×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

(OP)
Well here I am again trying to calculate something in a field where I have no experience.

I know there are a lot of variables but I have been trying to determine roughly the amount of pressure in a normally aspirated gasoline engine that is generated at the moment of combustion. I just want something typical. I bought the books by Charles Taylor "The Internal Combustion Engine in Theory and Practice" but it is way beyond my needs and doesn't include simplified analyses.

So I thought I would ask here and make up a simplified model. A piston in a 200 ml cylinder (closed chamber); air/gasoline mixture; compressed to 25 ml; Piston doesn't move from combustion so that the chamber volume remains constant.

What would be the pressure after combustion? How would I calculate it? and/or where can I look this data up for varying fuels mixtures and oxygen sources?
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

RE: Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

If you send me your email I can send a program to do this calculations.

Nagy

RE: Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

How would I calculate it?

For your simplified system, try this approach:

Based on the desired air-fuel ratio,
calculate the mass of air in the chamber before compression
calculate the mass of fuel...

M.total = P1*V1/(R * T1)    where R.air ~ 287 m^2/(s^2 * K)
M.air = M.total * AFR / (AFR+1)
M.fuel = M.total / (AFR+1)

Assume a combustion efficiency.

Using the lower heating value of the fuel, calculate the energy released by combustion of all the fuel, then multiply by your efficiency.

for gasoline, Q.HV ~ 43,000 kJ/kg
Q.in = M.fuel * Q.HV * n.comb

Using the gas properties of air (mixture properties should be fairly close to air), calculate the temperature of the mixture after combustion

Q.in = (M.fuel + M.air) * c.v * (T2 - T1)
c.v ~ 821 m^2 / (s^2 * K)
T2 = [Q.in + (M.fuel + M.air) * c.v * T1] /
          (M.fuel + M.air) * c.v

Calculate the pressure after combustion using the ideal gas law:

P2 = P1 * (T2/T1)

RE: Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

(OP)
Thanks
My e-mail is mrgl.llc@verizon.net

ivymike
I assume that an ideal theoretical AFR would be based on the typical % O2 in Air and the reaction equation for the fuel. ie set the molar ratio between oxygen in air and fuel such that (2n)O2 + C(n)H(2n+2) -> (n)CO2 + (n+1)H2O. Or is this being too nieve?

For R.air ~ 287 m^2/(s^2 * K is the K a constant or degrees Kelvin?

To find theoretical Max, I suppose that the combustion efficiency could be assumed at 1 with the further assumption that all reactants are equal, the chamber is static, the reaction goes to completion, there is no heat loss from the chamber and the world is perfect? But just out of cureosity, what would be a typical combustion efficiency for a gasoline engine? Like one that runs within EPA emmition standards.

RE: Theoretical Combustion Pressure Calculations

for gasoline, stoichiometric AFR (mass basis) is about 14.7:1 to 14.9:1.  I'm sure you could get there via your approach, but shortcuts are nice.  There are tables out there (Taylor probably has some in the back of his book) that will give you stoich AFR for a long list of hydrocarbons.

yep, K is Kelvin

I think it's common to have combustion efficiencies in excess of 98%.  I'm not so much of a combustion/emissions guy, though, so perhaps someone else can better answer that.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members! Already a Member? Login



News


Close Box

Join Eng-Tips® Today!

Join your peers on the Internet's largest technical engineering professional community.
It's easy to join and it's free.

Here's Why Members Love Eng-Tips Forums:

Register now while it's still free!

Already a member? Close this window and log in.

Join Us             Close