UNIT III COMBUSTION AND COMBUSTION CHAMBERS

Combustion
It is a chemical reaction
Liberation of heat energy
Increase in temperature of the gases

Fuel + Air ----Product of combustion

Condition for Combustion:
Presence of combustible mixture
Some means of initiating combustion
 Homogeneous Combustion
 Heterogeneous Combustion

Combustion in SI Engines (Homogeneous combustion)

In a conventional SI engine, fuel and air are mixed together in the intake system, inducted through
the intake valve into the cylinder where mixing with residual gas takes place, and then compressed
during the compression stroke.
Under normal operating conditions, combustion is initiated towards the end of compression stroke at
the spark plug by an electric discharge. Following inflammation, a turbulent flame develops,
propagates through the premixed air-fuel mixture (and burned gas mixture from the previous cycle)
until it reaches combustion chamber walls, then it extinguishes.
Combustion event must be properly located relative to the TDC to obtain max power or torque.
Combined duration of the flame development and propagation process is typically between 30 and 90
CA degrees.
If the start of combustion process is progressively advanced before TDC, work of compression (from
piston to cylinder gases) increases. If the end of 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 from cylinder gases to the
piston. The optimum timing which gives maximum brake torque (called maximum brake torque or
MBT timing) occurs when magnitude of these two opposing trends just offset each other.
Timing which is advanced or retarded from this optimum MBT timing gives lower torque. Optimum
spark setting will depend on the rate of flame development and propagation, length of flame travel
path across the combustion chamber, and details of the flame termination process after it reaches the
wall - these depend on engine design, operating conditions and properties of the fuel-air and burned
gas mixture. With optimum spark setting, max pressure occurs at about 15 degrees CA after TDC (10
- 15), half the charge is burned at about 10 degrees CA after TDC. In practice spark is retarded to
give a 1 or 2 % reduction in brake torque from max value, to permit a more precise definition of the
timing relative to the optimum.
Stages of Combustion in SI Engine

Theoretical p-θ Diagram

Stages of Combustion in SI Engines
Theoretical p-θ Diagram
There are three stages of combustion in SI Engine.
1. Ignition lag stage
2. Flame propagation stage
3. After burning stage
1. Ignition lag stage
There is a certain time interval between instant of spark and instant where there is a noticeable rise in
pressure due to combustion.
This time lag is called IGNITION LAG.
Ignition lag is the time interval in the process of chemical reaction during which molecules get
heated up to self ignition temperature, get ignited and produce a self propagating nucleus of flame.
The ignition lag is generally expressed in terms of crank angle (θ1). The period of ignition lag is
shown by path A-B. Ignition lag is very small and lies between 0.00015 to 0.0002 second. An
ignition lag of 0.002 second corresponds to 35 deg crank rotation when the engine is running at 3000
rpm. Angle of advance increases with the speed. This is a chemical process depending upon the
nature of fuel, temperature and pressure, proportions of exhaust gas and rate of oxidation or burn
proportions of exhaust gas and rate of oxidation or burning.
2. Flame propagation stage
Once the flame is formed at “B”, it should be self sustained and must be able to propagate through
the mixture. This is possible when the rate of heat generation by burning is greater than heat lost by
flame to surrounding. After the point “B”, the flame propagation is abnormally low at the beginning
as heat lost is more than heat generated. Therefore pressure rise is also slow as mass of mixture
burned is small. Therefore it is necessary to provide angle of advance 30 to 35 deg, if the peak
pressure to be attained 5-10 deg after TDC. The time required for crank to rotate through an angle θ2
is known as combustion period during which propagation of flame takes place.
3. After burning
Combustion will not stop at point “C” but continue after attaining peak pressure a point “C”. This
combustion is known as after burning. This generally happens when the rich mixture is supplied to
engine.
Flame Speed
Flame is the result of a self sustaining chemical reaction occurring within a region of space called the
flame front where unburnt mixture is heated and converted into products. Flame front consists of two
regions; a preheat zone (temperature of the unburnt mixture is raised mainly by heat conduction from
the reaction zone, no significant reaction takes place) and a reaction zone (upon reaching a critical
temperature exothermic chemical reaction begins - the temperature where exothermic reaction begins
to the hot boundary at downstream equilibrium burned gas temperature).
A-B
low transposition rate
low reaction rate

