FUEL-AIR CYCLES

Introduction to Fuel — Air Cycles

The detail analysis of air-standard cycles is given in the previous chapter. The analysis
was based on highly simplified assumptions. Therefore, that analysis gives high engine
performance which is much greater than actual performance. For example, the actual
indicated thermal efficiency for a petrol engine with a compression ratio 8 gives 30%
where as air standard efficiency is of the order of 56.5%. This large divergence is partly
due to valve operations, incomplete combustion and variation of properties of gases with
temperature. The effect of valve operations on p-v diagram of different I.C. engine is
discussed in previous chapter.

In air-standard analysis, the working fluid is considered as air and its properties are taken
constant during cyclic operations. But in actual engines, the working fluid is a mixture of
air and fuel and the mixture properties vary significantly with temperature. Finally, the
products of combustion are subjected to certain dissociation at higher temperatures and
affects the engine performance.

If the actual physical properties of the gases before and after combustion are taken into
analysis, a reasonably close values to the actual pressure and temperatures in the cylinder
during cyclic process can be achieved. Then the MEP and efficiencies calculated by this
analysis can be higher only by a few percent from the actual values obtained from the
experimental tests. The analysis based en actual properties of the gases is known as fuel-
air cycle analysis. A few assumptions are made for fuel air cycle analysis. But they are
most justifiable and close to the actual conditions than those assumed in the analysis of
air-standard cycles.

The actual efficiency of a good engine is 85% of the efficiency calculated for fuel-air
cycle. Thus a very good estimate of power to be developed by an actual engine can be
made from fuel-air cycle analysis. In addition to this, the peak pressures and temperatures
can be closely approximated which affects the engine design and material selection.

The following assumptions axe made for the analysis of fuel-air cycles.
1. There is no chemical change in either fuel or air prior to combustion.
2. Subsequent to combustion, the charge is always in equilibrium.
3. There is no heat exchange between the gases and cylinder walls.
4. The compression and expansion are frictionless.
5. The velocities of the gases during the cyclic processes inside the engine cylinder arc neglected.
6. The fuel is completely vaporised and perfectly mixed with the air.
7. Burning takes place instantaneously in petrol engine and constant pressure in diesel engine.
The analysis of fuel-air cycle takes into account the following parameters.
1. The actual composition of the gases in the cylinder (CO + C02 + H2O + N2 + O2).
The fuel-air ratio changes along the cyclic process, the percentage of C02 and H20
also change and there is variation of the physical properties of the gases.
2. The variation of the specific heats of the gases with respect to temperature of the
gases in the cylinder during the cycle.
3. The effects of dissociation at high temperature and incomplete combustion of the
fuel.
4. The variation in the number of moles present in the cylinder gases with the
change in pressure and temperature.

Comparison of Air-Standard and Fuel-Air Cycles

The effects of fuel-air ratio and basic chemical composition of fuel are discussed in this
article. The fig 1 shows below the effect of fuel-air ratio on the efficiency of the cycle.
Stiochiometric air fuel ratio
Equivalence ratio(φ ) =
Actual air fuel ratio

η (fuel -air )
Efficiencyratio =
η air (air − standard )

Fig.1: Effect of equivalence ratio on efficiency ratio

It is obvious from the figure that as the o ratio - (mixture becomes lean), the efficiency
tends to air standard efficiency This trend is common at all compression ratios.

As the mixture becomes leaner, the mixture behaves like a perfect gas, and efficiency
reaches to air-standard efficiency of the cycle. This effect is true in Otto-cycles as well as
Diesel cycles.

The simple analysis of air-standard cycle cannot predict the effect of mixture strength on
thermal efficiency of the cycle, Fuel-air analysis suggests that the thermal efficiency of
the engine goes down as the mixture becomes richer and richer. This is because of
dissociation and increase in specific heat of gases. Enriching the mixture leads to
incomplete combustion and loss in thermal efficiency. The efficiency also goes down at
too leaner mixture as combustion becomes erratic. Thus the maximum efficiency occurs
near the stoichiometric ratio towards the lean side.

This gives rise to a combustion loop as shown in Fig. 2 which can be plotted at different
mixture strengths supplied to the engine running at constant RPM and constant throttling
setting.

This loop gives an idea about the effect of mixture strength on the specific fuel
consumption :

Fig 2. Effect of MEP on specific fuel consumption.

