. Exhaust

As their name implies, four-stroke internal combustion engines have four basic steps that repeat with every two revolutions of the engine:

(1) Intake stroke (2) Compression stroke (3) Power stroke and (4) Exhaust stroke

1. Intake stroke: The first stroke of the internal combustion engine is also known as the suction stroke because the piston moves to the maximum volume position (downward direction in the cylinder). The inlet valve opens as a result of piston movement, and the vaporized fuel mixture enters the combustion chamber. The inlet valve closes at the end of this stroke.

2. Compression stroke: In this stroke, both valves are closed and the piston starts its movement to the minimum volume position (upward direction in the cylinder) and compresses the fuel mixture. During the compression process, pressure, temperature and the density of the fuel mixture increases.

3. Power stroke: When the piston reaches the minimum volume position, the spark plug ignites the fuel mixture and burns. The fuel produces power that is transmitted to the crank shaft mechanism.

4. Exhaust stroke: In the end of the power stroke, the exhaust valve opens. During this stroke, the piston starts its movement in the minimum volume position. The open exhaust valve allows the exhaust gases to escape the cylinder. At the end of this stroke, the exhaust valve closes, the inlet valve opens, and the sequence repeats in the next cycle. Four-stroke engines require two revolutions.

Many engines overlap these steps in time; jet engines do all steps simultaneously at different parts of the engines.

Combustion

All internal combustion engines depend on the combustion of a chemical fuel, typically with oxygen from the air (though it is possible to inject nitrous oxide in order to do more of the same thing and gain a power boost). The combustion process typically results in the production of a great quantity of heat, as well as the production of steam and carbon dioxide and other chemicals at very high temperature; the temperature reached is determined by the chemical make up of the fuel and oxidisers (see stoichiometry), as well as by the compression and other factors.

The most common modern fuels are made up of hydrocarbons and are derived mostly from fossil fuels (petroleum). Fossil fuels include diesel fuel, gasoline and petroleum gas, and the rarer use of propane. Except for the fuel delivery components, most internal combustion engines that are designed for gasoline use can run on natural gas or liquefied petroleum gases without major modifications. Large diesels can run with air mixed with gases and a pilot diesel fuel ignition injection. Liquid and gaseous biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel (a form of diesel fuel that is produced from crops that yield triglycerides such as soybean oil), can also be used. Engines with appropriate modifications can also run on hydrogen gas, wood gas, or charcoal gas, as well as from so-called producer gas made from other convenient biomass. Recently, experiments have been made with using powdered solid fuels, such as the magnesium injection cycle.

Internal combustion engines require ignition of the mixture, either by spark ignition (SI) or compression ignition (CI). Before the invention of reliable electrical methods, hot tube and flame methods were used. Experimental engines with laser ignition have been built.^[5]

Gasoline Ignition Process

Gasoline engine ignition systems generally rely on a combination of a lead–acid battery and an induction coil to provide a high-voltage electric spark to ignite the air-fuel mix in the engine's cylinders. This battery is recharged during operation using an electricity-generating device such as an alternator or generator driven by the engine. Gasoline engines take in a mixture of air and gasoline and compress it to not more than 12.8 bar (1.28 MPa), then use a spark plug to ignite the mixture when it is compressed by the piston head in each cylinder.

Diesel Ignition Process

Diesel engines and HCCI (Homogeneous charge compression ignition) engines, rely solely on heat and pressure created by the engine in its compression process for ignition. The compression level that occurs is usually twice or more than a gasoline engine. Diesel engines will take in air only, and shortly before peak compression, a small quantity of diesel fuel is sprayed into the cylinder via a fuel injector that allows the fuel to instantly ignite. HCCI type engines will take in both air and fuel but continue to rely on an unaided auto-combustion process, due to higher pressures and heat. This is also why diesel and HCCI engines are more susceptible to cold-starting issues, although they will run just as well in cold weather once started. Light duty diesel engines with indirect injection in automobiles and light trucks employ glowplugs that pre-heat the combustion chamber just before starting to reduce no-start conditions in cold weather. Most diesels also have a battery and charging system; nevertheless, this system is secondary and is added by manufacturers as a luxury for the ease of starting, turning fuel on and off (which can also be done via a switch or mechanical apparatus), and for running auxiliary electrical components and accessories. Most new engines rely on electrical and electronic engine control units (ECU) that also adjust the combustion process to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.

Two-stroke configuration

Main article: Two-stroke engine

Engines based on the two-stroke cycle use two strokes (one up, one down) for every power stroke. Since there are no dedicated intake or exhaust strokes, alternative methods must be used to scavenge the cylinders. The most common method in spark-ignition two-strokes is to use the downward motion of the piston to pressurize fresh charge in the crankcase, which is then blown through the cylinder through ports in the cylinder walls.

