Brief Description of Aircraft Piston Engine and Engine Types

A piston engine can be described as a device for the conversion of heat energy from a fuel into the mechanical energy with the help of internal combustion. In a piston engine aircraft, the fuel/air mixture in a piston engine is forced or drawn inside a cylinder, and after compression and ignition, which results into increased temperature and pressure; it acts on a piston and helps in forcing it down inside the cylinder. The aspect when the piston moves from its highest point to its lowest point is referred to as “stroke” which corresponds to one half of a revolution of its crankshaft. One complete cycle is made up of two upward and two downward strokes. The main purpose of each stroke is as follows:



·         Induction Stroke: When the piston starts its stroke, an inlet valve in the cylinder head opens up, and when it travels towards the bottom of its stroke, the combustible mixture of air and fuel is drawn inside the cylinder. When the piston reaches the end of the stroke, the valve closes.

·         Compression Stroke: The combustible gas is compressed inside the cylinder when the piston travels up to the top of its stroke leading to the close of both internal and external valves. 

·         Power Stroke: There is an electrical ignition of the combustible mixture as the piston goes towards its second downward stroke. This happens by means of a magneto and sparking plug leading to the expansion of gas. 

·         Exhaust Stroke: At this point of time, the exhaust valve in the cylinder head now opens and as the piston continues its second upward stroke. This leads to the expulsion of burnt gases out into the atmosphere through the exhaust port.  

 

Engine Types of Piston engine aircraft

 

The design of aircraft engines has revolutionized gradually. The nature of most of the engines present in recent aircraft is of the horizontally-opposed configuration.  

 

In-Line Engines

 

Like many of the automotive engines, the earliest of the aircraft engines were of the straight or the in-line variety and contained cylinders in a line. The main advantage of this type of engine is that it is narrow and this allows the aircraft to have a narrower front fuselage, and that is why aircraft engine manufacturers prefer it.

 

V-Type Engines

 

A V-type engine is the equivalent of two in-line engines joined in a "V" configuration by a common crankshaft. 

 

Radial Engines

 

This type of engine consists of one or more rows of odd-numbered cylinders, which have been arranged in a circle around a central crankshaft. This engine type had a better power to weight ratio because of the small size of the crankcase.

 

Horizontally Opposed Engines

 

Horizontally opposed engines are often referred to as boxer or flat engines. They have two banks of cylinders staggered on opposite sides of a central crankcase. The design is simple, reliable and easy to maintain, and that is why aircraft engine manufacturers prefer it.

For more information, you can check the website https://red-aircraft.com/.

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