 ACTUAL CYCLES AND THEIR ANALYSIS

Introduction
Actual cycles for I.C. Engines differ from thermodynamic cycles in many respects as
listed below:
1. The working substance is not air but a mixture of fuel and air during suction and
compression and many gases during expansion and exhaust.
2. Combustion of fuel not only adds the heat but changes the chemical composition
also.
3. The specific heat of gases changes with respect to temperature.
4. The residual gases change the composition, temperature and amount of fresh
charge.
5. The constant volume combustion is not possible.
6. Compression and expansion are not isentropic.
7. There is always some heat loss-due to heat transfer from the hot gases to cylinder
walls.
8. There is exhaust blow down loss due to early opening of exhaust valve.
9. There are losses due to leakages and friction also.
The items 1, 2, 3 and 4 are already discussed in chapters No. 4 and 5. The remaining
factors are responsible for fuel-air cycle and actual cycle.

All the factors listed above tend to decrease the work developed and thermal efficiency of
the cycle.

In this chapter, factors which further reduce the area of p-v diagram compared with fuel-
air cycle for S.I. and C.I. engine will be discussed.

Difference between Real and Fuel-air cycle for 4-stroke Petrol Engine
The effect of time losses, heat loss and exhaust blow-down loss will be considered and
their effects on the work done during the cyclic operation compared with fuel-air cycle
will be discussed. The Fig. 6.1 shows the losses between actual cycle and its equivalent
fuel-air-cycle.

(A) Losses due to Time-Requirement

1. Burning Time Loss. In theoretical cycle, the burning is assumed to be instantaneous
but actually burning takes some time. The time required depends upon F : A ratio, fuel
chemical structure and its ignition temperature. This also depends upon the flame
velocity and the distance from the ignition point to the opposite side of combustion
chamber.

During combustion, there is always increase in volume. The time internal between the
spark and complete burning of the charge is approximately 40° crank rotation.
The effect of time required for combustion; the maximum pressure is not produced when
volume is minimum (vc) as expected. And that is produced some time after TDC.
Therefore, the pressure rises from b to c as shown in Fig. 3. The point 3 represents the
maximum pressure if the combustion should have taken place instantly. The difference in
area of actual cycle and fuel-air cycle shows the loss of power as shown in Fig. 3. This
loss of work is called burning time loss. This time loss is defined as the loss of power due
to time required for mixing the fuel with air and for complete combustion.

Fig. 3. Effects of lime losses onp-v diagram

2. Spark Timing Loss. A definite time is required to start the burning of fuel after
generating the spark in the cylinder. The effect of this, the maximum pressure is not
reached at TDC and it reaches late during the expansion stroke. The time at which the
burning starts is varied by varying the angle of advance Ispark advance).

The effect of spark advances on the power generation are shown in Fig. 4 (a), (b) and (c).

Fig. 4. Effects of angle of advance a oap-v diagram.

(i) When the spark is given at TDC, the pressure at 3' is low due to expansion of gases.
(ii) If the spark is advanced by 40° to start combustion at TDC, the combustion takes place at
TDC but the heat loss and exhaust loss may be higher and work obtained is not optimum.
In both the above cases, the work area is less and therefore power developed/cycle
and efficiency are lower.
(iii) Therefore, a moderate spark advance of 15° to 25° is the best for getting maximum
work output as heat losses are reduced.
The following table compares the performance of ignition advance.
α = Angle of advance
Max. cycle
MEP Actuly fuel air
Cycle α pressure % Efficiency
(bar) η
(bar)
0 44 10.0 32.2 -
Fuel-air cycle 0 23 7.4 24.1 0.75
Actual cycle 35 41 7.5 23.9 0.74
17 34 8.2 26.1 0.81

From the above table, it is obvious that 17° angle of advance gives the best performance
compared with 0o and 35o angle of advance as MEP and η both are highest.

The Fig. 5 shows the comparison of power developed in actual cycle at 3-different
advance angles with fuel-air ratio.

Fig 5.Effect of α on the power Fig. 6. Effect of F : A ratio on the

developed by the engine composition of exhaust gases

3. Incomplete Combustion Loss. It is impossible to get homogeneous fuel air mixture

inside the cylinder us fuel, air and residual gases present in the engine cylinder before
ignition takes place. There may be excess O2 in one part and excess fuel in another part of
the cylinder. Therefore, incomplete combustion takes place in the region of excess fuel
and CO and O2 both will appear in the exhaust gases as shown in Fig. 6. It is observed
that energy release in S.I engine is 95% of energy release with stoichiometric F : A ratio.
It is always preferable to use lean mixture to avoid fuel waste where as rich mixture is
required to use all the oxygen. Slight lean mixture (5%) gives maximum efficiency but
too lean mixture will burn slowly, will increase burning time loss or may not burn
causing total fuel loss. In rich mixture, some fuel is definitely wasted as sufficient 0,. is
not available. The flame speed in rich mixture is also low and causes burning time hiss
and reduces the power developed. If the fuel and O2 combine during expansion stroke
releasing heat energy cannot be utilised for power generation and is a waste.

