Comparison of performances of air standard Atkinson and Otto

cycles with heat transfer considerations

Shuhn-Shyurng Hou
*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clean Energy Center, Kun Shan University, Tainan 71003, Taiwan, ROC
Received 21 October 2005; received in revised form 3 May 2006; accepted 12 November 2006
Available online 22 December 2006
Abstract
In this paper, the eects of heat transfer on the net output work and the indicated thermal eciency of an air standard Atkinson cycle
are analyzed. Comparisons of the performances of air standard Atkinson and Otto cycles with heat transfer considerations are also dis-
cussed. We assume that the compression and power processes are adiabatic and reversible and that any convective, conductive or radi-
ative heat transfer to the cylinder wall during the heat rejection process may be ignored. The heat loss through the cylinder wall is
assumed to occur only during combustion and is further assumed to be proportional to the average temperature of both the working
uid and cylinder wall. It is found that the net output work versus eciency characteristics, the maximum net work output and the cor-
responding eciency bound are signicantly inuenced by the magnitude of the heat transfer. An increase in heat transfer to the com-
bustion chamber walls decreases the peak temperature and pressure and, consequently, reduces the work per cycle and eciency. The
eects of other parameters, in conjunction with heat transfer, including combustion constants, compression ratio and intake air temper-
ature are also reported. An Atkinson cycle has a greater work output and a higher thermal eciency than the Otto cycle at the same
operating condition. The compression ratios that maximize the work of the Otto cycle are always found to be higher than those for
the Atkinson cycle at the same operating conditions. The results are of importance to provide good guidance for performance evaluation
and improvement of practical Atkinson engines.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Thermodynamics; Atkinson cycle; Otto cycle; Heat transfer
1. Introduction
The Atkinson cycle engine is a type of internal combus-
tion engine, which was designed and built by James Atkin-
son in 1882 [1]. The four stroke Atkinson cycle allows the
intake, compression, power and exhaust strokes to occur
in a single turn of the crankshaft. By the use of clever
mechanical linkages, the expansion ratio is greater than
the compression ratio, resulting in greater eciency than
with engines using the alternative Otto cycle [24].
For a conventional four stroke Otto cycle engine, in
the expansion stroke, the gas pressure within the cylinder
at exhaust valve opening is still on the order of three to
ve atmospheres and is greater than the exhaust pressure.
Therefore, a potential for doing additional work during
the power stroke is lost when the exhaust valve is opened
and the pressure is reduced to atmospheric. However, if
the exhaust valve is not opened until the gas in the
cylinder is allowed to expand down to atmospheric
pressure, the additional expansion would increase the
amount of power in the expansion stroke, leading to
an increase of engine thermal eciency [3,4]. The ideal
cycle representing the operation of this engine is called
an Atkinson cycle or complete expansion cycle that con-
sists of an isentropic compression, an isochoric (constant
volume) heat addition with internal combustion, an isen-
tropic expansion all the way to the lowest cycle pressure
and an isobaric heat rejection processes (as shown in
Fig. 1).
0196-8904/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2006.11.001
*
Tel.: +886 6 2050496; fax: +886 6 2050509.
E-mail address: sshou@mail.ksu.edu.tw.
www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman
Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690
It is noteworthy that an Atkinson cycle engine is more
ecient than a conventional four stroke Otto cycle engine.
An increase in thermal eciency is achieved by controlling
the pumping losses and optimizing the expansion ratio
while maintaining a xed compression ratio. Starting since
1885, a number of crank and valve mechanisms were tried
to achieve this cycle in which the combustion chamber vol-
ume is adapted to keep a constant compression ratio for
each load level while varying the expansion ratio to opti-
mize eciency. At the start of the 20th century, engineers
tried to achieve strokes of dierent lengths with complex
linkages that were hopelessly impractical, but as variable
valve timing emerged, it can all be accomplished by com-
puter control. Therefore, some modern engines (e.g. Ford
and Toyota) have been built and marketed [2].
To make the analysis of an engine cycle much more
manageable, the air standard cycles are used to describe
the major processes occurring in internal combustion
engines. In ideal air standard cycles, air is assumed to
behave as an ideal gas, and all processes are considered
totally reversible [3,4]. In practice, air standard analysis is
quite useful for illustrating the thermodynamic aspects of
an engine operation cycle. Additionally, it can provide
approximate estimates of trends as major engine operating
variables change. For an ideal Atkinson cycle, all processes
are considered reversible. However, it is recognized that
there are heat losses during the cycle of a real engine, but
they are neglected in an ideal air standard analysis. In
our recent paper [5], we have studied the eect of heat
