Why does heat addition happen at constant pressure in diesel cycle ?
Why does heat addition happen at constant pressure in diesel cycle ? what is the basic concept behind it?? please do enlighten me on this topic.
Because diesel takes a long time to burn and is injected and combusted during the power stroke. The progressive burn releases heat which would try to increase the pressure, but the cylinder is expanding which decreased pressure due to the increase in volume. In the ideal cycle these balance out. In reality they don't.
It's like the ideal Otto cycle that had heat addition at constant volume. This assumed that the combustion event of a fixed homogenous charge of fuel and air takes place in an infinitely small amount of time. Where in reality it doesn't.
Diesel is a much longe chained hydrocarbon, and is ignited by pressure and temperature. So as long as the pressure and temperature are high enough diesel will combust.
Diesel is directly injected into a hot chamber of compressed air. Which initially burns very rich at the injection spray location, the unburnt remainer of the fuel then mixes with air in the hot chamber and continues to burn (as the pressure and temperature are still high enough).
Diesel combustion can take many crank degrees to complete, I'm not sure on an exact figure, but over 90 does not seem silly.
A typical petrol charge is homogenous mix of fuel and air, that is then compressed. A spark is required to begin combusiton, this creases a flame front at the spark point. That then propogates through the entire charge. Any unburnt fuel after this will then not burn during the rest of the power stroke.
This combustion happens rapidly, and is complete after maybe 15-20 crank degrees.
In order to define a thermodynamic cycle it is necessary to minimise the number of changing variables on each phase of the cycle.
The spark ignition model has all energy produced instantly, at constant volume.
The compression ignition model has ignition over a time period, at constant pressure.
They are the simplest ideal models that are close enough to reality to be useful in explaining the difference between SI and CI engines.
Real systems are not ideal like the models, real systems are approximations.
OK baluncore...but y does the compression ignition model has ignition over a time period at constant pressure ??? what is the need for that to happen at constant pressure ??
It is because the thermodynamic model mathematics is easier when a parameter is fixed.
Eliminating pressure, temperature or volume from the differential equations makes for a tractable model.
If you look at the Otto and the Diesel cycles you will see they differ only in the combustion part of the cycle. If the Diesel cycle injected all fuel at TDC then it would be an Otto cycle. There would be no difference.
A spark initiates the flame with all fuel available. An injection stroke takes significant time to atomise the injected fuel during which the piston is moving away.
The reason, for constant pressure heat addition in a diesel cycle is that, when the fuel is injected into the compressed air inside the cylinder, question of maintaining a constant volume vanishes. We are adding more volume and igniting the mixture as heat addition. Hence, a constant volume is not possible. And secondarily, the fuel ignition process in a diesel engine is auto-ignition and is caused by pressurizing the Fuel and Air after mixing them.
1. The herein described process for converting the heat energy of fuel into work, consisting in first compressing air, or a mixture of air and neutral gas or vapor, to a degree producing a temperature above the igniting point of the fuel to be consumed, then gradually introducing the fuel for combustion into the compressed air while expanding against a resistance sufliciently to prevent an essential increase of temperature and pressure, then discontinuing the supply of fuel and further expanding without transfer of heat.
2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with the cylinder and piston, of a valved suction inlet for air or a mixture of air and neutral gas, a valved fuel feed constructed to gradually discharge the fuel into the cylinder, and means in operative connection with the feed valve for opening the same at the commencement of the working stroke of the piston and for closing the same at a predetermined part of the stroke, substantially as described.
3. In an internal character specified, the combination of a combustion cylinder provided with means for gradually introducing fuel therein up to the point of cut-off, a compressor for air, a reservoir connected with the latter and with the cylinder, and an expansion chamber for the exhaust gases, substantially as described.
lleretofore the combustion of the gaseous mixture has been left entirely to itself immediately after ignition, no attempt having been made to regulate or control the pressure and temperature during the combustion with reference to the existing volume of the body of air. From this condition of matters resultthe following disadvantages: First, the temperature produced by the combustion is so high that it is impossible to obtain a mean temperature which will permit lubrication and the maintenance of the parts inproper condition for practical working without the presence of arrangements for cooling the cylinders; second, the products of combustion are insufficiently cooled by expansion and escape while in a hot condition, with the consequent loss of heat and energy. Particular types of the above-mentioned class of engines also possess the same defects.
Ok i think i got it, and i had the same question.
Can you be more specific? The density of what?
"Why does heat addition happen at constant pressure in diesel cycle ?" You must log in or register to reply here.
Related Threads for: Why does heat addition happen at constant pressure in diesel cycle ?
Diesel Cycle - Heat Engines - Thermo.