Lab Report # 3

Objective:
To determine the Mean Effective Pressure and Indicated Power using
actual PV Diagram of Lister Diesel Engine.

Apparatus:
 Lister Diesel Engine
 Electrical Dynamometer
 Dobbie-McInnis Indicator
 Planimeter

Consumables: Diesel Fuel

Engine Description:
Lister Diesel Engine
No. of Strokes = 04
No. of Cylinders = 01
Engine Configuration = Vertical Type
Maximum BHP = 8 hp
Maximum speed = 850 rpm (slow speed engine)
Compression Ratio = 17.5
Stroke = 139.7 mm
Bore = 114 mm
Labelled diagram:

Procedure:

1. Start the engine using DC machine which acts as a starting motor as well as
dynamometer.
2. Verify that, air and water circuits are running.
3. Set the speed of engine at 850 rpm.
4. Attach Dobbie-McInnis Indicator to the cylinder head so as to draw the required PV
diagram.
5. Measure the area of PV
diagram using planimeter.
 6. Using the area calculate Mean Effective Pressure and then Indicated Power.

Observation and Calculations:

Observations:
Spring constant = 20 bar/in =2000 kPa/in
Stroke = 139.7 mm
Bore = 114.3 mm
Speed = N = 14.16 rps
𝜋 𝜋
A = Area of the piston = 4 d2 =4 (0.1143)2 = 0.01026 m

Actual PV-diagram:
Using Planimeter we find the area of PV diagram as shown in figure below:

Figure 2: Actual PV-Diagram

Area enclosed =Disc reading + Vernier scale

Area Enclosed =2+0.1+0.01(0)

Area of PV diagram =2.1 in2

Length =1.8 in
Calculations:
Mean Effective Pressure:
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑉 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚
Pm = × 𝑆𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚

2.1
Pm= × 20
1.8

Pm = 23.3 bar
Since, 1 bar = 100 kPa
Pm = 2330 kPa

Indicated Power:
Indicated power can be calculated by:
𝑃𝑚 ×𝐴×𝐿×𝑁
Indicated power =
2×60
𝜋
Area = 4 (114.3 × 10−3 )2

Area = 10.26× 10−3 m2

L = 139.7× 10−3 m
N = 14.16 rps
2330×10.26×10−3 ×139.7×10−3 ×14.16
Indicated power =
2×60

I.P = 0.3941 kW

THEORY

Heat Engine:
A heat converts some thermal energy to mechanical work. Usually the heat comes from the
burning of a fuel. The earliest heat engine was the steam engine. The steam is the working
fluid which pushes the system to do mechanical work.

Basically, heat engine consists of hot reservoir or source which can supply heat at high
temperature and a cold reservoir or sink into which heat is rejected at a lower temperature. A
working substance is needed which can absorb heat Q1 from source and rejects heat Q2 to the
cold reservoir or sink. A heat engine is made cyclic to provide continuous supply of work.
Internal Combustion Engine
An engine which generates motive power by the burning of petrol, oil, or other fuel with air
inside the engine, the hot gases produced being used to drive a piston or do other work as
they expand. There are two types of internal combustion engine.

1. Spark Ignition Engine

2. Compression Ignition Engine

Spark Ignition Engine:

A spark ignition engine uses a spark plug which starts the combustion in the engine. It uses a
carburetor through which air and fuel mixture enters the engine and spark plug produces
ignition. The power is transmitted from the engine. E.g. Petrol Engine. The efficiency of
properly tuned engine is usually more than 25% to 30% because of friction and other heat
losses.

Compression Ignition Engine:

No spark plug is needed in the diesel engine. Diesel is sprayed into the cylinder through fuel
injector at maximum compression. Because air is at very high temperature immediately after
compression, the fuel mixture ignites on contact with air in cylinder and pushes the piston
outward. The efficiency of diesel engine is about 35% to 40%.
 DOBBIE-MC INNES INDICATOR
Introduction:
Dobbie-Mc Innes Indicator is a small, originally mechanically-operated instrument that gives
an insight into the operation of a range of pressure-operated machines — steam engines, gas
and oil engines, compressors, condensers, even guns — by comparing the rise and fall of
pressure during the operating cycle. They work on the principle of showing cylinder pressure

plotted against piston movement, and the resulting trace is marked onto a piece of treated paper
to give a permanent record. The pressure is taken from the cylinder on test into the indicator.
The indicator has a small cylinder with a piston that operates against a spring which sets the
operating range.

Working:

The use of an oscillating drum allows variations in pressure to be recorded on both the outward
stroke and the return journey. Excepting some of the continuously-recording instruments and
virtually all maximum pressure recorders, indicators usually give a trace in the form of a closed
loop. A steam engine works by allowing steam to enter a cylinder behind a piston, then pushing
the piston along to the opposite (far) end of the cylinder. The piston is connected to a crank,
and the crank is often connected to a heavy flywheel. If the engine is single acting, the steam
would be exhausted at the end of the piston stroke and the momentum of the flywheel, once
the engine was running, would return the piston passively to its original position. Steam would
be introduced, and the cycle would recommence. Most engines are double-acting, however.
When the steam is exhausted from the head side of the piston at the end of the outward stroke,
another charge of steam is introduced on the crank side of the piston to actively push the piston
back again. This results in continual motion as steam is admitted and exhausted on both sides
of the piston alternately.

Applications:

 A major tool for use by steam and diesel engine manufacturers to enable them to work
out horsepower ratings for the products.
 It is also a useful diagnostic tool to show problems with injection, valves, leaking piston
rings etc.

PLANIMETER
Introduction:

Figure: Planimeter

Planimeters are used to measure areas on maps of any kind and scale, as well as plans,
blueprints or any scale drawing or plan. Surveyors, foresters, geologists, geographers,
engineers and architects, often use them.

Planimeter Features:
Mechanical (non-digital) planimeters feature a pole arm, tracer arm, tracer magnifier,
recording dial, and Vernier-measuring wheel. Some models have adjustable length pole and
tracer arms, while others are fixed length. All have a reset which returns the measuring dial
and Vernier scale to zero before the next use. Digital planimeters are computerized. They
give a direct reading of the area traced as square inches or centimeters, with some reading
directly in any unit of area including acres, square meters, square kilometers, etc. The most
advanced units will also store data for downloading into a personal computer. Most digital
planimeters have various memory functions which enable you to add areas, accumulate
measurements and average multiple measurements. Digital planimeters are available with
pole arms or rollers.

Using a Planimeter
To use a mechanical planimeter, a "constant" is first determined by choosing the shortest
possible arm length which will cover the area to measure and tracing the boundary of a
known area. Once the known area is traced, you can see how many revolutions the dial scale
indicates. The known area divided by the dial reading equals the constant. Once the constant
is determined, the measuring dial is reset, and the boundary is traced by moving the magnifier
over the boundary in a clockwise direction. The reading on the dial is multiplied by the
constant to give the desired area of the plot. This constant can be used so long as the length of
the pole arm is not changed.

Digital planimeters require initial settings for units and scale. There is no need to determine a
constant when using any digital planimeter.

Best results are obtained by measuring over smooth, but not glossy surfaces. Photos or
laminated maps increase the chances of the measuring wheel slipping, which will result in
inaccurate measurements. Folds, seams, tape or any irregularity on the surface can also cause
problems.