Spark-ignition two-strokes are small and light for their power output and mechanically very simple; however, they are also generally less efficient and more polluting than their four-stroke counterparts. In terms of power per cm³, a two-stroke engine produces comparable power to an equivalent four-stroke engine. The advantage of having one power stroke for every 360° of crankshaft rotation (compared to 720° in a 4-stroke motor) is balanced by the less complete intake and exhaust and the shorter effective compression and power strokes. It may be possible for a two-stroke to produce more power than an equivalent four-stroke, over a narrow range of engine speeds, at the expense of less power at other speeds.

Small displacement, crankcase-scavenged two-stroke engines have been less fuel-efficient than other types of engines when the fuel is mixed with the air prior to scavenging allowing some of it to escape out of the exhaust port. Modern designs (Sarich and Paggio) use air-assisted fuel injection which avoids this loss, and are more efficient than comparably sized four-stroke engines. Fuel injection is essential for a modern two-stroke engine in order to meet ever more stringent emission standards.

Research continues into improving many aspects of two-stroke motors including direct fuel injection, amongst other things. The initial results have produced motors that are much cleaner burning than their traditional counterparts. Two-stroke engines are widely used in snowmobiles, lawnmowers, string trimmers, chain saws, jet skis, mopeds, outboard motors, and many motorcycles. Two-stroke engines have the advantage of an increased specific power ratio (i.e. power to volume ratio), typically around 1.5 times that of a typical four-stroke engine.

The largest internal combustion engines in the world are two-stroke diesels, used in some locomotives and large ships. They use forced induction (similar to super-charging, or turbocharging) to scavenge the cylinders; an example of this type of motor is the Wartsila-Sulzer turbocharged two-stroke diesel as used in large container ships. It is the most efficient and powerful internal combustion engine in the world with over 50% thermal efficiency.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] For comparison, the most efficient small four-stroke motors are around 43% thermal efficiency (SAE 900648); size is an advantage for efficiency due to the increase in the ratio of volume to surface area.

Common cylinder configurations include the straight or inline configuration, the more compact V configuration, and the wider but smoother flat or boxer configuration. Aircraft engines can also adopt a radial configuration which allows more effective cooling. More unusual configurations such as the H, U, X, and W have also been used.

Multiple crankshaft configurations do not necessarily need a cylinder head at all because they can instead have a piston at each end of the cylinder called an opposed piston design. Because here gas in- and outlets are positioned at opposed ends of the cylinder, one can achieve uniflow scavenging, which, as in the four-stroke engine, is efficient over a wide range of revolution numbers. Also the thermal efficiency is improved because of lack of cylinder heads. This design was used in the Junkers Jumo 205 diesel aircraft engine, using at either end of a single bank of cylinders with two crankshafts, and most remarkably in the Napier Deltic diesel engines. These used three crankshafts to serve three banks of double-ended cylinders arranged in an equilateral triangle with the crankshafts at the corners. It was also used in single-bank locomotive engines, and continues to be used for marine engines, both for propulsion and for auxiliary generators.

Wankel

Main article: Wankel engine

The Wankel cycle. The shaft turns three times for each rotation of the rotor around the lobe and once for each orbital revolution around the eccentric shaft.

The Wankel engine (rotary engine) does not have piston strokes. It operates with the same separation of phases as the four-stroke engine with the phases taking place in separate locations in the engine. In thermodynamic terms it follows the Otto engine cycle, so may be thought of as a "four-phase" engine. While it is true that three power strokes typically occur per rotor revolution due to the 3:1 revolution ratio of the rotor to the eccentric shaft, only one power stroke per shaft revolution actually occurs; this engine provides three power 'strokes' per revolution per rotor giving it a greater power-to-weight ratio than piston engines. This type of engine is most notably used in the current Mazda RX-8, the earlier RX-7, and other models.

Gas turbines

Main article: gas turbine

A gas turbine is a rotary machine similar in principle to a steam turbine and it consists of three main components: a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The air after being compressed in the compressor is heated by burning fuel in it. About ⅔ of the heated air combined with the products of combustion is expanded in a turbine resulting in work output which is used to drive the compressor. The rest (about ⅓) is available as useful work output.

Jet engine

Main article: Jet engine

Jet engines take a large volume of hot gas from a combustion process (typically a gas turbine, but rocket forms of jet propulsion often use solid or liquid propellants, and ramjet forms also lack the gas turbine) and feed it through a nozzle which accelerates the jet to high speed. As the jet accelerates through the nozzle, this creates thrust and in turn does useful work.

