Energy balance of internal combustion engines using alternative fuels

This paper reviews the literature available concerning the energy balance of internal combustion engines operating on alternative fuels. Global warming and energy crisis are among the most important issues that threaten the peaceful existence of the man-kind. More usage of alternative fuels and energy loss minimization from automotive engines can be an effective solution to this issue. The energy balance analysis gives useful information on the distribution of supplied fuel energy in the engine systems and identifies the avoidable losses of the real engine process with respect to ideal process. It is a very widely used tool, mostly used for the layout of the engine components. The basic energy balance theory has been discussed in details along with the variations in energy balance approaches and terms. The wall energy loss may vary to a great extent depending on the selection of heat transfer correlations. The theoretical energy balance also explored in this paper with help of thermodynamic models. There are some significant variations observed in energy balance when the engine operating fuel is changed and devices like turbocharger, supercharger etc. are used to boost the intake air pressure. The review extends to the energy balance study of low heat rejection engines (LHR) as well as the effects of engine variables and design factors on energy balance.