Mechanical Design and Theoretical Performance Analysis of a Modified Engine to Improve Fuel Efficiency

Abstract

Background: It is a product-oriented breakthrough in technological research carried out for the following reasons: Each year, India imports more than Five lakh crore rupees (INR) worth of fuel, with commercial vehicles roughly using 4 lakh crore rupees worth of diesel. The engines of these vehicles are water-cooled, which keeps the temperature of the engine materials below 100 o C. The temperature of the material must remain below 100 o C for the reasons listed below. If the temperature in the cylinder surpasses 100 • C, the water in the radiator will boil. When the temperature rises over 140 o C, the liquid lubricant becomes charred and sticky and seizes the engine. Hence, if liquid oil is used, a radiator has to be utilised, and in that case, heat loss to the surroundings through the radiator is between 30 and 40% of the diesel equivalent. Objectives: To draw performance curves for the proposed modified single cylinder and to do thermal and design calculations. An engine of the single-cylinder category and diesel run by diesel in the design stage of conversion to drastically improve efficiency. Methods: In a stainless steel cylinder, a stainless steel piston is installed over a conventional piston, and the firing is transferred to the stainless steel piston, which lacks piston rings. Only a close gap is maintained between the stainless steel cylinder and the stainless steel piston, as no liquid lubricant is used, and the radiator can be eliminated. Fabrication drawings for the proposed modification of the single-cylinder diesel engine are made using AutoCAD to improve efficiency by adding two attachments. Thermal calculations are performed using fundamental equations, and performance curves are then generated and analysed. 3D modelling is carried out for the piston and cylinder independently using Autodesk Inventor. ANSYS software is used to get temperatures in selected regions and calculate heat loss from the hot piston bottom. A rigorous theoretical analysis was conducted on the proposed modification planned for optimum performance. Findings: The thermal performance calculations were made for various load conditions, viz., 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, 130%, 140%, and 150% of rated load, and the thermal performance outputs https://www.indjst.org/ 1374 Ravindiran & Ramadoss / Indian Journal of Science and Technology 2023;16(18):1374-1384 are tabulated and displayed in the form of graphs. The theoretical analysis and discussions are detailed in this paper. Novelty: There will be a chance to improve overall efficiency by around 59% at the rated load.