Engine cycle

Idealised P/V diagram for two-stroke Otto cycle

Two-stroke

Main article: Two-stroke cycle

This system manages to pack one power stroke into every two strokes of the piston (up-down). This is achieved by exhausting and recharging the cylinder simultaneously.

The steps involved here are:

Intake and exhaust occur at bottom dead center. Some form of pressure is needed, either crankcase compression or super-charging.
Compression stroke: Fuel-air mix is compressed and ignited. In case of diesel: Air is compressed, fuel is injected and self-ignited.
Power stroke: Piston is pushed downward by the hot exhaust gases.

Two Stroke Spark Ignition (SI) engine:

In a two-stroke SI engine a cycle is completed in two strokes of a piston or one complete revolution (360°) of a crankshaft. In this engine the intake and exhaust strokes are eliminated and ports are used instead of valves. In this cycle, the petrol is mixed with lubricant oil, resulting in a simpler, but more environmentally damaging system, as the excess oils do not burn and are left as a residue. As the piston proceeds downward another port is opened, the fuel/air intake port. Air/fuel/oil mixtures come from the carburetor, where it was mixed, to rest in an adjacent fuel chamber. When the piston moves further down and the cylinder doesn't have anymore gases, fuel mixture starts to flow to the combustion chamber and the second process of fuel compression starts. The design carefully considers the point that the fuel-air mixture should not mix with the exhaust, therefore the processes of fuel injection and exhausting are synchronized to avoid that concern. It should be noted that the piston has three functions in its operation:

The piston acts as the combustion chamber with the cylinder and compresses the air/fuel mixture, receives back the liberated energy, and transfers it to the crankshaft.
The piston motion creates a vacuum that sucks the fuel/air mixture from the carburetor and pushes it from the crankcase (adjacent chamber) to the combustion chamber.
The sides of the piston act like the valves, covering and uncovering the intake and exhaust ports drilled into the side of the cylinder wall.

The major components of a two-stroke spark ignition engine are the:

Cylinder: A cylindrical vessel in which a piston makes an up and down motion.
Piston: A cylindrical component making an up and down movement in the cylinder.
Combustion chamber: A portion above the cylinder in which the combustion of the fuel-air mixture takes place.
Intake and exhaust ports: An intake port allows the fresh fuel-air mixture to enter the combustion chamber and an exhaust port discharges the products of combustion.
Crankshaft: A shaft which converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into a rotary motion.
Connecting rod: A rod which connects the piston with the crankshaft.
Spark plug: An ignition-source located at the cylinder head that is used to initiate the combustion process.

Operation: When the piston moves from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC) the fresh air and fuel mixture enters the crank chamber through the intake port. The mixture enters due to the pressure difference between the crank chamber and the outer atmosphere while simultaneously the fuel-air mixture above the piston is compressed.

Ignition: With the help of a spark plug, ignition takes place at the top of the stroke. Due to the expansion of the gases the piston moves downwards covering the intake port and causes the fuel-air mixture inside the crank chamber to be compressed. When the piston is at bottom dead center the burnt gases escape from the exhaust port.

At the time the transfer port is uncovered the compressed charge from the crank chamber enters into the combustion chamber through the transfer port. The fresh charge is deflected upwards by a hump provided on the top of the piston and removes the exhaust gases from the combustion chamber. Again the piston moves from bottom dead center to top dead center and the fuel-air mixture is compressed when the both the exhaust port and transfer ports are covered. The cycle is repeated.

Advantages: • It has no valves or camshaft mechanism, hence simplifying its mechanism and construction • For one complete revolution of the crankshaft, the engine executes one cycle—the 4-stroke executes one cycle per two crankshafts revolutions. • Less weight and easier to manufacture. • High power-to-weight ratio

Disadvantages: • The lack of lubrication system that protects the engine parts from wear. Accordingly, the 2-stroke engines have a shorter life. • 2-stroke engines do not consume fuel efficiently. • 2-stroke engines produce lots of pollution. • Sometimes part of the fuel leaks to the exhaust with the exhaust gases. In conclusion, based on the above advantages and disadvantages, the 2-stroke engines are supposed to operate in vehicles where the weight of the engine is required to be small, and the it is not used continuously for long periods of time.

