Engine Configurations

Configurations:

The engines can be configured based on the arrangement of the cylinders. Some of the widely used engine configurations on today's automobiles are listed below,

• Flat or Opposed Type.
• Inline Type.
• V-type Type.
• Rotary Type.    
• Radial Type. 
• W-Type.      

Flat Or Opposed Type: 

A flat engine uses cylinders in two bank laid flat and separated by a crankshaft. This design requires very little vertical clearance, but needs additional width than a v or inline engine. Cooling is also more efficient due to the increased surface area of the cylinders. It is classified into opposed piston and opposed cylinder types.

Opposed Piston Type

Here the pistons are opposite to each other. So it is called as opposed piston engine, Its functions are similar to a two stroke engine.

Flat or Opposed Cylinder Type

In opposed cylinder the cylinders are placed on the opposite sides 180 degrees to the crankshaft as shown above.

Subaru Boxer - Turbo Charged Diesel Engine

 Inline Type:

The vertical or the in-line engine has a single row of cylinders extending vertically upward from the crankcase and aligned with the crankshaft main bearings. Inline engines consist of cylinders placed in a single bank one after another. These engines often offer more torque and a smother power delivery than a v-type due to the larger block and distance between cylinders. They are longer in length and height but are narrower in width than v-types.

The Inline Type Engine

An Inline 4 Engine Used In Suzuki Hayabusa GSX 1300 R

Front View Of 1300 CC inline 4 cylinder of GSX 1300R

Inline 4 Used in Yamaha FZ-8

Mercedes E-class Inline Type Engine

V-Type:

An engine is classified as a V-type if there are two banks of cylinders attached to a single crankshaft. The cylinders are usually positioned at either 90 or 60 degree angles from each other. This block is shorter in length and height than a corresponding inline block of the same cylinder count and displacement.These engines use a short, strong crankshaft they are better suited to tolerating higher rotational speeds and higher torsional stresses.

The V-Twin Engine Of Harley Davidson

The V-Type Engine

The Renault V-6 Cams & Valve Components

Overhead cam engines use camshafts located above the cylinder head instead of the more common location inside the engine block. This eliminates the use of push rods and rockers creating a tighter valve train less susceptible to float. These engines can operate more efficiently at higher engine speeds than push rod types.

Harley's V-Rod Muscle with V-twin engine.

Ducati Moto GP's Concept for 2012

Rotary Type:

The rotary engine does not use pistons to produce power. The Wankel engine (rotary) instead uses a single or series of rotors. These rotors take the place of the pistons by using a curved inner shape to perform all the same functions. This engine has many less parts than piston type engines due to the lack of a crankshaft, pistons, valves, and related hardware. This engine is extremely powerful for its size and displacement but consumes more fuel than a corresponding piston engine of equal size.

The Rotary Cycle

The Rotary Type

The Rotary Powered Mazda RX-7

 Radial Type:

The radial type engines are built only for the aviation purposes before the invention of jet engines and these type of engines are not employed for today's aircraft or any other automobile applications. Some may customize their motorcycles by using some small radial engines for exhibiting a different sense.

A Radial Engine Bike 

Radial Engine Mechanism

An Aircraft Displaying The Radial Engine

BMW 801

The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine's cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm (6.142in), giving a total capacity of 41.8 liters (2,547.40 in³). The engine generated between 1,560 and 2,000 PS (1,540-1,970 hp, or 1,150 and 1,470 kW). The unit (including mounts) weighed around 1,250 kg and was about 1.27 m (50in) across, depending on the model.

 Design and development

In the 1930s, BMW took out a license to build the Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines. By the mid-30s they had introduced an improved version, the BMW 132. The BMW 132 was widely used, most notably on the Junkers Ju 52, which it powered for much of that design's lifetime.

In 1935 the RLM funded prototypes of two much larger radial designs, one from Bramo, the Bramo 329, and another from BMW, the BMW 139. BMW bought Bramo soon after the projects started; unsurprisingly BMW folded the Bramo engineers into the BMW project, cancelling the Bramo design. The resulting proposal was essentially a two-row version of the BMW 132, the 1,400 hp (1,029 kW) BMW 139.

The BMW 139 was originally intended to be used in similar roles as the other German radials, namely bombers and transport aircraft, but mid-way through the program Kurt Tank suggested it for use in the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter project. Radial engines were rare in land-based fighters at the time due to the size of their larger frontal area, but Tank felt that attention to detail could result in a streamlined radial that would not suffer undue drag.

The Radial Engine Animation

W-Type:

An unusual type of engine made by Volkswagen Group in which two narrow-angle V-type engines are joined together with a common crankshaft. VW’s W12 is two V6 engines placed side-by-side and joined at the bottom. In this way they get even more cylinders into a very compact engine. VW also had a W8 engine that was once fitted to the Passat and its W16 is fitted to the world’s fastest car, the Bugatti Veyron.

W-Type engines are found in few cars. For example there is one in the Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, which has a quad-turbo W-16, and there was a limited number of Volkswagen Passat produced from 1998-2005 with a 4.0L W-8. The Bugatti 16/4 Veyron's "16/4" is there for the simple fact of representing its engine. W-engine types work well for a large number of cylinders because everything becomes more compact and shorter. Though, they are more compact, the disadvantage is that they are hard to fix and more expensive to repair. Not many models made though the engines produce go up in multiples of four. The Bugatti Veyron engine is pictured below.

 Bugatti Veyron's W-16 Engine

  

Drive Mechanism In a Bugatti Veyron

The Drive Train  Of W-16 Engine