A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder. In some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder.
The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its attached cylinders rotated around it as a unit. Its main application was in aviation, although it also saw use in a few early motorcycles and automobiles.
A two-strokeengine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston in one revolution of the crankshaft. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust functions occurring at the same time.
The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the crankshaft. The connecting rod is required to transmit the compressive and tensile forces from the piston. In its most common form, in an internal combustion engine, it allows pivoting on the piston end and rotation on the shaft end.
A crankcase is the housing in a piston engine that surrounds the crankshaft. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block.
The crossplane or cross-plane is a crankshaft design for piston engines with a 90° angle between the crank throws. The crossplane crankshaft is the most popular configuration used in V8 road cars.
A main bearing is a bearing in a piston engine which holds the crankshaft in place and allows it to rotate within the engine block.
In aviation, an inline engine is a reciprocating engine with banks of cylinders, one behind another, rather than rows of cylinders, with each bank having any number of cylinders, although more than six is uncommon. The major reciprocating-engine alternative configuration is the radial engine, where the cylinders are placed in a circular or "star" arrangement.
A big bang engine has an unconventional firing order designed so that some of the power strokes occur simultaneously or in close succession. This is achieved by changing the ignition timing, changing or re-timing the camshaft, and sometimes in combination with a change in crankpin angle. The goal is to change the power delivery characteristics of the engine. A regular-firing multi-cylinder engine fires at approximately even intervals, giving a smooth-running engine. Because a big-bang engine has uneven power delivery, it tends to run rougher and generates more vibration than an even-firing engine.
Musgrave's non-dead-centre engine was a stationary steam engine of unusual design, intended to solve the problem of stopping on dead centre. It was designed in 1887 to serve as a marine engine. It used a pair of linked cylinders to prevent the engine from stopping in a position where no turning force can be applied. At least one engine is known to survive.
A long-bolt or through-bolt engine is an internal combustion piston engine where, following usual practice, the cylinder head is held down by bolts or studs. Conventionally the cylinder head is bolted to the cylinder block and the crankshaft main bearings are in turn bolted to the crankcase by separate bolts. In the long-bolt engine however, a single set of long bolts is used, spanning from the cylinder head right through to the crankshaft bearing caps.
High-speed steam engines were one of the final developments of the stationary steam engine. They ran at a high speed, of several hundred rpm, which was needed by tasks such as electricity generation.
A tunnel crankcase, tunnel crankshaft or disc-webbed crankshaft is a design feature of a piston engine where the main bearings that support the crankshaft within the crankcase form the largest diameter of any part of the crankshaft and are larger than the crank webs. This requires a crankcase with a large tunnel instead of cross web supports for narrower main bearings, hence the name.
An undercut crankshaft is a form of crankshaft for piston engines, where the overall length of the crankshaft is shortened by overlapping the main bearings of the crankshaft with the big end bearings of the connecting rods.
An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance. This process transforms chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to.
The Renault 100 hp, or 12B, aircraft engine from 1912 was a twelve-cylinder, air cooled 60° vee engine built by the French Renault company.
The Renault 130 hp V-12 aircraft engine is a twelve-cylinder, air cooled 90° vee engine built by the French Renault company.
The De Dion-Bouton 78 hp, typically referred to as De Dion-Bouton 80 hp, was an eight-cylinder, air cooled vee aircraft engine that has been built by De Dion-Bouton.
The De Dion-Bouton 130 hp aircraft engine, also referred to as De Dion-Bouton 12B, was a twelve-cylinder, air cooled vee aircraft engine that has been built by De Dion-Bouton.
