DEFINATION

A two-stroke engine is an internal combustion engine that completes the process cycle in one revolution of the crankshaft (an up stroke and a down stroke of the piston, compared to twice that number for a four-stroke engine.

Development
The idea to build a two-stroke engine goes back to the year 1879. But this engine became a qualitatively good product only after many years, when the German DKW company accelerated its development. Because of its disadvantages compared with the four-stroke engine, the two-stroke engine is used practically just in a small range of capacity, e.g. in small motorcycles. Formerly the engine was even used to power tiny cars.

BASICS
Like other types of engines, a two-stroke engine has a crankcase that surrounds and protects all other parts of the engine. Inside, it has a crankshaft, connecting rod and single piston. It's also got an intake port, a reed valve, an exhaust port, and a cylinder---all in addition to the combustion chamber, where the power is produced that moves whatever the engine is powering.

PARTS OF TWO STROKE ENGINE

CRANKSHAFT

The crankshaft in a two-stroke engine rotates, moving the piston by means of the connecting rod. These three parts are the only moving parts in a two-stroke engine. All power produced is a direct result of the action of these three moving parts.

CONNECTING ROD
The connecting rod is connected to the crankshaft at one end, and to the piston at the other. It translates the movement of the crankshaft so that the piston is moved up and down.

PISTON

The piston is moved up and down inside the cylinder by the crankshaft, which is connected to it via the connecting rod. A vacuum is formed as it takes its upward stroke, drawing air and fuel down through the reed valve. When the piston reaches the top, the spark plug then lights the air/fuel mixture, burning it and sending the piston back down. On the downward stroke, the reed valve gets closed because of the increased pressure of the fuel and air mixture within, which is being compressed. New fuel and air travel via the intake port into the cylinder, ready to be burnt. The exhaust is expelled through the exhaust port,

and an unpleasant side effect is that it usually takes some of the unburned fuel mixture with it.

WORKING OF TWO STROKE ENGINE

1st stroke: The piston is at the bottom of the cylinder. A pipe at the left side is opened and lets the fuel mixture, which is already compressed a bit, flow from the lower to the upper part of the cylinder. The fresh gases expulse now the exhaust through an ejection pipe, which is not closed by the piston at this moment. 2nd stroke: After being hurried upward, the piston now covers the pipe on the left side and the ejection pipe. Because there is no way out any more, the upper, fresh gas mixture gets compressed now. At the same time in the part below fresh gas is taken in by the piston driving upward through the open suction pipe. At the upper deadcenter, the compressed fuel mixture is ignited by the sparking plug, the piston is pressed downward while he compresses at the same time the fresh gas below. The process begins again as soon as the piston arrives at its lowest point.

LUBRICATION
Most small petrol two-stroke engines cannot be lubricated by oil contained in their crankcase and sump, since the crankcase is already being used to pump fuel-air mixture into the cylinder. Traditionally, the moving parts (both rotating crankshaft and sliding piston) were lubricated by a premixed fuel-oil mixture (at a ratio between 16:1 and 50:1). As late as the 1960s, petrol stations would often have a separate pump to deliver such a premix fuel to motorcycles. Even then, in many cases, the rider would carry a bottle of their own two-stroke oil. Taking care to close the fuel-tap first, he or she would meter in a little oil (using the cap of the bottle) and then put in the petrol, this action mixing the two liquids. Modern two-stroke engines pump lubrication from a separate tank of oil. This is still a total-loss system with the oil being burnt the same as in the older system, but at a lower and more economical rate. It is also cleaner, reducing the problem of oil-fouling of the spark-plugs and coke formation in the cylinder and the exhaust. Almost the only motors still using premix are hand-held two-stroke devices, such as chainsaws (which must operate in any attitude) and the majority of model engines. All two-stroke engines running on a petrol/oil mix will suffer oil starvation if forced to rotate at speed with the throttle closed, e.g. motorcycles descending long hills and perhaps when decelerating gradually from high speed by changing down through the gears. Two-stroke cars (such

as those that were popular in Eastern Europe in mid-20th century) were in particular danger and were usually fitted with freewheel mechanisms in the powertrain, allowing the engine to idle when the throttle was closed, requiring the use of the brakes in all slowing situations. Large two-stroke engines, including diesels, normally use a sump lubrication system similar to four-stroke engines. The cylinder must still be pressurized, but this is not done from the crankcase, but by an ancillary supercharger

Advantages of 2 Stroke Engines:

- Two-stroke engines do not have valves, simplifying their construction. - Two-stroke engines fire once every revolution (four-stroke engines fire once every other revolution). This gives two-stroke engines a significant power boost. - Two-stroke engines are lighter, and cost less to manufacture. - Two-stroke engines have the potential for about twice the power in the same size because there are twice as many power strokes per revolution.