The flame front progresses relatively slowly due to a low transposition rate. Comparatively small
mass of charge burned at the start.
The low reaction rate plays a dominant role resulting in a slow advance of the flame.
The lack of turbulence reduces the reaction rate and hence the flame speed.
B-C
Increased Flame propagation
high transposition rate
High reaction rate

As the flame front leaves the quiescent zone and proceeds into more turbulent areas (area II) where it
consumes a greater mass of mixture, it progresses more rapidly and at a constant rate (B-C)
C-D
low transposition rate
low reaction rate

The volume of unburned charge is very less towards the end of flame travel and so the transposition
rate again becomes negligible thereby reducing the flame speed.
The reaction rate is also reduced again since the flame is entering a zone of relatively low
turbulence (C-D)
Factors affecting the Flame Speed
Turbulence – During Suction & Compression stroke
Fuel - Air Ratio ( Maximum Flame speed Φ= 1.1 to 1.2)
Intake Temperature & Pressure
Compression Ratio
Engine Output: Increased throttle opening will increase the charge density. So Flame speed will
increase
Engine Speed
Turbulence:
Flame speed is quite low in non-turbulent mixtures and increases with increasing turbulence.
Design of the combustion chamber which involves the geometry of cylinder head and piston
crown increases the turbulence during the compression stroke.
Turbulence increases the heat flow to the cylinder wall. It also accelerates the chemical reaction by
increasing the rate of contact of burning and unburned particles.
The increase of flame speed due to turbulence reduces the combustion duration and hence
minimizes the tendency of abnormal combustion. However, excessive turbulence may extinguish the
flame resulting in rough and noisy operation of the Engine.

Fuel - Air Ratio:

The fuel-air ratio has a very significant influence on the flame speed.
The highest flame velocities (minimum time for complete combustion) are obtained with
somewhat richer mixture (point A).
When the mixture is made leaner or richer from point A, the flame speed decreases.
Less thermal energy is released in the case of lean mixtures resulting in lower flame temperature.
Very rich mixtures lead to incomplete combustion which results again in the release of less
thermal energy

Temperature and Pressure:

Flame speed increases with an increase in intake temperature and pressure.
A higher initial pressure and temperature may help to form a better homogeneous air-vapors
mixture which helps in increasing the flame speed.
This is possible because of an overall increase in the density of the charge.

Compression ratio:
A higher compression ratio increases the pressure and temperature of the working mixture which
reduce the initial preparation phase of combustion and hence less ignition advance is needed.
Increased compression ratio reduces the clearance volume and therefore increases the density of
the cylinder gases during burning.
Increasing the density increases the peak pressure and temperature and the total combustion
duration is reduced.
Thus engines having higher compression ratios have higher flame speeds.
Engine output:
With the increased throttle opening the cylinder gets filled to a higher density. The cycle pressure
increases when the engine output is increased. When the output is decreased by throttling, the initial
and final compression pressures decrease and the dilution of the working mixture increases.
The smooth development of self-propagating nucleus of flame become unsteady and difficult.
The main disadvantages of SI engines are the poor combustion at low loads and the necessity of
mixture enrichment (Ø> between 1.2 to 1.3) which causes wastage of fuel and discharge of unburnt
hydrocarbon and the products of incomplete combustion like carbon monoxide etc. in the
atmosphere.
Engine speed:
The flame speed increases almost linearly with engine speed since the increase in engine speed
increases the turbulence inside the cylinder.
The time required for the flame to traverse the combustion space would be halved, if the engine
speed is doubled.

Rate of Pressure Rise

The rate of pressure rise in an engine combustion chamber exerts a considerable influence on:
The peak pressure developed,
The power produced and
The smoothness with which the forces are transmitted to the piston.

