Combustion in SI Engines

Stages of SI Engine Flame Propagation

Essential Features of Combustion Process Combustion in SI Engines

Dr. M. Zahurul Haq
Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh zahurul@me.buet.ac.bd http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/zahurul/

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ME 401: Internal Combustion Engines

In a conventional SI engine, fuel-air premixture is compressed during the compression stroke. Normally, combustion is initiated towards the end of compression stroke at the spark plug by an electric discharge. Following inammation, a turbulent ame develops, propagates through the air-fuel premixture until it reaches combustion chamber walls, then it extinguishes.
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c Dr. M. Zahurul Haq (BUET)

Combustion in SI Engines

ME 401 (2011)

Combustion in SI Engines

Stages of SI Engine Flame Propagation

Spark discharge is at -30o & ame is visible rst at -24o . Nearly circular ame propagates outward from the spark plug location. Irregular shape of turbulent ame front is apparent. Blue light is emitted most strongly from the ame front. At TC, ame diameter 2/3 of cylinder bore. Flame reaches the farthest cylinder wall at 15o ATC, but combustion continues for another 10o . At about 10o ATC, additional radiation - initially white, turning to pinky-orange centred at the spark plug location is evident. These afterglow comes from the gases behind the ame as these are compressed to the highest temperatures attained in the cylinder (at about 15o ATC) while the rest of the charge burns.
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Images of a SI Engine Combustion Process

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Combustion in SI Engines

Stages of SI Engine Flame Propagation

Combustion in SI Engines

Stages of SI Engine Flame Propagation

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Following spark ignition, there is a period during which pressure rise due to combustion is insignicant. As ame continues to grow and propagates, pressure rises steadily. Pressure is maximum after TC but before the charge is fully burned, and then decreases as the cylinder volume continues to increase in its expansion stroke.
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Volume fraction en-amed (Vf /V ) curves rise more sharply than mass fraction (xb ). In the large part, this is due to u 4b . Also, there are some unburned mixture behind the visible ame: even when the entire combustion chamber is fully en-amed, some 25% of mass still to burn. Cycle-by-cycle combustion variations are evident in ame development and subsequent propagation.
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Combustion in SI Engines

Stages of SI Engine Flame Propagation

Flame development and subsequent propagation vary, cycleV by-cycle: shape of P , Vf & xb curves for each cycle dier signicantly. Flame growth depends on local mixture motion & composition, and these quantities vary in successive cycles in a cylinder and may vary cylinder-to-cylinder. Mixture motion & composition in the vicinity of the spark plug at the time of spark discharge signicantly govern the early stages of ame development. Cycle-by-cycle & cycle-to-cylinder variations are important as the extreme cycles limit the operating regime of engines. Three key factors to inuence the cycle-by-cycle variation:
1 2 3

At the end of compression stroke, an electrical discharge initiates the combustion process; a ame develops from the kernel created by spark discharge and propagates across the cylinder to the walls. At the walls, ame is quenched as heat transfer & destruction of active species at the wall become the dominant processes. Experimental evidences suggest 4 distinct phases in combustion:
1 2 3 4

Variation is gas motion in the cylinder during combustion, Variation in the amounts of fuel, air, and recycled exhaust gas. Variation in mixture composition within the cylinder each cycle especially near the spark plug - due to variations in mixing between air, fuel, recycled exhaust gas, and residual gas.
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Spark ignition Early ame development Flame propagation Flame termination

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Combustion in SI Engines

ME 401 (2011)

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Combustion in SI Engines

Spark Ignition

Combustion in SI Engines

Spark Ignition

Ignition Systems
For a spark to jump across an air gap of 0.6 mm in an engine cylinder, having a compression ratio of 8 : 1, approx. 8 kV is required. Ignition system has to transform battery voltage of 12 V to 8-20 kV and, has to deliver the voltage to the right cylinder, at the right time. About 0.2 mJ of energy is required to ignite a stoichiometric mixture at normal engine operating conditions by means of a spark. Over 3 mJ is required for a rich or lean mixture. In general, ignition systems deliver 30 to 50 mJ of electrical energy to the spark. Fundamental requirements of the ignition source:
1 2 3 4

