History of Internal combustion engine

History of Internal combustion engine

Huygens Gunpowder Engine

In the year 1680, the Dutch physicist Christian Huygens designed an internal combustion engine which runs on gunpowder. He lifted a platform with four men standing on it, by utilising the power of engine. The Huygens Gunpowder IC engine consisted of a vertical cylinder of about 30.5cm diameter and a sliding fit piston. The energy released from the explosion of gunpowder causes the upward motion of the piston and as the explosion gases began to cool down, the piston moves downward due to the atmospheric pressure acting on the upper surface of the piston. The output from the engine is obtained in the downward stroke. This early concept of the internal combustion could not be developed further. This engine worked on single charge explosion and no means were found to deliver the sequence charges necessary for continuous operation and controlling the rate of explosion. 

The Lenoir Engine (1860)

The next important development in the field of internal combustion engine was the “Non-compression combustion gas engine” by a Frenchman Lenoir. The Lenoir engine was very much similar to the double acting steam engine except that the steam was replaced by the gas formed by the combustion of charge of air-gas mixture. The charge of air-gas mixture was supplied during the first stage of stroke and was ignited by a spark plug. The sudden rise in pressure due to causes the rest of the motion of the piston. The return stroke of the engine was performed by the power stored in the flywheel. The thermal efficiency of the Lenoir engine was very low due to low expansion ratio. Lenoir successfully employed his engine in a road carriage vehicle and a boat. The engine in the road carriage covered 10kms non-stop in an hour and half and run at 100rpm.

The Free Piston Otto-Langen Engine

In 1866 another important development was the Free Piston Otto-Langen Engine. In this engine the piston was free to move in upward direction as it was not connected to any crankshaft. The upward motion or the expansion stroke of the piston was caused due to the expansion of the charge. The work from the piston was obtained during the downward stroke. During the downward stroke, the piston was connected by a ratchet and a rack and pinion device to the flywheel, doing useful work on the flywheel shaft. While going downward, the piston opened the exhaust valve of sliding type. The inertia of the flywheel then raised the piston from the bottom position and a fresh air-gas charge is inducted. The charge was ignited by a flame after about 30deg of gear angle travel for the piston from the bottom position. The connection between the flame and the combustion chamber was provided by means of an eccentric driven valve. The thermal efficiency of the Otto-Langen Engine was higher than that of Lenoir engine but the operation was noisy. The Otto-Langen Engine was awarded a gold medal at the historic Paris exhibition in 1867.