Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227

www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Effects of heat loss as percentage of fuel’s energy, friction

and variable specific heats of working fluid on performance
of air standard Otto cycle
a,* b
Jiann-Chang Lin , Shuhn-Shyurng Hou
a
Department of General Education, Transworld Institute of Technology, Touliu City, Yunlin County 640, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kun Shan University, Yung-Kang City, Tainan County 71003, Taiwan, ROC

Received 30 June 2006; received in revised form 28 January 2007; accepted 9 September 2007
Available online 22 October 2007

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of heat loss characterized by a percentage of the fuel’s energy, friction and variable
specific heats of working fluid on the performance of an air standard Otto cycle with a restriction of maximum cycle temperature. A more
realistic and precise relationship between the fuel’s chemical energy and the heat leakage that is based on a pair of inequalities is derived
through the resulting temperature. The variations in power output and thermal efficiency with compression ratio, and the relations
between the power output and the thermal efficiency of the cycle are presented. The results show that the power output as well as
the efficiency where maximum power output occurs will increase with increase of the maximum cycle temperature. The temperature
dependent specific heats of the working fluid have a significant influence on the performance. The power output and the working range
of the cycle increase with the increase of specific heats of the working fluid, while the efficiency decreases with the increase of specific heats
of the working fluid. The friction loss has a negative effect on the performance. Therefore, the power output and efficiency of the cycle
decrease with increasing friction loss. It is noteworthy that the effects of heat loss characterized by a percentage of the fuel’s energy, fric-
tion and variable specific heats of the working fluid on the performance of an Otto cycle engine are significant and should be considered
in practical cycle analysis. The results obtained in the present study are of importance to provide good guidance for performance eval-
uation and improvement of practical Otto engines.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Otto cycle; Heat leakage; Friction; Irreversible; Variable specific heat

1. Introduction cycles are used to describe the major processes occurring

Since there are some differences between real air–fuel
cycles and ideal air standard cycles, the results from air
standard thermodynamic analysis will deviate from actual
conditions. However, it is very interesting to note that
the errors are not great, and the property values of temper-
ature and pressure are very representative of actual engine
values, depending on the geometry and operating condi-
tions of the real engine [1]. Therefore, to make the analysis
of the engine cycle much more manageable, air standard
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 5 5370988; fax: +886 5 5370989.
E-mail address: jclin6142@ms69.url.com.tw (J.-C. Lin).
in internal combustion engines. Air is assumed to behave
as an ideal gas, and all processes are considered to be
reversible [1,2]. In practice, air standard analysis is useful
for illustrating the thermodynamic aspects of an engine
operation cycle. Meanwhile, it can provide approximate
estimates of trends as major engine operating variables
change. Good approximations of power output, thermal
efficiency and mep (mean effective pressure) can be
expected.
For an ideal engine cycle, heat losses do not occur, how-
ever, for a real engine cycle, heat losses indeed exist and
should not be neglected. It is recognized that heat loss
strongly affects the overall performance of the internal

