Air injection- metering of the fuel – controlling the quantity of the fuel delivered

per cycle in acccordance with the engine load – is done by the fuel-delivery pump
using one of the folling methods:

a) Changing length of the pump stroke

b) By –passing fuel at the beginning of the delivery stroke or
c) By-passing fuel at the end of the delivery stroke

A fuel pump is a frequently (but not always) essential component on a car or other internal
combustion engined device. Many engines (older motorcycle engines in particular) do not
require any fuel pump at all, requiring only gravity to feed fuel from the fuel tank or under
high pressure to the fuel injection system. Often, carbureted engines use low pressure
mechanical pumps that are mounted outside the fuel tank, whereas fuel injected engines
often use electric fuel pumps that are mounted inside the fuel tank (and some fuel injected
engines have two fuel pumps: one low pressure/high volume supply pump in the tank and
one high pressure/low volume pump on or near the engine).
Mechanical pump

Mechanical fuel pump, fitted to cylinder head

Prior to the widespread adoption of electronic fuel injection, most carbureted automobile engines
used mechanical fuel pumps to transfer fuel from the fuel tank into the fuel bowls of the carburetor.
Most mechanical fuel pumps are diaphragm pumps, which are a type of positive displacement
pump. Diaphragm pumps contain a pump chamber whose volume is increased or decreased by the
flexing of a flexible diaphragm, similar to the action of a piston pump. A check valve is located at
both the inlet and outlet ports of the pump chamber to force the fuel to flow in one direction only.
Specific designs vary, but in the most common configuration, these pumps are typically bolted onto
the engine block or head, and the engine's camshaft has an extra eccentric lobe that operates a
lever on the pump, either directly or via a pushrod, by pulling the diaphragm to bottom dead center.
In doing so, the volume inside the pump chamber increased, causing pressure to decrease.This
allows fuel to be pushed into the pump from the tank (caused by atmospheric pressure acting on the
fuel in the tank). The return motion of the diaphragm to top dead center is accomplished by a
diaphragm spring, during which the fuel in the pump chamber is squeezed through the outlet port
and into the carburetor. The pressure at which the fuel is expelled from the pump is thus limited (and
therefore regulated) by the force applied by the diaphragm spring.
The carburetor typically contains a float bowl into which the expelled fuel is pumped. When the fuel
level in the float bowl exceeds a certain level, the inlet valve to the carburetor will close, preventing
the fuel pump from pumping more fuel into the carburetor. At this point, any remaining fuel inside the
pump chamber is trapped, unable to exit through the inlet port or outlet port. The diaphragm will
continue to allow pressure to the diaphragm, and during the subsequent rotation, the eccentric will
pull the diaphragm back to bottom dead center, where it will remain until the inlet valve to the
carburetor reopens.
Because 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 (a common failure), it can leak fuel
into the crankcase. The capacity of both mechanical and electric fuel pump is measured in psi
(which stands for pounds per square inch). Usually this unit is general measurement for pressure,
yet it has slightly different meaning, when talking about fuel pumps[2]. In this context it denotes the
speed, at which the pump delivers fuel from the tank to the engine. This is one of fuel pump
characteristics. The higher pressure is, the faster fuel flows.
The pump creates negative pressure to draw the fuel through the lines. However, the low pressure
between the pump and the fuel tank, in combination with heat from the engineand/or hot weather,
can cause the fuel to vaporize in the supply line. This results in fuel starvation as the fuel pump,
designed to pump liquid, not vapor, is unable to suck more fuel to the engine, causing the engine to
stall. This condition is different from vapor lock, where high engine heat on the pressured side of the
pump (between the pump and the carburetor) boils the fuel in the lines, also starving the engine of
enough fuel to run. Mechanical automotive fuel pumps generally do not generate much more than
10-15 psi, which is more than enough for most carburetors.

