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, internal combustion piston engine. (E) Exhaust
camshaft, (I) Intake camshaft, (S) Spark plug, (V) poppet valves, (P)
Piston, (R)
Connecting rod, (C) Crankshaft, (W) Water jacket for coolant flow.
A
reciprocating engine, also often known as a
piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types.
Common features in all types
There may be one or more pistons. Each piston is inside a cylinder (engine), into which a gas is introduced, either already hot and under pressure (
steam engine), or heated inside the cylinder either by
ignition system 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 "
Exhaust gas" gases are removed from the cylinder by this Stroke (engines). 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 Steam_power#Double-acting_pistons.]
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
swashplate. A flywheel is often used to ensure smooth rotation. The more cylinders a reciprocating engine has, the more vibration-free (smoothly) it can run also the higher the combined piston displacement volume it has the more power it is capable of producing.
It is common for such engines to be classified by the number and alignment of cylinders and the total volume of
Engine displacement of gas by the pistons moving in the cylinders usually measured in cubic centimeters (cc). For example for internal combustion engines, single and two-cylinder designs are common in smaller vehicles such as motorcycles, while
automobiles typically have between four and eight, and locomotives, and
ships may have a dozen cylinders or more. Cylinder capacities may range from 10cc or less in model engines up to several thousand cc in ships' engines.
The
compression ratio is a measure of the performance in an internal-combustion engine or a Stirling Engine. It is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder, when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke, and the volume when the piston is at the top of its stroke.
Cylinders may be aligned
Inline engine, in a
V engine configuration, Flat engine each other , or Radial engine around the crankshaft. Opposed piston engines put 2 pistons working at opposite ends of the same cylinder and this has been extended into triangular arrangements such as the
Napier Deltic. Some designs have set the cylinders in motion around the shaft, see the Rotary engine.
In steam engines and internal combustion engines valves are required to allow the entry and exit of gasses at the correct time in the piston's cycle. These are worked by cams or cranks driven by the shaft of the engine. Early designs used the
D slide valve but this has been largely superseded by
Piston valve or
Poppet valve designs.
Internal combustion engines operate through a sequence of strokes which admit and remove gases to and from the cylinder. These operations are repeated cyclically and an engine is said to be Two-stroke cycle, Four-stroke cycle or Six stroke engine depending on the number of strokes it takes to complete a cycle.
In some steam engines the cylinders may be of varying size with the smallest bore cylinder working the highest pressure steam. This is then fed through one or more, increasingly larger bore cylinders successively, to extract power from the steam at increasingly lower pressures. These engines are called Steam engine#Compounding.
Other modern non internal combustion types
Reciprocating engines that are powered by compressed air, steam or other hot gasses are still used in some applications such as to drive many modern torpedoes or as pollution free motive power.
The Spanish designed Aircar uses compressed air stored in a cylinder to drive a reciprocating engine in a pollution free urban vehicle. The Aircar manufactured by MDI SA . Accessed April 2007
In torpedoes the gas, like that produced by
high test peroxide or
Otto fuel II, is pressurised without the need of combustion and therefore
oxygen. This allows propulsion under water for considerable periods of time and over significant distances. e.g. see
Mark 46 torpedo.
In most applications of steam power today, the piston engine has been replaced by the more efficient turbine.
History
The earliest known example of rotary to reciprocating motion is a
waterwheel-powered
pump engineered by al-Jazari in the 13th century.Ahmad Y Hassan. The Origin of the Suction Pump - Al-Jazari 1206 A.D. The rotary motion of the waterwheel was converted into a reciprocating action to drive a pair of piston pumps.
The reciprocating engine developed much later as the steam engine during the 18th century, followed by the
Stirling engine and
internal combustion engine in the 19th century. Today the most common form of reciprocating engine is the internal combustion engine running on the combustion of petrol,
diesel or LPG and used to power motor vehicles.
One of the most advanced reciprocating engines ever made was the 28-cylinder, 3,500 hp (2610 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Wasp Major" radial engine which powered the last generation of large piston-engined planes before the jet engine and turboprop took over from 1944 onward.
Notes
References
- Reciprocating engine types
- HowStuffWorks: How Car Engines Work
- Reciprocating Engines at infoplease
- Piston Engines US Centennial of Flight Commission
See also
Beta Stirling Engine Design
Pink - Hot cylinder wall, Dark grey - Cold cylinder wall, Green - Displacer piston, Dark blue - Power piston, Light blue - Flywheels
- Steam engine
- Stirling engine
- Internal combustion engine
- Otto cycle
- Diesel cycle
- Engine configuration
- Engine Balancing
- Top dead centre
- Heat engine for a view of the thermodynamics involved in these engines.
- For a contrasting approach using no pistons, see the pistonless rotary engine.