transfer through a cylinder wall on the work output of a
dual cycle assuming the heat transfer to the cylinder walls
to be a linear function of the dierence between the average
gas and cylinder wall temperatures [69].
Although much attention has been paid to analyzing the
performances of internal combustion engines for Otto, Die-
sel and dual cycles [1,2,517], however, no performance
analysis with emphasis on the internally reversible Atkin-
son cycle driven by external irreversibility of heat transfer
is available in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this
paper is to study the eect of heat transfer on the net out-
put work and the indicated thermal eciency of an air
standard Atkinson cycle. In the present study, we relax
the assumption that there are no heat losses during com-
bustion. In other words, heat transfer between the working
uid and the environment through the cylinder wall is con-
sidered. The results obtained in this work will help us to
understand how the net work output and eciency are
inuenced by heat transfer during combustion, or the con-
stant volume heat addition process.
2. Thermodynamic analysis of the air standard Atkinson
cycle
Internal combustion engines combust fuel with air in
nearly stoichiometric proportions. The maximum tempera-
ture in the cycle is far below the adiabatic combustion tem-
perature due to a number of factors such as heat loss,
friction and so on. Particular concern for this study is
placed on heat loss. Heat transfer from the unburned mix-
ture to the cylinder walls has a negligible eect on the per-
formance for the compression process. However, heat
transfer from the burned gases is much more important.
In particular, the heat transfer rates to the cylinder walls
during combustion are highest and extremely important
[4]. Therefore, we assume that the compression and power
(or expansion) processes are adiabatic and reversible, and
that any convective, conductive or radiative heat transfer
to the cylinder wall during the exhaust process (heat rejec-
tion process) is ignored. In other words, compression
strokes and expansion strokes are approximated by isen-
Nomenclature
a
1
constant dened in Eq. (17)
a
2
constant dened in Eq. (18)
a
3
constant dened in Eq. (19)
C
P
constant pressure specic heat
C
V
constant volume specic heat
k k = C
P
/C
V
P pressure
2
Q
3
heat added to gas during process 23 as result of
combustion per cycle
Q
in
heat added to working uid during constant
volume combustion process per cycle
r
c
compression ratio
r
cm
compression ratio at maximum work
S entropy
T
i
temperature at state i
V volume
W net work output per unit mass of working uid
per cycle
W
max
maximum work output per unit mass of work-
ing uid per cycle
Greek
a constant related to combustion
b constant related to heat transfer
g eciency of cycle
g
m
corresponding thermal eciency at maximum
work output
Subscripts
max maximum
1, 2, 3, 4 state points
1684 S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690
tropic processes. To be truly isentropic, these strokes have
to be reversible and adiabatic. There is some friction
between the piston and cylinder walls, but because the sur-
faces are highly polished and lubricated, this friction is
maintained at a minimum, and the processes are close to
frictionless and reversible. Therefore, heat transfer for
any one of these two strokes will not be considered herein
[3].
The peak burned gas temperature in the cylinder of an
internal combustion engine is of order 2500 K and up.
Because of the material safety point of view, maximum
metal temperatures for the inside of the combustion cham-
ber space are limited to much lower values by a number of
considerations, and cooling for the cylinder head, cylinder
and piston must be, therefore, provided. These consider-
ations lead to heat uxes to the chamber walls that can
reach as high as 10 MW/m
2
during the combustion period
[4]. However, during other processes of the operating cycle,
the heat ux is essentially quite small. In the present study,
we, therefore, assume that the heat loss through the cylin-
der wall only occurs during combustion. The heat loss is
further assumed to be proportional to the average temper-
ature of both the working uid and cylinder wall [6].
The pressurevolume (PV) and temperatureentropy
(TS) diagrams for the thermodynamic processes of an
air standard Atkinson cycle are shown by the cycle of 1
234A in Fig. 1(a) and (b), respectively. Following the
assumptions described above, process 12 is an isentropic
compression from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead
center (TDC). The heat addition takes place in process 2
3, which is isochoric. The isentropic expansion process,
34A, is the power or expansion stroke. The cycle is com-
pleted by an isobaric heat rejection process, 4A-1. The heat
added to the working uid per unit mass is due to combus-
tion. The temperature at the completion of constant vol-
ume combustion (T
3
) depends on the heat input due to
combustion and heat transfer through the cylinder wall.
Assuming constant specic heats, the net work output
per unit mass of the working uid is given by the following
equation:
W C
V
T
3
T
2
C
P
T
4A
T
1
1
where C
P
and C
V
are the constant pressure and constant
volume specic heats, respectively; and T
1
, T
2
, T
3
and
T
4A
are the absolute temperatures at states 1, 2, 3 and
4A, respectively. For the isentropic processes 12 and 3
4A, we have
T
2
T
1
r
k1
c
2
T
4A
T
3