(B) Losses Due Heat Loss

During the combustion process and expansion process, the gases inside the engine
cylinder are at a considerably higher temperature, so the heat is lost to the jacket cooling
water or air. Some heat is lost to the lubricating oil where splash lubrication system is
used for lubricating cylinder and piston.

The heat loss is maximum during combustion as the gas temperature is highest; whereas
the heat loss at the end of expansion is very small because the chance of doing work is
also small. The heat loss during combustion does not represent complete loss as very
small part of this is converted into work (as heat addition takes place at constant volume).
The total heat loss counts between 15 to 20% during combustion and expansion. But
much is lost at the end of the cycle only so the effect of using this heat to convert into
work is very less because rate of work development at the end of the stroke decreases
rapidly.

The effect of heat loss on p-v diagram compared with fuel-air cycle is shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7. Effect of heat loss oop-v diagram Fig. 8. Effect of blow down.
compared with fuel-sir cycle.
(C.) Exhaust Blow-down Loss
Generally, the expansion is never earned out upto atmospheric pressure as the rate of
work done (dW/dθ) decreases rapidly and even may not be sufficient to overcome the
friction loss. The fall in pressure suddenly is also not possible therefore, the exhaust valve
is to be opened before BDC in such a way that the loss of power due to this should be
minimum.

The cylinder pressure at the end of stroke is generally 7 bar. If the exhaust is opened at
BDC, then the piston has to do the work against high pressure gases to exhaust and
sufficient power is lost. If the exhaust is opened too early during expansion, then
expansion work is lost. Therefore, the opening of the exhaust valve is timed between 40
to 70° crank rotation before BDC as per the compression ratio. This reduces the cylinder
pressure to halfway to atmospheric before the exhaust stroke begins. This is shown in
Fig. (6.6) by roundness of the p-v diagram at the end of expansion stroke.

(D). Pumping Loss

The exhaust is generally carried out above atmospheric pressure and suction takes place
below atmospheric pressure. Therefore, a negative loop is formed as shown in Fig. 9,
which is to be deducted from positive loop of the cycle. This loss in work is known as
pumping loss and it cannot be avoided but can be minimised by optimising the exhaust
pressure and reducing the pressure and friction losses during suction.

The pumping losses increases at part throttling as throttling reduces the suction pressure.
This also increases with increasing speed. This pumping also affects the volumetric
efficiency of the engine. The performance of the engine depends upon volumetric
efficiency to a great extent. Therefore the factors affecting the volumetric efficiency are
discussed in detail.

Fig. 9. Pumping Loop.

Volumetric Efficiency

This is defined as

Actualvolume of air taken in at ambient condition Actual mass taken in

ηv = =
Swept volume Mass of swept volume
The factors affecting the volumetric n, are listed below :

1. Density of charge. As the fresh charge enters into the cylinder, it is heated by hot
cylinder walls and mixing with hot residual gases increasing its temperature and
reduces the mass entered. Therefore, the volumetric efficiency decreases. The
volumetric efficiency can be increased by increasing the supply pressure and
more mass can be inducted.
2. The Exhaust Gas in Clearance Volume. The pressure of the exhaust gases left
in the cylinder at the end of the exhaust stroke is always higher than atmospheric.
When the piston moves during suction stroke, the charge cannot enter inside until
the pressure of the residual gases will not fall little below atmospheric pressure.
Therefore, the net mass taken in will be less than expected so the volumetric η
decreases.
3. The Design of Intake and Exhaust Manifold. The design of intake and exhaust
manifolds should be done in such a way, the pressure losses should be as
minimum as possible. This will increase the mass of the charge taken in and
reduces the pumping power also.
4. The Timings of Inlet and Exhaust Valves. This point is discussed in chapter 3
in detail. Closing the inlet valve late (after TDC) increases the fresh mass taken in
and closing the exhaust valve after TDC reduces the mass of exhaust gases. For
further details, the students are advised to read the chapter 3 more carefully.
(E) Loss due to Friction
These losses take into account the friction between cylinder and piston and friction in the
bearings. In addition to this, part power of the engine is lost for running the cooling water
pump and ignition system. The piston ring friction increases rapidly with engine speed
and increases with increasing MEP to a small extent. The bearing friction also increases
with increasing speed.

Fig. 10.
The efficiency of an engine is higher at full load compared with part load. This is
because, the friction losses do not increase with the rate as the increase in power.