Four-stroke

Main article: Four-stroke cycle

Idealised Pressure/volume diagram of the Otto cycle showing combustion heat input Qp and waste exhaust output Qo, the power stroke is the top curved line, the bottom is the compression stroke

Engines based on the four-stroke ("Otto cycle") have one power stroke for every four strokes (up-down-up-down) and employ spark plug ignition. Combustion occurs rapidly, and during combustion the volume varies little ("constant volume").^[10] They are used in cars, larger boats, some motorcycles, and many light aircraft. They are generally quieter, more efficient, and larger than their two-stroke counterparts.

The steps involved here are:

Intake stroke: Air and vaporized fuel are drawn in.
Compression stroke: Fuel vapor and air are compressed and ignited.
Combustion stroke: Fuel combusts and piston is pushed downwards.
Exhaust stroke: Exhaust is driven out. During the 1st, 2nd, and 4th stroke the piston is relying on power and the momentum generated by the other pistons. In that case, a four-cylinder engine would be less powerful than a six- or eight-cylinder engine.

There are a number of variations of these cycles, most notably the Atkinson and Miller cycles. The diesel cycle is somewhat different.

Split-cycle engines separate the four strokes of intake, compression, combustion and exhaust into two separate but paired cylinders. The first cylinder is used for intake and compression. The compressed air is then transferred through a crossover passage from the compression cylinder into the second cylinder, where combustion and exhaust occur. A split-cycle engine is really an air compressor on one side with a combustion chamber on the other.

Previous split-cycle engines have had two major problems - poor breathing (volumetric efficiency) and low thermal efficiency. However, new designs are being introduced that seek to address these problems.

The Scuderi Engine addresses the breathing problem by reducing the clearance between the piston and the cylinder head through various turbo charging techniques. The Scuderi design requires the use of outwardly opening valves that enable the piston to move very close to the cylinder head without the interference of the valves. Scuderi addresses the low thermal efficiency via firing ATDC.

Firing ATDC can be accomplished by using high-pressure air in the transfer passage to create sonic flow and high turbulence in the power cylinder.

Diesel cycle

Main article: Diesel cycle

P-v Diagram for the Ideal Diesel cycle. The cycle follows the numbers 1-4 in clockwise direction.

Most truck and automotive diesel engines use a cycle reminiscent of a four-stroke cycle, but with a compression heating ignition system, rather than needing a separate ignition system. This variation is called the diesel cycle. In the diesel cycle, diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder so that combustion occurs at constant pressure, as the piston moves.

Otto cycle: Otto cycle is the typical cycle for most of the cars internal combustion engines, that work using gasoline as a fuel. Otto cycle is exactly the same one that was described for the four-stroke engine. It consists of the same four major steps: Intake, compression, ignition and exhaust.

PV diagram for Otto cycle On the PV-diagram, 1-2: Intake: suction stroke 2-3: Isentropic Compression stroke 3-4: Heat addition stroke 4-5: Exhaust stroke (Isentropic expansion) 5-2: Heat rejection The distance between points 1-2 is the stroke of the engine. By dividing V2/V1, we get: ?

where r is called the compression ratio of the engine. The efficiency is taken to be: ?

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Five-stroke

The British company ILMOR presented a prototype of 5-Stroke double expansion engine, having two outer cylinders, working as usual, plus a central one, larger in diameter, that performs the double expansion of exhaust gas from the other cylinders, with an increased efficiency in the gas energy use, and an improved SFC. This engine corresponds to a 2003 US patent by Gerhard Schmitz, and was developed apparently also by Honda of Japan for a Quad engine. This engine has a similar precedent in a Spanish 1942 patent (# P0156621 ), by Francisco Jimeno-Cataneo, and a 1975 patent (# P0433850 ) by Carlos Ubierna-Laciana ( www.oepm.es ). The concept of double expansion was developed early in the history of ICE by Otto himself, in 1879, and a Connecticut (USA) based company, EHV, built in 1906 some engines and cars with this principle, that didn't give the expected results.

Six-stroke

First invented in 1883, the six-stroke engine has seen renewed interest over the last 20 or so years.

Four kinds of six-stroke use a regular piston in a regular cylinder (Griffin six-stroke, Bajulaz six-stroke, Velozeta six-stroke and Crower six-stroke), firing every three crankshaft revolutions. The systems capture the wasted heat of the four-stroke Otto cycle with an injection of air or water.

The Beare Head and "piston charger" engines operate as opposed-piston engines, two pistons in a single cylinder, firing every two revolutions rather more like a regular four-stroke.

Brayton cycle

Main article: Brayton cycle

Brayton cycle

A gas turbine is a rotary machine somewhat similar in principle to a steam turbine and it consists of three main components: a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The air after being compressed in the compressor is heated by burning fuel in it, this heats and expands the air, and this extra energy is tapped by the turbine which in turn powers the compressor closing the cycle and powering the shaft.