V
3
V
4A
_ _
k1

V
3
V
1
_ _
k1
V
1
V
4A
_ _
k1

V
2
V
1
_ _
k1
V
1
V
4A
_ _
k1
r
1k
c
V
1
V
4A
_ _
k1
3
where k is the specic heat ratio (C
P
/C
V
), while r
c
is the
compression ratio (V
1
/V
2
). Additionally, since process
4A-1 is isobaric, we have
V
1
V
4A

T
1
T
4A
: 4
Substitution of Eqs. (2) and (4) into Eq. (3) yields
T
4A
T
1
T
3
T
2
_ _1
k
5
The heat added per unit mass of the working uid dur-
ing the constant volume process 23 (
2
Q
3
) per cycle is rep-
resented by the following equation:
2
Q
3
C
V
T
3
T
2
6
As aforementioned, for an ideal air standard Atkinson
cycle, all the processes are considered reversible and heat
losses do not occur. However, in the cycle of a real engine,
the combustion process is not adiabatic. Obviously, there
are heat losses. The occurrence of heat transfer between
the working uid and the cylinder wall is of importance
Fig. 1. (a) PV diagram (b) TS diagram for air standard Atkinson (12
34A) and Otto (1234O) cycles.
S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690 1685
and will be considered in the present study. The actual heat
transfer processes occurring within the cylinder are quite
complicated [6]. As an approximation, the heat loss
through the cylinder wall is assumed to be proportional
to the average temperature of both the working uid and
cylinder wall [6]. The wall temperature is further assumed
to be constant as in Mozurkewich and Berry [11] and
Homan et al. [9]. Accordingly, the heat added to the
working uid during the constant volume combustion pro-
cess can be given in the following linear expressions [69]:
2
Q
3
a bT
3
T
2
7
where a is a constant related to combustion and b is a con-
stant related to heat transfer. In other words, Q
in
can be
represented by the following equation:
Q
in

2
Q
3
a bT
2
T
3
: 8
Combining Eqs. (7) and (8) yields
T
3

a C
V
bT
2
C
V
b
: 9
Substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (9) gives
T
3

a C
V
bT
1
r
k1
c

C
V
b
: 10
Substitution of Eqs. (2) and (10) into Eq. (5) gives T
4A
as a
function of T
1
T
4A

aT
1
1
r
1k
c
C
V
b
C
V
b
_ _
1
k
T
1
11
By combining the results obtained from Eqs. (2), (10)
and (11) into Eq. (1), the net work output per unit mass
of the working uid can be expressed in terms of T
1
as
W C
V
a C
V
bT
1
r
k1
c
C
V
b
r
k1
c
T
1
_ _
C
P
T
1
aT
1
1
r
1k
c
C
V
b
C
V
b
_ _
1
k
1
_ _
: 12
Similarly, substituting Eqs. (2), (10) and (11), into Eq.
(8) yields
Q
in
a b r
k1
c
T
1

a C
V
br
k1
c
T
1
C
V
b
_ _ _ _
: 13
Eq. (12) divided by Eq. (13) gives the indicated thermal
eciency,
g
W
Q
in

