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The mean piston speed is the average speed of the piston in a reciprocating engine. It is a function of stroke and RPM. There is a factor of 2 in the equation to account for one stroke to occur in 1/2 of a crank revolution (or alternatively: two strokes per one crank revolution) and a '60' to convert seconds from minutes in the RPM term.
The reciprocating motion of a non-offset piston connected to a rotating crank through a connecting rod (as would be found in internal combustion engines) can be expressed by equations of motion.
But in reality, the torque is maximum at crank angle of less than α = 90° from TDC for a given force on the piston. One way to calculate this angle is to find out when the Connecting rod smallend (piston) speed becomes the fastest in downward direction given a steady crank rotational velocity. Piston speed x' is expressed as:
Nominal horsepower = 7 × area of piston in square inches × equivalent piston speed in feet per minute/33,000. For paddle ships, the Admiralty rule was that the piston speed in feet per minute was taken as 129.7 × (stroke) 1/3.38. [28] [29] For screw steamers, the intended piston speed was used. [29]
It is therefore calculated by the formula [10] = + where is the displacement volume. This is the volume inside the cylinder displaced by the piston from the beginning of the compression stroke to the end of the stroke. is the clearance volume. This is the volume of the space in the cylinder left at the end of the compression stroke.
As piston engines usually have their maximum torque at a lower rotating speed than the maximum power output, the BMEP is lower at full power (at higher rotating speed). If the same engine is rated 72 kW at 5400 min −1 = 90 s −1, and its BMEP is 0.80 MPa, we get the following equation: =
The amount of power generated by a piston engine is related to its size (cylinder volume), whether it is a two-stroke engine or four-stroke design, volumetric efficiency, losses, air-to-fuel ratio, the calorific value of the fuel, oxygen content of the air and speed . The speed is ultimately limited by material strength and lubrication.
The Porter-Allen high-speed engine (ca. 1862) operated at from three to five times the speed of other similar-sized engines. The higher speed minimized the amount of condensation in the cylinder, resulting in increased efficiency. [19] Compound engines gave further improvements in efficiency. [19]