Gas turbine cycle engines employ a continuous combustion system where compression, combustion, and expansion occur simultaneously at different places in the engine—giving continuous power. Notably, the combustion takes place at constant pressure, rather than with the Otto cycle, constant volume.

Obsolete

The very first internal combustion engines did not compress the mixture. The first part of the piston downstroke drew in a fuel-air mixture, then the inlet valve closed and, in the remainder of the down-stroke, the fuel-air mixture fired. The exhaust valve opened for the piston upstroke. These attempts at imitating the principle of a steam engine were very inefficient.

Fuels and oxidizers

Engines are often classified by the fuel (or propellant) used.

Fuels

Nowadays, fuels used include:

Petroleum:
- Petroleum spirit (North American term: gasoline, British term: petrol)
- Petroleum diesel.
- Autogas (liquified petroleum gas).
- Compressed natural gas.
- Jet fuel (aviation fuel)
- Residual fuel
Coal:
- Most methanol is made from coal.
- Gasoline can be made from carbon (coal) using the Fischer-Tropsch process
- Diesel fuel can be made from carbon using the Fischer-Tropsch process
Biofuels and vegoils:
- Peanut oil and other vegoils.
- Biofuels:
  - Biobutanol (replaces gasoline).
  - Biodiesel (replaces petrodiesel).
  - Dimethyl Ether (replaces petrodiesel).
  - Bioethanol and Biomethanol (wood alcohol) and other biofuels (see Flexible-fuel vehicle).
  - Biogas
Hydrogen (mainly spacecraft rocket engines)

Even fluidized metal powders and explosives have seen some use. Engines that use gases for fuel are called gas engines and those that use liquid hydrocarbons are called oil engines; however, gasoline engines are also often colloquially referred to as, "gas engines" ("petrol engines" in the UK).

The main limitations on fuels are that it must be easily transportable through the fuel system to the combustion chamber, and that the fuel releases sufficient energy in the form of heat upon combustion to make practical use of the engine.

Diesel engines are generally heavier, noisier, and more powerful at lower speeds than gasoline engines. They are also more fuel-efficient in most circumstances and are used in heavy road vehicles, some automobiles (increasingly so for their increased fuel efficiency over gasoline engines), ships, railway locomotives, and light aircraft. Gasoline engines are used in most other road vehicles including most cars, motorcycles, and mopeds. Note that in Europe, sophisticated diesel-engined cars have taken over about 40% of the market since the 1990s. There are also engines that run on hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biodiesel, wood gas, & charcoal gas. Paraffin and tractor vaporizing oil (TVO) engines are no longer seen.

Hydrogen

Main article: Hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle

Hydrogen could eventually replace conventional fossil fuels in traditional internal combustion engines. Alternatively fuel cell technology may come to deliver its promise and the use of the internal combustion engines could even be phased out.

Although there are multiple ways of producing free hydrogen, those methods require converting combustible molecules into hydrogen or consuming electric energy. Unless that electricity is produced from a renewable source—and is not required for other purposes— hydrogen does not solve any energy crisis. In many situations the disadvantage of hydrogen, relative to carbon fuels, is its storage. Liquid hydrogen has extremely low density (14 times lower than water) and requires extensive insulation—whilst gaseous hydrogen requires heavy tankage. Even when liquefied, hydrogen has a higher specific energy but the volumetric energetic storage is still roughly five times lower than petrol. However, the energy density of hydrogen is considerably higher than that of electric batteries, making it a serious contender as an energy carrier to replace fossil fuels. The 'Hydrogen on Demand' process (see direct borohydride fuel cell) creates hydrogen as it is needed, but has other issues such as the high price of the sodium borohydride which is the raw material.

Oxidizers

One-cylinder gasoline engine (ca. 1910)

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Since air is plentiful at the surface of the earth, the oxidizer is typically atmospheric oxygen which has the advantage of not being stored within the vehicle, increasing the power-to-weight and power to volume ratios. There are other materials that are used for special purposes, often to increase power output or to allow operation under water or in space.

Compressed air has been commonly used in torpedoes.
Compressed oxygen, as well as some compressed air, was used in the Japanese Type 93 torpedo. Some submarines are designed to carry pure oxygen. Rockets very often use liquid oxygen.
Nitromethane is added to some racing and model fuels to increase power and control combustion.
Nitrous oxide has been used—with extra gasoline—in tactical aircraft and in specially equipped cars to allow short bursts of added power from engines that otherwise run on gasoline and air. It is also used in the Burt Rutan rocket spacecraft.
Hydrogen peroxide power was under development for German World War II submarines and may have been used in some non-nuclear submarines and was used on some rocket engines (notably Black Arrow and Me-163 rocket plane)
Other chemicals such as chlorine or fluorine have been used experimentally, but have not been found to be practical.

