Internal Combustion - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition internal-combustion

Definition :

Designating or pertaining to any engine called an Internal combustion engine in which the heat or pressure energy necessary to produce motion is developed in the engine cylinder as by the explosion of a gas and not in a separate chamber as in a steam engine boiler The gas used may be a fixed gas or one derived from alcohol ether gasoline petrol naphtha oil petroleum etc There are three main classes 1 gas engines proper using fixed gases as coal blast furnace or producer gas 2 engines using the vapor of a volatile fluid as the typical gasoline petrol engine 3 oil engines using either an atomized spray or the vapor produced by heat of a comparatively heavy oil as petroleum or kerosene In all of these the gas is mixed with a definite amount of air the charge is composed in the cylinder and is then exploded either by a flame of gas flame ignition now little used by a hot tube tube ignition or the like by an electric spark electric ignition the usual method is gasoline engines or by the heat of compression as in the Diesel engine Gas and oil engines are chiefly of the stationary type Gasoline engines are largely used for automobile vehicles boats etc Most internal combustion engines use the Otto four stroke cycle though many use the two stroke cycle They are almost universally trunk engines and single acting Because of the intense heat produced by the frequent explosions the cylinders must be cooled by a water jacket water cooled or by air currents air cooled to give the maximum thermodynamic efficiency and to avoid excessive friction or seizing