Aircraft: Reciprocating Engines
Design and Construction
The basic major components of a reciprocating engine are the crankcase, cylinders, pistons, connecting rods, valves, valve-operating mechanism, and crankshaft. In the head of each cylinder are the valves and spark plugs. One of the valves is in a passage leading from the induction system; the other is in a passage leading to the exhaust system. Inside each cylinder is a movable piston connected to a crankshaft by a connecting rod.
Crankcase Sections
The foundation of an engine is the crankcase. It contains the bearings and bearing supports in which the crankshaft revolves. Besides supporting itself, the crankcase must provide a tight enclosure for the lubricating oil and must support various external and internal mechanisms of the engine. It also provides support for attachment of the cylinder assemblies, and the powerplant to the aircraft. It must be sufficiently rigid and strong to prevent misalignment of the crankshaft and its bearings. Cast or forged aluminum alloy is generally used for crankcase construction because it is light and strong. The crankcase is subjected to many variations of mechanical loads and other forces. Since the cylinders are fastened to the crankcase, the tremendous forces placed on the cylinder tend to pull the cylinder off the crankcase. The unbalanced centrifugal and inertia forces of the crankshaft acting through the main bearings subject the crankcase to bending moments which change continuously in direction and magnitude. The crankcase must have sufficient stiffness to withstand these bending moments without major deflections.
If the engine is equipped with a propeller reduction gear, the front or drive end is subjected to additional forces. In addition to the thrust forces developed by the propeller under high power output, there are severe centrifugal and gyroscopic forces applied to the crankcase due to sudden changes in the direction of flight, such as those occurring during maneuvers of the airplane. Gyroscopic forces are particularly severe when a heavy propeller is installed. To absorb centrifugal loads, a large centrifugal bearing is used in the nose section.
The shape of the nose or front of the crankcase section varies considerably. In general, it is either tapered or round. Depending upon the type of reciprocating engine, the nose or front area of the crankcase varies somewhat. If the propeller is driven directly by the crankshaft, less area is needed for this component of the engine. The crankcases used on engines having opposed or inline cylinder arrangements vary in form for the different types of engines, but in general they are approximately cylindrical. One or more sides are surfaced to serve as a base to which the cylinders are attached by means of cap screws, bolts, or studs. These accurately machined surfaces are frequently referred to as cylinder pads.
f the propeller is driven by reduction gearing (gears that slow down the speed of the propeller less than the engine), more area is required to house the reduction gears. A tapered nose section is used quite frequently on direct-drive, low-powered engines, because extra space is not required to house the propeller reduction gears. Crankcase nose sections are usually cast of either aluminum alloy or magnesium. The crankcase nose section on engines that develop from 1,000 to 2,500 hp is usually larger to house reduction gears and sometimes ribbed to get as much strength as possible.
The governor is used to control propeller speed and blade angle. The mounting of the propeller governor varies. On some engines, it is located on the rear section, although this complicates the installation, especially if the propeller is operated or controlled by oil pressure, because of the distance between the governor and propeller. Where hydraulically operated propellers are used, it is good practice to mount the governor on the nose section as close to the propeller as possible to reduce the length of the oil passages. The governor is then driven either from gear teeth on the periphery of the bell gear or by some other suitable means. This basic arrangement is also used for turboprops.
On some of the larger radial engines, a small chamber is located on the bottom of the nose section to collect the oil. This is called the nose section oil sump. Since the nose section transmits many varied forces to the main crankcase or power section, it must be secured properly to transmit the loads efficiently.
The machined surfaces on which the cylinders are mounted are called cylinder pads. They are provided with a suitable means of retaining or fastening the cylinders to the crankcase. The general practice in securing the cylinder flange to the pad is to mount studs in threaded holes in the crankcase. The inner portion of the cylinder pads are sometimes chamfered or tapered to permit the installation of a large rubber O-ring around the cylinder skirt, which effectively seals the joint between the cylinder and the crankcase pads against oil leakage.
Because oil is thrown about the crankcase, especially on inverted inline and radial-type engines, the cylinder skirts extend a considerable distance into the crankcase sections to reduce the flow of oil into the inverted cylinders. The piston and ring assemblies must be arranged so that they throw out the oil splashed directly into them.
Mounting lugs are spaced about the periphery of the rear of the crankcase or the diffuser section of a radial engine. These are used to attach the engine assembly to the engine mount or framework provided for attaching the powerplant to the fuselage of single-engine aircraft or to the wing nacelle structure of multiengine aircraft. The mounting lugs may be either integral with the crankcase or diffuser section or detachable, as in the case of flexible or dynamic engine mounts.
The mounting arrangement supports the entire powerplant including the propeller, and therefore is designed to provide ample strength for rapid maneuvers or other loadings. Because of the elongation and contraction of the cylinders, the intake pipes which carry the mixture from the diffuser chamber through the intake valve ports are arranged to provide a slip joint which must be leak proof. The atmospheric pressure on the outside of the case of an un-supercharged engine is higher than on the inside, especially when the engine is operating at idling speed. If the engine is equipped with a supercharger and operated at full throttle, the pressure is considerably higher on the inside than on the outside of the case. If the slip joint connection has a slight leakage, the engine may idle fast due to a slight leaning of the mixture. If the leak is quite large, it may not idle at all. At open throttle, a small leak probably would not be noticeable in operation of the engine, but the slight leaning of the fuel/air mixture might cause detonation or damage to the valves and valve seats. On some radial engines, the intake pipe has considerable length and on some inline engines, the intake pipe is at right angles to the cylinders. In these cases, flexibility of the intake pipe or its arrangement eliminates the need for a slip joint. In any case, the engine induction system must be arranged so that it does not leak air and change the desired fuel/air ratio.
Accessory Section
The accessory (rear) section usually is of cast construction and the material may be either aluminum alloy, which is used most widely, or magnesium, which has been used to some extent. On some engines, it is cast in one piece and provided with means for mounting the accessories, such as magnetos, carburetors, fuel, oil, vacuum pumps, starter, generator, tachometer drive, etc., in the various locations required to facilitate accessibility. Other adaptations consist of an aluminum alloy casting and a separate cast magnesium cover plate on which the accessory mounts are arranged. Accessory drive shafts are mounted in suitable drive arrangements that are carried out to the accessory mounting pads. In this manner, the various gear ratios can be arranged to give the proper drive speed to magnetos, pumps, and other accessories to obtain correct timing or functioning.
Accessory Gear Trains
Gear trains, containing both spur- and bevel-type gears, are used in the different types of engines for driving engine components and accessories. Spur-type gears are generally used to drive the heavier loaded accessories or those requiring the least play or backlash in the gear train. Bevel gears permit angular location of short stub shafts leading to the various accessory mounting pads. On opposed, reciprocating engines, the accessory gear trains are usually simple arrangements. Many of these engines use simple gear trains to drive the engine’s accessories at the proper speeds.
