Everything To Know About The Atkinson Cycle

Engines have evolved over the years, just like any other car part. Automobile history has seen some of the most iconic engines ever. The Atkinson cycle engine is one of those engines. The engine is unique and quite different from other engines in the market. It is important to learn about the peculiar nature and working of the engine and figure out what makes it so special. Gear up; it's engine inspection time!

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What is the Atkinson Cycle?

James Atkinson invented the Atkinson Cycle engine in 1882. This is a special type of internal combustion engine that sacrifices power density to increase efficiency. Some modern automobiles still use variations of this technology to this day.

Working of the Atkinson Cycle

The main thing to understand here is that the main goal of the Atkinson cycle is to increase fuel efficiency. The process is designed in such a way that fuel is saved. There are a total of four processes that occur during the working of the Atkinson cycle, and those processes are: -

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• Compression stroke (Isentropic combustion): The piston moves from the intake valve to the center as the compressed gasoline-air mixture. The surroundings increase the temperature of the mixture. The entropy, however, remains unaffected.
• Ignition stroke (Isochoric compression): The process is similar to the Otto cycle. Constant heat transfer occurs between an external source and the inside cylinder as the piston remains on top. The mixture is injected into the chamber, and the mixture burns simultaneously.
• Power stroke (Isentropic Expansion): The mixture expands under adiabatic conditions as the piston shifts. The mixture loses some energy while interacting with the surroundings. Entropy remains unchanged.
• Exhaust stroke (Isobaric Exhaust): The pressure inside the combustion chamber should equal the atmospheric pressure at the end of the isentropic expansion. There is no decompression (like the Otto cycle). The exhaust valve opens as the exhaust gas is moved out at the end of the cycle.

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The process then repeats all over again.

Advantages of Atkinson Cycle

• Fuel-saving: Studies show that the Atkinson cycle can save about 15-20% fuel compared to other traditional engines. This process controls the engine load and increases efficiency.
• Suitability: The engine is excellent for hybrid use as the loss of power is easily compensated by the electric motor.
• Efficiency: The expansion ratio is much more than the compression ratio, which increases the efficiency of the fuel.

Disadvantages of Atkinson Cycle

• Power problems: One of the main concerns with this process is reducing the power generated to increase fuel efficiency. This is not ideal for motorway use.]
• Compression ratio: The compression ratio is much less for this process. This leads to wastage of extra fuel leading to more pollution.

Now that you know all the essential aspects of the Atkinson cycle, you can understand the car engine's working even better.