0196-8904/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2007.09.002
 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227
Nomenclature
ap constant, defined in Eq. (4)
bv constant, defined in Eq. (5)
Cpm molar specific heat at constant pressure
Cvm molar specific heat at constant volume
fl friction force, defined in Eq. (21)
k specific heat ratio, k = Cpm/Cvm
k1 constant, defined in Eqs. (4) and (5)
L stroke of Otto engine
ma mass of air per cycle
mf mass of fuel per cycle
N cycles per second
P net actual power output of cycle, defined in Eq.
(25)
PR power output without friction losses, defined in
Eq. (20)
Pl lost power due to friction, defined in Eq. (22)
Qfuel total energy of fuel per second input into engine
QLHV lower heating value of fuel
Qleak heat leakage per second
Qin heat input
combustion engine. If it is neglected, the analysis will just
depend on the ideal air standard cycle. Some attention
has been paid to analyzing the effects of heat transfer losses
on the performance of internal combustion engines [3–7].
Klein [3] examined the effect of heat transfer through a cyl-
inder wall on the work output of Otto and Diesel cycles.
Chen et al. [4,5] derived the relations between net power
output and the efficiency of Diesel and Otto cycles with
considerations of heat loss through the cylinder wall.
Hou [6] studied the effect of heat transfer through a cylin-
der wall on the performance of the dual cycle.
In addition to heat loss, friction has a significant effect
on the performance, but it is omitted in ideal engine cycles.
Taking into account the friction loss of the piston, Angulo-
Brown et al. [7], Chen et al. [8] and Wang et al. [9] modeled
Otto, Diesel and dual cycles with friction like loss, respec-
tively. Furthermore, Chen et al. [10,11] and Ge et al. [12]
derived the characteristics of power and efficiency for Otto,
dual and Miller cycles with considerations of heat transfer
and friction like term losses. The above studies [3–12] were
done without considering the variable specific heats of the
working fluid. However, in real engine cycles, the specific
heat of the working fluid is not a constant and should be
considered in practical cycle analysis [13–16].
In those studies [3–16], the heat addition process for an
air standard cycle has been widely described as subtraction
of an arbitrary heat loss parameter times the average tem-
perature of the heat addition period from the fuel’s chem-
ical energy. That is, the heat transfer to the cylinder walls is
assumed to be a linear function of the difference between
the average gas and cylinder wall temperatures during the
energy release process. However, the heat leakage parame-
1219
Qout heat rejected
R gas constant of working fluid
T temperature
T1, T2, T3, T4 temperatures at state points 1, 2, 3, 4
V volume
v piston velocity
v piston mean velocity
x piston displacement
x1 piston position corresponding to maximum vol-
ume of trapped gases
x2 piston position corresponding to minimum vol-
ume of trapped gases
Greek letters
a heat leakage percentage
cc compression ratio, cc = V1/V2
g efficiency of cycle
k excess air coefficient
l coefficient of friction
ter and the fuel’s energy depend on each other. Their valid
ranges given in the literature affect the feasibility of air
standard cycles. If they are selected arbitrarily, they will
present unrealistic results and make the air standard cycles
unfeasible [17]. For this reason, a more realistic and precise
relationship between the fuel’s chemical energy and the
heat leakage needs to be derived through the resulting tem-
perature [17]. Thereby, the performance analysis of any
internal combustion engine can be covered by a more real-
istic and valid range of the heat loss parameter and the
fuel’s energy.
However, Ozsoysal’s study [17] was only focused on the
temperature limitations and no performance analysis was
presented. Moreover, his study was done without consider-
ing the effects of variable specific heats of the working fluid
and friction. In particular, no performance analysis is
available in the literature with emphasis on the Otto cycle
with considerations of variable specific heats of the work-
ing fluid, friction and heat leakage characterized by a per-
centage of the fuel’s energy. This study is aimed at
analyzing these effects (i.e. variable specific heats of work-
ing fluid, friction and heat loss characterized by a percent-
age of the fuel’s energy) on the net work output and the
indicated thermal efficiency of an air standard Otto cycle.
In the present study, we relax the assumptions that there
are no heat losses during combustion, that there are no fric-
tion losses of the piston for the cycle, and that specific heats
of the working fluid are constant. In other words, heat
transfer between the working fluid and the environment
through the cylinder wall is considered and characterized
by a percentage of the fuel’s energy; friction loss of the pis-
ton in all the processes of the cycle on the performance is
1220 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227

taken into account. Furthermore, we consider the variable ing that the heat engine is operated at the rate of N cycles
specific heats of the working fluid that is significant in prac- per second, the total energy of the fuel per second input
tical cycle analysis. The results obtained in the study may into the engine can be given by
offer good guidance for design and operation of the Otto Qfuel ¼ Nmf QLHV ; ð1Þ
cycle engine.
and then the heat leakage per second is
2. Thermodynamic analysis Qleak ¼ aQfuel ¼ aNmf QLHV ; ð2Þ