Electric pump[edit]

Electric fuel pump

A piston metering pump f.e. gasoline- or additive metering pump

In many modern cars the fuel pump is usually electric and located inside the fuel tank. The pump
creates positive pressure in the fuel lines, pushing the gasoline to the engine. The higher gasoline
pressure raises the boiling point. Placing the pump in the tank puts the component least likely to
handle gasoline vapor well (the pump itself) farthest from the engine, submersed in cool liquid.
Another benefit to placing the pump inside the tank is that it is less likely to start a fire. Though
electrical components (such as a fuel pump) can spark and ignite fuel vapors, liquid fuel will not
explode (see flammability limit) and therefore submerging the pump in the tank is one of the safest
places to put it. In most cars, the fuel pump delivers a constant flow of gasoline to the engine; fuel
not used is returned to the tank. This further reduces the chance of the fuel boiling, since it is never
kept close to the hot engine for too long.
The ignition switch does not carry the power to the fuel pump; instead, it activates a relay which will
handle the higher current load. It is common for the fuel pump relay to become oxidized and cease
functioning; this is much more common than the actual fuel pump failing. Modern engines utilize
solid-state control which allows the fuel pressure to be controlled via pulse-width modulation of the
pump voltage. This increases the life of the pump, allows a smaller and lighter device to be used,
and reduces electrical load.
Cars with electronic fuel injection have an electronic control unit (ECU) and this may be programmed
with safety logic that will shut the electric fuel pump off, even if the engine is running. In the event of
a collision this will prevent fuel leaking from any ruptured fuel line. Additionally, cars may have
an inertia switch (usually located underneath the front passenger seat) that is "tripped" in the event
of an impact, or a roll-over valvethat will shut off the fuel pump in case the car rolls over.
Some ECUs may also be programmed to shut off the fuel pump if they detect low or zero oil
pressure, for instance if the engine has suffered a terminal failure (with the subsequent risk of fire in
the engine compartment).
The fuel sending unit assembly may be a combination of the electric fuel pump, the filter, the
strainer, and the electronic device used to measure the amount of fuel in the tank via a float attached
to a sensor which sends data to the dash-mounted fuel gauge. The fuel pump by itself is a relatively
inexpensive part. But a mechanic at a garage might have a preference to install the entire unit
assembly.

The performance of the engine with respect to cylinder pressure, heat release rate, indicated
work, indicated power, indicated torque, IMEP (indicated mean effective pressure), ISFC
(indicated specific fuel consumption), volumetric efficiency, FCE (fuel conversion efficiency)
and exhaust emissions were investigated for gasoline and CNG fuels under various steady
state operations and MBT (maximum brake torque) condition by adjusting the amount of
injection fueling. The testing was run at lambda, λ : 0.92 - 1.20 o o and the spark ignition
were fixed at 342 CA (18 BTDC) for both fuels. The spark timing is not studied in detail in this
paper due to the limitation ability of the ECU. Figure 3 and 4 show the cylinder pressures
during compression and power strokes of the engine with gasoline and CNG operations at
WOT between 1500 and 5000 rpm. The results show that the peak pressure of cylinder
increased with engine speed until 3000 rpm but decreased after at higher speeds. The
comparison of cylinder pressure between gasoline and CNG is shown at Figure 5 for 1500,
3000 and 4500 rpm. The reductions of 13-17% of peak cylinder pressure during power
strokes with CNG operation were found throughout the speed range. CNG shows lower peak
cylinder pressures compared to gasoline due to the fact that the inhaled energy of cylinder
charge, thus the net energy released is much lower than gasoline. As a result, the power
produced was also reduced, depicted by the peak cylinder pressure. It can be found that the
highest cylinder pressure o obtained by gasoline and CNG are 5.0 MPa (364 CA) o and 4.3
MPa (367 CA) peak pressure respectively at 3000 rpm, where highest torque is achieved
both for fuels. The position of peak pressure with respect to crank angle for both fuels tends
to be at approximately similar showing that best timing for peak pressure o should fall
between 4-7 CA ATDC. The areas enclosed by the pressure curve on P-V plots were used to
determine the indicated work. Figure 6 shows the indicated work of gasoline and CNG at
3500 rpm. The figure shows that the cylinder work over one cycle which represent positive
work due to combustion during power stroke and negative work during compression. The
results show that the trend and value of the indicated work for both fuels are fairly
comparable but gasoline better with a slightly higher positive work. The maximum indicated
work achieved by gasoline and CNG are 0.54 J and 0.51 J both at o 28 CA ATDC. The heat
release rate for both gasoline and CNG operations from 1500-5000 rpm and comparison of
ignition delay with spark timing at 1500 rpm for both fuels are presented in Figure 7 and 8.
The heat release rate implies that how fast the combustion of a fuel can be completed and
subsequently transferred to piston reciprocating movement. As illustrated in Figure 9, the
result shows that at 3000 rpm, gasoline shows the peak heat release rate at o 3 o 354 CA
(51 kJ/m /Deg) compared to CNG at 358 CA 3 (33 kJ/m /Deg). The peak points of heat
release rate and ignition delay ( ΔΘ ig ) of each fuel and engine speed have been redrawn in
Figure 10 and 11. It is clear that the CNG combustion rates are slower than those of gasoline
at all engine speeds. On average, it shows that CNG yield 33% lower rate of heat release
compared to gasoline. In addition, the results also show that the ignition delay is much
greater for natural gas compared to gasoline, which on average there is a 61% increasing as
shown in Figure 11. The result is in agreement with the finding of Jones and Evans [21]. As a
result, with lower heat release rate and longer ignition delay, advancing spark timing is
necessary for CNG operation. The lower magnitude of peak heat release rate for CNG is due
to lower charge heating value and reduction of volumetric efficiency.
 Fuel Distribution – for complete combustion the fuel particles must be
distributed uniformly through the whole combustion space. As this is actually
impossible excess air must be present in the cylinder to prevent incomplete
combustion.
In air-injection engines the distribution of the fuel is accomplished through a
thorough mixing of the injection air carrying the atomized fuel with the air in the
combustion space.
Timing- as shown on Fig. 9-4, in spite of a very fine atomization there is a lag
between the time of injection and ignition; and the injection must start slightly
before the dead center, some 2 to 10° of the crank travel depending on the fuel
characteristics and the speed, compression ratio, and size of the engine.