The losses in Petrol engine for Rc = 10 using chemically correct A : F ratio at two
different loads are listed in the following table
Losses in 4-stroke Petrol Engine when Rc = 10.
Different Item Load
100% 50%
(a) An- standard na 60 60
1. Loss due to variation in Cv and Cp and 13.3 13.3
chemical equilibrium
2. Burning time loss 4 4
3. Incomplete combustion 2.5 2.5
4. Heat loss 3.5 5.0
5 Blowdown loss 0.5 0.5
6. Pumping loss 0.4 2.0
7. Friction loss 3.2 6.4
b Fuel - air cycle ηfa = ηa – (1) 46.7 46.7
c Gross ηit = ηfa – (2+3+4+5+6) 35.8 32.7
d Actual ηbt = ηit – (6+7) 32.6 26.3
Note : All values are in percentages.

Actual and Fuel-Air cycle for C.I. Engine

The losses in C.I. engine are considerably less than S.I. engine. The main loss in C.I.
engine is Hue to incomplete combustion of fuel as the fuel supplied to the engine is
always in tiny droplets of liquid fuel. The evaporation, mixing and combustion takes
place inside the engine, the possibility of incomplete combustion is more.

Fig. 11. Actual and Fuel-air cycle on p-v diagram for two Stroke diesel engine.
The fuel-air cycle and actual cycle arc shown in Fig. 11. In fuel-air cycle, it is supposed t
the combustion is completed at the end of constant pressure burning whereas in actual
after-burning takes place during the expansion stroke, even upto 50% of the stroke.

Air-Standard Cycles

In most of the power developing systems, such as petrol engine, diesel engine and gas
turbine, the common working fluid used is air. These devices take in either a mixture of
fuel and air as in petrol engine or air and fuel separately and mix them in the combustion
chamber as in diesel engine.

The mass of fuel used compared with the mass of air is rather small. Therefore the
properties of mixture can be approximated to the properties of air.

Exact conditions existing within the actual engine cylinder are very difficult to determine,
but by making certain simplifying assumptions, it is possible to approximate these
conditions more or less closely. The approximate engine cycles thus analysed are known
as theoretical cycles.

The simplest theoretical cycle is called the air-cycle approximation. The air-cycle
approximation used for calculating conditions in internal combustion engines is called the
air-standard cycle.

The analysis of all air-standard cycles is based upon the following assumptions :

1. The gas in the engine cylinder is a perfect gas, i.e., it obeys the gas laws and has
constant specific heats.
2. The physical constants of the gas in the cylinder are the same as those of air at
moderate temperatures i.e., the molecular weight of cylinder gas is 29 and
Cp = 1.005 kJ/kg-K and Cv = 0.718 kJ/kg-K.
3. The compression and expansion processes are adiabatic and they take place without
internal friction, i.e., these processes are isentropic.
4. No chemical reaction takes place in the cylinder. Heat is supplied or rejected by
bringing a hot body or a cold body in contact with cylinder at appropriate points
during the process.
5. The cycle is considered closed, with the some 'air' always remaining in the cylinder
to repeat the cycle.
Because of many simplifying assumptions, it is clear that the air-cycle approximation
does not closely represent the conditions within the actual cylinder. Although the
quantities calculated from this approximation are considerably in error, the trends shown
are usually correct, so that the general effect on the efficiency of such variable as inlet
pressure or compression ratio may be calculated. Because of the simplicity of the air-
cycle calculation, it is often used to obtain approximate answers to complex engine
problems.

Carnot Cycle
This cycle consists of two reversible isothermal processes and two reversible adiabatic
processes and the cycle is represented on P-v and T-s diagrams as shown in Fig. 12.

(A) Efficiency of the cycle

Fig. 12. Carnot cycle on p-v and t-s diagrams

Considering unit mass of the working fluid

Ti = T4 and T2 = T3
Using the gas relation', we can write down
1 1
υ 3  T4  (γ −1) υ 2  T2  ( γ −1)
=  and = 
υ 4  T3  υ1  T1 
The heat supplied during the isothermal expansion per kg of air is given by
υ 
Q s = RT2 log e  3 
υ2 
The heat rejected during the isothermal compression per kg of nir is given by
υ  υ 
Q r = RT1 log e  4  = RT1 log e  3 
 υ1  υ2 
W(work done) = Qs – Qr

The air standard efficiency of the cycle is given by

Q − Qr
ηa = s
Qs
Substituting the values of Qs and Qr in the above equation
 υ
 υ 
RT2 log e  3
 − RT1 log e  3 
ηa = υ2
  υ 2  = T2 − T1 = 1 − T1
2.16
υ  T2 T2
RT2 log e  3 
υ2 
From the T-s diagram Qs and Qr can be found as
Q s = T2 (s 3 − s 2 )andQ r = T1 (s 4 − s1 ) = T1 (s 3 − s 2 )
Qs − Qr T (s − s ) − T1 (s 3 − s 2 ) T2 − T1
ηa = == 2 3 2 =
QS T2 (s 3 − s 2 ) T2

Otto Cycle or Constant-Volume Air-cycle

To avoid the high values of P2 and compression ratio, a practical cycle was introduced by
a German scientist Dr. A-N. Otto in 1876 and it was successfully applied for the working
of petrol and gas engines. This cycle consists of two reversible adiabatic processes and
two constant volume processes as shown in Fig. 13 (a) and (6) on P-v and Ts diagrams.

