Internal combustion relies on the idea that you can create a whole bunch of energy if you burn gasoline in a small confined space.
Once you master the task of getting the expanding gas produced in this process, you’ve gone and created the basis of an internal combustion engine (ICE). From there, the energy of this gas is converted into motion.
Almost every car you’ll ever see on the road uses a four-stroke combustion cycle to make motion out of gasoline.
Read on to understand (and see) how a typical internal combustion engine works, and what the future looks like for it in the face of the rise of electric vehicles.
How a 4-Stroke Engine Works?
The four-stroke engine process is often referred to as the Otto Cycle. The German Nikolaus Otto was the first person to invent and patent a four-stroke gas engine. Each of the steps that will make up the cycle is called a stroke: intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke, and exhaust stroke.
It is important to become acquainted with the term Otto Cycle, because it is not the combustion cycle that the Diesel engine uses, known as the “Diesel Cycle.” Though this is also a four-stroke process, the details of how each process works are different from the Otto Cycle.
Here are the four stages of the process of combustion in a typical gasoline engine.
#1. Intake Stroke.
The intake stroke comes first in the process of internal combustion and is, in effect the aspiration or breathing of the engine. What occurs is that there is a connecting rod linking the piston with the crankshaft.
The piston moves from the top to the bottom once the intake valve opens up. From there, the piston lets you draw the gasoline and air into the engine from the cylinder.
The result is the intake stroke when the gasoline mixes with the air. There doesn’t have to be much gasoline behind this either; just a drop of gasoline mixed together with air will do the trick.
- Intake Valve = Open
- Exhaust Valve = Closed
#2. Compression Stroke.
After that, the piston moves upwards and compresses the mixture of air and gasoline to give it a more powerful effect. This is called the compression stroke.
- Intake Valve = Closed
- Exhaust Valve = Closed
#3. Power Stroke.
The piston eventually makes it back to the top after the compression of the air and gasoline mixture, and when it does, a spark is discharged by the spark plug, which causes the gasoline to explode.
It actually causes the gasoline charge that is still active to explode. This is the so-called power or combustion stroke.
- Intake Valve = Closed
- Exhaust Valve = Closed
#4. Exhaust Stroke.
After the explosion, the piston drops back down to the bottom, and this effectively causes the exhaust valve to open up. All of the exhaust that was created in the cylinder starts to leave through this exhaust valve and comes straight out of the car’s tailpipe.
So far, the engine has completed one rotation of the four-stroke combustion cycle.
- Intake Valve = Closed
- Exhaust Valve = Open
The cycle goes over and over again as you put your foot on the gas pedal to speed up the car. If there was a problem with any one of these strokes then it would prevent the full cycle of combustion from happening.
Or it would gradually destroy parts of the engine. Some cars may do this process a little differently, like with the number of cylinders, but for the most part, it’s still just the same.
The Future of Internal Combustion Engines
But as much as EVs are being talked about, most experts believe that internal combustion engines still have a future in them (at least for the next couple of decades). Here are some areas of development that will drive their continued use.
Advanced Combustion Modes
More advanced ways to burn the fuel may yield cleaner and more efficient combustion.
Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) and lean-burn gasoline are just a couple of examples that may get us 25% better fuel economy.
Lower Emissions
New emissions standards will mandate refinements to exhaust gas treatment and filtering systems.
Systems such as a gasoline particulate filter can optimize particulate emissions to some truly minuscule levels via “off-board” treatment to comply with more stringent health-based air quality regulations.
Lightweighting
A source of reduced weight in vehicles through the greater availability of aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber, and so forth parts could produce a 15-20% fuel economy increase for internal combustion engine vehicles.
Hybrid Powertrains
Motors and motor-generators plus battery power packs have been engineered into gas-electric hybrids with considerably improved fuel mileage performance of up to 50 mpg or so.
Mild hybrids are a less complex and expensive option that will continue to gain significant market share.
Hydrogen and E-Fuels
It’s anticipated that ICEs will increasingly run on hydrogen and propane, and e-fuels to lower their carbon footprint. These advanced fuels can keep ICEs viable throughout the years ahead, especially in motorsport events as well as long-distance driving and commercial applications.
In total, the potentially maximum improved efficiency for internal combustion engines of the next few decades might be 30 to 50%. If they burn something like synthetic zero-carbon fuels, gas engines may even have a place in the low-carbon world.