Engine Balance

Introduction
Any moving mass when left to itself will continue to move in a straight line with uniform speed in frictionless environment. Centrifugal force represents the tendency of mass to move in a straight line. Any mass revolving in a circle sets up an outward pull acting in the radial line through the center of rotation and the center of the mass.

Sample Problem
Let the crank pin and the big end of the crankshaft weigh together 2kgs. Engine has a stroke of 0.15m and is turning at 3000 rev/min. find the reaction of the revolving masses.

Balancing the rotating masses

Put a counter weight or rather a mass on the opposite side along the same axis. If not possible to put along the axis then put two counter masses at a slight offset form the central axis.

 We have to basically equate the two moments about the center. I.e.. Br1= M r

Reciprocating Masses
Reciprocating movement of piston not uniform. It accelerates early in the upwards and downwards stroke. The speed is steady in the middle of the stroke. It decelerates at the end of the stroke.

 Maximum force is required when at the ends of the stroke when the piston is changing the direction and the acceleration is maximum. No force is required in the middle of the stroke as the speed is momentarily steady. Force required to change the motion of the piston is provided by the connecting rod.

 The necessary force is supplied by a tension or compression in the connecting rod. The piston would fly through the top if the connecting breaks when the piston is approaching upwards at high engine speed. Just as the rotating mass would do (it will fly tangentially) if the cord attached would break

 The figure shows the piston at the two extreme ends of its stroke. In this case the only force to be counteracted is the vertical force, F. A counter mass B2 is thus placed at an equal distance from the crankpin to counter the force F.

 The figure shows the intermediate position of the piston when it is somewhere in between the extreme positions of its stroke. The counter mass will always generate a force F radially outwards as it acts only as a rotating mass.

 The force F produced by the counter mass will have two components. The vertical component will balance out the reaction of the piston at every point in the stroke because the piston always generates the reaction in the vertical direction. This reaction is maximum at the two extremes and is NIL at the center of the stroke.

 Refer to the figure again. The reaction, F also produces a horizontal component Fh. The value of Fh is zero at the two extremes of the piston. The value is maximum at the center of the stroke. The value of Fh(max) is F i.e. at the center of the stroke.

Conclusion
The reciprocating parts of a single cylinder engine are completely balanced in the vertical direction. However introduction of the counter mass to do this produces another reaction force Fh which fluctuates between Zero to F. This reaction remains unbalanced during the course of the stroke.

 Hence a single cylinder engine can not be balanced out completely. So a compromise is reached between the horizontal and vertical reactions. A counter mass which is less than the actual mass required to balance the vertical reaction is taken. In this way the horizontal reactions produced are also reduced. But this also imbalances the vertical reaction.

V-Twin Engine having the two cylinders at 90o

Sample Problem
Explain how would the counter mass balance both the reciprocating pistons. Assume that the rotating masses have been balanced.

Horizontally Opposed Twin Engine

No counter mass needed. The two pistons reciprocate on two separate crank pins. The movement of one piston cancels the that of the others.

Are we missing something?

The two pistons cant be placed opposite to each other in a single line. The small offset at which they are placed produces a couple which tends to rotate the engine as a whole in a plane containing the couple.

The small distance d produces the couple which tries to rotate it.

 The value of couple increases due to the increased value of d. The inertia force F, due to the piston which is on its inner dead point, is greater than the inertia force F by a factor of 1.6

Four Cylinder Inline Engine

 So it is nothing but reflection of inline two cylinder combined with its parent counterpart. Now the couples are also balanced. It is the only engine that is balanced as a whole for primary forces and primary couples.