Engine power is the power that an engine can put out. It can be expressed in power units, most commonly kilowatt, pferdestärke (metric horsepower), or horsepower. In terms of internal combustion engines, the engine power usually describes the rated power, which is a power output that the engine can maintain over a long period of time according to a certain testing method, for example ISO 1585. In general though, an internal combustion engine has a power take-off shaft (the crankshaft), therefore, the rule for shaft power applies to internal combustion engines: Engine power is the product of the engine torque and the crankshaft's angular velocity.

Definition

Power is the product of torque and angular velocity: Let: Power is then: In internal combustion engines, the crankshaft speed n is a more common figure than \omega, so we can use 2 \pi n instead, which is equivalent to \omega: Note that n is per Second (s−1). If we want to use the common per Minute (min−1) instead, we have to divide n by 60:

Usage

Numerical value equations

The approximate numerical value equations for engine power from torque and crankshaft speed are:

International unit system (SI)

Let: Then:

Technical unit system (MKS)

Then:

Imperial/U.S. Customary unit system

Then:

Example

A diesel engine produces a torque M of 234 N·m at n 4200 min−1, which is the engine's rated speed. Let: Then: or using the numerical value equation: The engine's rated power output is 103 kW.

Units