Temperature of Compressed Gas in an Automobile Engine

by Matthew Zylis

Submitted : Fall 2015

What happens to the temperature of gasoline as it is compressed inside of an automobile’s engine before it is ignited to provide power for the car? An automobile’s engine does an incredible amount of work and I find it amazing that the engine does not overheat. This problem looks at a normal compression engine with gasoline filling the compression chamber with an initial temperature and we need to figure out the final temperature of the gas after it is compressed but before the liquid is ignited. The equations below help to define the quantities given as well as help us define the quantity we are looking for. From there, a second equation will help us figure out the final temperature of the compressed liquid. 

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