SAE TECHNICAL

PAPER SERIES SAE 2006-32-0054

JSAE 20066554

A Practical Application to Reduce Exhausts

Emissions on a Two-Stroke Engine
with a Tuned Exhaust Pipe
Reine U. K. Gustafsson
Husqvarna AB, Sweden

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ISSN 0148-7191
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Copyright  2006 SAE Japan
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 2006-32-0054 / 20066554

A Practical Application to Reduce Exhausts Emissions on a

Two-Stroke Engine with a Tuned Exhaust Pipe
Reine U. K. Gustafsson
Husqvarna AB, Sweden

Copyright © 2006 SAE International and Copyright © 2006 SAE Japan

ABSTRACT emission level as the standard engine but with a BMEP

level more than 25 % higher.
Earlier papers show theoretical design [2], and also
including experimental results from a prototype engine INTRODUCTION
[3], which describe a tuned exhaust system that can
reduce both exhaust emissions and noise, and at the Exhaust emission regulations that apply to small engines
same time increase engine power output on two-stroke used for hand-held applications are now in force in the
engines. USA by EPA and CARB. With Europe also having
similar regulations. This has changed the design scope
This paper shows how this design concept has been of small engines, in particular for the two-stroke engines.
applied to the engine used for the low noise Husqvarna To comply with these emission regulations, stratified
H356 Back pack leaf blower, which has been in scavenging [4-6] has become one of the most popular
production since 2005. This includes a description of the design approaches on newly developed small two-stroke
engine layout, with similarities and differences compared engines. Exhaust after-treatment by catalyst [7] is
to a standard two-stroke engine. Experimental test another technique that is used on production engines to
results are presented for power output, fuel reduce exhaust emissions. In some cases four-stroke
consumption, and exhaust emissions, which are shown engines [8] have been substituted for the two-stroke
to be better than previously presented for a prototype engine.
engine with this technology [3]. This makes it possible to Another technique to reduce exhaust emissions on two-
comply with emission regulations without catalyst stroke engines that was proposed by Blair [2,3] is to use
exhaust after-treatment. exhaust tuning. The previously published papers have
either been theoretical or based on results on a
In a second step, test results and engine layouts from prototype engine, while this paper present the first
two modified and further optimized engines are engine that has reach the production stage and is used
presented and explained, to showcase the potential for in a product that is sold on the market today.
even more improvement. Using a tuned pipe to reduce exhaust emissions is, as
stated earlier, not widely used so there is still a lot to be
The first of these engines has a minor change in the learned, so this paper will also present some of the
dimensions of the exhaust system, which is shown to improvements that have been found and lessons that
have a profound impact on the exhaust emissions, have been learned since this new engine was designed.
lowering the HC emissions by 20 %. The reason for this It is also important to pay attention to details, where
is explained by looking at how the tuning pressure wave small changes on dimensions can have a big impact on
at the exhaust port has changed due to this modification the engine behavior. This statement is true for all other
of the exhaust system. types of engines as well, but it is more profound when
dealing with a concept where previous experience is
The second engine is a more complete redesign, with limited.
only the bore, stroke and crankcase identical with the
standard engine. The cylinder port layout and exhaust
pipe design are modified with a focus on increasing the
power output, without at the same time deteriorate the
HC emissions. The result is an engine with the same
ENGINE LAYOUT A single 7.5 mm hole, pointed out by the red arrow in
Fig.3, feeds the exhaust gases into the silencer leading
The exhaust tuned engine is used on two models of a to the atmosphere through a 12 mm pipe.
backpack blower, namely Husqvarna 356BTx and The tuned pipe is designed in three parts, with a steel
356BFx, where the main difference between them is the tube that is welded into the silencer, then leading into
type of gas trigger and handle. the main part of the pipe designed as a bended
aluminum tube, and finally the end cap in plastic. Since
H356BTx/BFx there is no flow of exhaust gases through this end of the
Bore 44 mm exhaust system, the temperature is very modest which is
why a plastic cap can be used at the end of the pipe.
Stroke 34 mm
Con-Rod 60 mm
Exhaust port open 110° ATDC
Intake port open 70° BTDC
Scavenge port open 135° ATDC
Trapped compression ratio 6.1:1
Ignition timing 17° BTDC
Table.1 Main dimensions of standard engine

A 51.7 cc two-stroke engine powers both models, with

the main dimensions as described in Table.1
If the back cover of the H356BTx is removed the engine
can be seen, as in fig.1, and in the cut-out view in Fig.2
it is shown that the engine is fitted with a tuned exhaust
system of the type described by Blair (2) which has a
closed ended exhaust pipe attached to the end of the Fig.1 H356 BT Inside the cover
exhaust port.