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1 Ignition voltage, 2 Spark voltage, t Spark duration

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a high ignition voltage to break down in the spark-gap a low source impedance or steep voltage rise a high energy capacity to create a spark kernel of sucient size sucient duration of the voltage pulse to ensure ignition
Combustion in SI Engines Spark Ignition ME 401 (2011) 9 / 28 c Dr. M. Zahurul Haq (BUET)

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Combustion in SI Engines Spark Ignition

ME 401 (2011)

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Combustion in SI Engines

Combustion in SI Engines

Components of Conventional Coil-Ignition System

Overview of Various Ignition Systems

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Battery Ignition switch Coil Distributor Ignition condenser Contact breaker Spark plugs

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Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Flame Development & Propagation

Combustion normally begins at the spark plug where the molecules in and around the spark discharge is activated to a level where reaction is self sustaining. This level is achieved when the energy released by combustion is slightly greater than the heat loss to the metal & the gas surroundings. Initially, ame speed is very low as the reaction zone must be established, and heat loss is high as the spark plug is located near the cold walls. During this period, pressure rise is also small because the mass of mixture burned is small. Unburned gas ahead of ame front, and the burned gas behind the ame front, are raised in temperature by compression, either by a moving piston or by heat conduction from advancing ame. In the nal stage, ame slows down as it approaches the walls of the combustion chamber (from heat loss & low turbulence) and is nally extinguished (wall quenching).
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During combustion, cylinder pressure rises due to release of fuels chemical energy. As u 4b , gas expansion compresses unburned mixture ahead of ame & displaces it towards the walls, and burned gases are pushed towards the spark plug. Elements of unburned mixture which burn at dierent times have dierent pressure and temperature just prior to combustion and thus end up at dierent thermodynamic states after combustion. = Thermodynamic state & composition of burned gas is non-uniform within cylinder.

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ME 401 (2011)

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Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Combustion Process Characterization

Flame-development angle, d : crank angle interval between spark discharge and the time when a small but signicant fraction of the cylinder mass ( 10%) has burned . Rapid-burning angle, b : crank angle interval required to burn the bulk of the charge, interval between end of ame development (xb = 10%) & end of ame propagation (xb = 90%). Overall burning angle, o : o = d + b

Characteristic features of the heat release curve of a SI engine are initial small slope region beginning with spark ignition, followed by a region of rapid growth, and then a more gradual decay. The pattern is generally represented by a Wiebe function:

xb () = 1 exp a s d n a
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s d

: : : :

start of combustion duration of heat release Weibe form factor Weibe eciency factor

a = 5 & n = 3 have been reported to t well with experimental data.

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Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Spark Timing & MBT

Combined duration of the ame development & propagation process is typically between 30 and 90o . Combustion starts before the end of the compression stroke, continue through the early part of the expansion stroke, and ends after the point in the cycle at which the peak cylinder pressure occurs. If the start of the combustion process is progressively advanced before TC, the compression stroke work transfer increases. If the end of the combustion process is progressively delayed by retarding the spark timing, peak cylinder pressure occurs later in the expansion stroke and is reduced in magnitude. These changes reduce the expansion stroke work transfer. The optimum timing which gives the maximum brake torque (MBT), occurs when the magnitudes of these two opposing trends just oset each other.
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Empirical rules with MBT timing:

1 2

the maximum pressure occurs at about 16o after TC half the charge is burned at about l0o after TC.