Engine starting

Main article: Starter motor

An internal combustion engine is not usually self-starting so an auxiliary machine is required to start it. Many different systems have been used in the past but modern engines are usually started by an electric motor in the small and medium sizes or by compressed air in the large sizes.

Measures of engine performance

Engine types vary greatly in a number of different ways:

energy efficiency
fuel/propellant consumption (brake specific fuel consumption for shaft engines, thrust specific fuel consumption for jet engines)
power-to-weight ratio
thrust to weight ratio
Torque curves (for shaft engines) thrust lapse (jet engines)
Compression ratio for piston engines, overall pressure ratio for jet engines and gas turbines

Energy efficiency

Once ignited and burnt, the combustion products—hot gases—have more available thermal energy than the original compressed fuel-air mixture (which had higher chemical energy). The available energy is manifested as high temperature and pressure that can be translated into work by the engine. In a reciprocating engine, the high-pressure gases inside the cylinders drive the engine's pistons.

Once the available energy has been removed, the remaining hot gases are vented (often by opening a valve or exposing the exhaust outlet) and this allows the piston to return to its previous position (top dead center, or TDC). The piston can then proceed to the next phase of its cycle, which varies between engines. Any heat that isn't translated into work is normally considered a waste product and is removed from the engine either by an air or liquid cooling system.

Internal combustion engines are primarily heat engines, and as such their theoretical efficiency can be calculated by idealized thermodynamic cycles. The efficiency of a theoretical cycle cannot exceed that of the Carnot cycle, whose efficiency is determined by the difference between the lower and upper operating temperatures of the engine. The upper operating temperature of a terrestrial engine is limited by the thermal stability of the materials used to construct it. All metals and alloys eventually melt or decompose, and there is significant researching into ceramic materials that can be made with greater thermal stability and desirable structural properties. Higher thermal stability allows for greater temperature difference between the lower and upper operating temperatures, hence greater thermodynamic efficiency.

The thermodynamic limits assume that the engine is operating under ideal conditions: a frictionless world, ideal gases, perfect insulators, and operation for infinite time. Real world applications introduce complexities that reduce efficiency. For example, a real engine runs best at a specific load, termed its power band. The engine in a car cruising on a highway is usually operating significantly below its ideal load, because it is designed for the higher loads required for rapid acceleration. In addition, factors such as wind resistance reduce overall system efficiency. Engine fuel economy is usually measured in the units of miles per gallon (or fuel consumption in liters per 100 kilometers) for automobiles. The volume of hydrocarbon assumes a standard energy content.

Most steel engines have a thermodynamic limit of 37%. Even when aided with turbochargers and stock efficiency aids, most engines retain an average efficiency of about 18%-20%.^[11] Rocket engine efficiencies are better still, up to 70%, because they operate at very high temperatures and pressures and can have very high expansion ratios.^[12]

There are many inventions aimed at increasing the efficiency of IC engines. In general, practical engines are always compromised by trade-offs between different properties such as efficiency, weight, power, heat, response, exhaust emissions, or noise. Sometimes economy also plays a role in not only the cost of manufacturing the engine itself, but also manufacturing and distributing the fuel. Increasing the engine's efficiency brings better fuel economy but only if the fuel cost per energy content is the same.

Measures of fuel efficiency and propellant efficiency

For stationary and shaft engines including propeller engines, fuel consumption is measured by calculating the brake specific fuel consumption which measures the mass flow rate of fuel consumption divided by the power produced.

For internal combustion engines in the form of jet engines, the power output varies drastically with airspeed and a less variable measure is used: thrust specific fuel consumption (TSFC), which is the number of pounds of propellant that is needed to generate impulses that measure a pound force-hour. In metric units, the number of grams of propellant needed to generate an impulse that measures one kilonewton-second.

For rockets, TSFC can be used, but typically other equivalent measures are traditionally used, such as specific impulse and effective exhaust velocity.

Air and noise pollution

Air pollution

Internal combustion engines such as reciprocating internal combustion engines produce air pollution emissions, due to incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuel. The main derivatives of the process are carbon dioxide CO₂, water and some soot — also called particulate matter (PM). The effects of inhaling particulate matter have been studied in humans and animals and include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, and premature death. There are, however, some additional products of the combustion process that include nitrogen oxides and sulfur and some uncombusted hydrocarbons, depending on the operating conditions and the fuel-air ratio.