Fig. 13. Otto Cycle on P-v and T-s diagrams (Air-standards).

The process 1-2 is reversible adiabatic compression, the process 2-3 is heat addition at
constant volume, the process 3-4 is reversible adiabatic expansion and the process 4-1 is
heat rejection at constant volume.

The cylinder is assumed to contain air as the working substance and heat is supplied at
the end of compression by means of a source which is brought into contact cylinder head
and heat is rejected at the end of expansion to the sink and the cycle is repeated.

The work done during the cycle per kg of air and efficiency of the cycle can be calculated
as follows :

Heat supplied during constant volume process 2-3 is

 Q s = Cυ (T3 − T2 ),
and heat rejected during constant volume process 4-1 is
Q r = Cυ (T4 − T1 ),
Then, the work done is given by
W = Q s − Q r = Cυ (T3 − T2 ) − Cυ (T4 − T1 )
Efficiency is

W Cυ (T3 − T2 ) − Cυ (T4 − T1 ) T − T1
ηa = = =1 4
2.32
Qs Cυ (T3 − T2 ) T3 − T2

Applying the isentropic law to the points 3 and 4 and 1 and 2,

γ −1 γ −1
υ  υ 
T4 = T3  3  = T3  2  asυ 3 − υ 2 and υ 4 = υ1
υ4   υ1 
γ −1
υ 
And T1 = T2  2 
 υ1 
Substituting these values in equation (2.32), we get
γ −1 γ −1
υ  υ 
T3  2  − T2  2  γ −1
υ  υ1 υ 
ηa = 1 −  1   = 1 −  2 
T3 − T2  υ1 
υ 2 υ s + υ c Volume of air before compression
= =
υ1 υc Volume of air after compression
and it is known as compression ratio and is denoted by Rc
1
ηa = 1 −
2.33
(R c )γ −1
It is obvious from the above equation that the air standard efficiency of the Otto cycle
depends upon the compression ratio only and it increases with an increase in compression
ratio. The compression ratio used in actual engines working on this cycle lies between 5
and 10 and depends upon the type of the fuel used. As y is taken as constant for air, the
dependency of the efficiency on this parameter is not discussed.
The effect of compression ratio on the air-standard efficiency is shown in Fig. 14.
 Fig. 14. Effect of compression ratio on the air-standard and efficiency
of Otto-cycle when γ = 1.4.

Mean Effective Pressure for Otto Cycle. Mean effective pressure is defined as the
constant net pressure acting on the piston that will produce the same amount of work as
that produced by the actual varying pressure produces during the cycle.

Workdoneduringa cycle(inN− m)
mep.(pm ) =
Strokevolumein m3
It can be obtained from the indicator diagram as explained in the chapter on engine
testing. It is a convenient mean to estimate testing the theoretical work developed by an
engine working on a particular cycle.

Consider that a piston in an engine is pushed at a constant pressure throughout the stroke
volume and develops the same work as in otto cycle as shown in.fig.14
Work done per kg of air per cycle in an otto cycle is given by the area Aas shown in
fig.2.7.
p3 v3 − p 4 v 4 p 2 v 2 − p1 v1
∴w = −
2.34
γ −1 γ −1

The work done in the second case shown in fig.2.7(b).

w = pm (v1−v2 )
2.35
Equating these two equations
1  p3v3 − p4v4 p2v2 − p1v1  1  p3vc − p4 (vs + vc ) p2vc − p1(vs + vc )
pm = − = −
v1 −v2  γ −1 γ −1  vs  γ −1 γ −1 

p
The pressure ratio 3 is known as explosion ratio and is denoted by α
p2
1 p αv −p (v + v ) p v −p (v + v )
∴pm =  2 c 4 s c − 2 c 1 s c 
2.36
vs  γ −1 γ −1 
 vs + vc
= Rc ∴vs = (Rc −1)vc
vc

Applying the isentropic law to the points 2 and 1,and 3 and 4.

