Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals
Förbränningsmotorer - grundläggande processer och koncept

MVK040F, 15 credits

Valid from: Spring 2016
Decided by: FN3 /PT
Date of establishment: 2016-02-18

General Information

Division: Energy Sciences
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The combustion engine is a complex machine with many different processes and phenomena. This course has the aim to look more in detail on some of these processes and gain a deeper understanding of them.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• Know the basic engine types and their typical applications
• Understand the concepts of mean effective pressures and be able to use them
• Know the difference between real and ideal gases and how it influences engine cycles
• Know the parameters that influence the gas exchange of an internal combustion engine
• Know how swirl is measured and concepts for promoting it
• Know the definitions of turbulence and how it is measured in an engine
• Understand the use of dimensionless numbers like Damköhler and Reynolds numbers and how they affect the combustion in spark ignition engines
• Understand knock
• Understand the difference between the compression ignition combustion model proposed by Heywood and the current "truth" by Dec
• Understand why and how NOx is formed in spark ignition and compression ignition engines respectively
• Know the formation process of HC, CO and PM and how aftertreatment can be used to clean the exhaust
• Know the most widely used heat transfer correlations and how to use them
• Understand the importance of friction and where in the engine friction is a problem
• Have a basic understanding of what models can be used for various processes in the engine
• Understand the differences between 1D and 3D models
• Understand how engine operating conditions influence the engine performance and analysis

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• Be able to find and use the properties of fluids within the cycle
• Know the basic design of valve systems and be able to design such a system

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• Within a limited given time frame, be able to study a subject within the combustion engine field and present it to fellow PhD students and lead a discussion such that the subject is thoroughly penetrated
• Be able to select/design suitable exercises on the subject that the student has been responsible for during the course
• Be able to design suitable examination questions on the subject that the student has been responsible for during the course

Course Contents

The course is organized as a series of seminars where each time one of the students is responsible for presenting and discussing a chapter in the course book. The students are also responsible for looking up up-to-date information in the literature to complement the information in the course book. The discussion is documented by another student and the documentation is subsequently distributed to all the students. The presenting student is also responsible for designing exam questions on the subject of the chapter/seminar. The course covers Engine types and their operation Engine design and operating parameters Thermochemistry of fuel-air mixtures Properties of working fluids Ideal models of engine cycles Gas exchange processes SI engine fuel meeting and manifold phenomena Charge motion within the cylinder Combustion in spark ignition engines Combustion in compression ignition engines Pollutant formation and control Engine heat transfer Engine friction and lubrication Modeling real engine flow and combustion processes Engine operating characteristics

Course Literature

Heywood, J. B.: Internal combustion engine fundamentals. McGraw-Hill, 1988. ISBN 9780070286375.
Exists in both paperback and hardcover versions where the paperback version is recommended due to enormous price difference.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Seminars, self-study literature review

Examination Details

Examination formats: Written exam, seminars given by participants
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Assumed prior knowledge: Knowledge equivalent to MVKN50 "Introduction to combustion engines" and MVKN55 "Advanced combustion engine technology".
Selection criteria: PhD students from the combustion engine division have priority and then PhD students from other divisions/departments who conduct research relating to internal combustion engines.

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinator: Per Tunestål <per.tunestal@energy.lth.se>