two-cycle engine

[′tü ¦sī·kəl ′en·jən]

(mechanical engineering)

A reciprocating internal combustion engine that requires two piston strokes or one revolution to complete a cycle.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Two-Cycle Engine

an internal combustion engine in which the work cycle is completed during one revolution of the crankshaft. The cycle includes intake of the fuel mixture (or air), compression, and combustion, as well as expansion and exhaust of gases; the whole cycle is completed during two strokes of the piston.

A part of the fresh charge entering the cylinder is invariably lost through the exhaust openings during the scavenging part of the cycle. This loss lowers the economic efficiency of the two-cycle engine. This type of engine also has the disadvantage of a high thermal loading of the piston, tending to lower the reliability of the engine. A complicated exhaust-scavenging arrangement is an additional disadvantage.

K. A. ROSANOV

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References in periodicals archive

We decided to go back to the drawing board to create a product that would work and survive the harsh environment of a two-cycle engine."

Outrunning the competition with the first plastic 2-stroke engine valves: all it took was some original ideas, a lot of nerve, and a little high-tech injection molding

There wasn't a single Detroit Diesel two-cycle engine on display and with the exception of a VM Motori air-cooled in-line six, all of the engines also featured electronic controls.

Production now winding down precipitously after 60 years as Detroit's two-cycle engines begin march into history

"The 690 L-70 engine, in the form that it's in right now, is just a plain vanilla two-stroke, simply a traditional homogeneous charged two-cycle engine," Allen continued.

Two-stroke engine targets many applications

Stephen Foster Briggs developed a six-cylinder, two-cycle engine as an engineering student at South Dakota State College.

Born and bred in the USA

[T]he power of the two-cycle engine is greater than that of a four-cycle engine of the same dimensions in the ratio of 140 to 80, an excess of 75 per cent.

The diesel engine for rail transportation: an engineer for the company that was supplying engines for some of the era's advanced trains looked at a key question of diesel design: two strokes or four?

Spectrum is an independent blender, packager and marketer of specialty lubricants including two-cycle engine oil, small engine oil and hydraulic oil.

Phillips 66 To Strenthen Its Presence In Specialised Global Lubricants Markets

Ethanol is a big issue in the chainsaw and two-cycle engine community.

Chainsaw safety suggestions

Michael Kaergaard Madsen and Jesper Lykke Rasmussen of Vejle, Denmark, won for developing a prototype of a two-cycle engine that pushes unused gas back into the cylinder so that it is burned instead of wasted.

Students show their smarts at international science fair: participants compete for $4 million in prizes

Essence of pinyon and juniper smoke, mixed with chainsaw bar oil and two-cycle engine exhaust.

Healthy Forests, Happy Potters: an innovative federal project in New Mexico is reducing wildfire danger by thinning trees as it fuels local creativity

The Express has a two-cycle engine that will propel a rider to 30 MPH, which classifies it as a moped in all 50 states.

Wheels at the airport: we like Go-Peds: we think the electric models are practical for a short ride to and from the airport. They're smaller than bicycles, although heavier

And even a mint-condition Trabant, the once-despised East German car with a two-cycle engine that now has a certain nostalgic chic, putt-putting its way along St.

Slouching toward Slovenia