Question

In a motorcycle engine, a piston is forced down toward the crankshaft when the fuel in the top of the piston’s cylinder undergoes combustion. The mixture of gaseous combustion products then expands adiabatically as the piston descends. Find the average power in (a) watts and (b) horsepower that is involved in this expansion when the engine is running at 4400 rpm, assuming that the gauge pressure immediately after combustion is 14 atm, the initial volume is 51 cm3, and the volume of the mixture at the bottom of the stroke is 230 cm3. Assume that the gases are diatomic and that the time involved in the expansion is one-half that of the total cycle.

Answer 1