The rate of pressure rise is mainly dependent upon the rate of combustion of mixture in the cylinder.
Curve I is for a high, curve II for the normal and curve III for a low rate of combustion.
With lower rate of combustion longer time is required to complete the combustion which necessitates
the initiation of burning at an early point on the compression stroke. Higher rate of combustion
results in higher rate of pressure rise producing higher peak pressures at a point closer to TDC.
Higher peak pressures closer to TDC produce a greater force acting through a large part of the power
stroke and hence, increase the power output of the engine. The higher rate of pressure rise causes
rough running of the engine because of vibrations produced in the crankshaft rotation. It also tends to
promote an undesirable occurrence known as knocking. A compromise between these opposing
factors is accomplished by designing and operating the engine in such a manner that approximately
one-half of the maximum pressure is reached by the time the piston reaches TDC. This results in the
Peak pressure being reasonably close to the beginning of the power stroke, yet maintaining smooth
engine operation.
Normal and Abnormal Combustion

Normal combustion
Spark-ignited flame moves steadily across the combustion chamber until the charge is fully
consumed.
Abnormal combustion
Fuel composition, engine design and operating parameters, combustion chamber deposits may
prevent occurring of the normal combustion process.
There are two types of abnormal combustion.
Knock
Surface ignition
Knock
Knock is the autoignition of the portion of fuel, air and residual gas mixture ahead of the advancing
flame, that produces a noise. As the flame propagates across combustion chamber, end gas is
compressed causing pressure, temperature and density to increase. Some of the end gas fuel-air
mixture may undergo chemical reactions before normal combustion causing autoignition - end gases
then burn very rapidly releasing energy at a rate 5 to 25 times in comparison to normal combustion.
This causes high frequency pressure oscillations inside the cylinder that produce sharp metallic noise
called knock. Knock will not occur when the flame front consumes the end gas before these reactions
have time to cause fuel-air mixture to autoignite. Knock will occur if the precombustion reactions
produce autoignition before the flame front arrives.

Piston Damage by knock

The following are the factors which cause the knock:
(i) The shape of the combustion chamber
(ii) The relative position of the spark plugs
(iii) The chemical nature of the fuel
(iv) The initial temperature and pressure of the fuel
(v) The rate of combustion of that portion of the fuel which is the first to ignite

