Two-stroke engine

Animation of a two-stroke engine

A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes
a power cycle with two strokes of the piston (one up and one down movement) in one revolution of
the crankshaft. A four-stroke engine requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle in
two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the
beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust
(or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time.

Two-stroke engines often have a high power-to-weight ratio, power being available in a narrow range
of rotational speeds called the power band. Two-stroke engines have fewer moving parts than four-
stroke engines, and thus are cheaper to manufacture. In countries and regions with stringent
emissions regulation, two-stroke engines have been phased out in automotive and motorcycle uses.
In regions where regulations are less stringent, small displacement two-stroke engines remain
popular in mopeds and motorcycles.[1] They are also used in power tools such as chainsaws and leaf
blowers.

History
[edit]
The first commercial two-stroke engine involving cylinder compression is attributed
to Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk, who patented his design in 1881.[2] However, unlike most later
two-stroke engines, his had a separate charging cylinder. The crankcase-scavenged engine,
employing the area below the piston as a charging pump, is generally credited to Englishman Joseph
Day.[3][4] On 31 December 1879, German inventor Karl Benz produced a two-stroke gas engine, for
which he received a patent in 1880 in Germany. The first truly practical two-stroke engine is
attributed to Yorkshireman Alfred Angas Scott, who started producing twin-cylinder water-
cooled motorcycles in 1908.[5]

Two-stroke gasoline engines with electrical spark ignition are particularly useful in lightweight or
portable applications such as chainsaws and motorcycles. However, when weight and size are not
an issue, the cycle's potential for high thermodynamic efficiency makes it ideal
for diesel compression ignition engines operating in large, weight-insensitive applications, such
as marine propulsion, railway locomotives, and electricity generation. In a two-stroke engine, the
exhaust gases transfer less heat to the cooling system than a four-stroke, which means more energy
to drive the piston, and if present, a turbocharger.

Emissions
[edit]

1
Crankcase-compression two-stroke engines, such as common small gasoline-powered engines, are
lubricated by a petroil mixture in a total-loss system. Oil is mixed in with their petrol fuel beforehand,
in a fuel-to-oil ratio of around 32:1. This oil then forms emissions, either by being burned in the
engine or as droplets in the exhaust, historically resulting in more exhaust emissions, particularly
hydrocarbons, than four-stroke engines of comparable power output. The combined opening time of
the intake and exhaust ports in some two-stroke designs can also allow some amount of unburned
fuel vapors to exit in the exhaust stream. The high combustion temperatures of small, air-cooled
engines may also produce NOx emissions.

Applications
[edit]

1966 Saab Sport A two-stroke minibike

Lateral view of a two-stroke Forty series British Seagull outboard engine, the serial
number dates it to 1954/1955
Two-stroke gasoline engines are preferred when mechanical simplicity, light weight, and high power-
to-weight ratio are design priorities. By mixing oil with fuel, they can operate in any orientation as
the oil reservoir does not depend on gravity.

A number of mainstream automobile manufacturers have used two-stroke engines in the past,
including the Swedish Saab, German manufacturers DKW, Auto-Union, VEB Sachsenring
Automobilwerke Zwickau, VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach, and VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk,
and Polish manufacturers FSO and FSM. The Japanese manufacturers Suzuki and Subaru did the
same in the 1970s.[6] Production of two-stroke cars ended in the 1980s in the West, due to
increasingly stringent regulation of air pollution.[7] Eastern Bloc countries continued until around 1991,
with the Trabant and Wartburg in East Germany.

Two-stroke engines are still found in a variety of small propulsion applications, such as outboard
motors, small on- and off-road motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, motorized bicycles, tuk-
tuks, snowmobiles, go-karts, ultralight and model airplanes. Particularly in developed countries,
pollution regulations have meant that their use for many of these applications is being phased
out. Honda,[8] for instance, ceased selling two-stroke off-road motorcycles in the United States in
2007, after abandoning road-going models considerably earlier.
2
Due to their high power-to-weight ratio and ability to be used in any orientation, two-stroke engines
are common in handheld outdoor power tools including leaf blowers, chainsaws, and string trimmers.

Two-stroke diesel engines are found mostly in large industrial and marine applications, as well as
some trucks and heavy machinery.

Designs
[edit]

Two-stroke motorbike with an expansion chamber exhaust system that

increases the cylinder charge
Although the principles remain the same, the mechanical details of various two-stroke engines differ
depending on the type. The design types vary according to the method of introducing the charge to
the cylinder, the method of scavenging the cylinder (exchanging burnt exhaust for fresh mixture) and
the method of exhausting the cylinder.

Inlet port variations

[edit]
Piston-controlled inlet port
[edit]
Piston port is the simplest of the designs and the most common in small two-stroke engines. All
functions are controlled solely by the piston covering and uncovering the ports as it moves up and
down in the cylinder. In the 1970s, Yamaha worked out some basic principles for this system. They
found that, in general, widening an exhaust port increases the power by the same amount as raising
the port, but the power band does not narrow as it does when the port is raised. However, a
mechanical limit exists to the width of a single exhaust port, at about 62% of the bore diameter for
reasonable piston ring life. Beyond this, the piston rings bulge into the exhaust port and wear quickly.
A maximum 70% of bore width is possible in racing engines, where rings are changed every few
races. Intake duration is between 120 and 160°. Transfer port time is set at a minimum of 26°. The
strong, low-pressure pulse of a racing two-stroke expansion chamber can drop the pressure to -7 psi
when the piston is at bottom dead center, and the transfer ports nearly wide open. One of the
reasons for high fuel consumption in two-strokes is that some of the incoming pressurized fuel-air
mixture is forced across the top of the piston, where it has a cooling action, and straight out the
exhaust pipe. An expansion chamber with a strong reverse pulse stops this outgoing flow. [9]