DISADVATAGES OF 2 STROKE ENGINES

Two-stroke engines don't last nearly as long as four-stroke engines. The lack of a dedicated lubrication system means that the parts of a two-stroke engine wear a lot faster. Two-stroke oil is expensive, and you need about 4 ounces of it per gallon of gas. You would burn about a gallon of oil every 1,000 miles if you used a two-stroke engine in a car. Two-stroke engines do not use fuel efficiently, so you would get fewer miles per gallon.

Two-stroke engines produce a lot of pollution -- so much, in fact, that it is likely that you won't see them around too much longer. The pollution comes from two sources. The first is the combustion of the oil. The oil makes all twostroke engines smoky to some extent, and a badly worn two-stroke engine can emit huge clouds of oily smoke. The second reason is less obvious but can be seen in the following figure: Each time a new charge of air/fuel is loaded into the combustion chamber, part of it leaks out through the exhaust port. That's why you see a sheen of oil around any two-stroke boat motor. The leaking hydrocarbons from the fresh fuel combined with the leaking oil is a real mess for the environment. These disadvantages mean that two-stroke engines are used only in applications where the motor is not used very often and a fantastic power-to-weight ratio is important. In the meantime, manufacturers have been working to shrink and lighten four-stroke engines, and you can see that research coming to market in a variety of new marine and lawn-care products

FOUR STROKE ENGINES

DEFINATION
An internal-combustion engine in which an explosive mixture is drawn into the cylinder on the first stroke and is compressed and ignited on the second stroke; work is done on the third stroke and the products of combustion are exhausted on the fourth stroke.

WORKING
AS their name implies, four-stroke internal combustion engines have four basic steps that repeat with every two revolutions of the engine: (1) Intake stroke (2) Compression stroke (3) Power stroke and (4) Exhaust stroke 1. Intake stroke: The first stroke of the internal combustion engine is also known as the suction stroke because the piston moves to the maximum volume position (downward direction in the cylinder). The inlet valve opens as a result of piston movement, and the vaporized fuel mixture enters the combustion chamber. The inlet valve closes at the end of this stroke.

2. Compression stroke: In this stroke, both valves are

closed and the piston starts its movement to the minimum volume position (upward direction in the cylinder) and compresses the fuel mixture. During the compression process, pressure, temperature and the density of the fuel mixture increases.

3. Power stroke: When the piston reaches the minimum

volume position, the spark plug ignites the fuel mixture and burns. The fuel produces power that is transmitted to the crank shaft mechanism.

4. Exhaust stroke: In the end of the power stroke, the

exhaust valve opens. During this stroke, the piston starts its movement in the minimum volume position. The open exhaust valve allows the exhaust gases to escape the cylinder. At the end of this stroke, the exhaust valve closes, the inlet valve opens, and the sequence repeats in the next cycle. Four stroke engines require two revolutions.

ADVANTAGES OF 4 STROKE ENGINES

The two-stroke vs. four-stroke argument has been going on ever since Dugals Clarks patented the design in 1881, exactly 20 years after Alphonse Beau de Rochas patented the four stroke in 1861. Though 2-strokes are undoubtedly lighted and produce more power per revolution than four strokes, they do have a number of disadvantages. While modern technology has narrowed the gap between these two engine designs, the fact is that 4-stroke engines are preferred for almost every road-going vehicle on the planet.

Fuel Economy
The primary reason that 2-strokes tend to get worse fuel economy than four strokes is that they pull air in through the intake port while simultaneously pushing used gases out through the exhaust port. Along with other factors, this crossover often results in fuel being expelled from the exhaust before it has the opportunity to burn. 4-Stroke engines have a dedicated intake, power and exhaust stroke, which keeps fuel-to-exhaust crossover to a minimum. All else being equal, a 4-stroke engine with the same type

of direct injection system used by modern 2-strokes will still get better fuel economy.

More Torque

In general, 4-stroke engines almost always make more torque at low RPM than 2-strokes. This extra torque has a lot to do with the efficiency of the fuel burn; a 4-stroke uses almost all of its fuel to impart power to the crankshaft, whereas fuel crossover in a 2-stroke means that it will produce less power per RPM. 2-strokes do enjoy an advantage in high-RPM power output, but simply don't produce the torque of a 4-stroke.

