Combustion chamber

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A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process.

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Internal combustion engines

Side view of an engine, showing the combustion chamber's location Combustion Chamber.png
Side view of an engine, showing the combustion chamber's location

In an internal combustion engine, the pressure caused by the burning air/fuel mixture applies direct force to part of the engine (e.g. for a piston engine, the force is applied to the top of the piston), which converts the gas pressure into mechanical energy (often in the form of a rotating output shaft). This contrasts an external combustion engine, where the combustion takes place in a separate part of the engine to where the gas pressure is converted into mechanical energy.

Spark-ignition engines

In spark ignition engines, such as petrol (gasoline) engines, the combustion chamber is usually located in the cylinder head. The engines are often designed such that the bottom of combustion chamber is roughly in line with the top of the engine block.

Side-valve engine v2.png
Flathead engine combustion chamber (shown in yellow), located above the piston (orange) and valve (blue)
Four stroke engine diagram (cropped).jpg
OHC engine combustion chamber, located between the piston (shown in yellow) and the valves (blue and red)

Modern engines with overhead valves or overhead camshaft(s) use the top of the piston (when it is near top dead centre) as the bottom of the combustion chamber. Above this, the sides and roof of the combustion chamber include the intake valves, exhaust valves and spark plug. This forms a relatively compact combustion chamber without any protrusions to the side (i.e. all of the chamber is located directly above the piston). Common shapes for the combustion chamber are typically similar to one or more half-spheres (such as the hemi, pent-roof, wedge or kidney-shaped chambers).

The older flathead engine design uses a "bathtub"-shaped combustion chamber, with an elongated shape that sits above both the piston and the valves (which are located beside the piston). IOE engines combine elements of overhead valve and flathead engines; the intake valve is located above the combustion chamber, while the exhaust valve is located below it.

The shape of the combustion chamber, intake ports and exhaust ports are key to achieving efficient combustion and maximising power output. Cylinder heads are often designed to achieve a certain "swirl" pattern (rotational component to the gas flow) and turbulence, which improves the mixing and increases the flow rate of gasses. The shape of the piston top also affects the amount of swirl.

Another design feature to promote turbulence for good fuel/air mixing is squish, where the fuel/air mix is "squished" at high pressure by the rising piston. [1] [2]

The location of the spark plug is also an important factor, since this is the starting point of the flame front (the leading edge of the burning gasses) which then travels downwards towards the piston. Good design should avoid narrow crevices where stagnant "end gas" can become trapped, reducing the power output of the engine and potentially leading to engine knocking. Most engines use a single spark plug per cylinder, however some (such as the 1986-2009 Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine) use two spark plugs per cylinder.

Compression-ignition engines

Dished piston for a diesel engine LPI 003.JPG
Dished piston for a diesel engine

Compression-ignition engines, such as diesel engines, are typically classified as either:

Direct injection engines usually give better fuel economy but indirect injection engines can use a lower grade of fuel.

Harry Ricardo was prominent in developing combustion chambers for diesel engines, the best known being the Ricardo Comet.

Gas turbine

In a continuous flow system, for example a jet engine combustor, the pressure is controlled and the combustion creates an increase in volume. The combustion chamber in gas turbines and jet engines (including ramjets and scramjets) is called the combustor.

The combustor is fed with high pressure air by the compression system, adds fuel and burns the mix and feeds the hot, high pressure exhaust into the turbine components of the engine or out the exhaust nozzle.

Different types of combustors exist, mainly: [3]

Rocket engine

If the gas velocity changes, thrust is produced, such as in the nozzle of a rocket engine.

Steam engines

Considering the definition of combustion chamber used for internal combustion engines, the equivalent part of a steam engine would be the firebox, since this is where the fuel is burned.[ citation needed ] However, in the context of a steam engine, the term "combustion chamber" has also been used for a specific area between the firebox and the boiler. This extension of the firebox is designed to allow a more complete combustion of the fuel, improving fuel efficiency and reducing build-up of soot and scale. The use of this type of combustion chamber is large steam locomotive engines, allows the use of shorter firetubes.