Fig.2 Engine cutout view

ENGINE PERFORMANCE 1
0.9
The working speed of the Backpack blower is 6000 rpm so the
engine is tuned for peak power at that speed. This can be seen 0.8 DR
in Fig. 3 with power as a function of engine speed. 0.7 TE
This correlates to 4.2 bar BMEP (Fig.4), which is 20% better CE
than for the prototype engine presented earlier [3]. The reason 0.6
for that is the improved charging efficiency due to a better 0.5
trapping efficiency (Fig.5).
0.4
2.4
0.3
2.2 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000
2 Engine Speed (rpm)
Power (kW)

1.8 Fig.5 Delivery, trapping, and charging efficiency as

function of engine speed
1.6
440
1.4
420
1.2
1 400

BSFC (g/kWh)
4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000
380
Engine Speed (rpm)

Fig.3 Power as function of engine speed 360

340
4.5
320
4 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1
Lambda
BMEP (bar)

3.5 Fig.6 Fuel consumption rate as function of lambda at

6000 rpm
3 60

2.5 50
BSHC (g/kWh)

40
2
4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 30
Engine Speed (rpm)
Fig.4 BMEP as a function of engine speed 20

10
This improvement in trapping efficiency is achieved by more
effective tuning, mainly through more optimized port timing
0
and a better design of the first part of the tuned pipe. This is
0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1
the part between the exhaust port and the outlet hole into the Lambda
silencer. On the prototype engine the exhaust flange in the
cylinder was not altered to match the tuned pipe perfectly, Fig.7 Hydrocarbon emissions as function of lambda at
which made for a mismatch and probably flow disturbances in 6000 rpm
that area.
An improvement in trapping efficiency has a positive effect on The high trapping efficiency also gives a low amount of
the fuel consumption, which can bee seen in Fig.6 at 6000 rpm hydrocarbon emissions, which can be seen in Fig.7 to be 50
for different air-fuel lambda ratios. At lambda 0.85 the fuel g/kWh at lambda 0.85. This is by some margin low enough to
consumption rate is 400 g/kWh, which must be considered as pass the emission regulations for this type of product.
very low for a carbureted two-stroke engine.
COLD START AND IGNITION SYSTEM FINE TUNED ENGINE WITH SMALLER EXHAUST
FLANGE
The increase in trapping efficiency has a drawback
though, which is that the scavenging efficiency is slightly The tuned exhaust pipe is designed to echo the exhaust
worsened. This is due to the fact that increasing the pressure wave at the closed end, which then arrives at
trapping efficiency of fresh charge also increases the the exhaust port just before it closes to push the
amount of trapped residual gas. scavenging losses back into the cylinder. This
This has a negative impact on engine performance significantly increases the trapping efficiency. This
mainly when there are difficulties to ignite the charge, process is more thoroughly described in the reference
this situation is most likely found during cold start of the [2,3].
engine. Clearly, it is important to try and raise the amplitude of
The ignition problem are affected by a number of factors, this pressure wave to be as high as is practical, because
including compression ratio, air-fuel ratio, sparkplug gap it will then push as much fresh charge as possible back
etc. But the single factor that had the biggest influence into the cylinder.
was the ignition system. To get a high amplitude wave one has to keep the
diameter of the pipe small, but not so small that it
excessively restricts the engine airflow.
7000
In this case it was found that the best way of achieving
6000 this was to make only the first part of the tuned pipe
Engine Speed (rpm)