More Durability

Because 2-strokes must rev to very high RPM to make any power, most applications using them are geared toward maintaining that RPM. Any engine designer will tell you that the more times an engine goes around, the quicker it will wear out. It's pretty simple math; if an engine can go through ten million RPMs before it wears out, then one that revolves at 5,000 revolutions per minute will go 2000 minutes between rebuilds. The same engine running at 10,000 RPM will only last 1,000 minutes.

Cleaner Emissions

Above all else, the primary reason that 2-strokes aren't more popular in mass-vehicle applications is that they tend to run very dirty. 2-stroke engines require that oil be injected with the fuel in order to lubricate the crankcase; that oil gets burned along with the gasoline, which drastically increases emissions and soot. 4-Stroke engines

have a dedicated oiling system that's kept largely separate from the combustion chamber, which help to ensure that the only thing burning in the engine is gasoline. If you've ever seen an old car blowing huge plumes of blue smoke from its tailpipe, then you've witnessed the effect that oil burning can have on emissions.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 4 AND 2 STROKE ENGINES

In a 4-stroke engine the sequence can be written: 1. Compression Stroke. The piston goes up and compresses a fuel/air mixture (in a gas engine) or just air (in a diesel). 2. Power Stroke. The fuel is ignited (by a spark in a gas engine, by being injected into high temperature air in a diesel.) The energy released drives the piston down. This provides the momentum necessary to keep the crankshaft turning and make the other three strokes happen. 3. Exhaust Stroke. The piston goes up and pushes the burned gases out the exhaust valve. 4. Intake Stroke. The piston goes down and draws in new air, or fuel/air mixture, ready for the next compression stroke. In a 2-stroke engine, the last three strokes are combined into one. 1. Compression Stroke. The piston goes up and compresses a fuel/air mixture (in a gas engine) or just air (in a diesel.) 2. Power Stroke. The fuel is ignited and drives the piston down. As the piston goes down it not only turns the crankshaft but also pressurizes the fuel/air mixture in the crankcase which is about to be admitted to the piston for the next cycle. Near the bottom of the stroke, an outlet opens and the exhaust gases are released. Even nearer the bottom of the stroke, an inlet opens and new fuel/air (which was just pressurized by the piston) rushes in ready for compression.

Because a 2-stroke engine gets a power stroke twice as often as a four-stroke engine, it puts out about twice as much power (and makes twice as much noise) as a four-stroke engine of the same size. The downside is that, because the 2-stroke engine is sloppier about how it expels exhaust and takes in fuel, doing them almost at the same time, it is more polluting. Also, the 2-stroke engine lets fuel into the crankcase, where the piston can pressurize it prior to intake. In order to keep the crankcase lubricated, you have to add expensive lubricants to the fuel, and even so, 2stroke engines don't last very long.

CYCLE CATEGORIZATION: This is one of the important points to discuss, which is the thermodynamics of the combustion process. There are two main cycles based on which we can categorize internal combustion engines, which are: Otto cycle and Diesel cycle. OTTO CYCLE: Otto cycle is the typical cycle for most of the cars internal combustion engines, that work using gasoline as a fuel. Otto cycle is exactly the same one that was described for the four-stroke engine. It consists of the same four major steps: Intake, compression, ignition and exhaust.

Figure 6 PV diagram for Otto cycle

On the PV-diagram, 1-2: Intake: suction stroke 2-3: Isentropic Compression stroke 3-4: Heat addition stroke 4-5: Exhaust stroke (Isentropic expansion) 5-2: Heat rejection The distance between points 1-2 is the stroke of the engine. By dividing V2/V1, we get:

where r is called the compression ratio of the engine. The efficiency is taken to be:

DIESEL CYCLE: In the Diesel Cycle, named after Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (1858-1913), only air is admitted in the intake stroke. The air is then adiabatically compressed, and fuel is injected into to the hot air in the form of many small drops (not a vapor). Each drop burns over a small time, giving an approximation of a isobaric explosion. The explosion pushes the cylinder outwards. The power stroke, valve exhaust, and exhaust stroke which follow are identical to those in the Otto Cycle.

A - 1 to 2: Isentropic compression B - 2 to 3: Reversible constant pressure heating C - 3 to 4: Isentropic expansion D - 4 to 1: Reversible constant volume cooling In other words, the only difference between is the Otto engine and diesel engine is that the latter does not require a spark plug to ignite the fuel; the fuel here is ignited under the effect of increase in pressure and temperature. In Diesel engines, compression ratios are as high as 22.5 to 1, where for Otto engines it normally does not reach even one fifth that number.