Fuel-injection valves, called fuel nozzles, can be divided in two main groups: the
closed and the open type. The closed nozzles have a spring-loaded valve near the
discharge orifice, and the fuel injection is controlled mechanically by means of
cams, eccentrics, and levers.

With the open-type nozzle, the fuel is delivered into a space that is constantly in
communication with the combustion chamber. From there the fuel is thrown out
into the cylinder by a blast of air admitted through a mechanically operated valve,
similar to that of a closed-type nozzle.

The injection of the fuel is achieved by the location of cams on a camshaft. This
camshaft rotates at engine speed for a two-stroke engine and at half engine
speed for a four-stroke. There are two basic systems in use, each of which
employs a combination of mechanical and hydraulic operations. The most
common system is the jerk pump; the other is the common rail.

A typical fuel injector is shown in Figure , It can be seen to be two basic parts, the
nozzle and the nozzle holder or body. The high-pressure fuel enters and travels
down a passage in the body and then into a passage in the nozzle, ending finally in
a chamber surrounding the needle valve.
The needle valve is held closed on a mitred seat by an intermediate spindle and a
spring in the injector body. The spring pressure, and hence the injector opening
pressure, can be set by a compression nut which acts on the spring. The nozzle
and injector body are manufactured as a matching pair and are accurately ground
to give a good oil seal. The two are joined by a nozzle nut.

Fuel oil injection system for a diesel engine

The needle valve will open when the fuel pressure acting on the needle valve
tapered face exerts a sufficient force to overcome the spring compression. The
fuel then flows into a lower chamber and is forced out through a series of tiny
holes. The small holes are sized and arranged to atomize, or break into tiny drops,
all of the fuel oil, which will then readily burn. Once the injector pump or timing
valve cuts off the high pressure fuel supply the needle valve will shut quickly
under the spring compression force.

All slow-speed two-stroke engines and many medium-speed four stroke engines
are now operated almost continuously on heavy fuel. A fuel circulating system is
therefore necessary and this is usually arranged within the fuel injector. During
injection the high-pressure fuel will open the circulation valve for injection to take
place.When the engine is stopped the fuel booster pump supplies fuel which the
circulation valve directs around the injector body.

Older engine designs may have fuel injectors which are circulated with cooling
water.