The reciprocating engine

The engine is the heart of a car although it is normally hidden under the bonnet. The engine is exposed in a motorcycle but the detailed mechanisms are not visible. This chapter looks at these mechanisms.

Figure 1.1 shows a four-stroke cycle petrol engine with the various parts indicated. In a reciprocating engine a mixture of petrol and air burns explosively

in a narrow container when ignited. The piston then receives the combustion pressure, and the connecting rod and crankshaft mechanism converts this

pressure into rotation. This is the basic mechanism of a reciprocating engine.

The reciprocating mechanism was originally inherited from steam engines and has been used for more than 200 years. One of the earliest mechanisms using a piston and cylinder can be seen in a 1509 drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter and scientist of the Renaissance period. There are two main types of reciprocating engine, the four-stroke and the two-stroke

engine. Figure 1.2 illustrates the sequence of operation. The four-strokecycle engine rapidly repeats strokes 1 to 4.1

The science and technology of materials in automotive engines

Hiroshi Yamagata

Woodhead Publishing and Maney Publishing

on behalf of

The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining

CRC Press

Boca Raton Boston New York Washington, DC

WOODHEAD PUBLISHING LIMITED

Cambridge England

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