Different Components of an Engine and conversion Petrol Engine

into CNG Engine

Introduction
The burning heart of our fast cars, yeah you are right, I am talking about engine. It’s the power unit
we have to spin our car wheels. The entire thrill we have got while driving depends on the capacity
of this power unit, and the limits up-to which we can push its components to operate safely. It is the
combination of all parts of an engine that makes a car to move faster and faster.So let’s just dig out
what it’s components are, and how precisely they must be engineered to get the maximum power
out of an engine.

Main Parts of an Engine

Engine Block
Engine block is an important parts of an engine. It is made by pouring the molten iron or aluminum
alloy into a mold. The mold is made such that we should have required number of holes in the
casted block, which are said to be the number of cylinders of an engine or engine cylinders. The
diameter of these holes is called the bore of an engine.
Piston
Piston is a cylindrical structure with a flat surface called crown at the top. Piston is the component
that moves up and down in an engine cylinder.Wait what it would cause?, friction if one cylinder
(piston) moving up and down in another cylinder? Yeah to overcome this problem groves are made
on the circumference of this cylindrical structure (piston). And we place rings in these groves called
piston rings. So now the whole cylindrical structure is not rubbing with engine cylinder and only
piston rings are in contact with engine cylinder thus reducing friction to a great extent.

Connecting Rod
It is an ‘I’ shape structure whose one end is connected to piston and other one to crankshaft. The
piston side end of connecting rod has hole in it. And we have also got a hole in piston’s cylindrical
structure just beneath the piston rings. So we align this hole with connecting rods hole and put a
wrist pin through it.

Crankshaft
As name suggests it is designed in such a way to convert linear (up and down) motion of piston into
rotational motion. It works same as slider- crank mechanism. Material used for making crankshaft is
cast iron generally but we also use forged steel in high power engines where load on crankshaft is
too high.

Crankshaft Casing or Oil Sump

It is also called as oil sump. It is a casing which is bolted to engine block, which covers engine from
bottom thus called crankshaft casing. It retains lubricating oil in it which is pumped to different
engine parts.
Engine Head
Engine head is casted in the same way as engine block. Its mold is made such that the casted piece
must have an opening for air to flow into engine cylinder and an exhaust opening from where the
burnt gases will go out. This passage of air flowing in and going out of engine cylinder is controlled
by inlet and outlet valves. So engine head also has cylindrical holes to insert valve stem.

Valves
As we have already know that they control the inlet and exhaust air to go into and out of engine
cylinder. Material used to make valves is nickel-chromium iron alloy. It can resist high temperature
and have great strength.

Camshaft
It is a shaft with a number of cam profiles along its length. So it regulates the valves opening and
closing time. It does so by pressing the end of valve stem by its cam profile. But we still need a
mechanism which would return the valve back to its position once pressed by the cam profile of
camshaft. We have valve spring and bucket head tappet assembly for solving this problem.

Valve Spring and Tappet

Valve spring provides a self-returning mechanism when valve is not being pressed by camshaft. We
further have bucket type tappet covering the valve spring. The purpose of tappet is to provide
smooth surface for cam to press the valve spring or inlet and outlet valve.
Timing Belt
Wonder how camshaft gets its rotational motion to regulate valves. Yeah it’s through timing belt
which transmits the motion of gear mounted at crankshaft called crank-gear, to the gear mounted at
camshaft.

Spark Plug
t is the parts of an engine that ignites the air-fuel mixture in the engine cylinder. It produces the
spark at right time by using electrical energy of battery.

Gasket
A wide variety of materials are used in making gaskets like Teflon, glass-fiber, silicon etc. It is
generally a paper like sheet which is placed between engine block and engine head. As we have
already discussed that we have both water and oil vents in engine block, so gasket gives insulation
from water or oil leaking into engine cylinder or air-fuel mixture from engine cylinder leaking out
from joint of engine block and engine head.

Piston Rings
Yeah we have talked about them; they reduce friction between piston and cylinder walls. Piston
rings prevent the pressure created by burning of air-fuel mixture from leaking into crankcase. Not
only that piston rings scrap down the oil from cylinder walls which is spilled by crankshaft to remove
heat from piston. They also transfer heat of the piston to the cylinder walls which are being cooled
by water circulation through water vents.
 How Do Natural Gas Vehicles Work?
Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles operate much like gasoline-powered vehicles with spark-
ignited internal combustion engines. The engine functions the same way as a gasoline engine.
Natural gas is stored in a fuel tank, or cylinder, typically at the back of the vehicle. A CNG fuel system
transfers high-pressure natural gas from the fuel tank to the engine’s intake manifold or combustion
chamber. The pressure is then reduced to a level compatible with the engine fuel injection system,
and the fuel is introduced into the intake manifold or combustion chamber, where it is mixed with
air. The fuel-air mixture is then compressed and ignited by a spark plug.

Key Components of a Natural Gas Vehicle

Battery: The battery provides electricity to start the engine and power vehicle electronics/accessories.

Electronic control module (ECM): The ECM controls the fuel mixture, ignition timing, and emissions system;
monitors the operation of the vehicle; safeguards the engine from abuse; and detects and troubleshoots
problems.

Exhaust system: The exhaust system channels the exhaust gases from the engine out through the tailpipe. A
three-way catalyst is designed to reduce engine-out emissions within the exhaust system.

Fuel filler: A nozzle from a high-pressure hydrogen dispenser attaches to the receptacle on the vehicle to fill
the tank.

Fuel injection system: This system introduces fuel into the engine's combustion chambers for ignition.

