Course syllabus

Introduktion till förbränningsmotorer
Introduction to Combustion Engines

MVKN50, 7,5 credits, A (Second Cycle)

Valid for: 2016/17
Decided by: Education Board E
Date of Decision: 2016-04-04

General Information

Elective for: M4-en, M4-fo, W4
Language of instruction: The course will be given in English on demand

Aim

The objective of the course is to provide a thorough understanding of the processes that occur in an internal combustion engine and the reason why it is designed as it is.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

be able to give an overview of the functions of main components of a modern combustion engine as well as how they have evolved over time

Competences and skills
For a passing grade the student must

be able to use mean effective pressures and other characteristic engine parameters to analyse combustion engines, select an engine type and design the engine (in terms of displacement volume, number of cylinders, cylinder bore and engine speed) for a given simple application

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

Contents

The course mainly deals with combustion engines having internal combustion. First a general description of the most common engine types is given. The spark ignition and compression ignition principles are explained and the difference between two and four stroke engines is discussed. A brief coverage of two alternatives, the Wankel and Stirling engines is presented. Thereafter, a number of definitions of mean effective pressure and efficiency are explained. The coupling between the power requirement of a normal vehicle and the power produced by an engine is explained. The fact that all passenger cars have excessive displacement volume should be obvious here and possible ways to improve the situation are discussed. The general conversion of fuel to CO2, H2O and heat is discussed and stoichiometry is explained. Also, exhaust gas analysis is discussed in some detail. Ideal thermodynamic cycles are presented and used to explain the effects of compression ratio on fuel efficiency. The combustion process in the spark ignition engine is presented. Cycle to cycle variations in the combustion process are explained and abnormal combustion, "knock", is discussed. The exhaust emissions generally and from the spark ignition engine are explained, including the principle of cleaning with the three way catalyst. The diesel engine combustion process is presented both with the classical model and the newer Dec model. The emissions from the diesel engine are also discussed. The engine mechanical systems and gas exchange processes, for instance supercharing are presented.

The course contains lectures, seminars, exercises and two laboratory exercises. In the first a modern four cylinder SI engine is disassembled and assembled and in the second a diesel engine is run and emissions are measured. Normally an industry representative will give an invited lecture.

Examination details

Grading scale: TH
Assessment: Written examination graded with Fail or one of the passing grades 3, 4 or 5 which normally correspond to 40, 60 and 80% of the maximum number of points respectively. In order to qualify for participation in the written examination all of the mandatory laboratory exercises must have been completed with approved reports.

Admission

The number of participants is limited to: No
The course overlaps following course/s: MVK093

Reading list

Contact and other information

Course coordinator: Per Tunestål, per.tunestal@energy.lth.se
Course coordinator: Martin Tunér, martin.tuner@energy.lth.se
Course homepage: http://www.energy.lth.se