Week 2 Air standard Cycle
Objective:- In this project, we will create a python program to plot PV diagram and calculate thermal efficiency of the engine.
Solution Procedure:-
In the Air standard Otto cycle, there are four processes-
- Process 0–1 a mass of air is drawn into piston/cylinder arrangement at constant pressure.
- Process 1–2 is an adiabatic (isentropic) compression of the charge as the piston moves from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC).
- Process 2–3 is a constant-volume heat transfer to the working gas from an external source while the piston is at top dead center. This process is intended to represent the ignition of the fuel-air mixture and the subsequent rapid burning.
- Process 3–4 is an adiabatic (isentropic) expansion (power stroke).
- Process 4–1 completes the cycle by a constant-volume process in which heat is rejected from the air while the piston is at bottom dead center.
- Process 1–0 the mass of air is released to the atmosphere in a constant pressure process.
The efficiency
of otto cycle is given by-

where
η = thermal efficiency
r = compression ratio
is the specific heat ratio
Python Script:-
#Python Program to calculate thermal efficiency of Air standard Cycle and plot PV diagram
import math
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
def engine_kinematics(bore,stroke,con_rod,cr,start_angle,end_angle):
"""
Engine Kinematics
"""
# Engine Parameters
a = stroke/2
R = con_rod/a
# Volume Computation
v_s = (math.pi/4)*pow(bore,2)*stroke
v_c = v_s/(cr-1)
sc = math.radians(start_angle)
ec = math.radians(end_angle)
num_values = 50
dtheta = (sc-ec)/(num_values-1)
v = []
for i in range(0,num_values):
theta = sc+i*dtheta
term1 = 0.5*(cr-1)
term2 = R+1-math.cos(theta)
term3 = pow(R,2)- pow(math.sin(theta),2)
term3 = pow(term3,0.5)
v.append((1+term1*(term2-term3))*v_c)
return v
# Inputs
p1 = 101325
t1 = 500
gamma = 1.4
t3 = 2300
# engine parameters
bore = 0.1
stroke = 0.1
con_rod = 0.15
cr = 8
# Volume Computation
v_s = (math.pi/4)*pow(bore,2)*stroke
v_c = v_s/(cr-1)
v1 = v_s + v_c
# State2
v2 = v_c
p2 = p1*pow(v1,gamma)/pow(v2,gamma)
rhs = p1*v1/t1
t2 = p2*v2/rhs
v_compression = engine_kinematics(bore,stroke,con_rod,cr, 180, 0)
constant = p1*pow(v1,gamma)
p_compression = []
for v in v_compression:
p_compression.append(constant/pow(v,gamma))
# State3
v3 = v2
rhs = p2*v2/t2
p3 = rhs*t3/v3
v_expansion = engine_kinematics(bore,stroke,con_rod,cr,0,180)
constant = p3*pow(v3,gamma)
p_expansion = []
for v in v_expansion:
p_expansion.append(constant/pow(v,gamma))
# State4
v4 = v1
p4 = p3*pow(v3,gamma)/pow(v4,gamma)
t4 = p4*v4/rhs
plt.plot([v2,v3],[p2,p3])
plt.plot(v_compression,p_compression)
plt.plot(v_expansion,p_expansion)
plt.plot([v4,v1],[p4,p1])
plt.xlabel("Volume")
plt.ylabel("Pressure")
plt.show()
# Thermal efficiency
n = 1 - 1/(pow(cr,(gamma-1)))
print(n)
Output:-
The thermal efficiency of the engine is equal to 56.472% . Generally the efficiency of otto cycle lies in range of 56% to 61%