Fuel line: A metal tube or flexible hose (or a combination of these) transfers fuel from the tank to the engine's
fuel injection system.
Fuel tank (compressed natural gas): Stores compressed natural gas on board the vehicle until it's needed by
the engine.

High pressure regulator: Reduces and regulates the pressure of the fuel exiting the tank, lowering it to an
acceptable level required by the engine's fuel injection system.

Internal combustion engine (spark-ignited): In this configuration, fuel is injected into either the intake
manifold or the combustion chamber, where it is combined with air, and the air/fuel mixture is ignited by the
spark from a spark plug.

Manual shut off: Allows the vehicle operator or mechanic to manually shut off the fuel supply.

Natural gas fuel filter: Traps dirt and other particles to prevent them from clogging critical fuel system
components, such as fuel injectors.

Transmission: The transmission transfers mechanical power from the engine and/or electric traction motor to
drive the wheels.

Conversion of petrol engine to CNG Engine

Any vehicle running on Gasoline and Diesel can be converted to run on CNG.At the conversion
center or shop, skilled technicians will install CNG components to your existing vehicle. These
components make CNG the primary fuel for your vehicle with gasoline as the back-up fuel. A fuel
selection switch will be installed (usually on the dashboard) that will allow the driver to manually
select either CNG or gasoline. CNG storage cylinders will also be installed underneath the vehicle for
vans and pickup trucks, or in the trunk for cabs and other cars. Stainless steel tubes will transport the
“high pressure” gas to the regulator “high pressure reducer” installed in the engine compartment to
reduce the pressure. The CNG will then pass through a fuel filters then to High Performance Fuel
Injectors, finally on to the intake manifold to be introduced for combustion.

Having a dual fuel system will ensure adequate fuel reserves between natural gas fills. Compared to
having only a gasoline engine, this additional fuel reserve will extend the vehicle’s driving range.
Drivers can instantly switch from CNG to gasoline even while driving, idling or parked.

What You'll Need for a Natural Gas Conversion?

It doesn't take much besides a new fuel tank to convert a gasoline-burning engine to one
that also runs on natural gas. Attached to the fuel tank [1] is the regulator [2], which
reduces tank pressure from 3600 psi to 125 psi. Fuel is then fed to a parallel fuel rail [3] and
to new, secondary injectors plugged into an adapter [4]. A wiring harness [5] plugs into the
factory engine-control unit and intercepts throttle information, sending it to a new fueling
computer [6], which slightly alters the data and passes it to the CNG injectors [7] through a
parallel wiring harness [8].
Is CNG harmful for engine?
CNG is not at all reduce the engine life if the engine is made up for CNG. But if you use your
petrol car with CNG then the engine life reduce very rapidly. Because there is no lubrication
of intake and outlet valve which will cause corrosion on valve and cylinder.

Natural Gas Vehicles: Pros and Cons

Pros
Less Pollution: Air pollution caused by vehicle emissions is a huge concern and something that we need to
control to ensure a safer and greener environment. Natural gas vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions are far less
and not as hazardous to the environment as the emissions from gasoline vehicles.

Availability of Natural Gas Deposits: There are huge amounts of natural gas deposits available mainly due to
the fact that natural gas has not been used as much as petroleum. Although a non-renewable resource, natural
gas deposits will not be depleted in our lifetime.

Low Maintenance Cost: The maintenance costs of natural gas vehicles is very low and, as buying a car is a long
term investment, this should come as a relief for many natural gas vehicle owners.

Tax: In the United States and many other countries natural gas vehicle owners receive tax incentives. This is
mainly to curb air pollution.

Conversion Kits: Even if you cannot afford to buy a natural gas vehicle, you are still able to change your car to
a hybrid with the availability of a conversion kit. The installation of the kit in your car will enable you to drive
with a mixture of gasoline and natural gas, making a multi-fueled hybrid car.

Compression Ratio: Natural gas vehicle engines have a very high compression ratio, burning most of the fuel
and leaving very few byproducts behind.

Cost: Natural gas cost is far less than that of gasoline.

Cons
High Cost: The high cost of implementing this technology is one of the stumbling blocks. Buying a natural gas
vehicle will be more expensive than a petroleum car as they are not as popular and readily available.

Speed: Natural gas vehicles are not as fast as their gasoline counterparts.

Availability of Natural Gas Stations: Because natural gas vehicles are not that popular, there are only a select
few CNG stations available to the owner of such a car. This means that you will have to carry bigger tanks in
your vehicle or face having to tow your car to the nearest natural gas station which could be ten miles or more
away if you run out of natural gas.

Tanks: Like with gasoline you will need a storage tank in your car for natural gas. Unfortunately this tank is
huge and, as it is normally installed in your trunk, you will have basically no trunk space available afterwards.

Performance: Natural gas vehicles have less performance when it comes to the amount of gas used in relation
to the mileage of the car.

Safety: Natural gas is stored in a pressurized fuel tank in your vehicle which is a big safety concern.
 Petrol vs Diesel vs CNG Cars
The tables below show the pros and cons of petrol, diesel and CNG cars in comparison with
each other.

Petrol Diesel CNG

Lowest price

Stable engine
performance Low running expenses Lowest fuel price
Pros Efficient long-term operation Environmentally-friendly nature
The lowest level of
NVH Quicker acceleration thanks Ability to flexibly switch from CNG to petrol and vice
Unrequired gas kit to fast fuel combustion versa, thanks to the Retro Fitted CNG
(low maintenance
cost)

Initial high cost Limited capacity for CNG cylinders

Cons Highest fuel price A higher level of NVH than Slow acceleration
petrol cars
Lower torque output Huge CNG kit taking up most of the boot space
More expensive regular
maintenance and spare parts Shortage of refuelling stations