What are some real life examples of volume of cylinder?

Answer 1

Engines as all motorcars have, have cylinders to compress the fluids for combustion. These cylinders have a very practical volume and in fact is exactly why we have the "size" of a car mentioned as a 2L or a 1.4L vehicle. That volume of the cylinders combined is directly related to the power and how expensive the car would be to drive.

Other examples are the volume in most containers (which are cylindrically shaped) are to be known for planning purposes. How much liquid goes into any tank before it is full. Fuel stations have these containers for their fuel. Most silos are cylinders of a huge shape and one needs to determine at any stage how much volume is currently in it and how much capacity is still left over.

Many tanker trucks actually have a cylinder just instead of standing upright, lying down horizontally. Had you been the owner of that tanker you would be very much be interested to the volume in that cylinder as this directly means the cost and profit or in the case of an accident, how much is lost or spilled should you be the cleaning agency.

There are many many more examples of cylinders and their volumes in daily life, but these should open your mind to quite a number of daily applications for it.

New Answer:

You would need to understand Cylinder Volume if, for example you wish to change the compression ratio of a Race Engine. Cylinder Volume in this case would be the volume from the Top of the cylinder Deck to the top of the piston at Bottom Dead Center. On a flat top piston calculation is relative simple. You take the diameter of the cylinder and by means of "Pi" 3.1416, you determine the area of the circle and multiply it by the Stroke of the Engine. Example a 2.4 Ltr. Mercury O/B Engine. The cylinder has a 3-3/8" bore, and a 2.650" Stroke, so:

Area = PI R2, or 3.1416 x Radius squared (radius of 3.375 = 1.6875 sq.

(or, 1.6875 X 1.6875 = 2.876", now multiply X PI (3.1416)

= 9.0352 sq ". We must now determine Cylinder sweep

Cyl. Sweep = Bore Area x Stroke, stroke on this engine is 2.650", so

9.0352 SQ. IN. X 2.650" = 23.9443 Cubic IN.

Cubic inches X no. of Cylinders = Total engine displacement

23.9443 cu. in X 6 Cylinders = 143.66 Cubic In. Displacement

Note: 2.4 Ltr. = 2399.99 Cubic Centimeters, or 142 CU.IN.

Head Volume is never used in determining engine Displacement, Head Volume is used to determine compression ratio. Heads are usually C.C'ed by a Burret to determine volume in C.C's. You must also determine the thickness of the Head gasket in this calculation. Everything above the engine deck is used in determining Head Volume. To calculate Gasket volume do it exactly as you did in determining Cylinder or Sweep Volume. Take that volume convert into C.C.'s. add it to Cylinder Head Volume for total head Volume. Take Sweep Volume and divide it by Total Head volume, and you will have the Compression Ratio @ 1 Atmosphere Press.