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2. Preparation of a mixture of spark ignition engines

The requirements of the method of regulating the engine power also directly
determine the method of preparation of mixtures. For positive-ignition engines that
use quantitative or mixed control, it is therefore necessary to ensure a
homogeneous or planned layered mixture with the consumption composition. Thus, the
coefficient of excess air that reaches a value within the limits of flammability at
the point of ignition.

The process of preparing the mixtures consists of several sub-processes, for a

given amount of air entering or already sucked into the cylinder, it is necessary
to assign the appropriate amount of fuel, which must be atomized, evaporated and
finally mixed with the air.

The preparation of the mixtures must always correspond to the operating mode of the
engine, the instantaneous speed and the load. We can also include acceleration or
deceleration, as well as temperature and other requirements.

3. Mixture preparation conditions

The primary task of the mixture preparation equipment is to spray the liquid fuel
as finely as possible so that the evaporation is as fast as possible. In addition,
evaporation is influenced by the air flow rate, temperature and pressure.
Insufficiently evaporated parts of the fuel form a fuel film, which is always
formed to a certain extent in the case of liquid fuels, but the most important
thing is that the proportion of the contained fuel in it is as small as possible.
The effect of the film is most noticeable in engines with the preparation of
mixtures by a single-point device in the intake manifold, where it settles on the
pipe walls and causes uneven distribution of fuel into individual cylinders and
thus different mixture richness in different operating modes.

In the multipoint process, the mixture is formed to a lesser extent and influences
the composition of the mixture especially in the transition modes. Especially under
unfavorable conditions, the fuel film can also form in internal mixture engines; in
the case of its formation in standard operating modes, it can cause up to fault
conditions, depending on the location of the piston burn, or rinsing of the
lubricating film from the cylinder wall.

Spark ignition engines use easily evaporable fuels, liquid or gaseous. The mixture
can be prepared in two basic ways.

The first is external preparation, when the fuel is mixed with air already in the
intake manifold, using a carburettor (for liquid fuels), a mixer (for gaseous
fuels).

The second is the internal preparation of the mixture when the fuel is transported
(injected) directly into the cylinder.

The process of preparing the mixture is influenced by several factors, which vary
depending on the operating conditions.

Speed: They unambiguously determine the process time, so it is true that with
increasing speed, the time for preparing the mixture, ie evaporating the fuel and
mixing it with air, decreases. The effect of time (speed) is significant especially
for engines with mixture preparation directly in the cylinder.

Engine load: The load is mainly affected by engines with mixture preparation in the
pipeline (indirect injection, carburettor) and with power control by throttling in
the intake manifold (throttle valve). In this case, at lower loads, the pressure in
the intake manifold decreases, which significantly helps to evaporate the fuel and
mix it with the air. As the load increases, the absolute amount of fuel that must
evaporate at a given time increases.

Temperature: As the temperature rises, it improves the evaporation of the fuel,

thus improving the preparation of the mixture. Conversely, too low a temperature
can lead to condensation of the fuel and thus significantly worsen the formation of
the mixture. On the other hand, high temperatures impair the filling efficiency,
thus reducing engine performance.

Fuel properties: Fuel with a larger proportion of lighter fractions evaporates more
easily, mixes better with air and thus forms a better mixture.

Intake manifold geometry: This is especially important for multi-cylinder engines.

The configuration is largely determined by the even distribution of the charge, ie
the air and, in the case of engines with the formation of a mixture in the intake
manifold, also the fuel. In this case, an improper arrangement of the suction tract
ultimately leads to an uneven composition of the mixtures in the individual
cylinders. The most suitable solution is therefore branches of the same shape and
the same length for each cylinder. The shape of the suction channel, together with
the shape of the combustion chamber, determines the swirl of the charge, which has
a significant effect on the formation of the mixture.

4. Requirements for the preparation of mixtures in different operating

modes

From the point of view of engine operation, it is appropriate to respect the

dependence of power and fuel consumption on the richness of mixtures and to prepare
the corresponding composition in different operating modes.

Idling: Fuel consumption is important at idle and very light loads, but the
requirement to keep the engine running smoothly has priority. Uneven operation is
significantly affected by the quality of the combustion chamber flushing, ie the
amount of residual flue gases, which worsens the flammability and the combustion
itself. The timing process has a major influence on the rinsing process, especially
the overlap angle. However, fixed-timing motors have a setting chosen to achieve
the best possible performance parameters, which is contrary to the requirements for
changing the idle speed. Therefore, variable timing is an important help, while the
benefit is the variability of the suction allowing to set a suitable angle SO, but
an even better solution is the possibility of simultaneous change of angle VZ,
allowing sensitive tuning of overlap angle, for each setting SZ (which is priority
in timing and standard control valves by the camshaft also determines the angle
SO). An important element for idling stabilization is also the adaptive idling
speed control, which occurs at their current value according to the current
operating state of the engine. The use of the mentioned technical elements allows
the combustion of a stoichiometric or even slightly lean mixture in the area of
minimum loads, but always with regard to the efficiency of further flue gas
processing.