Effect of Engine variables on Knock

• Compression Ratio
• Mass of Inducted Charge
• Inlet Temperature of the Mixture
• Temperature of the Combustion Chamber Walls
• Retarding the Spark Timing
• Power Output of the engine
• Turbulence
• Engine Speed
• Flame Travel Distance
• Engine Size
• Combustion Chamber Shape
• Location of Spark Plug
• Octane Value of the fuel
Surface Ignition
Surface ignition is ignition of the fuel-air charge by overheated valves or spark plugs, by glowing
combustion chamber deposits or by any other hot spot in the engine combustion chamber - it is
ignition by any source other than the spark plug. It may occur before the spark plug ignites the charge
(preignition) or after normal ignition (postignition). It may produce a single flame or many flames.
Surface ignition may result in knock.
Factors influencing combustion
Engine speed
Equivalence ratio
Residual gas fraction
Induction pressure
Compression ratio
Combustion chamber design
Spark advance
Engine speed:
Mixture burning rate is strongly influenced by engine speed. Increase of the engine speed, reduces
the time available for a complete combustion. Increase in engine speed also increases the mean
piston speed and turbulence intensity and increases flame speed. But this does not affect ignition
delay period, thus delay period increases in CA degrees. To compensate this, ignition timing should
be adjusted – spark advance is increased with increasing engine speed.
Equivalence ratio:
The fuel-air equivalence ratio affects the burning rate. Flame development show a minimum and the
burning rate show a maximum for slightly rich mixtures (φ ≈ 1.2). Burning rate reduces for richer
and leaner mixtures.
Residual Gas Fraction:
The burned gas fraction in the unburned mixture, due to the residual gas fraction and any recycled
exhaust gases (EGR), slows down both flame development and propagation. Residual gas fraction
increases at part loads in SI-engines (due to closing the throttle), reducing flame propagation. Fuel
composition changes can be significant. Faster burning engines (high turbulence) are less sensitive to
changes in mixture composition, p and T than slower burning engines.
Induction pressure:
Increase in the induction pressure reduces flame propagation speed, but also increases the
temperatures at the end of compression process which affects the flame speed, and reduces
combustion duration. Induction pressure is affected at part-loads - partially opened throttle. Flame
speed is reduced. To compensate the increase in combustion duration, spark advance is increased.
Compression ratio:
Increase in CR increases the p and T of the charge at ignition, reduces the mass fraction of the
residual gases - more favorable conditions are developed for ignition which reduces the first stage of
combustion, and increases flame propagation rate in the main stage. Increasing CR, increases
Area/Volume ratio of the cylinder, increasing the cooling effects and the quench layers. Final stage
of combustion is increased.
Combustion Chamber design:
Intake manifold design and combustion chamber shape effects the gas flow and turbulence intensity.
Turbulence strongly effects burning rate of the fuel. Spark plug location effects distance traveled by
the flame and flame front surface area.
Compression ratio:
Increase in CR increases the p and T of the charge at ignition, reduces the mass fraction of the
residual gases - more favorable conditions are developed for ignition which reduces the first stage of
combustion, and increases flame propagation rate in the main stage. Increasing CR, increases
Area/Volume ratio of the cylinder, increasing the cooling effects and the quench layers. Final stage
of combustion is increased.
Combustion Chamber design:
Intake manifold design and combustion chamber shape effects the gas flow and turbulence intensity.
Turbulence strongly effects burning rate of the fuel. Spark plug location effects distance traveled by
the flame and flame front surface area.
Stages of Combustion in CI Engines
The combustion process proceeds by the following stages:
Ignition delay (ab) - fuel is injected directly into the cylinder towards the end of the compression
stroke. The liquid fuel atomizes into small drops and penetrates into the combustion chamber. The
fuel vaporizes and mixes with the high-temperature high-pressure air.
Premixed combustion phase (bc) – combustion of the fuel which has mixed with the air to within the
flammability limits (air at high-temperature and high-pressure) during the ignition delay period
occurs rapidly in a few crank angles.
Mixing controlled combustion phase (cd) – after premixed gas consumed, the burning rate is
controlled by the rate at which mixture becomes available for burning. The rate of burning is
controlled in this phase primarily by the fuel-air mixing process.
Late combustion phase (de) – heat release may proceed at a lower rate well into the expansion stroke
(no additional fuel injected during this phase). Combustion of any unburned liquid fuel and soot is
responsible for this.

Knocking (CI engines)

• In CI engines the fuel, which is in atomized form, is considerably colder than the hot compressed
air in the cylinder.

• Although the actual ignition is almost instantaneous, an appreciable time elapses before the
combustion is in full progress. This time occupied is called the delay period or ignition lag. It is the
time immediately following injection of the fuel during which the ignition process is being initiated
and the pressure does not rise beyond the value it would have due to compression of air. The delay
period extends for about 13o of crank rotation.

• If the delay period in CI engine is long a large amount of fuel will be injected and accumulated in
the chamber. The auto ignition of this large amount of fuel may cause high rate of pressure rise and
high maximum pressure which may cause knocking in diesel engines.

Combustion chambers of SI engines

The design of the combustion chamber for an SI engine has an important influence on the engine
performance and its knocking tendencies.
The design involves
the shape of the combustion chamber
the location of spark plug and
the location of inlet and exhaust valves.

Requirements:
The important requirements of an SI engine combustion chamber are
to provide high power output with minimum octane requirement
high thermal efficiency
smooth engine operation.

Smooth engine operation:

