Confirming what a compression ratio is

1. How do I check compression ratio?
2. How do you explain compression ratio?
3. What is a compression ratio 10 to 1 mean?
4. What does a compression ratio of 16 1 mean?

How do I check compression ratio?

Measure the water it took to fill the cylinder with the piston at bottom dead center, and then divide that by the amount of water needed to fill the cylinder with the piston at top dead center. The ratio of the two different volumes is the compression ratio.

How do you explain compression ratio?

The compression ratio is defined as the ratio between the volume of the cylinder with the piston in the bottom position, V_bottom (largest volume), and in the top position, V_top (smallest volume). The higher this ratio, the greater will be the power output from a given engine.

What is a compression ratio 10 to 1 mean?

For example, if a cylinder has 10cc of air when the piston is at BDC, and 1cc when it's at TDC, that means the engine has a compression ratio of 10:1.

What does a compression ratio of 16 1 mean?

Compression Ratio is the amount of compression created by the cylinder. The ratio number compares the volume at the bottom of the stroke and at the top of the stroke. The animation to the right shows a 16:1 ratio (16 is maximum volume and 1 is the minimum).