Part load: In part load modes, it would be appropriate to use a mixture composition
with maximum fuel utilization, ie a slightly lean mixture, and thus achieve the
lowest possible fuel consumption. Regulation on minimum consumption would be
particularly advantageous for the engines of road motor vehicles, which operate for
the vast majority of their service life at part load. However, given the required
efficiency of exhaust after-treatment, such regulation is currently very difficult
to implement.

Maximum load: At the highest engine load, the requirement for performance
parameters is obvious. The mixture should therefore be slightly rich, ensuring the
best possible use of air and as homogeneous as possible. Enrichment is important
not only to achieve the highest performance, because the evaporation of unburned
fuel also ensures internal cooling of the engine and also protection in this mode
of a heavily heat-loaded starting catalyst. Although the combustion of rich
mixtures causes higher production of harmful exhalates and problems with their
reduction, it is used in practice as a standard. The reason is the necessary
thermal protection and the structure of emission tests, which do not cover the area
of the highest load of most engines.

Starting the engine: The composition of the mixture at the start of the engine
depends mainly on its thermal state and the temperature of the intake air, because
as the temperature decreases, the proportion of fuel fractions capable of
evaporation also decreases, while the remaining fractions form a fuel film. The
formation of the mixture is also complicated by the low starting speed and thus the
low air flow rate. At low temperatures, the enrichment is highest, when preparing
the mixture by carburetor, less is needed when injecting fuel into the pipeline,
thanks to the higher pressure ensuring finer atomization. The smallest enrichment
is necessary when injecting directly into the cylinder, while it lasts the
shortest, only during the start itself. As the temperature of the intake air motor
increases, the composition of the mixture approaches the stoichiometric value at
start-up, but some enrichment is always required, even in the case of an engine
warmed up to operating temperature.

Acceleration: It is a transient mode when the engine speed increases as a result of

an increase in its load, a reduction in power consumption, or a combination of
both. From the point of view of the preparation of the mixture, it is important
that the increase in speed is accompanied by an acceleration of the air flow in the
intake manifold. In in-line mixture engines, therefore, the mixture entering the
cylinder is depleted due to the different inertias of the relatively lighter air
and the relatively heavier fuel. For engines with throttle control in the intake
manifold, if the increase in speed is due to an increase in load, the depletion of
the mixture is more pronounced. The cause is an increase in pressure in the
pipeline, which causes poorer evaporation of fuel, or even condensation of its
parts, which subsequently form a fuel film on the walls of the pipeline. If the
increase in speed occurs at a constant load, the depletion is less pronounced. The
reason is the pressure drop in the pipeline, thanks to which the fuel, just sprayed
but also settled in the fuel film, evaporates better. In any case, during
acceleration, it is necessary to enrich the mixture with a larger dose of fuel. In
in-cylinder engines, depletion during acceleration is smaller and, in principle, is
given only by the reaction speed and the accuracy of the control system.

Deceleration: It is a transient mode when the engine speed decreases as a result of

a reduction in its load, or an increase in power consumption, or a combination of
both events. In engines with mixture preparation in the pipeline and load control
by throttling in the pipeline, and if the speed decreases with a constant load, the
pressure in the intake manifold decreases, thus improving the conditions for fuel
evaporation. As a result, the fuel deposited in the fuel film is also released,
which causes undesired enrichment of the mixtures and an increase in the formation
of harmful exhalates. The solution to this problem is to shut down the fuel supply
and slow down the closure of the regulator. With a constant load and a decrease in
speed, the pressure in the intake manifold rises, which worsens the conditions for
evaporation of the fuel, part of which can settle into the fuel film.

5. Mixture preparation equipment

The better the process of measuring the required dose of fuel, the better the
timing of its delivery and the finer the atomization process. The place where the
air mixes with the fuel also has a significant effect. Several devices can be used
to prepare the mixture, differing in the nature of the operation, the method of
regulation and, ultimately, the accuracy. According to the nature of the activity,
they can be divided into two basic types, in the first, the fuel is sucked out by
the vacuum of the flowing air, in the second, the fuel is supplied to the air
stream at a higher pressure.

5.1. Carburettor
Simple carburettor
Presents the basic design, without any correction systems or auxiliary circuits.
The fuel mixes with the air in the carburettor neck, where a narrowed cross-
section, a diffuser, is created, causing the air flow rate to increase and its
pressure to decrease. In the place with the narrowest cross-section, a sprayer
opens into the throat, from which the created vacuum is used to create fuel. Its
metering is ensured by a nozzle at the inlet from the tank, the float chamber. The
amount of mixture is controlled by a throttle valve.

