ABSTRACT
Internal combustion engines differ from external combustion engines in that the energy released from the burning of fuel occurs inside the engine rather than in a separate combustion chamber. Examples of external combustion engines are gas and steam turbines. The gas turbine power plant utilizes products of combustion from a separate combustor as the working fluid. These gases are used to drive the gas turbine and produce useful power. The steam power plant utilizes a separate boiler for burning fuels and creating hot gases which convert water to steam. The steam drives the steam turbine to produce useful power. On the other hand, internal combustion engines usually burn gasoline or diesel fuel inside the engine itself. If they use gasoline, they are called sparkignition engines, since the spark from a spark plug ignites a mixture of air and gasoline trapped in the cylinder of the engine. The spark ignition (SI) engine operates ideally on the Otto cycle. The diesel engine, also called the combustion ignition (CI) engine, burns diesel fuel which is ignited as it is injected into the cylinder filled with very hot compressed air.