smaller, and it was found that the optimum dimension of

5000 that part of the pipe was 16 mm diameter. This is the
4000 section in between the exhaust port and the outlet hole,
were the exhaust gases finally escape into the silencer.
3000 TCI After the outlet hole the pipe was sharply expanded and
2000
CDI the rest of the pipe remained at the same diameter as in
the standard engine, where the complete pipe, including
1000 the exhaust flange, has a diameter of 22 mm.
It was also found that there was an advantage to move
0
the outlet hole into the silencer further away from the
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 exhaust port. Hence, that hole was moved some 30 mm
Time from cold start (sec) farther into the silencer, making the first part of the pipe
some 70mm long compared to 40 mm for the standard
Fig. 8 Engine speed after cold start with different ignition engine.
systems Another change was that the new tuned pipe length in
total is made 10 mm longer. The reason for this is to
At first a capacitive discharge ignition (CDI) system was keep the tuning speed the same as before, but this is
used, which is characterized by a short and intense explained later in this section.
spark [10,11]. In, Fig.8 the engine fitted with CDI ignition
system can be seen as the red curve, the x-axis shows
60 Standard 22 mm pipe
the engine speed at full throttle directly after start up for 16 mm pipe
a cold down H356BTx. For the first 15 seconds it can be
50
seen that the engine speed hesitates around 4000 rpm,
this is due to the engine misfiring before it heats up
40
HC (g/kWh)

properly. The parameters mention before was all found

to influence the length of the misfiring period, but none of 30
them solving the problem completely. The most effective
solution was to switch to a transistorized coil ignition 20
(TCI) system that is characterized by a longer duration
spark [10,11], which showed very effective in improving 10
on this problem, and can be seen as the black curve,
which does not hesitate at all. 0
This test was run at 20°C ambient temperature and
0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1
lambda air-fuel ratio of 0.9. As the temperature gets Lambda
colder and/or the air-fuel ratio gets leaner the situation
gets more difficult, and this becomes a very noticeable Fig.9 Measured hydrocarbon emissions at 6000rpm.
problem for the user, if the CDI system was used.
 EO TO BDC TC EC
2

1.9

1.8

1.7

1.6
Pressure (atm)

1.5

1.4

1.3

1.2

1.1
Standard Fine tuned
S i 3 S i 4
1
100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260
Crank angle ATDC (deg)

Fig.10 Simulated pressure (from engine simulation software Virtual 2-Stroke) versus crank angle degrees at the exhaust
port. The standard engine compared with the fine tuned version at 6000rpm.

In Fig.9 it can be seen that with these modifications to The higher wave amplitude also explains why the pipe
the engine the hydrocarbon emissions are lowered with had to be lengthened by a total of 10 mm. A higher
10 g/kWh, or some 20 % at 6000 rpm. amplitude compression wave propagates at a higher
This is a considerable amount given the relatively simple speed, so for the same duration for the reflected (echo)
modifications that have been made to the engine. Only wave to return to the exhaust port the pipe must be
one pipe diameter was changed and an exit hole shifted made longer.
about 30 mm. It also highlights how important it is to pay It is important that this timing is kept constant since the
attention to details, because they do have a profound power output is the same as for the standard engine,
impact on the final performance of the engine. which means the working speed of the blower can
To explain the physics behind this improvement a graph remain the same at 6000 rpm.
with simulated pressure traces, from the engine
simulation software Virtual 2-Stroke proves helpful. HIGH POWER REDESIGNED ENGINE
These are taken at the exhaust port for both engines
and are shown in figure 10. The finding that small changes in pipe dimensions could
The main difference here is that the amplitude of the have a large impact on the performance of the engine,
exhaust pressure wave is higher with the smaller pipe, lead to the conclusion that further improvements could
which was earlier explained as the probable outcome of be made. To find them a complete redesign of the
this modification. The amplitude is higher both when the engine was made.
exhaust port opens, but more importantly when the The goal this time was not to simply to reduce the
pressure wave arrives back to the exhaust port before it exhaust emissions further, but rather to retain them as
closes. For the standard engine the peak amplitude is constant, and instead try to increase the power output.
1.7 atm, compared to about 1.9 atm for the modified
engine. This makes for much more effective tuning as
that will push more of the scavenging losses of fresh
charge (and unburned fuel) back into the cylinder again.
The focus was once again on the unsteady gas Many test parameters from this up rated engine show
dynamics of the engine, meaning that the modifications substantial differences, but in the first few graphs the
were to be mainly on port timing and on the dimensions similarities are exhibited. The specific hydrocarbon
of the intake and the exhaust pipes. emissions (Fig.11) are roughly the same as for the
The crankcase, crankshaft, and piston were unchanged standard engine, which means just over 50 g/kWh at the
from the standard engine, giving the same bore, stroke working speed of the engine. All these tests are made at
and crankcase volume. Apart from that most of the lambda 0.8-0.85.
engine layout was redesigned. This implies that this up rated engine is still good enough
A new prototype engine was designed and built that to pass the emissions standards of today. The reason
included the smaller exhaust flange earlier found to have for the good HC emissions can be seen in the trapping
a positive effect. However, this time the rest of the efficiency curves in Fig.12, which are very similar to the
exhaust system was also redesigned and combined with standard engine at the peak power engine speed.
a different port layout. Just as for the standard engine this is also positive for
The modification that probably had the biggest effect the fuel consumption as can be seen in Fig.13 for both
was once again at the exhaust flange and at the engines at their tuned engine speed.
connection between the two parts of the tuned pipe. On
this engine there was a divergent cone placed there, 120
which enhanced the delivery ratio and air flow through High Power
the engine. 100 Standard
Another change worth mentioning is that the exhaust
port opens earlier, which gives a stronger pressure 80

