Air Supply

Air Supply
• The air supply system has to supply
• Clean air
• In sufficient quantity
• In equal amounts to each cylinder
• Creating swirl is desirable
 Hot/cold
• The air supply system needs to provide
• Warm air for cold starts
• Temperature controlled air for normal
running
• Silenced air flow
• Flame trap in the event of flash back
 Clean Air
• Clean air is required
• To prevent particles of dust and grit
damaging the engine
• Air is filtered through an element in the air
cleaner
• Most are micro porous paper
• Can be oiled wire gauze or rubber
 Elements
• Paper elements are folded to provide a large
surface area
• Edges are sealed with rubber
 Housings
• Air cleaner housings have ducting to
distribute air over full surface of element
• Flow is sometimes made to swirl to throw
out airborne dirt into a dust trap
 Inlet manifold
• Inlet manifolds should be designed to give
the same length and diameter to each
cylinder
• This means that all cylinders are supplied
with the same volume
• And air flow characteristics
 Heated Air Supply
• On some engines the incoming air supply
can be heated
• This is only required when air is cold
• If continued when engine was warm
• Mass and air density would reduce
• Heating stops at about 50 degrees engine
temp
• Air is then drawn from cold position
 Fuel Injection
• Air supply for fuel injection have additional
items
• For the measurement and control of air
supply
• Sensors for injection ECU are included
• Air mass, air temperature
• Actuator for engine fast idle
 Variable Length
• A dual intake system is fitted to many
engines
• These respond to high and low engine
speeds
• A valve opens to provide adequate air
supply at higher engine speeds