Compression ratio
Encyclopedia
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine
is a value that represents the ratio
of the volume of its combustion chamber
from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity. It is a fundamental specification for many common combustion engines.
In a piston engine it is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder
and combustion chamber when the piston
is at the bottom of its stroke, and the volume of the combustion chamber when the piston is at the top of its stroke.
Picture a cylinder and its combustion chamber with the piston at the bottom of its stroke containing 1000 cc of air (900 cc in the cylinder plus 100 cc in the combustion chamber). When the piston has moved up to the top of its stroke inside the cylinder, and the remaining volume inside the head or combustion chamber has been reduced to 100 cc, then the compression ratio would be proportionally described as 1000:100, or with fractional reduction, a 10:1 compression ratio.
A high compression ratio is desirable because it allows an engine to extract more mechanical energy from a given mass of air-fuel mixture due to its higher thermal efficiency
. High ratios place the available oxygen and fuel molecules into a reduced space along with the adiabatic heat of compression–causing better mixing and evaporation of the fuel droplets. Thus they allow increased power at the moment of ignition and the extraction of more useful work from that power by expanding the hot gas to a greater degree.
Higher compression ratios will however make gasoline engines subject to engine knocking
if lower octane-rated fuel is used, also known as detonation. This can reduce efficiency or damage the engine if knock sensors are not present to retard the timing. However, knock sensors have been a requirement of the OBD-II specification used in 1996 model year vehicles and newer.
Diesel engines on the other hand operate on the principle of compression ignition, so that a fuel which resists autoignition will cause late ignition which will also lead to engine knock.
, where
= cylinder
bore (diameter)
= piston
stroke length
= clearance volume. It is the volume of the combustion chamber (including head gasket
). This is the minimum volume of the space at the end of the compression stroke, i.e. when the piston reaches top dead center (TDC). Because of the complex shape of this space, it is usually measured directly rather than calculated.
(detonation), the compression ratio in a gasoline
or petrol-powered engine will usually not be much higher than 10:1, although some production automotive engines built for high-performance from 1955–1972 had compression ratios as high as 13.0:1, which could run safely on the high-octane leaded gasoline
then available.
A technique used to prevent the onset of knock is the high "swirl" engine that forces the intake charge to adopt a very fast circular rotation in the cylinder during compression that provides quicker and more complete combustion. Recently, with the addition of variable valve timing and knock sensors to delay ignition timing, it is possible to manufacture gasoline engines with compression ratios of over 11:1 that can use 87 (MON + RON)/2 (octane rating
) fuel.
In engines with a 'ping' or 'knock'
sensor
and an electronic control unit
, the CR can be as high as 13:1 (2005 BMW K1200S). In 1981, Jaguar released a cylinder head that allowed up to 14:1 compression; but settled for 12.5:1 in production cars. The cylinder head design was known as the "May Fireball" head; it was developed by a Swiss engineer Michael May
.
Mazda
is in 2012 releasing new petrol engines under the brand name SkyActiv with 14:1 compression ratio, to be used in all Mazda vehicles by 2015.
gasoline engine, the CR is customarily built at 10.5:1 or lower. This is due to the turbocharger/supercharger already having compressed the fuel/air mixture considerably before it enters the cylinders.
and ethanol fuel
often incorporate a CR of 14.5-16:1.
or CNG
, the CR may be higher, due to the higher octane rating of these fuels.
, (no electrical sparking plug—the hot air of compression lights the injected fuel) the CR will customarily exceed 14:1. Ratios over 22:1 are common. The appropriate compression ratio depends on the design of the cylinder head. The figure is usually between 14:1 and 16:1 for direct injection engines and between 18:1 and 23:1 for indirect injection
engines.
of an engine, with a pressure gauge connected to the spark plug
opening, gives an indication of the engine's state and quality. There is, however, no formula to calculate compression ratio based on cylinder pressure.
If the nominal compression ratio of an engine is given, the pre-ignition cylinder pressure can be estimated using the following relationship:
where
is the cylinder pressure at bottom dead center which is usually at 1 atm, 
is the compression ratio, and 
is the specific heat ratio for the working fluid, which is about 1.4 for air, and 1.3 for methane-air mixture.