- For an historical perspective see Timeline of heat engine technology.
, internal combustion piston engine. (E) Exhaust
camshaft, (I) Intake camshaft, (S)
Spark plug, (V) poppet valves, (P) Piston, (R) Connecting rod, (C)
Crankshaft, (W) Water jacket for coolant flow.
A
reciprocating engine, also often known as a
piston engine, is a
heat engine that uses one or more
pistons to convert
pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types.
Common features in all types
There may be one or more pistons. Each piston is inside a cylinder (engine), into which a gas is introduced, either already hot and under pressure (
steam engine), or heated inside the cylinder either by
ignition system 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 "Exhaust gas" gases are removed from the cylinder by this
Stroke (engines). 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 Steam_power#Double-acting_pistons.]
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 swashplate. A flywheel is often used to ensure smooth rotation. The more cylinders a reciprocating engine has, the more vibration-free (smoothly) it can run also the higher the combined piston displacement volume it has the more power it is capable of producing.
It is common for such engines to be classified by the number and alignment of cylinders and the total volume of Engine displacement of gas by the pistons moving in the cylinders usually measured in cubic centimeters (cc). For example for internal combustion engines, single and two-cylinder designs are common in smaller vehicles such as
motorcycles, while automobiles typically have between four and eight, and
locomotives, and ships may have a dozen cylinders or more. Cylinder capacities may range from 10cc or less in model engines up to several thousand cc in ships' engines.
The compression ratio is a measure of the performance in an internal-combustion engine or a Stirling Engine. It is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder, when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke, and the volume when the piston is at the top of its stroke.
Cylinders may be aligned Inline engine, in a V engine configuration,
Flat engine each other , or
Radial engine around the crankshaft. Opposed piston engines put 2 pistons working at opposite ends of the same cylinder and this has been extended into triangular arrangements such as the Napier Deltic. Some designs have set the cylinders in motion around the shaft, see the Rotary engine.
In steam engines and internal combustion engines valves are required to allow the entry and exit of gasses at the correct time in the piston's cycle. These are worked by cams or cranks driven by the shaft of the engine. Early designs used the
D slide valve but this has been largely superseded by
Piston valve or Poppet valve designs.
Internal combustion engines operate through a sequence of strokes which admit and remove gases to and from the cylinder. These operations are repeated cyclically and an engine is said to be Two-stroke cycle,
Four-stroke cycle or
Six stroke engine depending on the number of strokes it takes to complete a cycle.
In some steam engines the cylinders may be of varying size with the smallest bore cylinder working the highest pressure steam. This is then fed through one or more, increasingly larger bore cylinders successively, to extract power from the steam at increasingly lower pressures. These engines are called
Steam engine#Compounding.
Other modern non internal combustion types
Reciprocating engines that are powered by compressed air, steam or other hot gasses are still used in some applications such as to drive many modern torpedoes or as pollution free motive power.
The Spanish designed Aircar uses compressed air stored in a cylinder to drive a reciprocating engine in a pollution free urban vehicle. The Aircar manufactured by MDI SA . Accessed April 2007
In torpedoes the gas, like that produced by
high test peroxide or Otto fuel II, is pressurised without the need of combustion and therefore
oxygen. This allows propulsion under water for considerable periods of time and over significant distances. e.g. see
Mark 46 torpedo.
In most applications of steam power today, the piston engine has been replaced by the more efficient turbine.
History
The earliest known example of rotary to reciprocating motion is a
waterwheel-powered pump engineered by
al-Jazari in the 13th century.Ahmad Y Hassan. The Origin of the Suction Pump - Al-Jazari 1206 A.D. The rotary motion of the waterwheel was converted into a reciprocating action to drive a pair of piston pumps.
The reciprocating engine developed much later as the steam engine during the 18th century, followed by the
Stirling engine and internal combustion engine in the 19th century. Today the most common form of reciprocating engine is the internal combustion engine running on the combustion of
petrol,
diesel or LPG and used to power motor vehicles.
One of the most advanced reciprocating engines ever made was the 28-cylinder, 3,500 hp (2610 kW)
Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Wasp Major" radial engine which powered the last generation of large piston-engined planes before the jet engine and turboprop took over from 1944 onward.
Notes
References
- Reciprocating engine types
- HowStuffWorks: How Car Engines Work
- Reciprocating Engines at infoplease
- Piston Engines US Centennial of Flight Commission
See also
Beta Stirling Engine Design
Pink - Hot cylinder wall, Dark grey - Cold cylinder wall, Green - Displacer piston, Dark blue - Power piston, Light blue - Flywheels
Reciprocating engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion.
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re·cip·ro·cat·ing engine (r-s p r-k t ng) n. An engine whose crankshaft is turned by pistons moving up and down in a cylinder. Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
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