INTAKE PROCESS

BASIC OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

The basic way all internal combustion engines work is to take a mixture of fuel and air, compress it, ignite it either with a spark plug or by self-igntion before allow the explosion

Exhaust

Intake

Power

Compression

Four-stroke cycle 1 - Intake 2 - Compression 3 - Power 4 - Exhaust.

INTAKE / INDUCTION STROKE

The intake stroke is the first stroke in a four-stroke internal combustion engine cycle. It involves the downward movement of the piston, creating a partial vacuum that allows fuel/air mixture into the combustion chamber. In a reciprocating engine, that portion of the cycle when the pistons move from TDC (top dead center) to BDC (bottom dead center) and the fuel-air mixture is drawn into the cylinders.

Petrol engine : mixture of fuel and air Diesel engine : air only

Did you know?

The simplest type has one intake and one exhaust valve. More complex engines have two of one and one of the other, or two of each. So when you see "16v" on the badge on the back of a car, it means it's a 4-cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder - two intake and two exhaust - thus 16 valves, or "16v".

INTAKE IN CI ENGINE
PROCESS

Operated unthrottled with engine speed and power controlled by the amount of fuel injected during each cycle. This allows for high volumetric efficiency at all speeds, with the intake system designed for very little flow restrictions of the incoming air. Further raising the volumetric efficiency is the fact that no fuel is added until late in compression stroke, after air intake is fully completed. Many CI engines are turbocharged, which enhances air intake even more

INTAKE IN CI ENGINE
The addition of fuel is made late in the compression stroke, starting somewhere around 20 before TDC. Injectors mounted in the cylinder head inject directly into the combustion chamber, where self ignition occurs due to the high temperature of the air caused by compression heating. It is important that fuel with correct cetane number be used in an engine so that self-ignition initiates the start of combustion at the proper cycle position. Injection pressure must be much higher compared to SI engine.

INTAKE IN CI ENGINE
The cylinder pressure into which the fuel is first injected is very high near the end of compression stroke, due to high compression ratio of CI engines. By the time the final fuel is injected, peak pressure during combustion is being experienced. Pressure must be high enough so that fuel spray will penetrate across the entire combustion chamber. Injection pressures of 200 bar to 2000 bar are common with average fuel droplet size generally decreasing with increasing pressure. Orifice hole size of injectors is typically in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 mm diameter.

INTAKE IN SI ENGINE
To start the engine, the crankshaft is rotated by the starter motor causing the connecting rod to draw the piston downwards from TDC to BDC and the inlet valve opens to draw a homogeneous combustible mixture od air abd fuel through the intake manifold inside the cylinder. The air and fuel are mixed together in a carburetor prior to the entry to the engine cylinder and the inlet valve communicates with the carburetor through a throttle valve. Alternatively, the fuel can also be injected into the intake manifold or the inlet port with the help of injectors operated either mechanically or electronically.

INTAKE IN SI ENGINE
Pressure inside the cylinder is lower than the ambient pressure by an amount which depends upon the speed of the engine and the opening of the throttle valve.