The aim of any engine design is to have a smooth operation and a good economy.
These can be achieved by the following:
• Moderate Rate of Pressure Rise: - Limiting the rate of pressure rise as well as the position of the
peak pressure with respect to TDC affect smooth engine operation.
Reducing the Possibility of Knocking
- Reduction in the possibility of knocking in an engine can be achieved by,
Reducing the distance of the flame travel by centrally locating the spark plug and also by avoiding
pockets of stagnant charge.
Satisfactory cooling of the spark plug and of exhaust valve area which are the source of hot spots
in the majority of the combustion chambers.
Reducing the temperature of the last portion of the charge, through application of a high surface to
volume ratio in that part where the last portion of the charge burns.
High Power Output and Thermal Efficiency:
This can be achieved by considering the following factors:
A high degree of turbulence is needed to achieve a high flame front velocity.
- Turbulence is induced by inlet flow configuration or squish
- Squish is the rapid radial movement of the gas trapped in between the piston and the cylinder head
into the bowl or the dome.
- Squish can be induced in spark-ignition engines by having a bowl in piston or with a dome shaped
cylinder head.
High Volumetric Efficiency
- More charge during the suction stroke, results in an increased power output.
- This can be achieved by providing ample clearance around the valve heads, large diameter valves
and straight passages with minimum pressure drop.
Improved anti-knock characteristics
- Improved anti-knock characteristics permits the use of a higher compression ratio resulting in
increased output and efficiency.
A Compact Combustion Chamber
- Reduces heat loss during combustion and increases the thermal efficiency.

Types of Combustion chambers of SI engines

T- Head Type:

The T-head combustion chambers were used in the early stage of engine development.
Since the distance across the combustion chamber is very long, knocking tendency is high in this
type of engines.
This configuration provides two valves on either side of the cylinder, requiring two camshafts.
From the manufacturing point of view, providing two camshafts is a disadvantage
L-Head Type: A modification of the T-head type of combustion chamber is the L-head type
which provides the two valves on the same side of the cylinder and the valves are operated by a
single camshaft.
The main objectives of the Ricardo's turbulent head design are to obtain fast flame speed and
reduced knock 

In which both the valves are located on the cylinder head.

The overhead valve engine is superior to a sid valve or an L-head engine at high compression
ratios.
Some of the important characteristics of this type of valve arrangement are:
- less surface to volume ratio and therefore less heat loss
- less flame travel length and hence greater freedom from knock
- higher volumetric efficiency from larger valves or valve lifts
F-Head Type:
The F-head type of valve arrangement is a compromise between L-head and I-head types.
Combustion chambers in which one valve is in the cylinder head and the other in the cylinder
block are known as F-head combustion chambers.
Modern F-head engines have exhaust valve in the head and inlet Block.
The main disadvantage of this type is that the inlet valve and the exhaust valve are separately
actuated by two cams mounted on to camshafts driven by the crankshaft through gears.
Combustion Chambers for CI Engines
The most important function of CI engine combustion chamber is to provide proper mixing of
fuel and air in short time.

In order to achieve this, an organized air movement called swirl is provided to produce high
relative velocity between the fuel droplets and the air.

CI engine combustion chambers are classified into two categories

Direct-Injection (DI)
Indirect-Injection (IDI)

This type of combustion chamber is also called an open combustion chamber.

In this type the entire volume of the combustion chamber is located in the main cylinder and the
fuel is injected into this volume
An open combustion chamber is defined as one in which the combustion space is essentially a
single cavity with little restriction from one part of the chamber to the other and hence with no large
difference in pressure between parts of the chamber during the combustion process.
In four-stroke engines with open combustion chambers, induction swirl is obtained either by
careful formation of the air intake passages or by masking a portion of the circumference of the inlet
valve whereas in two-stroke engines it is created by suitable form for the inlet ports.
These chambers mainly consist of space formed between a flat cylinder head and a cavity in the
piston crown in different shapes.
The fuel is injected directly into space.
The injection nozzles used for this chamber are generally of multi hole type working at a relatively
high pressure ( about 200 bar)
Shallow Depth Chamber:
In shallow depth chamber the depth of the cavity provided in the piston is quite small.

This chamber is usually adopted for large engines running at low speeds.

Since the cavity diameter is very large, the squish is negligible.

Hemispherical Chamber:
This chamber also gives small squish. However, the depth to diameter ratio for a cylindrical
chamber can be varied to give any desired squish to give better performance.

Cylindrical Chamber:
This design was attempted in recent diesel engines.

This is a modification of the cylindrical chamber in the form of a truncated cone with base angle
of 30°.

The swirl was produced by masking the valve for nearly 180° of circumference.

Squish can also be varied by varying the depth.

Toroidal Chamber:
The idea behind this shape is to provide a powerful squish along with the air movement, similar
to that of the familiar smoke ring, within the toroidal chamber.

