Engine Selection

Introduction
Before selecting an engine for the SUPRA SAEINDIA 2016 competition, going through the
Formula SAE rules it is evident that the restrictions placed on competitors are very precise. The
first aim is to gain an understanding of the fundamental principles of internal combustion engines
and their design and then relate this understanding back to the Formula SAE competition rules.
The short listed engines which will fill the criteria are listed below. Before selecting an optimum
engine for the competition, the other factors that affect engine selection were also stated below.
The simulation method will be used to select the optimum engine for the competition and the
results that the simulation produced.
To obtain a better understanding of the design constraints of the engines some of the most
important Formula SAE rules need to be known. The most important rules in regards to engine
design include the capacity limit, operating cycle and the type of fuel that is allowed. The engine
must not exceed a capacity of 610cc and must utilize a four-stroke operating cycle. The engine
must also run on unleaded gasoline, which means that the engine must utilize spark ignition. The
introduction of performance boosting agents into the fuel, such as Nitrous Oxide, is also
prohibited as no additives are allowed in the fuel (Formula SAE Rules, 2004 pp34-35). Although
the rules are strict, they still allow a great degree of freedom in terms of engine design.

Basic factors we consider for an engine

1. Application
2. Basic engine design
3. Working cycle
4. Valve or port design and location
5. Fuel
6. Method of mixture preparation
7. Method of ignition
8. Combustion chamber design.
9. Method of cooling
10. Method of load control

Comparing 2 Stroke and 4 Stroke engines:

The Formula SAE-A rules specify that the cars engine must be a four-stroke SI engine.
According to the Formula SAE design objectives the car should be aimed at the novice weekend
autocross racer. The rules also indicate that the car must have excellent performance
characteristics, be inexpensive, reliable, and easily maintained whilst employing common parts.
With these factors in mind, two-stroke engines will be analyzed.
With it high lightweight, simple design and high specific power output the two-stroke engine
would seem to be the obvious choice for any high performance application. However the twostroke does not produce double the power of a four-stroke as it theoretically should. Instead the
two-stroke produces only about 50% more power. Other drawbacks of two-stroke engines
include high fuel consumption, unacceptable polluting emissions and a tendency to be noisy.
Considering the fuel inefficiency and loudness of the two-stroke it still appears a feasible option
due to its high performance capabilities. the power curve of a two-stroke engine is quiet
irregular. Initially the engine will feel quiet sluggish and then the power-band will take effect
when the throttle is rolled on. This makes the engine unpredictable and the vehicle hard for the
novice to tame. To take full advantage of a two-stroke engine an expert would have to be
employed to drive the car.

Engine Selection process:

1. Different types of engines were researched and classified.
2. The parameters that affect the acceleration performance of the vehicle were studied.
3. The list of suitable and available engines made and the relevant data was gathered.
4. Mathematical models of the acceleration performance of the cars were developed.
5. Programs were written in Matlab to perform the above calculations.
6. The vehicles performance is obtained by the programs output.
7. Depending upon the financial constraints of the team decision was made.

Engine Options
The four-cylinder engines include the:

1. Suzuki GSXR 600;

2. Honda CBR 600;
3. Yamaha YZF r6.
The single cylinder engines include the:

4. RE Bullet 535;
5. KTM Duke 390.

Four cylinder engine specifications:

Manufacturer

Suzuki

Honda

Yamaha

GSXR600

CBR600RR

YZF600-R6

4 -stroke

4 -stroke

4 -stroke

599

599

600

Bore x Stroke (mm)

67 x 42.5

67 x 42.5

65.5x 44.5

Compression Ratio

12.2: 1

12.0: 1

12.0: 1

Cooling System

Liquid

Liquid

Liquid

No. of Cylinders

In-line 4

In-line 4

In-line 4

Camshafts

DOHC

DOHC

DOHC

16

16

16

Model
Operating Cycle
Capacity (cc)

Number of Valves

Four cylinder engine performance:

Model

Suzuki

Honda

Yamaha

Power

124 Bhp @ 13,500rpm

118 Bhp @ 13,500 rpm

122 Bhp @ 14,500 rpm

Torque

69.6Nm @ 11,500 rpm

66 Nm @ 11,210 rpm

65.7 Nm @ 10,500 rpm

255.56 kmph

261.03 kmph

254.27 kmph

10.87sec @ 126.0mph

10.73sec @ 129.7mph

10.80sec @ 127.8 mph

Top-speed
Quarter mile

Comparing Single & Four cylinder engines:

Acceleration performance of the car has the largest weighting, in terms of competition points, it
is imperative that the engine that is selected has the best acceleration performance in as many
events as possible. The suitable single cylinder engines, on average, weigh 30kg less than the
four-cylinder engines but have less torque throughout the rev range than the four-cylinder
engines. As both of these parameters directly affect the acceleration performance of the vehicle it
is not possible to distinguish which engine is the most suitable by only analyzing the engine
performance characteristics. In order to determine the engine that would optimize the
acceleration performance of the vehicle a mathematical model of the car was developed. To show
how the model was created the following section will give a description of the computing
equations that were used

Four cylinder engine performance:

Model

Bullet

Duke

Power

29.1 Bhp @ 5,100rpm

43 Bhp @ 9,500 rpm

Torque

44 Nm @ 4,000 rpm

35 Nm @ 7,250 rpm

145.0 kmph

169.0 kmph

16.87sec @ 90.0 mph

10.73sec @ 129.7 mph

Top-speed
Quarter mile

Single cylinder engine specifications:

Manufacturer

Bullet

Duke

Model

GT 535

KTM 390

Operating Cycle

4 -stroke

4 -stroke

535

373.2

Capacity (cc)

Bore x Stroke (mm)

87 x 90

89 x 60

Compression Ratio

8.5: 1

12.6: 1

Cooling System

Air cooled

Liquid

No. of Cylinders

Single cylinder

Single cylinder

Number of Valves

Design Requirements for an FSAE engine:

1. Acceleration performance
2. Reliability
3. Reproducible
4. Fuel-efficient
5. Cost effective
6. Fuel - Mixture
1. Vehicle Acceleration Performance Modelling
Given that the acceleration performance of the car has the largest weighting, in terms of
competition points, it is imperative that the engine that is selected has the best
acceleration performance in as many events as possible. The suitable single cylinder
engines, on average, weigh 30kg less than the four-cylinder engines but have less torque
throughout the rev range than the four-cylinder engines. As both of these parameters
directly affect the acceleration performance of the vehicle it is not possible to distinguish
which engine is the most suitable by only analyzing the engine performance
characteristics. In order to determine the engine that would optimize the acceleration
performance of the vehicle a mathematical model of the car was developed.

Equation of motion
Aerodynamic drag
Rolling resistances forces
Tractive forces

 Time to velocity and Distance to velocity

Program construction
Analyzing the acceleration performance

2. Reliability
When considering the reliability of engines for the Formula SAE car the simplest way to
find out if any engine had poor reliability was to look at the history of the engine in
racing conditions. that each super-sport engine under consideration has had a successful
history in the World Super-sport Series. It can be assumed that results of the competition
demonstrate an engines reliability under racing conditions. Endurance events are very
demanding on engines, as the motorcycles are ridden hard for days at a time.

3. Reproducible
Since the Formula SAE competition is heavily performance based, it is important to have
access to performance enhancing parts. All of the engines that were considered were
designed with racing in mind. For this reason a great deal of aftermarket performance
enhancing parts are available. The aftermarket parts that can be purchased for each of
these motorcycles include mufflers, fuel injection upgrades, camshafts, pistons etc.

4. Fuel efficient
Comparing fuel consumption is very difficult given each of the engines were originally in
two completely different styles of motorcycles. It is possible to calculate the brake
specific fuel consumption of each engine. However, this does not take into account the
different masses of the vehicle when the car is fitted with each engine.

