Internal Combustion

Engines

*Introduction
*Fuels
*Four Stroke Engine
*Parts of a four stroke engine
About this Lesson

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Introduction
 Fuels

Why are nearly all vehicles and engines

powered by gasoline?
extremely high energy density
cheap (relative to other sources)
easy and safe to move around
 Fuels

Why not use other fuels?

Size of engines needed to utilize these
fuels is impractical for automobiles
lawnmowers etc.
Convenience
it takes 15 seconds to pump a gallon of gas
vs. several hours to recharge batteries (i.e.
electric cars)
 Fuels

What are other types of fuels that can be

used?
Wood- steam engines
Coal- steam engines
Oil
Electricity
 Internal Combustion

Where do we get internal combustion?

The idea here is to take a fuel (gasoline for
example) and burn it in an engine to create
movement of cars and other gas powered
machines. This is where we get internal
combustion engines.
 Internal Combustion

 A cannon uses the basic

principles of internal
combustion engines. If
you take a small amount
of high energy fuel (like
gasoline) in a small,
enclosed space and ignite
it, an incredible amount
of energy is released in
the form of expanding
gas.
 The four-stroke cycle

Almost all engines use a four-stroke

combustion cycle to convert gasoline into
motion.
This is also known as the Otto cycle in honor
of Nikolaus Otto who invented it in 1867.
This process takes the basic example of a
cannon several steps further.
 The four-stroke cycle

The four stroke

combustion cycle
consists of:
1. Intake
2. Compression
3. Combustion
4. Exhaust
 The four-stroke cycle

The piston starts at The piston then

the top, the intake moves up to
valve opens and the compress the
piston moves down to air/gasoline mixture.
let the engine take in This makes the
a full cylinder of air explosion more
and gasoline during powerful.
the intake stroke
 The four-stroke cycle

When the piston The the piston

reaches the top, the reaches the bottom of
spark plug emits a its stroke the exhaust
spark to ignite the valve opens and the
gasoline/air mixture. exhaust leaves out of
The gasoline/air the tailpipe.
mixture explodes The engine is ready
driving the piston for another cycle.
down.
 Parts of an engine

Cylinder- where the piston moves up and

down. Most lawnmowers are 1 cylinder
while automobiles are 4,6,8, and 10.
Spark plug- supplies spark for the fuel/air
mixture.
Valves- let air in and exhaust out.
Note: both valves are closed during the
compression stroke.
 Parts of an engine

 Piston- cylindrical piece of metal that moves up

and down the cylinder.
 Piston rings- rings provide a sliding seal between
the piston and cylinder.
 Rings serve two purposes:
prevent fuel/air from leaking into the sump
prevent oil from entering the combustion
chamber
 Parts of an engine

Combustion chamber- area where combustion

and compression takes place.
Connecting rod- connects the piston to the
crankshaft.
Crankshaft- the crankshaft turns the up and
down motion of the piston into circular motion
Sump- (oil pan) contains and collects oil for
lubrication
Parts of an engine
 Source

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