Fuel Pump and its Components

A fuel pump is an essential component on a car or on an internal combustion engine. The

internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of fuel occurs with an
oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the
expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, which are produced by the
combustion, directly applies force to a movable component of the engine, there are many
types of fuel pumps. They can be classified as follows:-

• Mechanical pumps
• Electric pumps
• Turbo pumps

MECHANICAL PUMP
Mechanical fuel pump is always fitted to a cylinder head. Before the electric pump came
most carburetor automobile engines used mechanical fuel pumps to transfer fuel from the
fuel tank into the engine. These pumps contain a diaphragm that increases or decreases
the fuel intake by the flexing of the diaphragm.

The carburetor contains a float bowl into which the fuel is pumped. When the fuel level
exceeds a certain level in the float bowl, the inlet valve to the carburetor will close. Thus
extra fuel will not be pumped to the carburetor.

One side of the pump diaphragm contains fuel under pressure and the other side is
connected to the crankcase of the engine. If the diaphragm splits, it can leak fuel into the
crankcase. This is a common failure.

ELECTRIC PUMP
In the present day cars, the fuel pump is electric and located inside the fuel tank. The
pump creates positive pressure in the fuel lines, which pushes the fuel to the engine. The
higher fuel pressure raises the boiling point. Since the pump which is inside the tank, it
can handle fuel vapor well.

TURBO PUMPS
Many jet engines including rocket engines use a turbo pump. This is a centrifugal pump
usually propelled by a gas turbine or in some cases a ram air device.

Visit http://www.carpartswarehouse.com/part/fuel-pump.html, if you want to know about

fuel pump assembly and fuel pump module .