C
V
aC
V
bT
1
r
k1
c
C
V
b
r
k1
c
T
1
_ _
C
P
T
1
aT
1
1
r
1k
c
C
V
b
C
V
b
_ _1
k
1
_ _
ab r
k1
c
T
1

aC
V
br
k1
c
T
1
C
V
b
_ _
14
Then, dierentiating with respect to r
c
and seeking a
maximum work output, W
max
, by setting
dW
dr
c
0 15
we nally get
a
1
r
2k
c
a
2
r
1k
c
a
3
0 16
where
a
1

C
V
b
C
V
b
17
a
2

a
C
V
bT
1
18
a
3

1 a
1
a
2
_ _ 1
1k
19
Note that r
cm
can be found by solving Eq. (16) numerically.
Hence, W
max
occurs at r
cm
(the corresponding compression
ratio at maximum work output condition). In other words,
W
max
can be obtained by substituting r
c
= r
cm
into Eq.
(12). Furthermore, the corresponding thermal eciency
at maximum work output, g
m
, can be obtained by substi-
tuting r
cm
into Eq. (14).
3. Thermodynamic analysis of an air-standard Otto cycle
Comparisons of the performances of the air standard
Atkinson and Otto cycles with heat transfer considerations
are also discussed herein. Therefore, thermodynamic
analysis of an air standard Otto cycle is summarized as
follows.
The air standard Otto cycle incorporates an isentropic
compression, an isochoric heat addition, an isentropic
expansion and an isochoric heat rejection processes,
sequentially. The pressurevolume (PV) and tempera-
tureentropy (TS) diagrams for the thermodynamic pro-
cesses of an air standard Otto cycle (1234O) are
shown by the cycle of 1234O in Fig. 1(a) and (b),
respectively. Considering heat transfer to the cylinder walls
for the Otto cycle with the same heat transfer model used
for the Atkinson cycle,
Q
in

2
Q
3
C
V
T
3
T
2
a bT
2
T
3
20
the work and thermal eciency are given in the following
expressions [7]:
W C
V
T
3
T
2
C
V
T
4O
T
1

C
V
T
1
1 r
k1
c

a C
V
bT
1
r
k1
c
1 r
k1
c

C
V
b
_ _
21
and
g
W
Q
in
1
ar
1k
c
2bT
1

a 2bT
1
r
k1
c

22
A simple analytical expression for the compression ratio at
maximum net work that does not involve T
3
is apparent as
follows:
1686 S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690
r
cm

a
2T
1
b
_ _
1=2K2
23
Additionally, the maximum work output, W
max
, and the
corresponding thermal eciency at maximum work out-
put, g
m
, can be obtained by the following equations:
W
max

aC
V
1 2bT
1

1=2

2
C
V
b
24
and
g
m
1
2bT
1
a
_ _
1=2
25
4. Results and discussion
The net work output versus eciency characteristics and
the eciency bound g
m
at maximum work depend on a, b
and T
1
. The ranges for a, b and T
1
are 30003500 kJ/kg,
0.31.5 kJ/kg K and 300400 K, respectively. Additionally,
C
P
= 1.003 kJ/kg K, C
V
= 0.716 kJ/kg K and k = C
P
/
C
V
= 1.4. Numerical examples are shown in the following.
The eect of b on the Wg characteristic curves for the
Atkinson and Otto cycles at a = 3000 kJ/kg, and
T
1
= 350 K is indicated in Fig. 2. Increasing b corresponds
to enlarging the heat loss and, thus, decreasing the amount
of heat added to the engine. Accordingly, the maximum
work and eciency decrease with increasing b. For a given
b, it is found that the maximum net work of the Atkinson
cycle is greater than that of the Otto cycle and that the cor-
responding thermal eciency at the maximum net work of
the former is slightly higher than the latter by about 1%.
The question as to why the corresponding thermal e-
ciency at the maximum work output of the Atkinson cycle
is only about 1% higher than that of the Otto cycle can not
be answered satisfactorily by this approach. The Atkinson
cycle engine can be up to 10% more ecient than a conven-
tional four stroke petrol Otto engine because of controlling
the pumping losses and optimizing the expansion ratio
while maintaining a xed compression ratio.
The eect of a on the Wg characteristic curves for the
Atkinson and Otto cycles at b = 0.5 kJ/kg K, and
T
1
= 350 K is depicted in Fig. 3. Increasing a increases
the amount of heat added to the engine due to combustion.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
W
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
=3000 kJ/Kg, T
1
=350K
=0.3(kJ/kg-K)
.
Atkinson
Otto
=0.5(kJ/kg-K)
=0.4(kJ/kg-K)
Fig. 2. Eect of b on the W versus g characteristics.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
W
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
=0.5 kJ/kg-K, T
1
=350K
=3500(kJ/kg)
.
Atkinson
Otto
=3000(kJ/kg)
=3250(kJ/kg)
Fig. 3. Eect of a on the W versus g characteristics.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
W
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
=3500 kJ/kg, =0.5 kJ/kg-K
.
Atkinson
Otto
T
1
(K)=300

