Question

A technician is studying the power stroke of a four-stroke engine and determines the following:

1. As the piston is forced down, the mixture of combustion products and air undergoes an adiabatic expansion.
2. The engine is running at 2,300 cycles/min.
3. The gauge pressure immediately before the expansion is 29.0 atm.
4. The volumes of the mixture immediately before and after the expansion are 50.0 cm³ and 400 cm³, respectively (figure below).
5. The time interval for the expansion is one-fourth the period of the cycle.
6. The mixture behaves like an ideal diatomic gas with a specific heat ratio of 1.40.

Determine the average power (in kW) generated during the power stroke.

Answer 1