Compression Ratio (redirected from compression ratios)

compression ratio

Degree to which the fuel mixture in an internal-combustion engine is compressed before ignition. It is defined as the volume of the combustion chamber with the piston farthest out divided by the volume with the piston in the full-compression position (see piston and cylinder). A compression ratio of six means that the action of the piston compresses the mixture to one-sixth its original volume. A high ratio promotes efficiency but may cause engine knock.

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compression ratio

The measurement of compressed data. For example, a file compressed into 1/4th of its original size can be expressed as 4:1, 25%, 75% or 2 bits per byte. See archive program and data compression.

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compression ratio [kəm′presh·ən ‚rā·shō]

(electronics)

The ratio of the gain of a device at a low power level to the gain at some higher level, usually expressed in decibels. Also known as compression.

(mechanical engineering)

The ratio in internal combustion engines between the volume displaced by the piston plus the clearance space, to the volume of the clearance space. Also known as compression.

(metallurgy)

Ratio of the volume of loose metal powder to the volume of the compact made from it.

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Compression ratio

In a cylinder, the piston displacement plus clearance volume, divided by the clearance volume. This is the nominal compression ratio determined by cylinder geometry alone. In practice, the actual compression ratio is appreciably less than the nominal value because the volumetric efficiency of an unsupercharged engine is less than 100%, partly because of late intake valve closing. In spark ignition engines the allowable compression ratio is limited by incipient knock at wide-open throttle. See Combustion chamber, Internal combustion engine

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Compression Ratio 

the ratio of the volume of the working fluid at the beginning of compression in the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine to the volume at the end of compression. The working fluid in carburetor engines is an air-fuel mixture; in diesel engines it is air. An increase in the compression ratio causes a decrease in the volume of the working fluid at the end of the compression stroke; the pressure and temperature of the working fluid are increased correspondingly, combustion is accelerated, and heat losses are reduced. A higher compression ratio increases the power output of an engine and improves fuel economy. However, increases in the compression ratio are limited by the fuel’s ability to prevent detonation. Compression ratios for carburetor engines range from 6.5:1 to 9.5:1; those for diesel engines are between 16:1 and 21:1.