The 4 Stroke Diesel Cycle

The 4 Stroke Diesel Cycle
• Nickolaus Otto invented the 4 stroke cycle in

1862. More details of how the four stroke spark
ignition cycle works, together with pictures of
Otto's first engines can be found here
• In 1892 Rudolph Diesel invented the
compression ignition engine, now named after
him. The first working engine was built at the
Augsburg Maschinenfabrik (now part of the MAN
B&W group) in 1897. The single cylinder engine
was used to power stationary machinery. It
weighed five tonnes and produced 20 hp at 172
rpm! The engine operated at 26.2% efficiency, a
very significant improvement on the 20%
achieved by the best petrol engines of the time.
• In 1912 the first ocean going vessel to have diesel engines installed was the
Selandia. The engines were 8 cylinder 4 strokes. An idea of their size can be
got from the man standing by the engine controls half way down the engine.
• The four stroke cycle is so called because it takes four strokes of the piston to
complete the processes needed to convert the energy in the fuel into work.
Because the engine is reciprocating, this means that the piston must move up
and down the cylinder twice, and therefore the crankshaft must revolve twice.
• The four strokes of the piston are known as the induction stroke, the
compression stroke, the power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. Students
sometimes remember this as "suck, squeeze, bang, blow."
1. INDUCTION:
• The crankshaft is
rotating clockwise
and the piston is
moving down the
cylinder. The inlet
valve is open and a
fresh charge of air is
being drawn or
pushed into the
cylinder by the
turbocharger
2. COMPRESSION:
• The inlet valve has closed and
the charge of air is being
compressed by the piston as it
moves up the cylinder. Because
energy is being transferred into
the air, its pressure and
temperature increase. By the
time the piston is approaching
the top of the cylinder (known as
Top Dead Centre or TDC) the
pressure is over 100 bar and the
temperature over 500°C
3. POWER:
• Just before TDC fuel is injected into
the cylinder by the fuel injector. The
fuel is "atomised" into tiny droplets.
Because they are very small these
droplets heat up very quickly and
start to burn as the piston passes
over TDC. The expanding gas from
the fuel burning in the oxygen forces
the piston down the cylinder, turning
the crankshaft. It is during this stroke
that work energy is being put into the
engine; during the other 3 strokes of
the piston, the engine is having to do
the work
4. EXHAUST
• : As the piston approaches the
bottom of the cylinder (known as
Bottom Dead Centre or BDC) the
exhaust valve starts to open. As the
piston now moves up the cylinder,
the hot gases (consisting mostly of
nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water
vapour and unused oxygen) are
expelled from the cylinder.
• As the Piston approaches TDC again
the inlet valve starts to open and the
cycle repeats itself
Working Principle 4 stroke engine
Induction stroke
Compression stroke – at the end pr. = 35 bar, temp. = 540 º C
Power stroke – temp = 1650º C
Exhaust stroke
Four stroke engine
• The medium speed 4 stroke trunk piston engine can be
found on most medium to large merchant vessels even if
the main engine is either a steam turbine or a 2 stroke
crosshead engine. In these cases it will often be found
that the electrical power is supplied by alternators driven
by medium speed 4 stroke engines.
• They are the favoured method of propulsion on ships
where head room is a minimum, for instance, on ferries
and passenger vessels, and where, as is the current
trend for these ships, diesel electric propulsion is utilised.
Diesel electric propulsion allows the engines to be
placed wherever is most suitable, as they no longer have
to be aligned with reduction gearing and shafting as is
the case with conventional installations.
• Generally, medium speed engines run at between 250 - 850 RPM.
Above this range they are defined as high speed engines. Although
not as powerful as their 2 stroke crosshead cousins, the largest 4
stroke engines are delivering just over 2000kW per cylinder.
Advances in design and materials have led to an increase in
efficiency, together with an increase in turbocharger pressure ratios
which allow a greater quantity of fuel to be burnt per cycle. Medium
speed engines have a higher power to weight ratio than the slow
speed two strokes, but due to the higher speeds tend to have
reduced maintenance intervals. The largest of these engines have a
bore of 640mm and a stroke of 900mm (Wartsila 64), although
engines which are nearly "square" are more the norm: For example,
the Sulzer ZA40 has a bore of 400mm and a stroke of 560mm or the
MAN-B&W 58/64 which has a bore of 580mm and a stroke of
640mm. A square engine is one where the bore is equal to the
stroke.
• The name "Trunk Piston" refers to the piston skirt or trunk. The
purpose of the skirt or trunk in four-stroke cycle engines is to act in a
similar manner to a crosshead. It takes the thrust caused by
connecting-rod angularity and transmits it to the side of the cylinder
liner, in the same way as the crosshead slipper transmits the thrust
to the crosshead guide. With such engines, which are termed trunk-
piston engines, the engine height is considerably reduced compared
with that of a crosshead engine of similar power and speed. The
engine-manufacturing costs are also reduced. It means of course
that there is no separation between the crankcase and the liner and
piston. This has its disadvantages, especially when considering the
choice of lubricating oils when burning high sulphur residual fuels.
4 stroke
engine
working
4 stroke V type engine
Four stroke timing diagram

The 4 Stroke Diesel Cycle

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How does the four stroke cycle work?

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The 4 Stroke Diesel Cycle

• Nickolaus Otto invented the 4 stroke cycle in

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