For example, if an engine running on gasoline has a compression ratio of 10:1, the cylinder pressure at top dead center is
This figure, however, will also depend on cam (i.e. valve) timing. Generally, cylinder pressure for common automotive designs should at least equal 10 bar
, or, roughly estimated in pounds per square inch
(psi) as between 15 and 20 times the compression ratio, or in this case between 150 psi and 200 psi, depending on cam timing. Purpose-built racing engines, stationary engines etc. will return figures outside this range.
Factors including late intake valve closure (relatively speaking for camshaft profiles outside of typical production car range, but not necessarily into the realm of competition engines) can produce a misleadingly low figure from this test. Excessive connecting rod
clearance, combined with extremely high oil pump
output (rare but not impossible) can sling enough oil to coat the cylinder walls with enough oil to facilitate reasonable piston ring
seal artificially give a misleadingly high figure, on engines with compromised ring seal.
This can actually be used to some slight advantage. If a compression test does give a low figure, and it has been determined it is not due to intake valve closure/camshaft characteristics, then one can differentiate between the cause being valve/seat seal issues and ring seal by squirting engine oil into the spark plug orifice, in a quantity sufficient to disperse across the piston crown and the circumference of the top ring land, and thereby effect the mentioned seal. If a second compression test is performed shortly thereafter, and the new reading is much higher, it would be the ring seal that is problematic, whereas if the compression test pressure observed remains low, it is a valve sealing (or more rarely head gasket, or breakthrough piston or rarer still cylinder wall damage) issue.
If there is a significant (greater than 10%) difference between cylinders, that may be an indication that valves
or cylinder head
gasket
s are leaking, piston
rings are worn or that the block
is cracked.
If a problem is suspected then a more comprehensive test using a leak-down tester
can locate the leak.
One exception is the experiment
al Saab Variable Compression engine
(SVC). This engine, designed by Saab Automobile
, uses a technique that dynamically alters the volume of the combustion chamber (Vc), which, via the above equation, changes the compression ratio (CR).
The Atkinson cycle
engine was one of the first attempts at variable compression
. Since the compression ratio is the ratio between dynamic and static volumes of the combustion chamber the Atkinson cycle's method of increasing the length of the powerstroke compared to the intake stroke ultimately altered the compression ratio at different stages of the cycle.
However: intake valve closure (sealing the cylinder) always takes place after BDC, which may cause some of the intake charge to be compressed backwards out of the cylinder by the rising piston at very low speeds; only the percentage of the stroke after intake valve closure is compressed. Intake port tuning and scavenging may allow a greater mass of charge (at a higher than atmospheric pressure) to be trapped in the cylinder than the static volume would suggest ( This "corrected" compression ratio is commonly called the "dynamic compression ratio".
This ratio is higher with more conservative (i.e., earlier, soon after BDC) intake cam timing, and lower with more radical (i.e., later, long after BDC) intake cam timing, but always lower than the static or "nominal" compression ratio.
The actual position of the piston can be determined by trigonometry, using the stroke length and the connecting rod
length (measured between centers). The absolute cylinder pressure is the result of an exponent of the dynamic compression ratio. This exponent is a polytropic value for the ratio of variable heats for air and similar gases at the temperatures present. This compensates for the temperature rise caused by compression, as well as heat lost to the cylinder. Under ideal (adiabatic) conditions, the exponent would be 1.4, but a lower value, generally between 1.2 and 1.3 is used, since the amount of heat lost will vary among engines based on design, size and materials used, but provides useful results for purposes of comparison. For example, if the static compression ratio is 10:1, and the dynamic compression ratio is 7.5:1, a useful value for cylinder pressure would be (7.5)^1.3 × atmospheric pressure, or 13.7 bar
. (× 14.7 psi at sea level = 201.8 psi. The pressure shown on a gauge would be the absolute pressure less atmospheric pressure, or 187.1 psi.)
