Engineering of power mechanics/Automotive Department

Stage: Third year

Subject: Internal Combustion Engines

1- Normal Gasoline Combustion

 Occurs when the spark plug ignites the fuel and burning progresses smoothly
through the fuel mixture
 Requires about 3/1000 of a second
 Maximum cylinder pressure should be produced a few degrees after Top
Dead Center on the power stroke

2- Air-Fuel Mixture
 For proper combustion and engine performance, the correct amounts of air
and fuel must be mixed
 Stoichiometric fuel mixture is a chemically correct air-fuel mixture
 For gasoline, it is 14.7:1
 14.7 parts of air to 1 part fuel, by weight
 Under constant operating conditions, this mixture helps ensure that all the fuel
burns during combustion

3- Lean Air-Fuel Mixture

 Contains a large amount of air compared to fuel
 Desirable for high fuel economy and low exhaust emissions
 Too lean a mixture can cause poor performance
 lack of power, misfire, or engine damage

4- Rich Air-Fuel Mixture

 Contains a larger amount of fuel mixed with the air
 Increases engine power
 Increases fuel consumption and exhaust emissions
 An over-rich mixture will reduce power, foul spark plugs, and cause
incomplete burning
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Engineering of power mechanics/Automotive Department
Stage: Third year
Subject: Internal Combustion Engines

Fig 1- Lean and Rich Air-Fuel Mixture

5- Abnormal Combustion

 Occurs when the flame does not spread evenly and smoothly through the
combustion chamber
 Common types of abnormal combustion:
 detonation
 preignition
 spark knock
5-1 Detonation

 Results when part of the unburned air-fuel mixture explodes violently

 Severe and damaging type of abnormal combustion
 Causes engine knock as the combustion chamber pressure rises so quickly
that parts of the engine vibrate

2
Engineering of power mechanics/Automotive Department
Stage: Third year
Subject: Internal Combustion Engines

Detonation can shatter the insulator on a spark plug

Detonation can blow a hole in a piston head

3
Engineering of power mechanics/Automotive Department
Stage: Third year
Subject: Internal Combustion Engines

6-Gasoline Octane Rating

 Measurement of the fuel’s ability to resist knocking or pinging

 Octane numbers give the antiknock value of gasoline
gasoline with a high octane number will resist knock and ping better than a gasoline
with a low octane number

6- Octane Requirements

 Octane requirements for an engine are published in the owner’s manual

 Use a fuel with an octane number as high as or higher than the specifications
 Engines with high compression or turbocharging often require higher octane
fuels