Due to powerful squish the mask needed on inlet valve is small and there is better utilisation of
oxygen.

The cone angle of spray for this type of chamber is 150° to 160°.
The main advantages of this type of chambers are:
Minimum heat loss during compression because of lower surface area to volume ratio and hence,
better efficiency.
No cold starting problems.
Fine atomization because of multi hole nozzle.

The drawbacks of these combustion chambers are:

High fuel-injection pressure required and hence complex design of fuel-injection pump.
Necessity of accurate metering of fuel by the injection system, particularly for small engines.

Indirect-Injection (IDI) Type

In this type of combustion chambers, the combustion space is divided into two parts, one part in
the main cylinder and the other part in the cylinder head.
The fuel-injection is effected usually into that part of the chamber located in the cylinder head.
These chambers are classified further into
- Swirl chamber in which compression swirl is generated.
- Pre combustion chamber in which combustion swirl is induced.
- Air cell chamber in which both compression and combustion swirl are induced
Ricardo Swirl Chamber

Swirl chamber consists of a spherical shaped chamber separated from the engine cylinder and located
in the cylinder head.
• Into this chamber, about 50% of the air is transferred during the compression stroke.
• A throat connects the chamber to the cylinder which enters the chamber in a tangential direction so
that the air coming into this chamber is given a strong rotary movement inside the swirl chamber and
after combustion, the products rush back into the cylinder through same throat at much higher
velocity.
This causes considerable heat loss to walls of the passage which can be reduced by employing a heat
insulated passage.
• This type of combustion chamber finds it application where fuel quality is difficult to control,
where reliability under adverse conditions is more important than fuel economy.
• The use of single hole of larger diameter for the fuel spray nozzle is often important consideration
for the choice of swirl chamber engine.
Precombustion Chamber

Typical pre-combustion chamber consists of an anti chamber connected to the main chamber through
a number of small holes (compared to a relatively large passage in the swirl chamber).

• The pre-combustion chamber is located in the cylinder head and its volume accounts for about 40%
of the total combustion, space.

• During the compression stroke the piston forces the air into the pre-combustion chamber.

• The fuel is injected into the pre-chamber and the combustion is initiated.

• The resulting pressure rise forces the flaming droplets together with some air and their
combustion products to rush out into the main cylinder at high velocity through the small holes.

• Thus it creates both strong secondary turbulence and distributes the flaming fuel droplets
throughout the air in the main combustion chamber where bulk of combustion takes place.

• About 80% of energy is released in main combustion chamber.

• The rate of pressure rise and the maximum pressure is lower compared to those in open type
chamber. • The initial shock if combustion is limited to pre-combustion chamber only.
• The pre-combustion chamber has multi fuel capability without any modification in the injection
system because the temperature of pre-chamber.

• The variation in the optimum injection timing for petrol and diesel operations is only 2 deg. for this
chamber compared to 8 to 10 deg in other chamber design.
Advantages:
(i) Due to short or practically no delay period for the fuel entering the main combustion space,
tendency to knock is minimum, and as such running is smooth. (ii) The combustion in the third
stage is rapid. (iii) The fuel injection system design need not be critical. Because the mixing of fuel
and air takes place in pre-chamber,
Disadvantages:
(i) The velocity of burning mixture is too high during the passage from pre-chambers, so the heat
loss is very high. This causes reduction in the thermal efficiency, which can be offset by increasing
the compression ratio.
(ii) Cold starting will be difficult as the air loses heat to chamber walls during compression.
Air-cell Combustion Chamber

The „energy cell‟ is more complex than the precombustion chamber.

• As the piston moves up on the compression stroke, some of the air is forced into the major and
minor chambers of the energy cell.

• When the fuel is injected through the pintle type nozzle, part of the fuel passes across the main
combustion chamber and enters the minor cell, where it is mixed with the entering air.

• Combustion first commences in the main combustion chamber where the temperature is higher, but
the rate of burning is slower in this location, due to insufficient mixing of the fuel and air.
• The burning in the minor cell is slower at the start, but due to better mixing, progresses at a more
rapid rate.

• The pressure built up in the minor cell , therefore , force the burning gases out into the main
chamber, thereby creating added turbulence and producing better combustion in the this chamber.