Fig. 1 shows the limitation of the maximum cycle tem-
perature due to heat leakage in the temperature-entropy
diagram of an air standard Otto cycle model. Thermody-
namic cycle 1–2–3 0 –4 0 –1 denotes the air standard Otto
cycle without heat leakage, while cycle 1–2–3–4–1 desig-
nates the air standard Otto cycle with heat leakage. Process
1–2 is an isentropic compression from BDC (bottom dead
center) to TDC (top dead center). The heat addition takes
place in process 2–3, which is isochoric. The isentropic
expansion process, 3–4, is the power or expansion stroke.
The cycle is completed by an isochoric heat rejection pro-
cess, 4–1. The heat added to the working fluid per unit
mass is due to combustion. The temperature at the comple-
tion of the constant volume combustion (T3) depends on
the heat input due to combustion and the heat leakage
through the cylinder wall. In this study, the amount of heat
leakage is considered to be a percentage of the delivered
fuel’s energy [17]. The fuel’s energy then is the sum of the
actual fuel energy transferred to the working fluid and
the heat leakage through the cylinder walls. If any heat
leakage occurs, the maximum cycle temperature (T3)
remains less than that of the no heat leakage case (T3 0 ).
When the total energy of the fuel is utilized, the maximum
cycle temperature reaches undesirably high levels with
regard to structural integrity. Hence, engine designers
intend to restrict the maximum cycle temperature. Assum-
where mf is the delivered fuel mass into the cylinder, QLHV
is the lower heating value of the fuel and a is an unknown
percentage parameter having a value between 0 and 1.
Since the total energy of the delivered fuel Qfuel is
assumed to be the sum of the heat added to the working
fluid Qin and the heat leakage Qleak,
Qin ¼ Qfuel  Qleak ¼ ð1  aÞNmf QLHV : ð3Þ
In practical internal combustion engine cycles, constant
pressure and constant volume specific heats of the working
fluid are variable, and these variations will greatly affect the
performance of the cycle. According to Ref. [13], it can be
assumed that the specific heats of the working fluid are
functions of temperature alone and have the following lin-
ear forms:
C pm ¼ ap þ k 1 T ð4Þ
and
C vm ¼ bv þ k 1 T ð5Þ
where Cpm and Cvm are, respectively, the specific heats with
respect to constant pressure and volume. ap, bv and k1 are
constants. Accordingly, the gas constant (R) of the working
fluid can be expressed as
R ¼ C pm  C vm ¼ ap  bv ð6Þ

The temperature is restricted as the maximum temperature

in the cycle is T3, and the available energy Qin during the
Q fuel
heat addition per second can be written as
Z T3 Z T3
Qin ¼ Nma C vm dT ¼ Nma ðbv þ k 1 T ÞdT
T T2 T2
Q in Q leak 3’   
¼ Nma bv ðT 3  T 2 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23  T 22 : ð7Þ
3 Combining Eqs. (3) and (7) yields
  
Nma bv ðT 3  T 2 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23  T 22
V= C 4’
¼ ð1  aÞNmf QLHV ð8Þ
2 Q leak Dividing Eq. (8) by the amount of air mass ma, we have
4 kðma =mf Þs   
a¼1 bv ðT 3  T 2 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23  T 22 ð9Þ
V= C QLHV
1 or
Q out
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
h iffi
2 2 QLHV
bv þ bv þ 2k 1 0:5k 1 T 3 þ bv T 3  ð1  aÞ kðma =mf Þ
s
T2 ¼
s k1
Fig. 1. T–s diagram of an air standard Otto cycle model. ð10Þ
 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227 1221

where k is the excess air coefficient defined as k = (ma/mf)/ and

(ma/mf)s, (ma/mf) is the air–fuel ratio and the subscripts a, f, k 1 ðT 3  T 4 Þ þ bv lnðT 3 =T 4 Þ ¼ R ln cc ð19Þ
and s, respectively, denote air, fuel and the stoichiometric
condition. From Eqs. (7) and (14), the power output without friction
The first condition for realizing a feasible cycle is losses is given by:
T2 6 T3 (=Tmax), so that P R ¼ Qin  Qout
  
