High-Performance, Configurable, Semi-Realistic Engine Simulator in Godot

Video Demonstration

This engine simulator is designed primarily for propeller plane simulations within my flight sim project.

Key Features:

• Performance: Optimized for efficiency and minimal resource consumption, enabling approximately 400,000 iterations per second on a single thread while maintaining 144 FPS. Suitable for various hardware configurations and applications.
• Configurability: Offers extensive customization options to simulate diverse engine types and behaviors.
• Versatility: Designed for seamless integration into various projects.
• Modularity: Features a modular architecture to facilitate easy expansion and modification.
• Car Chassis Simulation: Includes simulation of gears, wheel size, drag, and brakes.
• Heat Simulation: A highly customizable and realistic system that simulates the effects of heat and overheating scenarios. (Note: Impact on engine performance is under development.)
• Sound Synthesis: Incorporates sound synthesis to generate realistic audio feedback. Utilizes code from my sound synthesis project.
• Visualizations: Provides visualizations of cylinders, gas flow, and crankshaft mechanics for debugging and demonstration.
• Learning Resources: The codebase contains extensive comments and research resources to aid understanding and further development.
• Charting: Integrates charting functionality from my Charts project for clear engine performance display.
• Frame Rate Independence: Employs a tick-based system that precisely controls simulation quality and ensures consistent behavior, regardless of the game's frame rate.
• Idle: System that holds engine at minimal rpm

Configuration Options:

The engine can be configured using the Godot editor. Key parameters include:

• Cylinder Configuration: Customize count, placement, and scale.
• Crankshaft Configuration: Adjust crankpin and connecting rod parameters to influence engine performance and visualization.
• Cylinder Dimensions: Modify displacement to affect engine performance.
• Firing Order: Define the sequence in which cylinders fire.
• Airflow Settings: Customize the size and effectiveness of intake, throttle, and exhaust ports to achieve desired engine performance characteristics.
• Cooling System: Adjust cylinder wall thickness, cooling area, coolant temperature, and other parameters.
• Chassis: Fine-tune RPM limiter, drag, gear ratios, wheel properties, and brake parameters to achieve desired vehicle behavior.
• Simulation Quality: Adjust the engine physics update rate according to needs; a minimum of 1,000 is recommended, with 1,500-2,000 providing optimal results.

Limitations and Future Improvements:

Single-Zone Combustion

The current implementation uses a single-zone combustion model, approximating uniform conditions throughout the cylinder. While performant, this simplification reduces combustion realism.

Heat Model

Cylinder wall temperature does not currently influence engine performance. A more stable and accurate combustion model is required before incorporating this feedback mechanism.

Exhaust Modeling

Exhaust gas temperature is not currently calculated with high fidelity but could be implemented relatively easily in the future.

Summary:

Given the scarcity of learning resources on this topic, and acknowledging my limitations as neither a chemist nor a physicist, some aspects of the simulation are approximations and may contain inaccuracies.