The four cycles of the diesel engine are: 1 - The piston is moved away from the cylinder head by the crankshaft, drawing only air into the cylinder. 2 - The piston moves towards the cylinder head, compressing the air. At the end of the stroke vaporized fuel is injected into the cylinder and is ignited by the high temperature of the air. 3 - The piston is forced away from the cylinder head by the gas, expanding after the ignition of the fuel. 4 - The exhaust valve is opened and the piston moves towards the cylinder head, driving the exhaust gases from the cylinder.

CONCEPT ENGINE: 5 STROKE ENGINE The patented 5-stroke concept, which was invented by Gerhard Schmitz, utilizes two fired cylinders operating on a conventional 4-stroke cycle, which alternately exhaust into a central expansion cylinder, where the hot exhaust gases act on a third cylinder. The third cylinder is an additional low-pressure expansion cylinder decoupled from the expansion and compression processes of the 4-stoke pair, and enables the optimum expansion ratio to be selected independently of the compression ratio.

From that one has learned the expansion ratio, the value between the intake air into the 4-stoke cylinder and its exhaust gases are of considerable interest. The engine runs an overall expansion ratio in the region of 14.5:1, which approaches the ratio of a diesel engine. The advantage to following the expansion ratio in the design is the compression ratio can be reduced to delay knock (pre ignition, where the conditions inside the combustion chamber ignite the air fuel mixture) onset without a reduction in performance. These insights in the use of the thermodynamics has the running of the lab engine producing impressive fuel consumption readings over a very wide operating range. The building of the new engine is a cast cylinder head, a machined solid cylinder block and separate electrically powered oil and water pumps. Two overhead camshafts operate the conventional coil spring valve gear with the camshaft for the 4-stoke cylinders running at one half crankshaft speed and the fifth stoke cylinders camshaft running at crankshaft speed. The engine is also turbocharged to increase the engine rating. The entire construction uses current manufacturing technology as well. The payoff is in the early results. From 700cc peak power is 130 bulk horsepower @ 7000 rpm

with torque up to 166 newton meters @ 5000 rpm using a paltry 226 grams of fuel per kilowatt hour. Ilmor says the prototype is up and ready for road testing and could be used as a conventional engine or as part of a hybrid drive train. The company says it is keen a British term expressing a strong motivation, to find a partner to help develop the engine and it is talking to automakers and top suppliers about the technology.

Principle of operation
The 5-stroke concept engine utilises two fired cylinders (High Pressure - HP) operating on a conventional 4-stroke cycle which alternately exhaust into a central expansion cylinder (Low Pressure - LP), whereupon the burnt gases perform further work. The LP cylinder decouples the expansion and compression processes and enables the optimum expansion ratio to be selected independently of the compression ratio. Running of the concept engine has produced impressive fuel consumption readings over a very wide operating range. This is because at the onset of knock a greater percentage of work can be extracted in the LP cylinder, giving a degree of self compensation.

5-stroke performance figures

Peak power 130 bhp @ 7000 rpm Engine capacity 700cc (turbocharged) Peak torque 166 Nm @ 5000 rpm Fuel consumption of only 226 g/kWh

ADVANTAGES OF 5 STROKE ENGINE CONCEPT

A secondary cylinder provides an additional expansion process enabling extra work to be extracted, hence increasing thermodynamic efficiency. The engine runs an overall expansion ratio approaching that of a diesel engine in the region of 14.5:1 Minimised pumping work due to the downsizing effect from highly rated firing cylinders. The compression ratio can be reduced to delay knock onset without a reduction in performance. Because the firing cylinders can be very highly rated, the engine is relatively compact. The fuel consumption does not rise as rapidly with increasing BMEP, as retarding rejects more energy into the expansion cylinder.

The engine uses 100% conventional technology and so requires no new manufacturing techniques.

An engine is defined as the machine that converts the chemical energy liberated through combustion of a certain fuel, into a mechanical energy that is used to derive a certain vehicle. The definition highlights two important facts about the engines. First, an engine is a machine, hence a mechanism exists. This mechanism can vary, and thus we can have more than one mechanism of operation. The two most famous mechanism of actions are the twostroke and four-stroke engines. As clear from its name, the only difference exists in the so-called stroke. This leads to different design considerations, and accordingly leads to distinguishable efficiency for each kind. There is a third design for engines that is called the Rotary Engine. MENG 491students are working on designing and manufacturing a rotary engine this semester.