a61 ð11Þ ¼ Nma bv ðT 3 þ T 1  T 2  T 4 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23 þ T 21  T 22  T 24
The upper limit for the percentage of heat leakage is then ð20Þ
found as amax = 1. The second condition, T2 P T1(=Tmin),
Every time the piston moves, friction acts to retard the mo-
is utilized to determine the lower limit as follows
tion. Considering the friction effects on the piston in all the
kðma =mf Þs   2   processes of the cycle, we assume a dissipation term repre-
aP1 k 1 T 3  T 21 þ 2bv ðT 3  T 1 Þ ð12Þ
2QLHV sented by a friction force (fl) that is linearly proportional
to the velocity of the piston [7–9], which can be written
Hence, the minimum value of a is expressed as
as follows:
kðma =mf Þs   2  
amin ¼ 1  k 1 T 3  T 21 þ 2bv ðT 3  T 1 Þ ð13Þ dx
2QLHV fl ¼ lv ¼ l ð21Þ
dt
The heat rejected per second by the working fluid (Qout) where l is the coefficient of friction, which takes into ac-
during process 4 ! 1 is count the global losses on the power output, x is the pis-
Z T4 Z T4 ton’s displacement and v is the piston’s velocity.
Qout ¼ Nma C vm dT ¼ Nma ðbv þ k 1 T ÞdT Therefore, the power lost due to friction is
T1 T1
    2
¼ Nma bv ðT 4  T 1 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 24  T 21 ð14Þ dx
P l ¼ fl v ¼ l ¼ lv2 ð22Þ
dt
The adiabatic exponent k = Cpm/Cvm will vary with tem-
perature since both Cpm and Cvm are dependent on temper- For a four stroke cycle engine, the total distance the piston
ature. Accordingly, the equation often used in reversible travels per cycle is
adiabatic processes with constant k cannot be used in 4L ¼ 4ðx1  x2 Þ ¼ 4x2 ðx1 =x2  1Þ ¼ 4x2 ðcc  1Þ ð23Þ
reversible adiabatic processes with variable k. According
to Ref. [13], however, a suitable engineering approximation where x1 and x2 are the piston’s position corresponding to
for reversible adiabatic processes with variable k can be the maximum and minimum volume, respectively, and L is
made, i.e. this process can be divided into infinitesimally the stroke of the piston.
small processes, and for each of these processes, the adia- Running at N cycles per second, the mean velocity of the
batic exponent k can be regarded as constant. For instance, piston is
for any reversible adiabatic process between states i and j, v ¼ 4LN ð24Þ
we can regard the process as consist of numerous infinites-
Therefore, the net actual power output of the Otto cycle
imally small processes with constant k. For any of these
engine can be written as
processes, when small changes in temperature dT and vol-
ume dV of the working fluid take place, the equation for a P ¼ P R  jP l j
reversible adiabatic process with variable k can be written   
¼ Nma bv ðT 3 þ T 1  T 2  T 4 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23 þ T 21  T 22  T 24
as follows:
k1  16l½Nx2 ðcc  1Þ2 ;
TV k1 ¼ ðT þ dT ÞðV þ dV Þ : ð15Þ
ð25Þ
Re-arranging Eqs. (4)–(6) and (15), we get the following
equation The efficiency of the Otto cycle engine is expressed by

P n
dT =T þ ½R=ðbv þ k 1 T ÞðdV =V Þ ¼ 0: ð16Þ g¼ ¼ ma ½bv ðT 3 þ T 1  T 2  T 4 Þ þ 0:5k 1
Qin
 2  o
Integrating Eq. (16) from state i to state j, we obtain T 3 þ T 21  T 22  T 24  16lN ½x2 ðcc  1Þ
2

  
1
k 1 ðT j  T i Þ þ bv lnðT j =T i Þ ¼ R lnðV j =V i Þ: ð17Þ  ma bv ðT 3  T 2 Þ þ 0:5k 1 T 23  T 22 : ð26Þ

The compression ratio (cc) is defined as cc = V1/V2. There-
fore, the equations for processes 1 ! 2 and 3 ! 4 are
shown, respectively, by the following equations:
k 1 ðT 2  T 1 Þ þ bv lnðT 2 =T 1 Þ ¼ R ln cc
When T1, T3 and cc are given, T2 can be obtained from Eq.
(18) and T4 can be found from Eq. (19). Finally, by substi-
tuting T1, T2, T3 and T4 into Eqs. (25) and (26), respec-
tively, the power output and the efficiency of the Otto
ð18Þ
cycle engine can be obtained. Therefore, the relations
1222 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227

between the power output, the efficiency and the compres- 100
sion ratio can be derived. T1=350 K
T3=1900 K
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K
3. Results and discussion k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2

Heat Leakage Percentage (%)