γ
v 
=  1 
γ
p2 = p1 R c
 v2 
γ
 v3  p3 αp2 αp1Rcγ
p4 =p3  = γ = γ = γ =αp1
v4  Rc Rc Rc
Substituting the value of v s in terms of vc vc and values of p2 and p4 in terms of p1 in
equation (2.36), we get

1  p1Rc αvc −αp1Rcvc p1Rc vc − p1Rcvc 

γ γ
pm =  − 
(Rc −1)vc  γ −1 γ −1 

p1
=
( Rc − 1)(γ − 1)
[
Rcα ( Rc γ −1 − 1) − Rc ( Rc γ −1 − 1) ]
(α −1)  Rc −1
γ −1 γ −1
Rc (Rc −1)
= . p1 (α − .1) = p1.Rc  
2.37
(Rc −1)(γ −1) .(γ −1)  (Rc −1) 

This equation is only valid for reversible adiabatic expansion and reversible adiabatic
compression and it is not applicable for any other process (as polytropic) because some
heat transfer occurs during compression and expansion.

If the processes are polytropic then the actual area should be calculated and then divided
by/ the stroke volume to obtain the actual effective pressure of the cycle or y should be
replaced n.

Diesel Cycle or Constant Pressure Air Cycle

This cycle was introduced by Rudolph Diesel in 1893 and it is successfully used in all
diesel engines. In air-standard diesel cycle, it is assumed that the working fluid air is
being circulated again and again and heat is supplied from an external source and heat is
rejected to an external sink.

The cycle of operation is shown in Fig. 15 on P-v and T-s diagrams.

 Fig 15. P-v and T-s diagrams for Diesel cycle

The sequence of operations is given below :

1. The air is compressed isentropically from condition T to condition *2
2. Heat is supplied to the compressed air from external source at- constant pressure
which is represented by the process 2-3.
3. The air expands isentropically until it reaches the condition '4'.
4. The heat is rejected by the air to the external sink at constant volume until it
reaches to condition 1 and the cycle is repeated.
In actual practice, the engine operates on an open cycle and the heat is supplied by
burning the injected fuel near the end of the compression stroke. The condition '4' is the
condition of gases at the end of expansion and they cannot be used again and fresh air is
taken from outside for the next cycle. In actual practice, the compression and expansion
do not follow the law pv γ = C.

The cycle is called a constant pressure cycle because heat is supplied to the working fluid
at constant pressure.

The work done by the cycle per kg of air and air-standard efficiency of the cycle can be
calculated as follows :

Heat supplied during constant pressure process 2-3 is

Qs = Cp(T3-T2)

and heat rejected during constant volume process is

Qr = Cv(T4-T1)

Then, the work done is given by

W = Qs – Qr = Cp(T3-T2)-Cv(T4-T1)
 W Qs − Q r
Efficiency ina = =
Qs Qs
C p (T3 − T2 ) − Cυ (T4 − T1 ) 1 (T4 − T1 )
= = 1−
2.41
C P (T3 − T2 ) γ (T3 − T2 )
υ1 υ s + υ c
R C (Compressionratio) = =
υ2 υc
Where υc = Clearance volume and υs = Stroke volume
υ3
Let ρ (defined) = which is known as cut-off ratio
υ2
The volume at cut-off is generally expressed as a percentage of stroke volume
υ4
Re(Expansion ratio) =
υ3
Rc υ1 υ3 υ3
= × = = ρ. as υ 4 = υ 1
Re υ2 υ4 υ2
Applying the isentropic law to the points ‘1’ and ‘2’ and ‘3’ and ‘4’.
γ −1
υ  T2
T1 = T2  2  =
2.42
 υ1  R γC−1
γ −1 γ −1 γ −1 γ −1
υ   υ   1   ρ 
T4 = T3  3  = T3  3  = T3   = T3  
2.43
 υ4   R e υ3   Re   Re 
Substituting the values of T1 and T4 from equations 2.42 and 2.43 into equation 2.41

1  T (ρ/R c ) − T2 (1/R C )   ρ γ −1 .T3 − T2 

γ −1 γ −1
1 1
ηa = 1 −  3  = 1 − . γ −1  
2.44
γ  T3 − T2  γ RC  T3 − T2 
Applying gas equation, to the points ‘2’ and ‘3’ and noting p2=p3, we get
υ 2 υ3 υ 
= ∴ T3 = T2  3  = T2 .ρ
T2 T3  υ2 
Substituting the value in the above equation 2.44,

1 1  T2 ργ − T2  1  1  ρ γ − 1 
η a = 1 − . γ −1   = 1 − γ −1   
2.45
γ Rc  ρT2 − T2  Rc  γ  ρ − 1 

Mean Effective Pressure For Diesel Cycle. The mean effective pressure of a cycle is
defined as the work done per cycle (area on p-v diagram) divided by stroke volume.
 1  p υ − p 4υ 4 p 2υ 2 − p1υ1 
pm =  p 2(υ 3 − υ 2 ) + 3 3 −
2.46
υs  γ −1 γ − 1 
The above equation is generally expressed in terms of p1, ρ and Rc as all the three
parameters are generally known
γ
υ 
p 2 = p1  1  = p1 (R c )γ
2.47
υ2 
p 3 = p 2 = p1 (R c )
γ

