There are many kinds of internal combustion engine but the term often means themachine thatNiklaus Otto invented.[source?] In this kind, fire makes pressure increase inside acylinder. The pressure pushes apiston which is attached to a wheel by acrank. The rod pushes the wheel and makes itspin around. The spinning wheel is attached to other wheels. The engine is very strong and can make all the wheels move.
There can be many kinds of internal combustion engines such as the single piston engine, the inline engine, the flat engine, the V engine, the VR engine, the W engine, the X engine, the U engine, the H engine, the horizontal K engine, the opposed piston engine, the delta engine, theWankel or rotary engine and theradial engine which is commonly used in planes.
The most commonlayouts among these engines are the V layout, and the inline layout. In the V engine, the pistons are aligned in a V shape. There can be V twin engines, with 2 pistons, V3 engines, V4 engines,V6 engines,V8 engines, up to V24 engines. The VR layout is the same as a V layout except the angle between the V shape is smaller making the overall drive smoother. In inline engines, the pistons are aligned in a straight line. There can be inline 1 engines, also called a singular piston engine, all the way up to a straight 14 which was mainly used in older models of cars. Flat engines are the same as inline engines but are alignedhorizontally.
W, X, U, H, Horizontal K, Delta and opposed piston engines all have different layouts. In the W engine, the pistons arealigned in a W shape if looked at from the front. TheBugatti Chiron, one of the fastest cars in the world, features a W engine. The pistons in a X are aligned to look like an X from the front. In the U engine, there a 2 inline engine with separate crankshafts and a shared output shaft. When looked at from the front of the engine block, it resembles a U shape. H engines are U engines except there are 2 more inline engines attached to the bottom of the existing inline engines from the U engine. The H and the U layout can be configured vertically or horizontally. In delta engines, the pistons are aligned in a triangle shape. There are 2 pistons per cylinder/combustion chamber, and therefore the minimum amount of pistons in a delta engine is 6. Horizontal K engines have 2 flat pistons facing opposite each other at the bottom and a V engine above them, making them look like a horizontal K. The Opposed piston engines also have 2 pistons per cylinder. They can be aligned vertically or horizontally. When there are only 2 pistons in the engine, they can be called boxer engine.
Radial engines are commonly used in planes but are rarely used in cars. An example of this is thePorsche 356 and the 1939 Plymouth Pickup. The pistons in a radial engine are aligned in a star shape. When having multiple sets of pistons, the engines can be stacked beside each other.
Rotary/Wankel engines work the same as a piston engine except they don't have a piston but instead have a rotor that also cycles through the 4 main stages of engines (intake,compression,combustion andexhaust).
There are many different parts to an engine. They include pistons, camshafts,crankshafts,timing belts, andvalves. All parts of an engine need to be fully functional for it to work and all parts have a separate role. An engine is usually started by first sending power from thecar battery to theignition coil which then causes an enginespark. The spark thenignitescombustion in the cylinders and the combustion starts the engine.
There can bepetrol ordiesel engines in avehicle. In petrol orgasoline engines, it is required to have an ignition system to burn the fuel and air mixture. In diesel engines, the ignition system is not required to burn the fuel.Diesel is similar toheating oil. It is burnt through extreme compression.
The car is started using a powerful electric motor, called a starter motor. The startersolenoid convertselectrical energy intomechanical energy or movement) and when it starts the ignition switch connects a circuit, sending power to the starter relay. It then sends 2 jolts of electricity into the solenoid, the larger burst directly from thebattery pack and the other from theignition. Themagnetic field created from the solenoid connects two metal contact points, one being the solenoid plunger, together which then relays the electricity into the starter motor. The plunger also engages a fork which pushes the pinion gear (connected to the starter motor) to engage theflywheel automatically, starting the engine.
For extra power, more air is needed to increase the energy evolved per unit of fuel. This is whereforced induction must take place. There are some ways of creating forced induction such asturbochargers andsuperchargers. Turbochargers rely on the volume and velocity of the exhaust to spin theturbine wheel in the middle of the turbocharger. Turbochargers should consume less power from the engine than superchargers and therefore suffer badthrottle response. This delay can also be referred to as turbo lag. Smaller turbochargers spool quickly and deliver more boost pressure at lower engine speeds but suffers at higherRPMs. Bigger turbochargers can deliver more power at higherrevs but suffer low throttle response. There can be many turbochargers in acar, but the most common amount being 1 or 2. Superchargers have close to no lag time as the compressor is constantly spinning proportionally to the engine speed. They requiretorque from the engine to operate. Some common types of superchargers are theRoots-type supercharger, a Screw-type supercharger, and aCentrifugal-type supercharger. In a Roots-type supercharger there are paddles on two drums that are continuously rotating, that force air into the intake. The Roots-type supercharger is a positive displacement device and therefore has the advantage of producing the same pressure ratio at any engine speed. A Screw-type supercharger, like the Roots-type supercharger, is a positive displacement device. They have 2 screws that compress the air and are more efficient than roots type as they create a cooler air output than a roots supercharger but are more difficult to manufacture. A centrifugal-type supercharger, is not a positive displacement device. Although it looks like a turbocharger, they are very different as the power source of the centrifugal supercharger is the engines crankshaft. A turbocharger uses the exhaust gas to spin the compressor.
When using forced induction, the airtemperature rises dramatically. To cool the air at higher temperatures, anintercooler is needed. An intercooler cools the air before it enters thecylinder (combustion chamber) using air or water. When hot air enters the combustion chamber, it decreases the fuel efficiency as warm air holds lessoxygen than cool air. An air to air intercooler uses the cool air from outside to cool the hot air as it enters the intercooler. The more surface area the intercooler has the cooler the air can get. There are 2 types of air to air intercooler, the bar and plate intercooler and the tube and fin intercooler. Bar and plate intercoolers can cool the air to lower temperature but a tube and fin intercooler cost less and weigh less. In air to water intercoolers, instead of air from outside, it uses a cool liquid to cool the air as it passes though and then uses aradiator to cool the cooling liquid. Air to water intercooler are more complex, heavier and more expensive than air to water intercoolers but can be more efficient.
Cars can also havegears. The gears are controlled by the transmission. They can either be manual, automatic orContinuously Variable Transmission. Gear ratios
Engines needoil to make them slippery or the moving parts would grind together and stick. Parts of a car engine are measured to 0.01 of amillimetre and some engine parts fit together very tightly.
Most road vehicles use the internal combustion engine, and most of those use thefour-stroke engine.
Gasturbines are internal combustion engines that work continuously, not by strokes.Rocket engines andguns are internal combustion engines but they do not turn wheels.