80 x2=0.01 m
According to Refs. [13,16,18], the following constants μ=0.0129 kN-s/m
and ranges of parameters are used in the calculations: λ
α (1.1)
bv = 0.6858–0.8239 kJ/kg K, ma = 1.26 · 103 kg, T1 = α (1.2)
α (1.3)
300–400 K, k1 = 0.000133–0.00034 kJ/kg K2, x2 = 0.01 m, 60
N = 30, QLHV = 44,000 kJ/kg and l = 0.0129–0.0169
kN s/m. This study focuses on the limitation of the maxi- λ
α min (1.1)
mum cycle temperature T3 instead of T3 0 due to the varying
α min (1.2)
heat leakage conditions. Numerical examples are shown as 40 α min (1.3)
follows.
Fig. 2 shows the variation of the heat leakage percentage
(a) with respect to the maximum cycle temperature (T3)
and the volumetric compression ratio (cc). It is found
20
that the maximum cycle temperature plays a dominant role
on the quantity of heat leakage. For a fixed compression 0 10 20 30
ratio, the larger maximum cycle temperature can be γc
obtained as the heat leakage percentage parameter is smal-
Fig. 3. The variation of the heat leakage percentage (a) with respect to the
ler. For a fixed cycle maximum temperature, the heat air–fuel ratio (ma/mf) or the excess air coefficient (k) and the volumetric
leakage percentage parameter increases with the increase compression ratio (cc).
of compression ratio. The most important point here is that
some values of the heat leakage percentage might be
insufficient for a feasible Otto cycle. Therefore, acceptable cient also plays an important role on the quantity of heat
values for a could only be achieved from the definition of leakage. For a fixed maximum cycle temperature
amin given by Eq. (13). (T3 = 1900 K), the heat leakage percentage parameter
Fig. 3 illustrates the variation of the heat leakage per- increases with the increase of compression ratio. For fixed
centage (a) with respect to the air–fuel ratio (ma/mf) or maximum cycle temperature and compression ratio, the
the excess air coefficient (k) and the volumetric compres- heat leakage percentage parameter decreases with increas-
sion ratio (cc). The results show that the excess air coeffi- ing excess air coefficient. Similar to Fig. 2, suitable values
for a could only be achieved from the definition of amin
given by Eq. (13).
100 Fig. 4 depicts the influence of maximum cycle tempera-
T1=350 K ture (T3) on the cycle performance. The power output given
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K by Eq. (25) is a convex function with a single maximum for
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2
the optimum compression ratio, as shown in Fig. 4a. An
Heat Leakage Percentage (%)

x2=0.01 m
μ=0.0129 kN-s/m increase in compression ratio first leads to an increase in
λ=1.2 power output, and after reaching a peak, the net power
80
T3 output decreases dramatically with further increase in com-
α (1700 K) pression ratio. As shown in Fig. 4b, the behavior of the effi-
α (1800 K) ciency versus compression ratio plot is similar to that for
α (1900 K) the power output. Additionally, Fig. 4 illustrates that
increasing T3 corresponds to increasing the amount of heat
60 added to the engine due to combustion, and therefore, T3
T3 has a positive effect on the P–cc and g–cc characteristic
αmin (1700 K) curves. In other words, for a given cc, the power output
αmin (1800 K) and efficiency increase with the increase of T3, and the max-
αmin (1900 K) imum power output and its corresponding efficiency
40 increase with increasing T3. Furthermore, it is found that
the values of cc at maximum power output or at maximum
0 10 20 30 efficiency increase with increasing T3.
γc It has been reported that for a real heat engine, the max-
Fig. 2. The variation of the heat leakage percentage (a) with respect to the imum power and maximum efficiency operating points are
maximum cycle temperature (T3) and the volumetric compression ratio usually relatively close [18]. This is reflected through loop
(cc). shaped power versus efficiency plots. As is shown in
 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227 1223

30 24
a T1=350 K T1=350 K
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2 k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2 T3 (K)
x2=0.01 m x2=0.01 m 1900
20 μ=0.0129 kN-s/m μ =0.0129 kN-s/m
1800
λ=1.2 λ =1.2
16
P (kW)

T3 (K)
1700
1900

P (kW)
1800
10
1700

0
b

0.6
0
T3 (K)
1900 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
0.4 1800
η
η

1700 Fig. 5. The influence of maximum cycle temperature (T3) on the power
output (P) versus efficiency (g) characteristic curves.
0.2

