MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-1

PERFORMANCE OF DIESEL ENGINE

The performance of the diesel engine means the power and efficiency.
The engine develops as the various parameters of the engine, e.g. piston speed,
air-fuel ratio, compression ratio, inlet air-pressure and temperature are varied.

The two usual conditions under which I.C. engines are operated are:

1. constant speed with variable load, and

2. variable speed with variable load.

The first situation is found in a.c. generator drives and the second one in
automobiles, railway engines and tractors etc.

ENERGY FLOW IN ENGINE

Figure shows energy flow through a reciprocating IC Engine.

In an IC Engine fuel is supplied to combustion chamber where it burns in

presence of air and its chemical energy is converted into heat energy.
This all energy is not available for driving the piston. A portion of energy is
lost through exhaust, coolant and radiation. The remaining energy is
converted into power, called indicated Power.
The energy available at piston passes through the connecting rod to
crankshaft. In this transmission, energy is lost due to friction, pumping etc.
MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-2

The sum of all these loses, in terms of power, is called Friction Power
(FP)
The remaining energy is useful mechanical energy and is termed as Shaft
Power (SP) or Brake Power (BP).

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGINE

The various performance parameters are listed as under:

FUEL POWER




MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE (MEP)

A mean pressure is the constant pressure which, acting on the piston area
through the stroke, will produce the observed work per cycle.

  


Where
P Power (BP or IP) AP Piston Area
L Stroke n Number of Cylinders
N Rotational Speed of crankshaft rpm k N/X
X Number of revolutions per power stroke
X=2 For four stroke engine
X=1 For two stroke engine
VD Total displacement of engine

MEP can be measured on two bases:

MEP
a. Using the indicator diagram of engine, so
called IMEP.
b. Using brake at the fly wheel of engine, so
called BMEP. IMEP

BMEP
MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-3

INDICATED POWER (IP)

The indicated power (IP) of the engine can be calculated as follows:

 

where

Pm = Indicated M.E.P. in N/m2 X Number of revolutions per

L = Length of stroke in metres power stroke
A = Piston areas in m2 X=2 For four stroke engine
N = Speed in R.P.M. X=1 For two stroke engine
n = Number of cylinders
k = N/X

BRAKE POWER (BP)

Brake power is defined as the net power available at the crankshaft. It is found by
measuring the output torque with a dynamometer.

  

where

T = Torque [N.m.]
N = Speed [rpm]

TORQUE (T)

MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-4

FRICTIONAL HORSE POWER (FP)

The difference of I. P. and B. P. is called F.P. It is utilized in overcoming frictional

resistance of rotating and sliding parts of the engine.

 
Also
  
 
THERMAL EFFICIENCY ( )

It is defined as the ratio of work to thermal input. Since work is either indicated
work or shaft work, so the thermal efficiency of an engine is of two types:

INDICATED THERMAL EFFICIENCY ( )

It is defined as the ratio of indicated work to thermal input.

BRAKE THERMAL EFFICIENCY OR OVERALL EFFICIENCY (  )

It is defined as the ratio of brake output to thermal input.

MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY ( )

It is defined as the ratio of BP to IP. Therefore,

SPECIFIC OUTPUT
It is defined as brake power per unit piston displacement.



MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-5

VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY ( )

It is the ratio of actual volume reduced to N.T.P. of the charge drawn during the
suction stroke to the swept volume.

SPECIFIC FUEL CONSUMPTION (SFC)

It is fuel consumed per unit of power generation in one hour.





AIR FUEL RATIO

It is amount of air required to burn 1 kg of fuel completely.




RELATIVE EFFICIENCY ( )

It is a measure of deviation between the cycle efficiency and the engine

efficiency.







MET 4403 Basics of Diesel Engine Technology 8-6

HEAT BALANCE SHEET

The performance of an engine is generally given by heat balance sheet.

The schematic of engine test rig is shown in figure.To draw aheat balancesheet, engine
is run at constant speed.

Following is measured:

1. Indicator diagram is
obtained
2. Fuel consumption rate
3. Fuel quantity consumed
4. Inlet and outlet temperature Tr
T1
of cooling water
5. Weight ofexhaust gases
T2
Following is calculated: Te

1. Indicated Power IP
2. Brake power BP
3. Friction Power FP

Heat in different items is recorded as follows:

Item kJ %
Heat Supplied by Fuel
Heat absorbed by
IP
Cooling Water
Exhaust
Unaccounted By Difference
Total

The following Table gives the approximate percentage values of various losses in SI and
CI engines

Engine Brake Load Heat Rejected Heat Rejected Unaccounted

Type Efficiency to Cooling Water through Exhaust Heat
% % Gases % %
1 SI 21-28 12-27 30-55 3-55
2 CI 29-42 15-35 25-45 21-0