In practice, the spark is often retarded to give a 1 or 2% reduction in brake torque from the maximum value.
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Combustion in SI Engines

Flame Development & Propagation

Pressure-Volume Diagram of SI Engine

Abnormal Combustion: Knock & Surface Ignition

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In logP-logV diagram: Compression & expansion processes are straight line. Start of combustion & end of combustion are identied by departure of curve from straight line. Compression & expansion processes are given by a relation: PV n = constant
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n = 1.3(0.05)
ME 401 (2011) 19 / 28

The abnormal combustion phenomena are of concern because: when severe, they can cause major engine damage; even if not severe, these are objectionable source of noise.
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Combustion in SI Engines

Knock in SI Engines

Knock in SI Engines

Spark Knock or Knock

Surface Ignition

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Knock is the name of the noise transmitted through the engine structure when essentially spontaneous ignition of a portion of end-gas the fuel, air, residual gas, mixture ahead of the ame front occurs. When knock takes place, there is an extremely rapid release of much of the chemical energy in the end-gas, causing very high local pressures and the propagation of pressure waves of substantial amplitude across the combustion chamber.
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Surface ignition is the ignition of the fuel-air premixtrue by a hot spot on the combustion chamber walls such as an overheated valve or spark plug, or glowing combustion chamber deposit: i.e. any means other than the normal spark discharge. Following the surface ignition, a turbulent ame develops at each surface-ignition locations and starts to propagate across the chamber in an analogous manner to what occurs in normal knock.
c Dr. M. Zahurul Haq (BUET) Combustion in SI Engines Attenuation of Knock ME 401 (2011) 22 / 28 Knock in SI Engines

Reduction of knock in SI engines

To prevent knock in the SI engine the end gas should have: A low temperature A low density A long-ignition delay A non-reactive composition
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When spark is advanced, burning gas is compressed by the raising piston and therefore temperature (& densities) are radically increased. Thus knock is encouraged by the advanced spark timings and relieved by retarding spark timings.
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When engine conditions are changed, the eect of the change may be reected by more than one of the above variables. For example, an increase in compression ratio will increase both the temperature and density of unburned mixture.

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Knock in SI Engines

Attenuation of Knock

Knock in SI Engines

Attenuation of Knock

Temperature Factors in SI Knock Reduction

Density Factors in SI Knock Reduction

Increasing the temperature of the unburned mixture by any of the following factors will increase the possibility of SI engine knock: Raising the compression ratio Raising the inlet air temperature Raising the coolant temperature Raising the temperatures of the cylinder and chamber walls Advancing the spark timing. The temperature of the exhaust valve is relatively high and therefore it should be located near the spark plug and not in the end-gas region.

Increasing the density of unburned mixture by any of the following will increase the possibility of SI engine knock: Opening the throttle (increasing the load) Supercharging the engine Advancing the spark timing Opening the throttle does not appreciably change the gas temperatures when the air-fuel ratio is constant. However, total energy release is proportional to the mass of the mixture in the cylinder, and therefore opening the throttle tends to raise wall temperatures and raise mixture & end-gas temperatures.

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Combustion in SI Engines Attenuation of Knock

ME 401 (2011)

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Combustion in SI Engines Attenuation of Knock

ME 401 (2011)

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Knock in SI Engines

Knock in SI Engines

Time Factors in SI Knock Reduction

Increasing the time of exposure of the unburned mixture to autoigniting conditions by any of the following factors will increase the possibility of SI engine knock: Increasing the distance the ame has to travel in order to traverse the combustion chamber Decreasing the turbulence of the mixture and thus decreasing the ame speed Decreasing engine speed: thus
decreasing the turbulence of the mixture increasing the time available for preame reactions

Composition Factors in SI Knock Reduction

The properties of the fuel and fuel-air ratio are the primary means for controlling knock, once the compression ratio and engine dimensions are selected. The possibility of knock is decreased by Increasing the octane rating of the fuel Either rich or lean mixtures Stratifying the mixture so that the end gas is less reactive Increasing the humidity of the entering air. A rich/lean mixture is eective in reducing knock because of: the longer delay the lower combustion temperature

If the chamber width is great, the end-gas may have time to reach a self-ignition temperature and pass though the ignition delay period before the ame ame has completed its travel.
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ME 401 (2011)

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