Not all of the fuel will be completely consumed by the combustion process; a small amount of fuel will be present after combustion, some of which can react to form oxygenates, such as formaldehyde or acetaldehyde, or hydrocarbons not initially present in the fuel mixture. The primary causes of this is the need to operate near the stoichiometric ratio for gasoline engines in order to achieve combustion and the resulting "quench" of the flame by the relatively cool cylinder walls, otherwise the fuel would burn more completely in excess air. When running at lower speeds, quenching is commonly observed in diesel (compression ignition) engines that run on natural gas. It reduces the efficiency and increases knocking, sometimes causing the engine to stall. Increasing the amount of air in the engine reduces the amount of the first two pollutants, but tends to encourage the oxygen and nitrogen in the air to combine to produce nitrogen oxides (NO_x) that has been demonstrated to be hazardous to both plant and animal health. Further chemicals released are benzene and 1,3-butadiene that are also particularly harmful; and not all of the fuel burns up completely, so carbon monoxide (CO) is also produced.

Carbon fuels contain sulfur and impurities that eventually lead to producing sulfur monoxides (SO) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in the exhaust which promotes acid rain. One final element in exhaust pollution is ozone (O₃). This is not emitted directly but made in the air by the action of sunlight on other pollutants to form "ground level ozone", which, unlike the "ozone layer" in the high atmosphere, is regarded as a bad thing if the levels are too high. Ozone is broken down by nitrogen oxides, so one tends to be lower where the other is higher.

For the pollutants described above (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone), there are accepted levels that are set by legislation to which no harmful effects are observed — even in sensitive population groups. For the other three: benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and particulates, there is no way of proving they are safe at any level so the experts set standards where the risk to health is, "exceedingly small".

Noise pollution

Significant contributions to noise pollution are made by internal combustion engines. Automobile and truck traffic operating on highways and street systems produce noise, as do aircraft flights due to jet noise, particularly supersonic-capable aircraft. Rocket engines create the most intense noise.

Idling

Internal combustion engines continue to consume fuel and emit pollutants when idling so it is desirable to keep periods of idling to a minimum. Many bus companies now instruct drivers to switch off the engine when the bus is waiting at a terminus.

In the UK (but applying only to England), the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) Regulations 2002 (Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 1808)^[13] introduced the concept of a "stationary idling offence". This means that a driver can be ordered "by an authorised person ... upon production of evidence of his authorisation, require him to stop the running of the engine of that vehicle" and a "person who fails to comply ... shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale". Only a few local authorities have implemented the regulations, one of them being Oxford City Council.^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b Encyclopædia Britannica. "Encyclopædia Britannica: Internal Combustion engines". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/290504/internal-combustion-engine. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ ^a ^b "Internal combustion engine". Answers.com. 2009-05-09. http://www.answers.com/topic/internal-combustion-engine?cat=technology. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ ^a ^b "Columbia encyclopedia: Internal combustion engine". Inventors.about.com. http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.bartleby.com/65/in/intern-co.html. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ ^a ^b "Private Tutor". Infoplease.com. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0825332.html. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ Laser sparks revolution in internal combustion engines Physorg.com, April 20, 2011. Accessed April 2011
^ Low Speed Engines, MAN Diesel.
^ "CFX aids design of world’s most efficient steam turbine" (PDF). http://www.ansys.com/assets/testimonials/siemens.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ "New Benchmarks for Steam Turbine Efficiency - Power Engineering". Pepei.pennnet.com. 2010-08-24. http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/152601/6/ARTCL/none/none/1/New-Benchmarks-for-Steam-Turbine-Efficiency/. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ Takaishi, Tatsuo; Numata, Akira; Nakano, Ryouji; Sakaguchi, Katsuhiko (March 2008). "Approach to High Efficiency Diesel and Gas Engines" (PDF). Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review 45 (1). https://www.mhi.co.jp/technology/review/pdf/e451/e451021.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
^ "Ideal Otto Cycle". Grc.nasa.gov. 2008-07-11. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/otto.html. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ "Improving IC Engine Efficiency". Courses.washington.edu. http://courses.washington.edu/me341/oct22v2.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ Rocket propulsion elements 7th edition-George Sutton, Oscar Biblarz pg 37-38
^ "The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002". 195.99.1.70. 2010-07-16. http://195.99.1.70/si/si2002/20021808.htm#13. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
^ "Fees & Charges". www.oxford.gov.uk. 2010-11. http://www.oxford.gov.uk/Direct/2_Item%205.6.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-04.

