Reciprocating engine dynamic properties

Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
11
Torque resulting from gas pressure alone for a single cylinder engine.
The torque resulting from gas pressure alone is represented by the equation:
where
t
g
= Gas torque [Nm]
P
g
= Gas pressure [Nm
-2
]
A = Area of top of piston [m
-2
]
Engine Excitation Mechanisms (Single Cylinder Engine) 4/5
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
12
Total torque for a single cylinder engine
The total torque is found by summing these two components.
Note that the torque from gas pressure dominates (for the engine firing case).
The sum of the inertia and the gas torques is present at the flywheel and
has to be reacted by the engine structure
Engine Excitation Mechanisms (Single Cylinder Engine) 5/5
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
13
Primary inertia forces. These arise from the force that must be applied to accelerate the piston over the
first half of its stroke, and similarly from the force developed by the piston as it decelerates over the second
half of its stroke. When the piston is around the mid-stroke position it is then moving at the same speed as
the crankpin and no inertia force is being generated. For an engine to be acceptable in practice, the
arrangement and number of its cylinders must be so contrived that the primary inertia forces generated in
any particular cylinder are directly opposed by those of another cylinder. Where the primary inertia forces
cancel one another out in this manner, as for example in an in-line or a horizontally opposed four-cylinder
engine with the outer and inner pair of pistons moving in opposite directions, the engine is said to be in
primary balance.
Secondary inertia forces. These are due to the angular variations that occur between the connecting rod
and the cylinder axis as the piston performs each stroke. As a consequence of this departure from straight-
line motion of the connecting rod, the piston is caused to move more rapidly over the outer half of its stroke
than it does over the inner half. That is, the piston travel at the two ends of the stroke differs for the
same angular movements of the crankshaft. The resulting inequality of piston accelerations and
decelerations produces corresponding differences in the inertia forces generated. Where these differing
inertia forces can be both matched and opposed in direction between one cylinder and another, as for
example in a horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine with corresponding pistons in each bank moving over
identical parts of their stroke the engine is said to be in secondary balance. It is not always practicable for
the cylinders to be arranged so that secondary balance can be obtained, but fortunately the vibration effects
resulting from this type of imbalance are much less severe than those associated with primary imbalance
and can usually be minimized by the flexible mounting system of the engine. This is confirmed by the long-
established and popular in-line four-cylinder engine, which possesses primary balance but lacks secondary
balance. However, the continuing search for greater refinement of running with this type of engine led, in the
mid 1970s, to a revival of interest in the use of twin counterbalancing shafts for cancelling out these
secondary inertia forces. (http://www.epi-eng.com/piston_engine_technology/piston_motion_basics.htm)
Simplified understanding of Primary and Secondary inertia forces
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
14
Some measures are employed to get partial or complete compensation of the forces
and moments of inertia generated from the crankshaft assembly.
All masses are externally balanced when no free inertial forces or moments are
transmitted to the outside through the cylinder block. However, the remaining internal
forces and moments apply various loads and deformative-vibratory stresses to the engine
mounts and block.
The simplest way to balance rotating mass is to use counterweights to generate an
equal force to oppose the centrifugal one.
The 1-st order inertial forces are propagated at crankshaft speed, while the periodicity
of the 2
nd
-order forces is twice the crankshaft's rotational rate. These forces are
compensated by a counterweight balance system designed for opposed rotation at
a rate equal to or twice that of the crankshaft. The balance forces magnitudes must
equal those of the rotating inertial force vectors acting in the opposite direction.
In multiple cylinder engine, the mutual counteractions of the various components in the
crankshaft assembly are one of the key factor determining the crankshaft configuration
and consequently the engine design. The inertial forces are balanced if the common
center of gravity for all moving components lies at the crankshaft midpoints: i.e. if
the crankshaft is symmetrical.
Key issue on masses balancing
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
15
Firing sequence
engine design configuration
uniformity of ignition intervals
ease of crankshaft manufacture
minimization of crankcase load patterns
The firing sequence is the sequence in which combustion is initiated in the
cylinders.
The arrangement of the crankthrows is determined by the requirements for
even firing intervals of the cylinders and for spacing the successive power
impulses as far apart as possible along the crankshaft, so as to reduce torsional
deflections or twisting effects. For any four-stroke engine the firing intervals
must, if they are to be even, be equal to 720 divided by the number of
cylinders.
The firing sequences determines the position of the crankthrows and is
defined considering: