The Otto Cycle for a 4 stroke gasoline engine. Ignition of fuel causes rapid increase in temp and pressure at constant volume. Fall of piston pulls in air/gas mixture Return of piston adiabatically compresses air/gas mixture. V P intake P intake P intake
P P P |QH| |QC| Wnet = |QH| - |QC| Exhaust valve opens when piston reaches bottom and this drops the pressure to atmospheric. Momentum of rising piston expels gas out of exhaust valve. Power stroke: Adiabatically expanding gas does work on piston. P intake P intake P intake |QH| |QC| exhaust Wnet = |QH| - |QC|