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A four-stroke combustion engine is a power generator that operates by converting the chemical potential
energy in a fuel into a rotational kinetic energy. A substance that easily breaks down chemically by
combining with oxygen and releasing energy in a chemical process called oxidation is known as a
combustible substance. When this substance is a liquid it can be utilized as a fuel to generate power for
various applications. For this description we are going to focus on engines powered by the petroleum based
fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel, which can be made from crude oil, biological material and even waste
products.
Section Organization
The following sections will be organized such that the information follows the energy that the engine will
be converting. It will begin at the liquid fuel, the chemical potential energy, it will continue through the
various parts, which will be described as they are used, and it will end with the kinetic energy produced by
the engine.
Fuel Storage
All four-stroke combustion engines are comprised of a few main parts, which is why we can break down
both gas and diesel engines in the same way. The fuel begins in a fuel tank. This is a hollow vessel that
contains the unused fuel. Modern fuel tanks are usually made of aluminum or a polymer that is not capable
of conducting electricity. The tank has two holes in it, one at the top for adding fuel and a filtered one at
the bottom for the fuel to flow to the next stage of the process.
Fuel Transportation
In gasoline engines there are two ways this fuel is then transported to the engine. In both, the goal is to
transport the fuel and to create an air-fuel mixture that optimizes the fuels combustibility. They can either
use a carburetor, which relies on suction and physical properties to deliver fuel, or it can use fuel injection.
Fuel injection uses a fuel injector to deliver fuel directly into the part described in the next section where
it also mixes with the air. In the case of diesel engines, fuel injection is always used because diesel must
take advantage of a process known as forced air induction to be combustible. This term means that the
engine uses either a supercharger or turbocharger which compresses the air used in the mixture to very
high pressures, and introduces it in the same part that the fuel is injected into, described in the next section.
Gasoline engines can also use this process, but can also use the atmospheric pressure of air, known as
naturally aspirated. Still, keep in mind that all forced air applications use a fuel injector. With a fuel
injector the mixture passes directly through a valve, controlled by a computer, at the correct time, and in
the correct quantity, onto the next step. With a carburetor, which is typically used in smaller and older
engines, the mixture passes through a distributor which allows the mixture through the valve at the correct
time.
Turbocharger
Carburetor
Fuel Injector
Engine Cycle
This process is called an engine cycle. In applications with multiple cylinders this process happens
independently and not at the same time. This allows one cylinders power stroke to drive another
cylinder to cut down on energy lost due to friction. This single process is circular and repeats many
times, very quickly. It is usually measured in rotations of the crankshaft per minute or rpms. They can
be anywhere from 500 in a small lawnmower or up to 20,000 rpms in a Formula One racecar.
Starting an Engine
The process described above is self-supporting, but needs a way to manually complete the first few cycles
until the engine is operating under its own power. This is done with a device, called a starter that
manipulates the crankshaft and begins its rotating using outside forces. Small engines have a manual starter
where the user either pulls a rope attached to the starter or pushes downward on a lever. Larger engines
create too much pressure for a human to reliably be able to overcome to move the pistons, and therefore,
feature an electric starter that uses a battery to turn an electric motor attached to the crankshaft.
Multiple Authors. Fuel Injection Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. May 2010. Web. 19 July 2016
Image Sources:
K&N Air Intakes. titantruck.com. Web. 19 July 2016
turbobygarrett.com. Web. 19 July 2016
briggsandstratton.com. Web. 19 July 2016
Fuel injection wikicars.org. Web. 19 July 2016
Reciprocating engine. wikipedia.org. Web. 19 July 2016