Brake-specific fuel consumption

The brake-specific fuel consumption is given by,

${\displaystyle {\text{BSFC}}={\frac {r}{P}}}$

where:

${\displaystyle r}$ is the fuel consumption rate in grams per second (g/s)

${\displaystyle P}$ is the power produced in watts where ${\displaystyle P=\tau \omega }$ (W)

${\displaystyle \omega }$ is the engine speed in radians per second (rad/s)

${\displaystyle \tau }$ is the engine torque in newton metres (N⋅m)

The above values of r, ${\displaystyle \omega }$ , and ${\displaystyle \tau }$ may be readily measured by instrumentation with an engine mounted in a test stand and a load applied to the running engine. The resulting units of BSFC are grams per joule (g/J)

Commonly BSFC is expressed in units of grams per kilowatt-hour (g/(kW⋅h)). The conversion factor is as follows:

BSFC [g/(kW⋅h)] = BSFC [g/J] × (3.6 × 10⁶)

The conversion between metric and imperial units is:

BSFC [g/(kW⋅h)] = BSFC [lb/(hp⋅h)] × 608.277

BSFC [lb/(hp⋅h)] = BSFC [g/(kW⋅h)] × 0.001644

To calculate the actual efficiency of an engine requires the energy density of the fuel being used.

Different fuels have different energy densities defined by the fuel's heating value. The lower heating value (LHV) is used for internal-combustion-engine-efficiency calculations because the heat at temperatures below 150 °C (300 °F) cannot be put to use.

Some examples of lower heating values for vehicle fuels are:

Certification gasoline = 18,640 BTU/lb (0.01204 kW⋅h/g)

Regular gasoline = 18,917 BTU/lb (0.0122222 kW⋅h/g)

Diesel fuel = 18,500 BTU/lb (0.0119531 kW⋅h/g)

Thus a diesel engine's efficiency = 1/(BSFC × 0.0119531) and a gasoline engine's efficiency = 1/(BSFC × 0.0122225)

Any engine will have different BSFC values at different speeds and loads. For example, a reciprocating engine achieves maximum efficiency when the intake air is unthrottled and the engine is running near its peak torque. The efficiency often reported for a particular engine, however, is not its maximum efficiency but a fuel economy cycle statistical average. For example, the cycle average value of BSFC for a gasoline engine is 322 g/(kW⋅h), translating to an efficiency of 25% (1/(322 × 0.0122225) = 0.2540). Actual efficiency can be lower or higher than the engine’s average due to varying operating conditions. In the case of a production gasoline engine, the most efficient BSFC is approximately 225 g/(kW⋅h), which is equivalent to a thermodynamic efficiency of 36%.

An iso-BSFC map (fuel island plot) of a diesel engine is shown. The sweet spot at 206 BSFC has 40.6% efficiency. The x-axis is rpm; y-axis is BMEP in bar (bmep is proportional to torque)

BSFC numbers change a lot for different engine designs, and compression ratio and power rating. Engines of different classes like diesels and gasoline engines will have very different BSFC numbers, ranging from less than 200 g/(kW⋅h) (diesel at low speed and high torque) to more than 1,000 g/(kW⋅h) (turboprop at low power level).

The following table takes values as an example for the specific fuel consumption of several types of engines. For specific engines values can and often do differ from the table values shown below. Energy efficiency is based on a lower heating value of 42.7 MJ/kg (84.3 g/(kW⋅h)) for diesel fuel and jet fuel, 43.9 MJ/kg (82 g/(kW⋅h)) for gasoline.

Turboprop efficiency is only good at high power; SFC increases dramatically for approach at low power (30% P_max) and especially at idle (7% P_max) :

• Fuel economy in automobiles
• Energy-efficient driving
• Fuel management systems
• Marine fuel management
• Thrust specific fuel consumption

• Reciprocating engine types
• HowStuffWorks: How Car Engines Work
• Reciprocating Engines at infoplease
• Piston Engines US Centennial of Flight Commission
• Effect of EGR on the exhaust gas temperature and exhaust opacity in compression ignition engines
• Heywood J B 1988 Pollutant formation and control. Internal combustion engine fundamentals Int. edn (New York: Mc-Graw Hill) pp 572–577
• Well-to-Wheel Studies, Heating Values, and the Energy Conservation Principle
• Exemplary maps for commercial car engines collected by ecomodder forum users