HC (g/kWh)
pulse. By opening the port earlier the released pressure
wave also has higher amplitude and hence will tune 60
more effectively.
On the intake side, the intake pipes were kept at the 40
same dimensions but a carburetor with a larger diameter
venturi was used to minimize the restriction there, and 20
better match the need for increased airflow through the
engine. 0
The engine speed at maximum power was slightly 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500
increased to 6500 rpm, from 6000 rpm for the standard Engine Speed (rpm)
engine. The reason for that is, since this engine is Fig.11 Hydrocarbon emissions as function of engine
intended to have a higher power output, this will push speed for standard and redesigned engine.
the blower fan to a higher speed and hence the engine
must also be tuned at that higher rotating speed.
In Table.2 a summary of the changes made and the 0.88
main dimensions of the engine are recorded. 0.86
0.84
Standard Redesign 0.82
Exhaust port open ATDC 110° 98°
0.8
TE

Scavenging port open ATDC 135° 131°

0.78
Intake port open BTDC 70° 78°
0.76
Compression ratio Trapped 6.1:1 6.1:1
0.74 High Power
Ignition timing BTDC 17° 17°
Standard
Length 40 mm 80 mm 0.72
Exhaust flange
Diameter 22 mm 15 mm 0.7
Length - 40 mm 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500
Divergent cone Engine Speed (rpm)
Diameter - 15/25 mm
Length 630mm 540mm Fig.12 Trapping efficiency as function of engine speed
Tuned pipe for standard and redesigned engine
Diameter 22mm 25 mm
Outlet hole Diameter 7.5mm 12.5mm
Carburetor venturi Diameter 13.5 mm 17.5 mm
Table.2 Parameters of standard and redesigned engine
 480
This increase in charging efficiency gives a
High Power 6500rpm corresponding increase in power and torque, of more
460 Standard 6000rpm than 30% (Fig.16). It can also be seen that the maximum
440 power speed has increased about 500 rpm compared to
the standard engine. This it was supposed to do to
BSFC (g/kWh)

420
better match the power curve of the blower fan.
400 The BMEP seen in Fig.17 normalizes the torque of an
380 engine by the displacement, and thus allows comparison
of different size engines.
360 A maximum of 5.3 bar BMEP is not an astonishing figure
340 for a two-stroke engine, but it is for an industrial engine
destined to meet the emission laws without a catalyst.
320
Considering this is a carburetted industrial engine
0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1
Lambda intended for a handheld application with a HC emission
level of 50 g/kWh, this is indeed a most competitive
Fig.13 Fuel consumption rate as function of lambda, for performance level.
standard and redesigned engine
3
0.75 2.8
High Power
0.7 2.6
Standard
2.4
0.65

Power (kW)
2.2
0.6 2
DR

0.55 1.8
Standard
1.6
0.5 High Power
1.4
0.45 1.2
1
0.4
4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500
4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 Engine Speed (rpm)
Engine Speed (rpm)
Fig.16 Power as function of engine speed for standard
Fig.14 Delivery ration as function of engine speed for and redesigned engine
standard and redesigned engine

From Fig.14 on, there are significant dissimilarities with 5.5

the standard engine as there is a substantial increase in 5
Delivery Ratio up to around 65% at the peak power
engine speed for the modified engine. 4.5
Together with the good trapping efficiency retained in
BMEP (bar)