The two corrections for dynamic compression ratio affect cylinder pressure in opposite directions, but not in equal strength. An engine with high static compression ratio and late intake valve closure will have a DCR similar to an engine with lower compression but earlier intake valve closure.
Additionally, the cylinder pressure developed when an engine is running will be higher than that shown in a compression test for several reasons.
are interrelated as follows:
The reason for this difference is that compression ratio is defined via the volume reduction:
while pressure ratio is defined as the pressure
increase:
In calculating the pressure ratio, we assume that an adiabatic compression is carried out (i.e. that no heat energy is supplied to the gas being compressed, and that any temperature rise is solely due to the compression). We also assume that air is a perfect gas. With those two assumptions we can define the relationship between change of volume and change of pressure as follows:
External combustion engine
An external combustion engine is a heat engine where an working fluid is heated by combustion in an external source, through the engine wall or a heat exchanger. The fluid then, by expanding and acting on the mechanism of the engine, produces motion and usable work...
is a value that represents the ratio
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind , usually expressed as "a to b" or a:b, sometimes expressed arithmetically as a dimensionless quotient of the two which explicitly indicates how many times the first number contains the second In mathematics, a ratio is...
of the volume of its combustion chamber
Combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is the part of an engine in which fuel is burned.-Internal combustion engine:The hot gases produced by the combustion occupy a far greater volume than the original fuel, thus creating an increase in pressure within the limited volume of the chamber...
from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity. It is a fundamental specification for many common combustion engines.
In a piston engine it is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
and combustion chamber when the piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
is at the bottom of its stroke, and the volume of the combustion chamber when the piston is at the top of its stroke.
Picture a cylinder and its combustion chamber with the piston at the bottom of its stroke containing 1000 cc of air (900 cc in the cylinder plus 100 cc in the combustion chamber). When the piston has moved up to the top of its stroke inside the cylinder, and the remaining volume inside the head or combustion chamber has been reduced to 100 cc, then the compression ratio would be proportionally described as 1000:100, or with fractional reduction, a 10:1 compression ratio.
A high compression ratio is desirable because it allows an engine to extract more mechanical energy from a given mass of air-fuel mixture due to its higher thermal efficiency
Thermal efficiency
In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, a boiler, a furnace, or a refrigerator for example.-Overview:...
. High ratios place the available oxygen and fuel molecules into a reduced space along with the adiabatic heat of compression–causing better mixing and evaporation of the fuel droplets. Thus they allow increased power at the moment of ignition and the extraction of more useful work from that power by expanding the hot gas to a greater degree.
Higher compression ratios will however make gasoline engines subject to engine knocking
Engine knocking
Knocking in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front.The...
if lower octane-rated fuel is used, also known as detonation. This can reduce efficiency or damage the engine if knock sensors are not present to retard the timing. However, knock sensors have been a requirement of the OBD-II specification used in 1996 model year vehicles and newer.
Diesel engines on the other hand operate on the principle of compression ignition, so that a fuel which resists autoignition will cause late ignition which will also lead to engine knock.
Formula
The ratio is calculated by the following formula:, where = cylinderCylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
bore (diameter)
= pistonPiston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
stroke length
= clearance volume. It is the volume of the combustion chamber (including head gasketHead gasket
A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in...
). This is the minimum volume of the space at the end of the compression stroke, i.e. when the piston reaches top dead center (TDC). Because of the complex shape of this space, it is usually measured directly rather than calculated.
Petrol (gasoline) engine
Due to pingingEngine knocking
Knocking in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front.The...
(detonation), the compression ratio in a gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
or petrol-powered engine will usually not be much higher than 10:1, although some production automotive engines built for high-performance from 1955–1972 had compression ratios as high as 13.0:1, which could run safely on the high-octane leaded gasoline
Tetra-ethyl lead
Tetraethyllead , abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula 4Pb. An inexpensive additive, its addition to gasoline from the 1920's allowed octane ratings and thus engine compression to be boosted significantly, increasing power and fuel economy...
then available.