32
a T1=350 K
0.0 T3=1900 K
0 10 20 30 40 k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2
γc 24 x2=0.01 m
μ =0.0129 kN-s/m
Fig. 4. (a) The influence of maximum cycle temperature (T3) on the
λ =1.2
P (kW)

bv (kJ/kg-K)
variation of power output (P) with compression ratio (cc); (b) The 16 0.8239
influence of maximum cycle temperature (T3) on the variation of efficiency
(g) with compression ratio (cc). 0.7548
0.6858
8
Fig. 5, we also obtain the loop shaped power output versus
efficiency curves, which reflect the performance characteris-
tics of a real irreversible Otto cycle engine. It is depicted 0
that the maximum power output, the maximum efficiency, b
the power at maximum efficiency and the efficiency at max-
imum power will increase with the increase of T3.
Figs. 6 and 7 show the influence of the parameter bv 0.6
related to the variable specific heats of the working fluid
bv (kJ/kg-K)
on the performance of the Otto cycle. For a fixed k1, a lar-
0.8239
0.4
η

ger bv corresponds to a greater value of the specific heat

0.7548
with constant volume (Cvm) or the specific heat with con-
stant pressure (Cpm). Fig. 6a demonstrates that for a given 0.6858
cc in a feasible range, the maximum power output of the 0.2
cycle increase with the increase of bv, nevertheless,
Fig. 6b shows that the maximum efficiency decreases with
the increase of bv. It is noted that the parameter bv has 0.0
an important influence on the compression ratio where
the maximum power or efficiency occurs. The values of cc 0 10 20 30 40
at the maximum power output or at the maximum effi- γc
ciency increase with the increase of bv, as shown in Fig. 6. (a) The influence of bv on the variation of power output (P) with
Fig. 6. As can be found in Fig. 7, the curves of power out- compression ratio (cc); (b) The influence of bv on the variation of efficiency
put versus efficiency are also loop shaped. It shows that, (g) with compression ratio (cc).
1224 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227

30 24
T1=350 K T1=350 K
T3=1900 K T3=1900 K
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2 bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K
x2=0.01 m x2=0.01 m
μ =0.0129 kN-s/m μ =0.0129 kN-s/m
λ =1.2 λ =1.2
20 16

P (kW)
P (kW)

k1 (kJ/kg-K2)
bv (kJ/kg-K) 0.000133
10 0.6858 8
0.000202
0.7548

0.000340
0.8239

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
η η
Fig. 7. The influence of bv on the power output (P) versus efficiency (g) Fig. 9. The influence of k1 on the power output (P) versus efficiency (g)
characteristic curves. characteristic curves.

with the increase of bv, the maximum power output and the
power at maximum efficiency increase, while the maximum
36
a T1=350 K efficiency and the efficiency at maximum power output
T3=1900 K decrease.
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K Figs. 8 and 9 represent the influence of the parameter k1
x2=0.01 m
related to the variable specific heats of the working fluid on
μ =0.0129 kN-s/m
24 the performance of the Otto cycle. For a given bv, a larger
λ =1.2
k1 corresponds to a greater value of the specific heats with
P (kW)

k1 (kJ/kg-K2)
0.000340
constant volume (Cvm) or the specific heat with constant
pressure (Cpm). Fig. 8 shows that k1 has the same influence
0.000202
12 as bv (shown in Fig. 6) on the performance of the cycle.
0.000133
That is, for a given cc in a feasible range, the power output
of the cycle increase with increasing k1, as shown in Fig. 8a,
while the efficiency decreases with the increase of k1, as
depicted in Fig. 8b. It is also found that the parameter k1
0
has a significant influence on the loop shaped curves for
b the power output versus efficiency plots. With the increase
of k1, the maximum power output and the power at maxi-
0.6 mum efficiency increase, while the maximum efficiency and
the efficiency at maximum power output decrease, as
k1 (kJ/kg-K2)
0.000340
shown in Fig. 9.
0.4
η

Figs. 10 and 11 show the influence of the friction like

0.000202
term loss (l) on the performance of the Otto cycle. It is
0.000133 clear that the parameter l has a negative effect on the per-
0.2 formance. As is seen in Fig. 10, the maximum power out-
put, the maximum efficiency and the value of the
compression ratio at maximum power output or at maxi-
0.0 mum efficiency will decrease with increasing l. Moreover,
Fig. 11 shows that the maximum power output, the maxi-
0 10 20 30 40 mum efficiency, the power at maximum efficiency and the
γc efficiency at maximum power will decrease with the
Fig. 8. (a) The influence of k1 on the variation of power output (P) with increase of l.
compression ratio (cc); (b) The influence of k1 on the variation of efficiency Figs. 12 and 13 depict the influence of intake tempera-
(g) with compression ratio (cc). ture (T1) on the performance of the Otto cycle. As is seen
 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227 1225