2.48
γ γ γ γ
υ   1   ρ   ρ 
p 4 = p 3  3  = p 3   = p 3   = p1 (R c )γ .  = p1ρ γ
2.49
 υ4   Re   Rc   Rc 
υs  Rc 
υ1 = υ s + υ c = υ s + = υ s  
2.50
R c −1 R
 c − 1 
υs
υ2 = υc =
2.51
R c −1
υ s .ρ
υ 3 = υ 2 .ρ =
2.52
R c −1

 Rc 
υ 4 = υ1 = υ s  
2.53
 R c −1
Substituting the values of equations 2.47, 2.48, 2.49, 2.50, 2.51, 2.52 and 2.53 into
equation2.46, we get

1  γ  υs ρ υ s   p1 R γc .[υ s ρ / R c − 1] − p1 ρ γ .[υ s R c / (R c − 1)]  p1 R γc .[υ s / R c − 1] − p1 .[υ s R c / (R c − 1)]

p m = p1 R c  − + − 
υ s   R c − 1 R c − 1  γ −1   γ −1 
p1  γ  R c .ρ − ρ R c  R c − R c 
γ γ y
= R c .(ρ − 1) +  − 
R c − 1   γ −1  γ − 1 

p1
=
(R c − 1)(γ − 1)
[
R cγ .(ρ − 1)(γ − 1) + R c γ ρ − R c ρ γ − R cγ + R c ]
p1
=
(R c − 1)(γ − 1)
[
R cγ γ .(ρ − 1) - R c ρ γ − 1 ( )]
2.54

Dual-Cycle or Limited Pressure Air Cycle

From the expression for the air-standard efficiency of the Diesel cycle, Eq. 2.45, it is seen that
efficiency decreases as the value of p increases, and therefore, it is desirable to keep the value of
p as small as possible to increase the efficiency.
This can be done by supplying the heat partly at constant volume and partly at constant pressure.
In actual oil engines working on this cycle, it is obtained by injecting part of the fuel towards the
end of compression stroke.

This cycle is represented on P-v and T-s diagrams as shown in Fig. 16 (a) and (b).

Fig 16. P-v and T-s diagrams for Dual cycle

The sequence of operations is given below :

1. The air is compressed isentropically from condition 1 to condition 2.
2. The heat is supplied to the compressed air partly at constant volume and partly at constant
pressure until the air reaches to the condition '4’.
3. The air expands isentropically until it reaches to the condition 5.
4. The heat is rejected by the air to the external sink at constant volume until it reaches to the
condition 1 and the cycle is repeated.
In actual practice the engine operates on open cycle and the heat is supplied by injection
and burning of fuel. The condition '5' is the condition of burned gases and they cannot be
used again and fresh air is taken from outside for the next cycle. Such cycle is known as
dual cycle or mixed cycle. This cycle has the advantage of both Otto and Diesel cycles
discussed in the previous article.

The work done by the cycle per kg of air and air-standard efficiency of the cycle can be
calculated as follows.

Heat supplied during processes 2-3 and 3-4 is

Qs = Cv(Tz-T2) + Cp(T4-T3)

and heat rejected during process 5-1 is

Qr = Cv(T5-T1)
Then the work done is
W = Q S − Q r = Cυ (T3 − T2 ) + C P (T4 − T3 ) − Cυ (T5 − T1 )
 W Cυ (T3 − T2 ) + C p (T4 − T3 ) − Cυ (T5 − T1 )
Efficiency is η a = =
QS Cυ (T3 − T2 ) + C P (T4 − T3 )
C υ (T5 − T1 ) (T5 − T1 )
= 1− = 1−
2.58
C υ (T3 − T2 ) + C P (T4 − T3 ) (T3 − T2 ) + γ(T4 − T3 )
υ1 υ s + υ c
R C (Compression ratio) = =
υ2 υc
p3
α(Pressure ratio or explosion ratio) =
p2
υ4 υ
ρ(Cut − off ratio) = , R e (Expansion ratio) = 5 ,
υ3 υ4
R c υ1 υ 4 υ 4 υ 4 R
= . = = = ρ or R e = c
R e υ 2 υ5 υ 2 υ3 ρ
All the temperatures of equation 2.58 are expressed in terms of temperatures T1, the
lowest operating temperature of the cycle.
Applying the isentropic law to the points 1 and 2