A technique used to prevent the onset of knock is the high "swirl" engine that forces the intake charge to adopt a very fast circular rotation in the cylinder during compression that provides quicker and more complete combustion. Recently, with the addition of variable valve timing and knock sensors to delay ignition timing, it is possible to manufacture gasoline engines with compression ratios of over 11:1 that can use 87 (MON + RON)/2 (octane rating
Octane rating
Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the anti-knock properties of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating...
) fuel.
In engines with a 'ping' or 'knock'
Engine knocking
Knocking in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front.The...
sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
and an electronic control unit
Electronic control unit
In automotive electronics, electronic control unit is a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle....
, the CR can be as high as 13:1 (2005 BMW K1200S). In 1981, Jaguar released a cylinder head that allowed up to 14:1 compression; but settled for 12.5:1 in production cars. The cylinder head design was known as the "May Fireball" head; it was developed by a Swiss engineer Michael May
Michael May (racing driver)
Michael May is a former racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 May 1961...
.
Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
is in 2012 releasing new petrol engines under the brand name SkyActiv with 14:1 compression ratio, to be used in all Mazda vehicles by 2015.
Petrol/gasoline engine with pressure-charging
In a turbocharged or superchargedSupercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
gasoline engine, the CR is customarily built at 10.5:1 or lower. This is due to the turbocharger/supercharger already having compressed the fuel/air mixture considerably before it enters the cylinders.
Petrol/gasoline engine for racing
Motorcycle racing engines can use compression ratios as high as 14:1, and it is not uncommon to find motorcycles with compression ratios above 12.0:1 designed for 86 or 87 octane fuel. F1 engines come closer to 17:1 (which is very critical for maximizing volumetric/fuel efficiency at around 18000 rpm)Ethanol and methanol engines
Ethanol and methanol can take significantly higher compression ratios than gasoline. Racing engines burning methanolMethanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
and ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
often incorporate a CR of 14.5-16:1.
Gas-fueled engine
In engines running exclusively on LPGAutogas
Autogas is the common name for liquefied petroleum gas when it is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane....
or CNG
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
, the CR may be higher, due to the higher octane rating of these fuels.
Diesel engine
In an auto-ignition diesel engineDiesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
, (no electrical sparking plug—the hot air of compression lights the injected fuel) the CR will customarily exceed 14:1. Ratios over 22:1 are common. The appropriate compression ratio depends on the design of the cylinder head. The figure is usually between 14:1 and 16:1 for direct injection engines and between 18:1 and 23:1 for indirect injection
Indirect injection
In an internal combustion engine, the term indirect injection refers to a fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber...
engines.
Fault finding and diagnosis
Measuring the compression pressurePressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
of an engine, with a pressure gauge connected to the spark plug
Spark plug
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol, gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark.Spark plugs have an insulated central electrode which is connected by...
opening, gives an indication of the engine's state and quality. There is, however, no formula to calculate compression ratio based on cylinder pressure.
If the nominal compression ratio of an engine is given, the pre-ignition cylinder pressure can be estimated using the following relationship:
where
is the cylinder pressure at bottom dead center which is usually at 1 atm, is the compression ratio, and is the specific heat ratio for the working fluid, which is about 1.4 for air, and 1.3 for methane-air mixture.For example, if an engine running on gasoline has a compression ratio of 10:1, the cylinder pressure at top dead center is
This figure, however, will also depend on cam (i.e. valve) timing. Generally, cylinder pressure for common automotive designs should at least equal 10 bar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
, or, roughly estimated in pounds per square inch
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
(psi) as between 15 and 20 times the compression ratio, or in this case between 150 psi and 200 psi, depending on cam timing. Purpose-built racing engines, stationary engines etc. will return figures outside this range.
Factors including late intake valve closure (relatively speaking for camshaft profiles outside of typical production car range, but not necessarily into the realm of competition engines) can produce a misleadingly low figure from this test. Excessive connecting rod
Connecting rod
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion....
clearance, combined with extremely high oil pump
Oil pump
Oil pump may refer to:*A hydraulic pump, which pressurizes hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic system*An oil pump , a part of the lubrication system that pressurizes motor oil for distribution around the engine...
output (rare but not impossible) can sling enough oil to coat the cylinder walls with enough oil to facilitate reasonable piston ring
Piston ring
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.The three main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are:...
seal artificially give a misleadingly high figure, on engines with compromised ring seal.
