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Stroke (engines)
 
 
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A stroke is a single action of certain engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
s.

In a steam
Steam engine

File:Steam-powered fire engine.jpgA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines have a long history, going back at least 2000 years....
, Otto or Diesel
Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the diesel cycle . Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency compared to any internal combustion or external combustion engine....
 piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
 engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
, a stroke is the action of a piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
 travelling the full length of its cylinder
Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
 in one direction.

The stroke length is determined by the cranks
Crank (mechanism)

A crank is an arm at right angles to a shaft , by which motion is imparted to or received from the shaft; it is also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion....
 on the crankshaft
Crankshaft

The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank , is the part of an engine which translates reciprocation linear piston motion into rotation....
. Stroke can also refer to the distance the piston travels; for example, the phrase "This engine has a four inch stroke" means that on each stroke, the piston travels four inch
Inch

An inch is the name of a Units of measurement of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units....
es.






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A stroke is a single action of certain engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
s.

In a steam
Steam engine

File:Steam-powered fire engine.jpgA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines have a long history, going back at least 2000 years....
, Otto or Diesel
Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the diesel cycle . Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency compared to any internal combustion or external combustion engine....
 piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
 engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
, a stroke is the action of a piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
 travelling the full length of its cylinder
Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
 in one direction.

The stroke length is determined by the cranks
Crank (mechanism)

A crank is an arm at right angles to a shaft , by which motion is imparted to or received from the shaft; it is also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion....
 on the crankshaft
Crankshaft

The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank , is the part of an engine which translates reciprocation linear piston motion into rotation....
. Stroke can also refer to the distance the piston travels; for example, the phrase "This engine has a four inch stroke" means that on each stroke, the piston travels four inch
Inch

An inch is the name of a Units of measurement of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units....
es. Bore is the diameter of the cylinder, which means that engine displacement
Engine displacement

Engine displacement is the volume swept by the all pistons of an engine in a single movement from top dead center to bottom dead center....
 is dependent on both the bore
Bore (engines)

Bore, when used in the context of piston engines, is a measurement of the diameter of the holes bored into the engine block for use as Cylinder s....
 and the stroke of the cylinder.

In a pistonless rotary engine
Pistonless rotary engine

A pistonless rotary engine is an internal combustion engine that does not use pistons in the way a reciprocating engine does, but instead uses one or more wikt:rotors, sometimes called rotary pistons....
, the term is applied to the corresponding rotor movement, see top dead centre.

Intake stroke

The intake stroke, or induction stroke, is the first stroke in a four-stroke internal combustion engine cycle. It involves the downward movement of the piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
, creating a partial vacuum that draws a fuel/air mixture into the combustion chamber.

Compression stroke

The compression stroke is the second of four stages in an otto cycle or diesel cycle
Diesel cycle

The Diesel cycle is the thermodynamic cycle which approximates the pressure and volume of the combustion chamber of the Diesel engine, invented by Rudolph Diesel in 1897....
 internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
.

In this stage, the mixture (in the case of an Otto engine) or air (in the case of a Diesel engine) is compressed
Gas compressor

A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe ....
 to the top of the cylinder
Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
 by the piston
Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
 until it is either ignited by a spark plug
Spark plug

A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed Particulate gasoline by means of an electric spark....
 in an Otto engine or, in the case of a Diesel engine
Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the diesel cycle . Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency compared to any internal combustion or external combustion engine....
, reaches the point at which the fuel which has been injected spontaneously combusts, forcing the piston back down.

Compression serves to increase the proportion of energy which can be extracted from the hot gas and should be optimised for a given application. Too high a compression can cause detonation which is undesirable compared with a smooth, controlled burn. Too low a compression may result in the fuel/air mixture still burning when the piston reaches the bottom of the stroke and the exhaust valve opens.

Power stroke

A power stroke is, in general, the stroke of a cyclic motor which generates force. It is used in describing mechanical engines.

Exhaust stroke

The exhaust stroke is the fourth of four stages in an internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
 cycle. In this stage gases remaining in the cylinder from the fuel
Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion....
 ignited during the compression step are removed from the cylinder
Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
 through an exhaust valve
Valve

A valve is a device that regulates the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe Piping and plumbing fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category....
 at the top of the cylinder. The gases are forced up to the top of the cylinder as the piston rises and are pushed through the opening which then closes to allow fresh air/fuel mixture into the cylinder so the process can repeat itself.

See also

  • Compression ratio
    Compression ratio

    The compression ratio of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber; from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity....
  • Cylinder head porting
    Cylinder head porting

    Cylinder head porting refers to the process of modifying the intake and exhaust ports of an internal combustion engine to improve the quality and quantity of the gas flow....
  • Four-stroke cycle
    Four-stroke cycle

    Today, internal combustion engines in automobile, trucks, motorcycles, aircraft, construction machinery and many others, most commonly use a four-stroke cycle....
  • Reciprocating engine
    Reciprocating engine

    A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion pistons to convert pressure into a Circular motion....
  • Two-stroke cycle
    Two-stroke cycle

    The two-stroke internal combustion engine differs from the more common four-stroke engine by completing the same cycle in only two strokes of the piston, rather than four....