5. Cost effective
In terms of manufacturing feasibility it was concluded that the four-cylinder super-sport
engines and the single cylinder enduro engines would be similar. The reason for this is
that both engines are mass-produced so obviously they are both feasible to produce. The
costing of the engine and accessories consists of a separate costing for the engine, intake
manifold, exhaust manifold, cooling system and mufflers. Given that both engines
usually have a single muffler and water-cooling the differences in the cost of these
components would be minimal. The cost of the exhaust manifold and intake manifold

would also be less on the single cylinder engine as the complexity of these components
would less on the single cylinder engine.

6. Fuel Mixture
The type of aspiration, method of fuel mixture, the induction system and exhaust systems
are all important factors that play a part in determining the performance of an engine.
Brake power is the power measured at the flywheel by an engine dynamometer and is
reflective of an engines performance.
Forced air induction is a means of raising the inlet density of the air. The purpose of all
forced air induction systems is to provide a pressure boost to the air inducted into the
engine. The result of raising the pressure of the incoming air is a proportional increase in
the density of the air. There are three general types of forced air induction systems
including turbochargers, superchargers and ram-air systems. Ram-air systems do not
increase the performance of the engine compared to superchargers and turbochargers and
their effectiveness is largely dependent on the vehicle velocity (Haile, J. 2000, p15).
Because the speeds that the Formula SAE car travels at are relatively low, ram-air
systems will not be considered.
Easily obtainable
Easily tuned
Wide of range parts must be available
Provide the correct fuel/air ratio overall operating conditions
Cost effective

Matlab codes written to check different engines parameters

uses mole/mass basis instead of mass of dry air basis
define fuel, compression ratio and initial state
n = 8;
m = 18; % fuel is C8H18
Mf = 114.23; % data for iso-octane
phi = 1; % equivalence ratio
rc = 12.5; % compression ratio

T1 = 350; % K
P1 = 101.325; % kPa
xb = 0.08; % burned gas fraction

%% part 1 - compression ...

% isentropic process (on a mole basis so we can use universal gas constant)
Psi1 = mixprop('Psi',compUU,T1,'mass');
fcn = @(T) mixprop('Psi',compUU,T,'mass') - Psi1 + Ruu*log(1/rc);
T2 = fzero(fcn,600);
P2 = P1*rc*(T2/T1); % get pressure - using ideal gas law
fprintf(' (2) End of compression: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T2, P2)

%% part 3 - combustion ...

% constant volume combustion - same internal energy on mass basis
u2 = mixprop('u',compUU,T2,'mass');
u3 = u2;
fcn = @(T) mixprop('u',compBB,T,'mass') - u2;
T3 = fzero(fcn,2500);
P3 = P2*Rbb/Ruu*T3/T2; % get pressure - using ideal gas law
fprintf(' (3) End of combustion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T3, P3)

%% part 4 - expansion ...

% isentropic process
Psi3 = mixprop('Psi',compBB,T3,'mass');
fcn = @(T) mixprop('Psi',compBB,T,'mass') - Psi3 + Rbb*log(rc);
T4 = fzero(fcn,1500);
P4 = P3/rc*(T4/T3); % get pressure - using ideal gas law
fprintf(' (4) End of expansion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T4, P4)

%% part 5 - total work

% work (on a per kg mixture basis)
W12 = - mixprop('u',compUU,T2,'mass') + mixprop('u',compUU,T1,'mass');
W34 = - mixprop('u',compBB,T4,'mass') + mixprop('u',compBB,T3,'mass');
work = W12 + W34;
eta = work/Q;
fprintf('\nResults:\n')
fprintf(' Compression work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W12);

fprintf(' Expansion work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W34);

fprintf(' Net work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',work);
fprintf(' Heat input: %7.2f kg/kg\n',Q);
fprintf(' Efficiency: %7.2f %%\n',eta*100);

