![power transmission in ic engines power transmission in ic engines](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marcello-Canova/publication/257820674/figure/fig4/AS:297549593366531@1447952759254/Block-diagram-of-power-flow-in-a-vehicle-for-fuel-energy-calculation.png)
As the fuel is injected into the cylinder, it immediately combusts with the hot compressed air and expanding combustion gases push the piston to the bottom of the cylinder. In diesel engines, air is compressed until the temperature rises to the auto-ignition temperature of the fuel. In the Otto cycle, the fuel mixture does not get hot enough to burn without a spark, which differentiates it from the Diesel cycle. The SG engine is based on the Otto cycle, and uses a spark plug to ignite an air-fuel mixture injected at the top of a cylinder. Reciprocating internal combustion engines (ICE) are characterized by the type of combustion: spark-ignited (SG) or compression-ignited, also known as diesel. While the steam engines that powered the industrial revolution were driven by externally-produced steam, modern combustion engines used for electric power generation are internal combustion engines in which an air-fuel mixture is compressed by a piston and ignited within a cylinder. Combustion engines employ the expansion of hot gases to push a piston within a cylinder, converting the linear movement of the piston into the rotating movement of a crankshaft to generate power. Combustion engines are a well-known technology used in automobiles, trucks, construction equipment, marine propulsion, and backup power applications.