AIM

To study an aircraft piston engine and its components in details

APPARATUS REQUIRED

1. Aircraft piston engine and its components.

INTRODUCTION

A Piston engine is a heat engine that uses one or more pistons to convert pressure into a
rotating motion. The main types are the internal combustion engine used extensively in motor
vehicles, the steam engine which was the mainstay of the industrial revolution and and in olden
low speed small aircrafts.

There may be one or more pistons. Each piston is inside a cylinder, into which a gas is
introduced, either already hot and under pressure (steam engine), or heated inside the cylinder
either by ignition of a fuel air mixture (internal combustion engine) or by contact with a hot heat
exchanger in the cylinder (Stirling engine). The hot gases expand, pushing the piston to the
bottom of the cylinder. The piston is returned to the cylinder top (Top Dead Centre) either by a
flywheel or the power from other pistons connected to the same shaft. In most types the
expanded or "exhausted" gases are removed from the cylinder by this stroke. The exception is
the Stirling engine, which repeatedly heats and cools the same sealed quantity of gas.In some
designs the piston may be powered in both directions in the cylinder in which case it is said to be
double acting.
Piston Engine Components, and their Functions
The major components seen are connecting rod, crank shaft(swash plate), crank case,
piston rings, spark plug, cylinder, flywheel, crank pin and valves or ports.
In all types the linear movement of the piston is converted to a rotating movement via a
connecting rod and a crankshaft or by a swash plate. A flywheel is often used to ensure smooth
rotation. The more cylinders a reciprocating engine has, the engine will be more vibration-free
(smoothly).
A seal needs to be made between the sliding piston and the walls of the cylinder so that
the high pressure gas above the piston does not leak past it and reduce the efficiency of the
engine. This seal is provided by one or more piston rings. These are rings made of a hard metal
which are sprung into a circular groove in the piston head. The rings fit tightly in the groove and
press against the cylinder wall to form a seal.
ENGINE TERMINOLOGY
Stroke:
Either the up or down movement of the piston from the top to the bottom or bottom to top
of the cylinder (so the piston going from the bottom of the cylinder to the top would be 1 stroke,
from the top back to the bottom would be another stroke)
Induction:
As the piston travels down the cylinder head, it 'sucks' the fuel/air mixture into the
cylinder. This is known as 'induction'.
Compression:
As the piston travels up to the top of the cylinder head, it 'compresses' the fuel/air mixture
from the carburetor in the top of the cylinder head, making the fuel/air mix ready for igniting by
the spark plug. This is known as 'compression'.
Ignition:
When The Spark Plug Ignites The Compressed Fuel/Air Mixture, Sometimes Referred
To As The Power Stroke.
Exhaust: As the piston returns back to the top of the cylinder head after the fuel/air mix has
been ignited, the piston pushes the burnt 'exhaust' gases out of the cylinder & through the
exhaust system.
TYPES OF PISTON ENGINES

It is common for such engines to be classified by the number and alignment of the
cylinders and the total volume of displacement of gas by the pistons moving in the cylinders
usually measured in cubic centimeters (cc).
In-Line Engine
This type of engine has cylinders lined up in one row. It typically has an even number of
cylinders, but there are instances of three- and five- cylinder engines. An in-line engine may be
either air cooled or liquid cooled. It is better suited for streamlining. If the engine crankshaft is
located above the cylinders, it is called an inverted engine. Advantages of mounting the
crankshaft this way include shorter landing gear and better pilot visibility. An in-line engine has
a igher weight-to-horsepower ratio than other aircraft engines. A disadvantage of this type of
engine is that the larger it is, the harder it is to cool. Due to this, airplanes that use an inline
engine, use a low- to medium-horsepower engine, and are typically used by light aircraft.
Ex: Ranger L-440 air-cooled, six-cylinder, inverted, in-line engine used in Fairchild PT-19.
Opposed Engine
An opposed-type engine has two banks of cylinders opposite each other. The crankshaft
is located in the center and is being driven from both sides. The
The engine is either air cooled or liquid cooled, but air cooled versions are used mostly in
aviation. It can be mounted either vertically or horizontally. The advantage of a horizontally-
opposed engine is that it allows better visibility and eliminates fluid lock typically found on
bottom cylinders. An opposed engine also has a relative advantage in being mostly free of
vibration. This is due to the fact that the pistons are located left and right of the crankshaft and
acts as balance weights to each other.
Ex: A ULPower UL260i horizontally opposed air-cooled aero engine.
V-Type Engine
Cylinders in this engine are arranged in two in-line banks, typically tilted 60-90 degrees
apart from each other and driving a common crankshaft. The vast majority of V engines is water-
cooled. The V design provides a higher power-to-weight ratio than an inline engine, while still
providing a small frontal area. Perhaps the most famous example of this design is the legendary

Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, a 27-liter (1649 in3) 60° V12 engine used in, among others, the
Spitfires that played a major role in the Battle of Britain.
Radial Engine
This type of engine has a row of cylinders arranged in a circle around a crankcase located
in the middle. The combination of cylinders must be an odd number in each row and may
contain more than one row. The odd number of cylinders allows for every other cylinder to be on
a power stroke, allowing for smooth operation. The power output is anywhere from 100 to 3,800
HP.
Ex: A Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine
Ex: A Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine
Figure 1. Types of aircraft piston engines
4 Stroke Engine
Engines based on the four-stroke or Otto cycle have one power stroke for every four
strokes (up-down-up-down) and are used in cars, larger boats, and many light aircraft. They
are generally quieter, more efficient, and larger than their two-stroke counterparts. There are
a number of variations of these cycles, most notably the Atkinson and miller cycles.
Most truck and automotive diesel engines use a four-stroke cycle, but with a
compression heating ignition system. This variation is called the diesel cycle. The four
strokes refer to intake, compression, and combustion and exhaust strokes that occur during
two crankshaft rotations per working cycle of Otto cycle and diesel engines. The four steps in
this cycle are often informally referred to as "suck, squeeze (or squash), bang, blow."
OPERATION OF A 4-STROKE ENGINE

Figure 2. Four different strokes for piston engine

2 Stroke Engine

The two-stroke internal combustion engine differs from the more common four-stroke
engine by completing the same four processes (intake, compression, combustion, exhaust) in
only two strokes of the piston rather than four. This is accomplished by using the beginning of
the compression stroke and the end of the combustion stroke to perform the intake and exhaust
functions. This allows a power stroke for every revolution of the crank, instead of every second
revolution as in a four-stroke engine. For this reason,
Two-Stroke engines provide high specific power, so they are valued for use in portable,
lightweight applications such as chainsaws as well as large-scale industrial applications like
locomotives. Two-stroke engines are still commonly used in high-power, handheld applications
where light weight is essential, primarily string trimmers and chainsaws.

OPERATION OF A 2-STROKE ENGINE

ACTIONS
OCCURRING
STROKE PISTON DURING EXPLANATION
DIRECTION THIS
STROKE

As the piston travels up the barrel, fresh

Piston travels fuel/air mix is sucked into the crankcase
Stroke 1 up the cylinder Induction & (bottom of the engine) & the fuel/air mix in
barrel compression the cylinder (top of the engine) is compressed
ready for ignition

The spark plug ignites the fuel/air mix in the

cylinder, the resulting explosion pushes the
piston back down to the bottom of the
Piston travels Ignition & cylinder, as the piston travels down, the
Stroke 2 down the exhaust transfer port openings are exposed & the fresh
cylinder barrel fuel/air mix is sucked from the crankcase into
the cylinder. As the fresh fuel/air mix is
drawn into the cylinder, it forces the spent
exhaust gases out through the exhaust port.