% some other parameters

12
T0 = 298.15; % datum
Tprop = 1740; % evaluation of mixture properties
Runiv = 8.314; % gas constant

%% MIXTURES
fprintf('\n--\n');
fprintf('MIXTURE COMPOSITION\n\n');
% mixture
[compBB,compUU,nBB,nUU,xB,xU,fu] = burnedgas(n,m,phi,Tprop,xb);
fprintf('Including residual gas (xb=%0.4f)\n',xb);
fprintf(' Unburned: %s\n',compUU);
fprintf(' Burned: %s\n',compBB);

%% HEATING VALUES
% sanity check: calculate lower heating value (heywood lists 44.3 MJ/kg)
hB = mixprop('h',compBB,T0,'mole');
hU = mixprop('h',compUU,T0,'mole');
deltaHf0 = hB*nBB - hU*nUU; % per mole of O2 (we don'
LHV_fuel = -deltaHf0/fu/Mf;
fprintf('\nLHV = %2.5f MJ/kg fuel\n',LHV_fuel/1000);

% actual heating value of mixture (on a mass basis)

[hB,MwUU] = mixprop('h',compBB,T0,'mass');
[hU,MwBB] = mixprop('h',compUU,T0,'mass');
deltaHf0 = hB - hU; % per mole of O2
Q = -deltaHf0;
fprintf('Q = %2.5f kJ/kg mixture\n',Q);

% gas constants
Ruu = Runiv/MwUU;
Rbb = Runiv/MwBB;

%% DO CYCLE ANALYSIS
fprintf('\n--\n');
fprintf('FUEL/AIR CYCLE (constant volume combustion)\n\n');
fprintf(' (1) Initial state: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T1, P1)

%% PLOT fuel/air cycle and analyze air-standard cycle for comparison

% create axes
figa = figure;
subplot(1,2,1), axP = gca; hold on, box on,
subplot(1,2,2), axT = gca; hold on, box on
col = get(gca,'colororder');

% create some volume values

V = linspace(1,1/rc,50);
%% compression - fuel/air
% solve for temperatures / pressures between points 1 and 2
Psi1 = mixprop('Psi',compUU,T1,'mass');
T12fu = zeros(size(V)); % create empty solution array
for i=1:length(V),
fcn = @(T) mixprop('Psi',compUU,T,'mass') - Psi1 + Ruu*log(V(i));
T12fu(i) = fzero(fcn,600);
end
P12fu = P1./V.*T12fu/T1;

% plot pressure and temperature

hFu(1,1) = plot(axP,V,P12fu);
hFu(1,2) = plot(axT,V,T12fu);

%% do a standard air cycle in comparison

% evaluate gamma value
Tair = 600;
[cv,MwAir] = mixprop('cv','O2:1,N2:3.776',Tair,'mass');
Rair = Runiv/MwAir;
gamma = (cv+Rair)/cv;

% print header
fprintf('\n---\n');
fprintf('AIR STANDARD CYCLE (const. volume combustion,
gamma=%5.3f)\n\n',gamma);
fprintf(' (1) Initial state: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T1, P1)

%% compression - standard air

% standard isentropic compression with gamma=const
T12air = T1*V.^(1-gamma);
P12air = P1*V.^-gamma;
T2air = T12air(end);
P2air = P12air(end);
fprintf(' (2) End of compression: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T2air, P2air)

% plot pressure and temperature

hAir(1,1) = plot(axP,V,P12air);
hAir(1,2) = plot(axT,V,T12air);

%% combustion - fuel/air
% plot pressure and temperature
hFu(2,1) = plot(axP,V(end)*[1 1],[P2 P3]);
hFu(2,2) = plot(axT,V(end)*[1 1],[T2 T3]);

%% combustion - standard air

% add heat
T3air = T2air + Q/cv;
P3air = P2air*T3air/T2air;
fprintf(' (3) End of combustion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T3air, P3air)