30 30
a T1=350 K a T3=1900 K
T3=1900 K bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2 x2=0.01 m
x2=0.01 m 20 μ=0.0129 kN-s/m
20
λ=1.2 λ=1.2

P (kW)
P (kW)

T1 (K)
μ (kN-s/m)
300
0.0129
350
0.0149
10 10
400
0.0169

0 0
b b

0.6 0.6
T1 (K)
μ (kN-s/m)
300
0.0129
350
0.0149 0.4

η
0.4
η

400
0.0169

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0

0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
γc γc
Fig. 10. (a) The influence of l on the variation of power output (P) with Fig. 12. (a) The influence of intake temperature (T1) on the variation of
compression ratio (cc); (b) The influence of l on the variation of efficiency power output (P) with compression ratio (cc); (b) The influence of intake
(g) with compression ratio (cc). temperature (T1) on the variation of efficiency (g) with compression ratio
(cc).

24 in Fig. 12, for a restricted maximum cycle temperature

T1=350 K
T3 = 1900 K, the maximum power output, the maximum
T3=1900 K
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K efficiency, the compression ratio at maximum power output
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2 and the compression ratio at maximum efficiency of the
x2=0.01 m Otto cycle decrease with the increase of T1. Loop shaped
λ=1.2 curves of power versus efficiency plots are also shown in
16 μ (kN-s/m)
0.0129 Fig. 13. It is also found that as T1 increases, the maximum
power output, the maximum efficiency, the efficiency at
P (kW)