This can actually be used to some slight advantage. If a compression test does give a low figure, and it has been determined it is not due to intake valve closure/camshaft characteristics, then one can differentiate between the cause being valve/seat seal issues and ring seal by squirting engine oil into the spark plug orifice, in a quantity sufficient to disperse across the piston crown and the circumference of the top ring land, and thereby effect the mentioned seal. If a second compression test is performed shortly thereafter, and the new reading is much higher, it would be the ring seal that is problematic, whereas if the compression test pressure observed remains low, it is a valve sealing (or more rarely head gasket, or breakthrough piston or rarer still cylinder wall damage) issue.
If there is a significant (greater than 10%) difference between cylinders, that may be an indication that valves
Poppet valve
A poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
or cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
gasket
Gasket
thumb|sright|250px|Some seals and gaskets1. [[o-ring]]2. fiber [[Washer |washer]]3. paper gaskets4. [[cylinder head]] [[head gasket|gasket]]...
s are leaking, piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
rings are worn or that the block
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
is cracked.
If a problem is suspected then a more comprehensive test using a leak-down tester
Leak-down tester
A leak-down tester is a measuring instrument used to determine the condition of internal combustion engines by introducing compressed air into the cylinder and measuring the rate at which it leaks out....
can locate the leak.
Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) engines
Because cylinder bore diameter, piston stroke length and combustion chamber volume are almost always constant, the compression ratio for a given engine is almost always constant, until engine wear takes its toll.One exception is the experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
al Saab Variable Compression engine
Saab Variable Compression engine
The Saab Variable Compression engine was a development project of Saab Automobile, for which it won an award both in 2000 and 2001.In a normal internal combustion engine, because cylinder bore diameter, piston stroke length and combustion chamber volume are almost always constant, the compression...
(SVC). This engine, designed by Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab , is a Swedish car manufacturer owned by Dutch automobile manufacturer Swedish Automobile NV, formerly Spyker Cars NV. It is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant holder as appointed by the King of Sweden...
, uses a technique that dynamically alters the volume of the combustion chamber (Vc), which, via the above equation, changes the compression ratio (CR).
The Atkinson cycle
Atkinson cycle
The Atkinson cycle engine is a type of internal combustion engine invented by James Atkinson in 1882. The Atkinson cycle is designed to provide efficiency at the expense of power density, and is used in some modern hybrid electric applications.-Design:...
engine was one of the first attempts at variable compression
Variable compression ratio
Variable compression ratio is the technology to adjust internal combustion engine cylinder compression ratios on the fly. This is done to increase fuel efficiency while under varying loads. Higher loads require lower ratios to be more efficient and vice versa. Variable compression engines allow for...
. Since the compression ratio is the ratio between dynamic and static volumes of the combustion chamber the Atkinson cycle's method of increasing the length of the powerstroke compared to the intake stroke ultimately altered the compression ratio at different stages of the cycle.
Dynamic compression ratio
The calculated compression ratio, as given above, presumes that the cylinder is sealed at the bottom of the stroke, and that the volume compressed is the actual volume.However: intake valve closure (sealing the cylinder) always takes place after BDC, which may cause some of the intake charge to be compressed backwards out of the cylinder by the rising piston at very low speeds; only the percentage of the stroke after intake valve closure is compressed. Intake port tuning and scavenging may allow a greater mass of charge (at a higher than atmospheric pressure) to be trapped in the cylinder than the static volume would suggest ( This "corrected" compression ratio is commonly called the "dynamic compression ratio".
This ratio is higher with more conservative (i.e., earlier, soon after BDC) intake cam timing, and lower with more radical (i.e., later, long after BDC) intake cam timing, but always lower than the static or "nominal" compression ratio.