% plot pressure and temperature

hAir(2,1) = plot(axP,V(end)*[1 1],[P2air P3air]);
hAir(2,2) = plot(axT,V(end)*[1 1],[T2air T3air]);

%% expansion - fuel/air
% solve for temperatures / pressures between points 3 and 4
Psi3 = mixprop('Psi',compBB,T3,'mass');
T34fu = zeros(size(V)); % create empty solution array
for i=1:length(V),
fcn = @(T) mixprop('Psi',compBB,T,'mass') - Psi3 + Rbb*log(rc*V(endi+
1));
T34fu(i) = fzero(fcn,1600);
end
T4fu = T34fu(end);
P34fu = P3/rc./V(end:-1:1).*T34fu/T3;
P4fu = P34fu(end);

%% adjust line styles etc - P-v / T-v diagrams

% add labels (P-v)
title(axP,'Pressure vs. Volume')
hl(1) = xlabel(axP,'V/V_{max} [-]');
hl(2) = ylabel(axP,'P [kPa]');

% add labels (T-v)

title(axT,'Temperature vs. Volume')
hl(3) = xlabel(axT,'V/V_{max} [-]');
hl(4) = ylabel(axT,'T [K]');
hl(5) = legend(axT,[hFu(2),hAir(2),hFu2(2)], ...
{'Fuel/Air - thermo data','Air - standard','Fuel/Air - approx.'}, ...
'location','northeast');
% adjust font & line styles
set(axP,'fontsize',14)
set(axT,'fontsize',14)
set(hl,'fontsize',12);
set([hFu,hAir,hFu2],'linewidth',2)
set(hFu,'color',col(1,:));
set(hAir,'color',col(2,:),'linestyle','--')
set(hFu2,'color',col(3,:),'linestyle','-.')

% plot pressure and temperature

hFu(3,1) = plot(axP,V(end:-1:1),P34fu);
hFu(3,2) = plot(axT,V(end:-1:1),T34fu);
%% expansion - standard air
% standard isentropic expansion with gamma=const
T34air = T3air*(rc.*V(end:-1:1)).^(1-gamma);
P34air = P3air*(rc.*V(end:-1:1)).^-gamma;
T4air = T34air(end);
P4air = P34air(end);
fprintf(' (4) End of expansion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T4air, P4air)

% plot pressure and temperature

hAir(3,1) = plot(axP,V(end:-1:1),P34air);
hAir(3,2) = plot(axT,V(end:-1:1),T34air);
%% close cycles
% plot pressure and temperature
hFu(4,1) = plot(axP,V(1)*[1 1],[P4fu P1]);
hFu(4,2) = plot(axT,V(1)*[1 1],[T4fu T1]);
hAir(4,1) = plot(axP,V(1)*[1 1],[P4air P1]);
hAir(4,2) = plot(axT,V(1)*[1 1],[T4air T1]);

%% analyze work
% work (on a per kg mixture basis)
W12air = -cv*(T2air-T1);
W34air = -cv*(T4air-T3air);
workAir = W12air + W34air;
etaAir = workAir/Q;
fprintf('\nResults:\n')
fprintf(' Compression work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W12air);
fprintf(' Expansion work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W34air);
fprintf(' Net work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',workAir);
fprintf(' Heat input: %7.2f kg/kg\n',Q);
fprintf(' Efficiency: %7.2f %%\n',etaAir*100);

%% FUEL AIR cycle with adjusted gamma

% plot internal energies
T = (300:100:3000)';
Tref = 1000;
% unburned mixture
TsU = [500,1000];
polyU = polyfit(TsU,mixprop('u',compUU,TsU,'mass'),1); % linear fit
cvU = polyU(1);
gammaU = (cvU+Ruu)/cvU;
uFU = polyval(polyU,Tref); % reference value

