Product Code Database
The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.
Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engine are often categorized by the number of rotors present. Gas turbine engines are often categorized into turbojets, turbofans, turboprops and turboshafts.
Where the cylinders are arranged in two or more lines (such as in V engine or Flat engine), each line of cylinders is referred to as a 'cylinder bank'. The angle between cylinder banks is called the 'bank angle'. Engines with multiple banks are shorter than straight engines of the same size, and will often have better engine balance characteristics, resulting in reduced engine vibration and potentially higher maximum engine speeds.
Most engines with four or less cylinders use a straight engine layout, and most engines with eight cylinders or more use a V engine layout. However, there are various exceptions to this, such as the straight-eight engines used by various luxury cars from 1919-1954, V4 engines used by some marine outboard motors, V-twin engine and flat-twin engine engines used by motorcycles and used by various cars.
VR5 and VR6 engines are very compact and light, having a narrow V angle which allows a single cylinder block and cylinder head. These engines use a single cylinder head so are technically a straight engine with the name "VR" coming from the combination of German words “Verkürzt” and “Reihenmotor” meaning “shortened inline engine”.
Types of flat engines include:
consist of two separate straight engines (complete with separate crankshafts) joined by gears or chains. Most U engines have four cylinders (i.e. two straight-two engines combined), such as square four engines and tandem twin engines. Similar to U engines, consist of two separate flat engines joined by gears or chains. H engines have been produced with between 4 and 24 cylinders.
An opposed-piston engine is similar to a flat engine in that pairs of pistons are co-axial but rather than sharing a crankshaft, instead share a single combustion chamber per pair of pistons. The crankshaft configuration varies amongst opposed-engine designs. One layout has a flat/boxer engine at its center and adds an additional opposed-piston to each end so there are two pistons per cylinder on each side.
An X engine is essentially two V engines joined by a common crankshaft. A majority of these were existing V-12 engines converted into an X-24 configuration.
The Swashplate engine with the K-Cycle engine is where pairs of pistons are in an opposed configuration sharing a cylinder and combustion chamber.
A Delta engine has three (or its multiple) cylinders having opposing pistons, aligned in three separate planes or 'banks', so that they appear to be in a Δ when viewed along the axis of the main-shaft. An example of this type of layout is the Napier Deltic.
Most Wankel engines are fueled by petrol, however prototype engines running on diesel and hydrogen have been trialed.
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