γ −1
υ 
T2 = T1  1  = T1 (R c )
γ −1

2.59
 υ2 
Applying the gas law to the points 2 and 3 and noting υ 3 = υ 2
p3 p2 p
= ∴ T3 = T2 3 = T1 R cγ −1 .α
2.60
T3 T2 p2
Applying the gas law to the points 3 and 4 noting p 4 = p 3

υ4 υ3 υ4
= ∴ T4 = T3 = T1 R cγ −1 .α . ρ
2.61
T4 T3 υ3
Applying the isentropic law to the points 4 and 5
γ −1 γ −1 γ −1
υ   1   ρ 
T5 = T4  4  αρ  = T1 (R C ) αρ 
γ −1 γ −1
= T1 R C = T1αρ γ
2.62
 υ5   RE   RC 
Substituting the values of T2, T3, T4 and T5 from equations 2.59, 2.60, 2.61, 2.62 into
equation 2.58
 T1αρ γ − T1
ηa = 1 −
[T .(R
1 C )γ −1 .α − T1 (R C )γ −1 ] + γ[T1 (R C )γ−1 αρ − T1 (R C )γ−1 α ]
1  αρ γ − 1 
= 1− ( 
2.63
(R C )γ −1  α − 1) + γα(ρ − 1) 

This is the required expression for air-standard efficiency of Dual-cycle in terms of compression
ratio, explosion ratio and cut-off ratio.

It is obvious from Eq. 2.63 that the efficiency of the Dual-cycle can be increased by increasing
the value of a (more heat is added during constant volume process) and decreasing the value of p
(less heat is added during constant pressure process) keeping total heat added constant.

The Otto and Diesel cycles are special cases of Dual cycle. If p = 1 then V3 = V4 and the cycle
becomes Otto cycle with all the heat being added during constant volume process only.

Substituting α= 1 in the Eq. 2.63, the expression for air-standard efficiency reduces to the Otto
cycle efficiency.
1
ηa = 1 −
R cγ −1
If α = 1 then p3 = p2 and then cycle becomes Diesel cycle with all the heat being added only
during constant pressure process.

Substituting a = 1 in Eqn. 2.63, the air-standard efficiency becomes

1  ργ −1 
ηa = 1 −   same as for diesel cycle.
R cγ −1  γ(ρ − 1) 

Mean Effective Pressure For Dual Cycle

υ1 υ C + υ S υ
RC = = = 1+ S
υ2 υC υC
∴υ S = (R C − 1)υ C
p3
α=
p2
υ4 υ4
ρ= =
υ3 υc
υ5 υ R
Re = = 1 = c
υ 4 ρυ c ρ
The work done in the cycle
W = area of p-v diagram
p 4 v 4 − p5 v 5 p 2 v 2 − p 3 v3
= p 3 (v 4 − v 3 ) + − 2.64
γ −1 γ −1
All the values of p and v in the above equation should be represented in terms of p1, vc
and Rc,α and ρ
= p 2 = p1 ( Rc ) γ and p 3 = α p 2 = α p1 ( Rc ) γ

p 4 = p 3 = α p 1 ( Rc ) γ
1 γ ρ
p 4 v 4γ = p 5 v5γ ∴ p 5 = p 4 ( ) = p 4 ( ) γ = α p1 ρ γ
Rc Rc
v1 = vc Rc , v 2 = v3 = v c

v 4 = ρ vc and v5 = v1 = v c R c
Now substituting all the values in the equation 2.64

γ α p1 ( Rc ) γ . pvc − α p1 ρ γ .vc Rc
W = α p1 ( Rc ) ( pvc − vc ) + Fig 17
γ −1
p1 ( Rc ) γ .vc − p1 .vc Rc
− 2.65
γ −1
But the work done is given by
W = p m v s = p m ( Rc − 1)vc 2.66
Now equating equations 2.65 and 2.66
α p1 (R c ) γ ( ρ − 1) α p1 R γ c ρ − α p1 ρ γ R c p1 Rcλ − p1 Rc
pm = + −
Rc − 1 (R c − 1)(γ − 1) Rc − 1(γ − 1)

1  1 
= α ( ρ − 1)p1 (R c ) γ + {αρ p1 R γ c − α ρ γ p1 R c − p1 Rcλ − p1 Rc }
Rc − 1  γ −1 
1  1 
= α ( ρ − 1)p1 (R c ) γ + {αρ p1 R γ c − α ρ γ p1 R c − p1 Rcλ − p1 Rc }
Rc − 1  γ −1 

=
p1
Rc − 1(γ − 1)
γ
[
Rc {ρα − 1) + αργ − αγ − γρ + α } − Rc (αρ γ − 1) ]
=
p1
Rc − 1(γ − 1)
γ
[
Rc {α γ ( ρ − 1) + (α − 1) − Rc (αρ γ − 1) ]