%% burned mixture
TsB = [1500,3000];
polyB = polyfit(TsB,mixprop('u',compBB,TsB,'mass'),1); % linear fit
cvB = polyB(1);
gammaB = (cvB+Rbb)/cvB;
uFB = polyval(polyB,Tref); % reference value
% show results in a figure (corresponds to Heywood Fig. 4-2)
figb = figure;
hold on, ax2 = gca; box on
h = plot(ax2,T, [mixprop('u',compBB,T,'mass'), polyval(polyB,T), ...
mixprop('u',compUU,T,'mass'), polyval(polyU,T)]);
h(5) = plot(Tref*[1 1],get(gca,'ylim'),'k:');

%% adjust line styles etc - u vs. T diagram

% add labels
title(ax2,'Simple Analytic Ideal Gas Model');
hll(1) = legend(ax2,h,{'burned - exact','burned - fit', ...
'unburned - exact','unburned - fit','T_{ref}'}, 'location','southeast');
hll(2) = xlabel(ax2,'Temperature [K]');
hll(3) = ylabel(ax2,'Internal Energy [kJ/kg]');
% adjust font & line styles
set(ax2,'fontsize',14)
set(hll,'fontsize',12);
set(h(1:2),'color',col(1,:))
set(h(3:4),'color',col(2,:))
set(h(2:2:end),'linestyle','--')
set(h(1:4),'linewidth',2)

%% run cycle analysis

fprintf('\n----------------------------------------------------------------\n');
fprintf('FUEL/AIR CYCLE (const. vol. comb., gammaU=%5.3f,
gammaB=%5.3f)\n\n',gammaU,gammaB);
fprintf(' (1) Initial state: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T1, P1)

%% compression - standard air

% standard isentropic compression
T12fu2 = T1*V.^(1-gammaU);
P12fu2 = P1*V.^-gammaU;
T2fu2 = T12fu2(end);
P2fu2 = P12fu2(end);
fprintf(' (2) End of compression: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T2fu2, P2fu2)
hFu2(1,1) = plot(axP,V,P12fu2);
hFu2(1,2) = plot(axT,V,T12fu2);

%% combustion - standard air

% equate internal energies (see Eq. 4.21a/4.22a, in book)
T3fu2 = T2fu2*cvU/cvB + (uFU-uFB);
P3fu2 = P2fu2*Rbb/Ruu*T3fu2/T2fu2;
fprintf(' (3) End of combustion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T3fu2, P3fu2)
hFu2(2,1) = plot(axP,V(end)*[1 1],[P2fu2 P3fu2]);
hFu2(2,2) = plot(axT,V(end)*[1 1],[T2fu2 T3fu2]);

%% expansion - standard air

T34fu2 = T3fu2*(rc.*V(end:-1:1)).^(1-gammaB);
P34fu2 = P3fu2*(rc.*V(end:-1:1)).^-gammaB;
T4fu2 = T34fu2(end);
P4fu2 = P34fu2(end);
fprintf(' (4) End of expansion: %5.1f K %7.2f kPa\n', T4fu2, P4fu2)
hFu2(3,1) = plot(axP,V(end:-1:1),P34fu2);
hFu2(3,2) = plot(axT,V(end:-1:1),T34fu2);

%% close cycles
hFu2(4,1) = plot(axP,V(1)*[1 1],[P4fu2 P1]);
hFu2(4,2) = plot(axT,V(1)*[1 1],[T4fu2 T1]);
%% analyze work
% work (on a per kg mixture basis)
W12fu2 = -cvU*(T2fu2-T1);
W34fu2 = -cvB*(T4fu2-T3fu2);
workFu2 = W12fu2 + W34fu2;
etaFu2 = workFu2/Q;
fprintf('\nResults:\n')
fprintf(' Compression work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W12fu2);
fprintf(' Expansion work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',W34fu2);
fprintf(' Net work: %7.2f kJ/kg\n',workFu2);
fprintf(' Heat input: %7.2f kg/kg\n',Q);
fprintf(' Efficiency: %7.2f %%\n',etaFu2*100);