This is the simplest type of two-stroke engine in which both inlet and exhaust are controlled by ports in conjunction with a single piston. Inevitably this arrangement results in symmetrical timing which from the standpoint of scavenging is not ideal. In the first instance the ‘loop’ air motion in the cylinder is apt to produce a high degree of mixing of the incoming air with the products of combustion, instead of physical displacement through the exhaust ports. As a result the degree of charge purity (i.e. the proportion of trapped air) at the end of the scavenging process tends to be low.
A second adverse feature resulting from symmetrical timing is loss of trapped charge between inlet and exhaust port closure and susceptibility to further pollution of the trapped charge with exhaust gas returned to the cylinder by exhaust manifold pressure wave effects. The great advantage of the system is its outstanding simplicity.
Two-stroke engines: (a) Loop scavenged engine; (b) Exhaust valve-in-head engine; (c) Opposed piston engine