• In mean time, pressure is built up in the major cell which then prolongs the action of the jet stream
entering the main chamber, thus continuing to induce turbulence in the main chamber.
The Objective of Good Combustion Chamber Design
• To optimize the filling and emptying of the cylinder with fresh (unburnt) charge respectively over
the engines operating range (All loads and speeds).
• To create the conditions in the cylinder for the air and fuel to mix thoroughly: Get Excited into a
highly turbulent state: Burning of the charge to be completed in the shortest possible time.

Important Factors Considered in Combustion Chamber Design

• Heat loss to combustion chamber walls
• Injection pressure
• Nozzle design: Number, size, & arrangement of holes in the nozzle
• Maintenance
• Ease of starting
• Fuel requirement: Ability to use less expensive fuels
• Utilization of air: Ability to use maximum amount of air in cylinder
• Weight relation of engine to power output
• Capacity for variable speed operation
• Smoothness with which forces created by expanding gases are transmitted to the piston.

Swirl
Many engines have a wedge shape cylinder head cavity or a bowl in the piston where the
gas ends up at TDC.

During the compression process as the piston approaches TDC more of the air enters the cavity and
the air cylinder moment of inertia decreases and the angular velocity (and thus the swirl) increases.
The rotational motion of the fluid mass within the cylinder is called swirl. Swirl greatly enhances the
mixing of air and fuel to give a homogeneous mixture within a short time. It is also a main
mechanism for very rapid spreading of flame front during the combustion process.
Swirl can be generated by constructing the intake system to give a tangential component to the intake
flow as it enters the cylinder. This is done by shaping and contouring intake manifolds, valve ports
and piston faces.
Swirl is used to:
promote rapid combustion in SI engines
rapidly mix fuel and air in gasoline direct injection engines
rapidly mix fuel and air in CI engines
Squish:

Squish is the radial flow occurring at the end of the compression stroke in which the compressed
gases flow into the cavity in the piston or cylinder head.
Tumbl:

As the piston reaches TDC the squish motion generates a secondary flow called tumble, where
rotation occurs about a circumferential axis near the outer edge of the cavity or piston bowl.
Squish and Tumble:

Importance of swirl, squish and turbulence

Due to high velocities involved, all flows into, out of and within cylinder are turbulent. The
exception to this is those flows in the corners and small crevices of the combustion chamber where
the close proximity of the walls dampens out the turbulence.
As a result of turbulence, heat transfer, evaporation, mixing and combustion rates increase. As the
engine speed increases, flow rate increases with a corresponding increase in swirl, squish and
turbulence. This increases the rate of fuel evaporation, mixing of fuel vapour and air and combustion.
Turbulence in the cylinder is high during intake and decreases as the flow rate slows near BDC. It
increases again during compression as swirl, squish and tumble increases near TDC.
The high turbulence near TDC when ignition occurs is very desirable for combustion. It breaks up
and spreads the flame front many times faster. The air-fuel is consumed within a short time and self
ignition and knock are avoided.
The shape of the combustion chamber plays an important role in generating maximum turbulence
and increasing the desired rapid combustion.
The inside surface of most intake manifolds are usually made smooth to maximize the volumetric
efficiency. However in some engines where high power is not desirable, the inside surfaces of the
manifolds are roughened to promote higher turbulence levels to enhance evaporation and air-fuel
mixing.
Turbulence in Two-stroke Engines
Turbulence is detrimental in the scavenging process of two-stroke cycle engines. This is because, the
incoming air mixes more with the exhaust gases, and a greater exhaust residual will remain within
the cylinder. Another negative result occurs during combustion when high turbulence enhances the
convective heat transfer to the walls in the combustion chamber. This higher heat loss lowers the
thermal efficiency of the engine.
Summary
Efficient operation of an engine depends upon high turbulence in the air-fuel mixture, and
the generated flows of swirl, squish and tumble. Swirl is the rotational motion generated
in the cylinder during intake and compression, squish is the radial inward motion that
occurs as the piston moves toward TDC, and tumble is created by squish motion and the
shape of the clearance volume. All these motions enhance proper operation of the engine.