350
400

1
(K)=300

350
400
Fig. 4. Eect of T
1
on the W versus g characteristics.
S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690 1687
Therefore, a has an opposite eect on the Wg characteris-
tic curves to that of b.That is, the maximum work and e-
ciency increase with increasing a. For a given a, Fig. 3
further shows that the Atkinson cycle yields larger maxi-
mum net work than the Otto cycle. Also, the corresponding
thermal eciency at maximum work of the former is only
slightly higher than that of the latter. The reason as to why
a dramatic increase in the corresponding thermal eciency
at the maximum work output of the Atkinson cycle can not
be achieved is the same as the explanations in the discus-
sion of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows the eect of intake temperature, T
1
, on the
Wg characteristic curves for a = 3500 kJ/kg, and
b = 0.5 kJ/kg K. The results show that the maximum work
and eciency decrease as T
1
increases, and for a given T
1
,
the maximum net work of the Atkinson cycle is higher than
that for the Otto cycle.
The compression ratios (r
cm
) that result in maximum
work as a function of a and b for the Atkinson cycle are
plotted in Fig. 5. The values of b for each value of a are
such that the maximum gas temperature lies in the range
of 15003000 K, as observed in actual engines. It is found
that for a given a, an increase in b leads to a decrease of
r
cm
. However, for a xed b, r
cm
increases as a increases.
Note that the compression ratios that maximize the work
of the Otto cycle are always higher than those for the
Atkinson cycle at the same operating conditions. This
important characteristic is very desirable for good fuel
economy because of the limitation of the compression ratio
in a spark ignition engine owing to the octane rating of the
fuel used, while a high expansion ratio delivers a longer
power stroke and decreases the heat wasted in the exhaust.
These factors make an Atkinson engine more ecient.
The eects of a and b on the maximum work output,
W
max
, and the corresponding eciency at W
max
, g
m
, are
demonstrated in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. Fig. 6
(Fig. 7) shows that an increase in b results in a decrease
of W
max
(g
m
). The maximum work of the Atkinson cycle
is always found to be higher than that for the Otto cycle
at the same operating condition.
The eects of b and T
1
on the maximum work output
and the corresponding eciency at maximum work output
are shown in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively. It is seen that the
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
(kJ/kg-K)
0
5
10
15
20
r
c
m
,

C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n

R
a
t
i
o

a
t

W
m
a
x
T
1
=350K
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
.
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
Atkinson
Otto
Fig. 5. Compression ratios at maximum net work for various values of a
and b at T
1
= 300 K.
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
(kJ/kg-K)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
W
m
a
x
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
T
1
=350K
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
.
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
Atkinson
Otto
Fig. 6. Eect of a and b on W
max
.
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
(kJ/kg-K)
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8