The actual position of the piston can be determined by trigonometry, using the stroke length and the connecting rod
Connecting rod
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion....
length (measured between centers). The absolute cylinder pressure is the result of an exponent of the dynamic compression ratio. This exponent is a polytropic value for the ratio of variable heats for air and similar gases at the temperatures present. This compensates for the temperature rise caused by compression, as well as heat lost to the cylinder. Under ideal (adiabatic) conditions, the exponent would be 1.4, but a lower value, generally between 1.2 and 1.3 is used, since the amount of heat lost will vary among engines based on design, size and materials used, but provides useful results for purposes of comparison. For example, if the static compression ratio is 10:1, and the dynamic compression ratio is 7.5:1, a useful value for cylinder pressure would be (7.5)^1.3 × atmospheric pressure, or 13.7 bar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
. (× 14.7 psi at sea level = 201.8 psi. The pressure shown on a gauge would be the absolute pressure less atmospheric pressure, or 187.1 psi.)
The two corrections for dynamic compression ratio affect cylinder pressure in opposite directions, but not in equal strength. An engine with high static compression ratio and late intake valve closure will have a DCR similar to an engine with lower compression but earlier intake valve closure.
Additionally, the cylinder pressure developed when an engine is running will be higher than that shown in a compression test for several reasons.
- The much higher velocity of a piston when an engine is running versus cranking allows less time for pressure to bleed past the piston rings into the crankcase.
- a running engine is coating the cylinder walls with much more oil than an engine that is being cranked at low RPM, which helps the seal.
- the higher temperature of the cylinder will create higher pressures when running vs. a static test, even a test performed with the engine near operating temperatureOperating temperatureAn operating temperature is the temperature at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the device function and application context, and ranges from the minimum operating temperature to the...
.
- A running engine does not stop taking air & fuel into the cylinder when the piston reaches BDC; The mixture that is rushing into the cylinder during the downstroke develops momentum and continues briefly after the vacuum ceases (in the same respect that rapidly opening a door will create a draft that continues after movement of the door ceases). This is called scavenging. Intake tuning, cylinder head design, valve timing and exhaust tuning determine how effectively an engine scavenges.
Compression ratio versus overall pressure ratio
Compression ratio and overall pressure ratioOverall pressure ratio
In aeronautical engineering, the term overall pressure ratio is defined as the ratio of the stagnation pressure as measured at the front and rear of the compressor of a gas turbine engine...
are interrelated as follows:
| Compression ratio | 2:1 | 3:1 | 5:1 | 10:1 | 15:1 | 20:1 | 25:1 | 35:1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure ratio | 2.64:1 | 4.66:1 | 9.52:1 | 25.12:1 | 44.31:1 | 66.29:1 | 90.60:1 | 145.11:1 |
The reason for this difference is that compression ratio is defined via the volume reduction:
-
,
while pressure ratio is defined as the pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
increase:
-
.
In calculating the pressure ratio, we assume that an adiabatic compression is carried out (i.e. that no heat energy is supplied to the gas being compressed, and that any temperature rise is solely due to the compression). We also assume that air is a perfect gas. With those two assumptions we can define the relationship between change of volume and change of pressure as follows:
-
where
is the ratio of specific heats for air (approximately 1.4).
The values in the table above are derived using this formula. Note that in reality the ratio of specific heats changes with temperature and that significant deviations from adiabatic behavior will occur.
See also
- Mean effective pressureMean effective pressureThe mean effective pressure is a quantity related to the operation of an reciprocating engine and is a valuable measure of an engine's capacity to do work that is independent of engine displacement. When quoted as an indicated mean effective pressure or imep , it may be thought of as the average...
- Overall pressure ratioOverall pressure ratioIn aeronautical engineering, the term overall pressure ratio is defined as the ratio of the stagnation pressure as measured at the front and rear of the compressor of a gas turbine engine...
- a closely related ratio for jet engines
External links
- "Here Comes High Compression Engines " 1949 highly detailed article in Popular Science with photos and cutaway drawings
- Variable compression engine
- Cam Timing vs. Compression Ratio Analysis
- Calculating Compression Ratio changes with engine modifications
- Mean effective pressure