Fig.12 this produces a large gain in Charging Efficiency 4

as can be seen in Fig.15. 3.5
0.65 High Power 3
0.6 Standard Standard
2.5
High Power
0.55
2
0.5 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500
CE

Engine Speed (rpm)

0.45
Fig.17 BMEP as function of engine speed for standard
0.4 and redesigned engine
0.35

0.3
4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500
Engine Speed (rpm)

Fig.15 Charging efficiency as function of engine speed

for standard and redesigned engine
CONCLUSIONS 5. Takamassa Ohtsuji, Buhei Kobayashi, “Investigation
of low emission two-stroke cycle engine chainsaw”, SAE
The application of the exhaust tuned engine in a paper no. 2002-32-1841
Backpack blower which is described in this paper,
demonstrates that this concept is a technology that can 6. G. P. Blair, B. W. Hill, A. J. Miller, S. P. Nickell,
be very effectively used to not only meet the exhaust "Reduction of fuel consumption of a spark ignition two-
and noise emission regulations, but provide high power stroke cycle engine", SAE paper no. 830093
output and low fuel consumption.
The really big advantage is that this is still a simple 7. M. Bergman, R.U.K Gustafsson, B.I.R Jonsson,
carburetor two-stroke engine with all that implies in “Performance Evaluation of a 25 cc stratified scavenging
terms of cost, bulk and weight for handheld power Two-stroke Engine” SAE Paper 2003-32-0047
application by comparison with its four-stroke
competitors. Not only that, but an additional exhaust 8. J. Schlossarczyk, G. Maier and T. Roitsch,
catalytic converter is not necessary at this stage to meet “Conceptual Design Study for a Catalytic Muffler
the emission laws. Chainsaw Application to Fulfill Emission Standards and
The prototype engines that have gone through such Thermal Demands”, SAE Paper 2004-32-0060
further development work demonstrate that there is still
potential for even more improvements. 9. Konrad Knaus, Jurgen Häberlein, Georg Becker,
A BMEP level well over 5 bar is found possible to be Heiko Rosskamp, “A New High-Performance Four-
reached at a high engine speed without any sacrifice of Stroke Engine for All-Position Use in Hand-Held Power
the low emission levels. Tools”, SAE Paper 2004-32-0075
These facts prove this concept to be a very competitive
approach, particularly if the design goal is high power 10. J. Geiger, S. Pischinger, R. Böwing, H J. Koss and J.
output combined with low exhaust and noise emissions Thiemann “Ignition Systems for Highly Diluted Mixtures
whilst retaining all the benefits of the simple carbureted in SI-Engines”, SAE paper 1999-01-0799
two-stroke engine.
11. D. J. Grupp and J. K. Martin “ Ignition System
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Characteristics and Effects on Combustion for a Two-
Stroke Engine” SAE paper 2002-01-0644
The author would like to thank Husqvarna AB for the
provision of the engine test data and also Anim Tech for 12. Blair, Gordon, P US patent number 2002152747,
the animated pictures used in the preparation of this date Oct. 24, 2002
paper.
13. F. Hoche, A. Klimmek US patent number 7032709,
date April 25, 2006
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1. G. P. Blair, “Design and simulation of Two-Stroke DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS

Engines”, SAE R-161, 1996, ISBN 1-56091-685-0
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
2. G. P. Blair, “Design and Simulation of Engines: a CARB: California Air Resources Board
Century of Progress” SAE paper no 1999-01-3346 BTDC: Before Top Dead Centre (deg)
BBDC: Before Bottom Dead Centre (deg)
3. R. U. K. Gustafsson, G. P. Blair, B. I. R. Jonsson ATDC: After Top Dead Centre (deg)
“Reducing Exhaust Emissions and Increasing Power BMEP: Brake Mean Effective Pressure (bar)
Output Using a Tuned Exhaust Pipe on a Two-Stroke BSFC: Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (g/kWh)
Engine” SAE paper no. 2001-01-1853 BSHC: Brake Specific Hydro Carbon (g/kWh)
EO: Exhaust Open
4. Toshiharu Sawada, Minoru Wada, Masanori Noguchi, EC: Exhaust Closing
Buhei Kobayashi, "Development of a low emission TO: Transfer Open
two.stroke cycle engine", SAE paper no. 980761 TC: Transfer Closing
BDC: Bottom Dead Centre