0.0149 maximum power output and the power output at maxi-

mum efficiency decrease.
0.0169
8 4. Conclusions

The effects of heat loss as a percentage of the fuel’s

energy, friction and variable specific heats of the working
fluid on the performance of an Otto engine under the
0 restriction of maximum cycle temperature are presented
in this study. The results are summarized as follows.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
η (1) The maximum power output, the maximum effi-
Fig. 11. The influence of l on the power output (P) versus efficiency (g) ciency, the power at maximum efficiency, the effi-
characteristic curves. ciency at maximum power and the value of the
1226 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227
30
T3=1900 K
bv=0.6858 kJ/kg-K
k1=0.000202 kJ/kg-K2
x2=0.01 m
μ =0.0129 kN-s/m T1 (K)
λ =1.2 300
20
350
400
P (kW)
10
0
0 0.2 0.4
η new model as a function of crank angle to help under-
Fig. 13. The influence of intake temperature (T1) on the power output (P)
versus efficiency (g) characteristic curves.
compression ratio when the power output or the effi-
ciency is maximum increase with the increase of max-
imum cycle temperature T3.
(2) The parameters bv and k1 related to the variable spe-
cific heats of the working fluid have a significant
influence on the performance of the Otto cycle. For
a fixed k1 (or bv), a larger bv (or k1) corresponds to
a greater value of the specific heats with constant vol-
ume (Cvm). For a given compression ratio cc in a fea-
sible range, the power output of the cycle increase
with the increase of the parameter bv or k1, neverthe-
less, the efficiency decreases with the increase of bv or
k1. Furthermore, with the increase of bv, the maxi-
mum power output and the power at maximum effi-
ciency increase, while the maximum efficiency and
the efficiency at maximum power output decrease.
(3) The influence of the friction like term loss l has a
negative effect on the performance. Therefore, the
maximum power output, the maximum efficiency,
the power at maximum efficiency and the efficiency
at maximum power will decrease with the increase
of l.
(4) The maximum power output, the maximum effi-
ciency, the compression ratio at maximum power
output and the compression ratio at maximum effi-
ciency of the Otto cycle decrease with the increase
of intake temperature T1. The efficiency at maximum
power output and the power output at maximum effi-
ciency decrease with increasing T1.
(5) It is noteworthy that the effects of heat loss as a per-
centage of the fuel’s energy and friction loss on the
performance of an Otto cycle engine with consider-
ations of variable specific heats of working fluid are
significant and should be considered in practical cycle
analysis. The results obtained in the present study are
of importance to provide good guidance for perfor-
mance evaluation and improvement of practical Otto
engines.
In view of the analytical results from this work, we
realize that the understanding and development of
engines and engine cycles should be further explored by
considering a more realistic model with advanced theo-
retical and numerical techniques. For instance, in air
standard analysis, the constant volume heat input process
replaces the combustion of the real engine cycle, which
takes place at close to constant volume conditions, and
exhaust blowdown in a real engine is almost, but not
quite, constant volume. As expected, the maximum tem-
perature in the cycle will depend on the crank angle at
which the exhaust valve opens. Hence, a new type of
0.6 cycle analysis is needed. In other words, conceiving a
stand, correlate, and analyze the relation between the
maximum temperature and the crank angle at which
the exhaust valve opens in the cycle. Additionally, con-
sidering the combined effects of heat loss and friction
on the performance of engine cycles, detailed compari-
sons between this work and numerical analysis (or exper-
iments) are worthy of further study.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Science Coun-
cil, Taiwan, ROC, under contract NSC95-2221-E-265-002.
The authors would like to thank the reviewers and Dr.
Denton for their valuable comments and helpful
suggestions.
References
[1] Pulkrabek WW. Engineering fundamentals of the internal combus-
tion engine. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall; 1997.
[2] Heywood JB. Internal combustion engine fundamentals. New
York: McGraw-Hill; 1997.
[3] Klein SA. An explanation for observed compression ratios in internal
combustion engines. Trans ASME J Eng Gas Turbine Power
1991;113(4):511–3.
[4] Chen L, Zen F, Sun F, Wu C. Heat transfer effects on the net work
output and power as function of efficiency for air standard Diesel
cycle. Energ Int J 1996;21(12):1201–5.
[5] Chen L, Wu C, Sun F, Cao S. Heat transfer effects on the net work
output and efficiency characteristics for an air standard Otto cycle.
Energ Convers Manage 1998;39(7):643–8.
[6] Hou SS. Heat transfer effects on the performance of an air standard
dual cycle. Energ Convers Manage 2004;45:3003–15.
[7] Angulo-Brown F, Fernandez-Betanzos J, Diaz-Pico CA. Compres-
sion ratio of an optimized Otto cycle model. Eur J Phys
1994;15(1):38–42.
[8] Chen L, Lin J, Luo J, Sun F, Wu C. Friction effects on the
characteristic performance of Diesel engines. Int J Energ Res
2002;26(10):965–71.
 J.-C. Lin, S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 49 (2008) 1218–1227
[9] Wang W, Chen L, Sun F, Wu C. The effects of friction on the
performance of an air standard dual cycle. Exergy An Int J
2002;2(4):340–4.
[10] Chen L, Zheng T, Sun F, Wu C. The power and efficiency
characteristics for an irreversible Otto cycle. Int J Ambient Energ
2003;24(4):195–200.
[11] Chen L, Sun F, Wu C. The optimal performance of an irreversible
dual cycle. Appl Energ 2004;79(1):3–14.
[12] Ge Y, Chen L, Sun F. Effects of heat transfer and friction on the
performance of an irreversible air-standard Miller cycle. Int Commun
Heat Mass 2005;32:1045–56.
[13] Ge Y, Chen L, Sun F, Wu C. Thermodynamic simulation of
performance of an Otto cycle with heat transfer and variable specific
heats of working fluid. Int J Therm Sci 2005;44(5):506–11.
1227
[14] Al-Sarkhi A, Jaber JO, Abu-Qudais M, Probert SD. Effects of friction
and temperature-dependent specific-heat of the working fluid on the
performance of a Diesel-engine. Appl Energ 2006;83:153–65.
[15] Al-Sarkhi A, Jaber JO, Probert SD. Efficiency of a Miller engine.
Appl Energ 2006;83:343–51.
[16] Ge Y, Chen L, Sun F, Wu C. Effects of heat transfer, friction and
variable specific heats of working fluid on performance
of an irreversible dual cycle. Energ Convers Manage 2006;47:
3224–34.
[17] Ozsoysal OA. Heat loss as a percentage of fuel’s energy in air
standard Otto and Diesel cycles. Energ Convers Manage
2006;47:1051–62.
[18] Mozurkewich M, Berry RS. Optimal paths for thermodynamics
systems: the ideal Otto cycle. J Appl Phys 1982;53(1):34–42.