Takashi Suzuki, Ph.D.,"The Romance of Engines", SAE, 1997

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Internal combustion engines

Animated Engines - explains a variety of types
Intro to Car Engines - Cut-away images and a good overview of the internal combustion engine
Walter E. Lay Auto Lab - Research at The University of Michigan
youtube - Animation of the components and built-up of a 4-cylinder engine
youtube - Animation of the internal moving parts of a 4-cylinder engine
Next generation engine technologies retrieved May 9, 2009
MIT Overview - Present & Future Internal Combustion Engines: Performance, Efficiency, Emissions, and Fuels
Engine Combustion Network - Open forum for international collaboration among experimental and computational researchers in engine combustion.
Automakers Show Interest in an Unusual Engine Design
How Car Engines Work

Thermodynamic cycles

External combustion cycles

Without phase change (Hot air engines)	Bell Coleman · Brayton/Joule (externally heated) · Carnot · Ericsson · Ported constant volume[1] · Stirling · Stirling (Pseudo / Adiabatic) · Stoddard

With phase change	Kalina · Rankine (Organic Rankine) · Regenerative · Two-phased Stirling[2]

Internal combustion cycles

Atkinson · Brayton/Joule · Diesel · Expander · Gas-generator · Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition · Lenoir · Miller · Otto · Pressure-fed · Staged combustion

Mixed cycles

Combined · HEHC · Mixed/Dual

Refrigeration cycles

Hampson-Linde · Kleemenko · Linde dual-pressure · Pulse tube · Regenerative cooling · Transcritical · Vapor absorption · Vapor-compression · Siemens · Vuilleumier

Uncategorized

Barton · Claude [3] · Claude dual-pressure · Fickett-Jacobs · Gifford-McMahon [4] · Hirn · Humphrey · Heylandt · Scuderi

v d e Automotive engine

Part of the Automobile series

Basic terminology	Bore · Compression ratio · Crank · Cylinder · Dead centre · Diesel engine · Dry sump · Engine balance · Engine configuration · Engine displacement · Engine knocking · Firing order · Hydrolock · Petrol engine · Power band · Redline · Spark-ignition engine · Stroke · Stroke ratio · Wet sump

Main components	Connecting rod · Crankcase · Crankpin · Crankshaft · Crossflow cylinder head · Crossplane · Cylinder bank · Cylinder block · Cylinder head · Flywheel · Head gasket · Hypereutectic piston · Main bearing · Piston · Piston ring · Reverse-flow cylinder head · Starter ring gear · Sump

Valvetrain	Cam · Cam follower · Camshaft · Desmodromic valve · Hydraulic tappet · Multi-valve · Overhead camshaft · Overhead valve · Pneumatic valve springs · Poppet valve · Pushrod · Rocker arm · Sleeve valve · Tappet · Timing belt · Timing mark · Valve float · Variable valve timing

Aspiration	Air filter · Blowoff valve · Boost controller · Butterfly valve · Centrifugal type supercharger · Cold air intake · Dump valve · Electronic throttle control · Forced induction · Inlet manifold · Intake · Intercooler · Manifold vacuum · Naturally-aspirated engine · Ram-air intake · Scroll-type supercharger · Short ram air intake · Supercharger · Throttle · Throttle body · Turbocharger · Twin-turbo · Variable geometry turbocharger · Variable length intake manifold · Warm air intake

Fuel system	Carburetor · Common rail · Direct injection · Fuel filter · Fuel injection · Fuel pump · Fuel tank · Gasoline direct injection · Indirect injection · Injection pump · Lean burn · Unit Injector

Electrics, ignition and engine management	Air-fuel ratio meter · Alternator · Automatic Performance Control · Car battery · Contact breaker · Crankshaft position sensor · Distributor · Dynamo · Drive by wire · Electrical ballast · Electronic control unit · Engine control unit · Engine coolant temperature sensor · Glow plug · High tension leads · Idle air control actuator · Ignition coil · Lead–acid battery · Magneto · MAP sensor · Mass flow sensor · Oxygen sensor · Spark plug · Starter motor · Throttle position sensor

Exhaust system	Automobile emissions control · Catalytic converter · Diesel particulate filter · Exhaust manifold · Glasspack · Muffler

Engine cooling	Air cooling · Antifreeze · Core plug · Electric fan · Ethylene glycol · Fan belt · Radiator · Thermostat · Water cooling · Viscous fan

Other components	Balance shaft · Block heater · Combustion chamber · Cylinder head porting · Gasket · Motor oil · Oil filter · Oil pump · Oil sludge · PCV valve · Seal · Synthetic oil · Underdrive pulleys

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		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
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	ICE (abbreviation)
	diesel cycle (thermodynamics)
	exhaust gas (mechanical engineering)

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