The control parameter of the carburetor is the vacuum in the diffuser, depending on
the speed and load of the engine. However, the dependence between the air flow
through the diffuser, the vacuum and the amount of fuel is not directly
proportional, which causes the carburetor to prepare a mixture of the desired
composition at only one vacuum, i.e. at one engine operating point. At a different
vacuum, the mixture will be too rich or too lean, with larger vacuum deviations
beyond the limits of flammability. It is therefore clear that a simple carburetor
is unusable for an engine operating in a wide range of speeds and loads.

Carburettor for vehicle engine

This carburetor is based on a simple carburetor in a wide range of speeds. However,
to keep the richness within the required limits, it is supplemented with correction
systems and other auxiliary circuits, ensuring the preparation of the mixture of
the required composition in all operating modes. Correction systems are used to
fine-tune the composition of the mixture, especially at part load. The choke or air
intake is used for enrichment at the start, additional nozzles ensure enrichment at
maximum power, and the acceleration pump enriches at acceleration. The number of
additional components of the carburetor significantly increases its complexity and
sensitivity, but the preparation of the mixture still does not meet the current
requirements for accuracy. Therefore, carburetors are not used in current vehicle
engines and are used only in their simplified and modified form in the preparation
of a mixture of, for example, small agricultural machinery, or in small-volume
aircraft engines.

5.2. Fuel injection

When injecting fuel, the fuel is supplied to the flowing air under pressure, which
increases their relative speed, making the fuel more finely atomized. The advantage
of injection is also more accurate dose measurement and, ultimately, more precise
regulation. Accuracy is greatly aided by feedback control using an excess exhaust
sensor. This makes it possible to set the mixture composition very precisely in
stationary modes and also to make quick corrections in transient modes. Of the
possible configurations, multipoint indirect injection and direct injection are
used today.

Indirect injection
Indirect injection currently uses exclusively multi-point sequential injection.
In this case, each cylinder has its own dedicated injection valve, directed to the
intake duct, the control of which is synchronized with its working phase. It is
thus injected gradually into the intake of each cylinder, mostly during its exhaust
stroke, onto the closed intake valve. Such a solution not only ensures an even
composition of the mixture in all cylinders, but also minimizes the formation of
the fuel film and its influence on the final composition of the mixtures. The fuel
dose is measured by the length of the injection valve opening, the injection
pressure is at the level of 2.5-5 bar.

Direct injection
In direct injection, the injection valve is located in the cylinder head and is
directed directly into the combustion chamber. It is clear from the nature of the
operation that the individual valves must be controlled sequentially, depending on
the operating phase of the cylinder. Direct injection completely eliminates the
formation of a fuel film as well as possible leaks of fresh mixture into the
exhaust, which allows to increase the angle of overlap of the valves and thus
improve the flushing of the combustion chamber. Evaporating fuel lowers the
temperature in the cylinder, which increases filling efficiency and also reduces
the susceptibility to knocking. The injection pressure for direct injection is in
the range of 50-150 bar.

6. The nature of the mixture

Gasnel engines usually work with a homogeneous mixture, which is in principle given
by their ignition mechanism with a focal point of a fixed position and time.
Therefore, there must always be a mixture of the required richness at the moment of
spark jump, which is easiest to achieve if such a mixture is present in the entire
volume of the cylinder. When burning stoichiometric mixtures, a homogeneous mixture
is always used, but a different situation occurs when burning lean mixtures, with a
larger excess of air. Their ignition is significantly more demanding, so it is
advisable to provide a richer mixture in the space of the spark plug contacts than
in the other volume of the cylinder. Further from the candle, the richness can then
decrease, because the already advancing flame, with its higher temperature, brings
more energy and ensures an increase in the flammability limit. Said planned
inhomogeneous distribution of the mixture is called layering. In its
implementation, it is possible to use vortex, mostly provided by the geometry of
the intake tract, combustion chamber as well as the bottom of the piston, causing a
targeted separation of lighter parts of the air and heavier parts of the fuel,
which can then group together in a precisely determined place, i.e. close to the
spark plug.

The form of the mixture does not have a clear connection with the method of its
preparation, but the direct injection of fuel into the cylinder clearly helps in
the formation of the layered mixture. In this case, a second, significantly more
progressive layering method can be used, where the distribution of fuel in the
cylinder depends on the shape of the injected fuel beam with emphasis on creating a
richer mixture in the spark plug space. encounters problems in further reducing
harmful emissions.

Mixture preparation control is currently part of complex control systems, which

also provide regulation of other parameters such as ignition, idle speed, engine
cooperation with peripherals, or with automatic transmission and others.