m
T
1
=350K
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
.
(kJ/kg)
3000
3250
3500
Atkinson
Otto
Fig. 7. Eect of a and b on g
m
.
1688 S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690
heat loss parameter has a strong eect on the performance
of the cycle. Both W
max
and g
m
decrease as b or T
1
increases.
The eects of a and T
1
on W
max
and g
m
are shown in
Figs. 10 and 11, respectively. It is found that both W
max
and g
m
increase as the constant a increases. Figs. 811 also
show that the maximum work and the corresponding e-
ciency at maximum work output of the Atkinson cycle
are always found to be higher than those for the Otto cycle
at the same operating conditions.
5. Conclusions
The eects of heat transfer through the cylinder wall on
the performance of an Atkinson cycle are investigated in
this study. The relation between net work output and ther-
mal eciency is derived. Furthermore, the maximum work
output and the corresponding thermal eciency at maxi-
mum work output are also derived. In the analyses, the
inuence of four signicant parameters, namely the heat
transfer and combustion constants, compression ratio
300 310 320 330 340 350 360
T
1
(K)
200
300
400
500
600
700
W
m
a
x
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
=1.0 kJ/kg-K, T
1
=350 K
.
(kJ/kg)=3500
Atkinson
Otto
3250
3000
Fig. 10. Eect of a and T
1
on W
max
.
300 310 320 330 340 350 360
T
1
(K)
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65

m
.
(kJ/kg)
3500
3250
3000
Atkinson
Otto
(kJ/kg)
3500
3250
3000

=1.0 kJ/kg-K, T
1
=350 K
Fig. 11. Eect of a and T
1
on g
m
.
300 310 320 330 340 350 360
T
1
(K)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
W
m
a
x
(
k
J
/
k
g
)
(kJ/kg-K)=0.5
.
=3500 kJ/kg
Atkinson
Otto
1.0
1.5
Fig. 8. Eect of b and T
1
on W
max
.
300 310 320 330 340 350 360
T
1
(K)
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8

m
(kJ/kg-K)=0.5
.
=3500 kJ/kg
Atkinson
Otto
1.0
1.5
Fig. 9. Eect of b and T
1
on g
m
.
S.-S. Hou / Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) 16831690 1689
and intake air temperature on the net work output versus
eciency characteristics, and the maximum work and the
corresponding eciency at maximum work are examined.
Comparisons of the performances of air standard Atkinson
and Otto cycles with heat transfer considerations are also
discussed. The general conclusions drawn from the results
of this work are as follows:
1. The maximum work output and the corresponding e-
ciency at maximum work output decrease as the heat
transfer constant b increases. In other words, higher
heat transfer to the combustion chamber walls will lower
the peak temperature and pressure and reduce the work
per cycle and eciency.
2. The maximum work output and the corresponding e-
ciency at maximum work output increase as the combus-
tion constant a increases.
3. The maximum work output and the corresponding e-
ciency at maximum work output decrease as the intake
temperature (T
1
) increases.
4. For a given value of heat release during combustion (a),
an increase in heat loss (b) leads to a decrease of the
compression ratio (r
cm
) that maximizes the work of the
Atkinson cycle.
5. The Atkinson cycle has a greater work output and a
higher thermal eciency than the Otto cycle at the same
operating conditions.
6. The compression ratios that maximize the work of the
Otto cycle are always found to be higher than those
for the Atkinson cycle at the same operating conditions.
The analysis helps us understand the strong eect of
heat loss through the cylinder wall during combustion. It
is also veried that for the Atkinson cycle, the expansion
ratio is greater than the compression ratio, resulting in
greater eciency and work output than with engines using
the alternative Otto cycle. The results are of great signi-
cance to provide good guidance for the performance eval-
uation and improvement of real Atkinson engines.
In this study, particular concern is placed on heat loss.
There is a signicant contribution in the paper, namely
the Atkinson cycle analysis and its comparison with the
Otto cycle. In view of the results from this work, we realize
that the understanding of the characteristic, i.e. the corre-
sponding thermal eciency at maximum work of the
Atkinson cycle is higher than that of the Otto cycle by
about 1%, should be further explored by considering a
more advanced model with a new type of cycle analysis.
Additionally, the combined eects of heat loss and friction
on the performance of engine cycles are worthy of further
study [17].
Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank the reviewers and Dr.
Denton for their valuable comments and helpful
suggestions.
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