Basic Principles of Combustion

Combustion engines can be functionally defined as follows: Combustion engines are machines utilizing combustion to convert the chemical energy contained in a fuel into the internal energy of a gaseous working medium, and finally transforming this stored energy into mechanical work output. This action can be viewed as sequenced thermodynamic processes occurring in a cycle. All engines considered here are internal combustion engines as it is assumed that combustion occurs within the working medium.