Valve

A valve may be defined as a device that is used for closing and opening a passage. The
operation of an internal combustion engine necessitates the admission, trapping and
exhausting of the working medium all of which are accomplished by valves. Their proper
function essential to be the good engine performance and fuel economy largely depends
upon design features.

The valve type, diameter, lift and materials are important design consideration
affecting engine performance. The intake and exhaust valves are required to allow
smooth gas flow into and out of the cylinder. These valves must close tightly to prevent
leakage of the gasses during the compression and combustion process.

The type of valve must commonly found in present day engines is the poppet
valve. The valve arrangement found on tractor engine is the overhead. Two stroke
engines usually do not have convention poppet valves. Instead, the intake and exhaust
process are through parts in the engine cylinder walls.

L-Head Valves:

The L-Head valve engine has the valve and the camshaft in the cylinder block. It has two
draw backs for use. First it can’t be designed to have a high compression ratio. The
higher the compression ratio the more power the engine will produces. Secondly the L-
Head valve engines have excessive exhaust emissions. The exhaust gas contains too
much un-burnt and partly burned fuel. The reason in that the engines combustion
chamber surfaces are largely and relatively cool.
This prevents combustion of the layers of air fuel mix close to these surfaces.
Over-Head Valves:

Overhead valve or pushed engine, the cam shaft is in the cylinder, block and the valves
are in the cylinder head. Over head valve engine have higher compression ratio than L-
Head valve locating the valve directly over the piston permits the clearance volume to be
smaller. This is the volume above the piston at top dead center.

When the air-fuel mixture is compressed into a smaller space, the compression ratio is
higher. The means more engine torque and power. Some overhead valve engine have
valve relief out into the piston heads, it provides spaces into which the valve can open
with out sticking the piston.

Valve materials, design and application:

The material used is frequently different for the inlet valve and exhaust valve. In the inlet
valve run cooler than the exhaust valves and made of materials such that carbon steel,
nickel steel, crome-molybdinum alloys which are hardened and can withstand the high
stress.

Exhaust valves must be made of materials that will withstand high stress and in addition
maintained their hardness and strength acting at high temperature. Nickel chromium steel
provides resistance to etching. Valves are subjected to high acceleration forces. E.g.
engine rpm = 2400 exhaust valve must open and close in 0.01 sec. during this the exhaust
temperature may be as high as 650 and 2500 degree centigrade in the combustion
chamber.