Micro combustion chambers

Micro combustion chambers are the devices in which combustion happens at a very small volume, due to which surface to volume ratio increases which plays a vital role in stabilizing the flame.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compression ratio</span> Ratio of the volume of a combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity

The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diesel engine</span> Type of internal combustion engine

The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-called compression-ignition engine. This contrasts with engines using spark plug-ignition of the air-fuel mixture, such as a petrol engine or a gas engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulsejet</span> Engine where combustion is pulsed instead of continuous

A pulsejet engine is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically. The best known example may be the Argus As 109-014 used to propel Nazi Germany's V-1 flying bomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-stroke engine</span> Internal combustion engine type

A two-strokeengine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of the crankshaft. A four-stroke engine requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust functions occurring at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhaust gas recirculation</span> NOx reduction technique used in gasoline and diesel engines

In internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions reduction technique used in petrol/gasoline, diesel engines and some hydrogen engines. EGR works by recirculating a portion of an engine's exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders. The exhaust gas displaces atmospheric air and reduces O2 in the combustion chamber. Reducing the amount of oxygen reduces the amount of fuel that can burn in the cylinder thereby reducing peak in-cylinder temperatures. The actual amount of recirculated exhaust gas varies with the engine operating parameters.

A stratified charge engine describes a certain type of internal combustion engine, usually spark ignition (SI) engine that can be used in trucks, automobiles, portable and stationary equipment. The term "stratified charge" refers to the working fluids and fuel vapors entering the cylinder. Usually the fuel is injected into the cylinder or enters as a fuel rich vapor where a spark or other means are used to initiate ignition where the fuel rich zone interacts with the air to promote complete combustion. A stratified charge can allow for slightly higher compression ratios without "knock," and leaner air/fuel ratio than in conventional internal combustion engines.

In spark ignition internal combustion engines, knocking occurs when combustion of some of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder does not result from propagation of the flame front ignited by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front. The fuel-air charge is meant to be ignited by the spark plug only, and at a precise point in the piston's stroke. Knock occurs when the peak of the combustion process no longer occurs at the optimum moment for the four-stroke cycle. The shock wave creates the characteristic metallic "pinging" sound, and cylinder pressure increases dramatically. Effects of engine knocking range from inconsequential to completely destructive.

Pre-ignition in a spark-ignition engine is a technically different phenomenon from engine knocking, and describes the event wherein the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder ignites before the spark plug fires. Pre-ignition is initiated by an ignition source other than the spark, such as hot spots in the combustion chamber, a spark plug that runs too hot for the application, or carbonaceous deposits in the combustion chamber heated to incandescence by previous engine combustion events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brayton cycle</span> Thermodynamic cycle

The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the operation of certain heat engines that have air or some other gas as their working fluid. The original Brayton engines used a piston compressor and piston expander, but modern gas turbine engines and airbreathing jet engines also follow the Brayton cycle. Although the cycle is usually run as an open system, it is conventionally assumed for the purposes of thermodynamic analysis that the exhaust gases are reused in the intake, enabling analysis as a closed system.

Indirect injection in an internal combustion engine is fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber.

A combustor is a component or area of a gas turbine, ramjet, or scramjet engine where combustion takes place. It is also known as a burner, combustion chamber or flame holder. In a gas turbine engine, the combustor or combustion chamber is fed high-pressure air by the compression system. The combustor then heats this air at constant pressure as the fuel/air mix burns. As it burns the fuel/air mix heats and rapidly expands. The burned mix is exhausted from the combustor through the nozzle guide vanes to the turbine. In the case of a ramjet or scramjet engines, the exhaust is directly fed out through the nozzle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flathead engine</span> A type of four-stroke engine

A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine.

Lean-burn refers to the burning of fuel with an excess of air in an internal combustion engine. In lean-burn engines the air:fuel ratio may be as lean as 65:1. The air / fuel ratio needed to stoichiometrically combust gasoline, by contrast, is 14.64:1. The excess of air in a lean-burn engine emits far less hydrocarbons. High air–fuel ratios can also be used to reduce losses caused by other engine power management systems such as throttling losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasoline direct injection</span> Mixture formation system

Gasoline direct injection (GDI), also known as petrol direct injection (PDI), is a mixture formation system for internal combustion engines that run on gasoline (petrol), where fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. This is distinct from manifold fuel injection systems, which inject fuel into the intake manifold.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is a form of internal combustion in which well-mixed fuel and oxidizer are compressed to the point of auto-ignition. As in other forms of combustion, this exothermic reaction releases energy that can be transformed in an engine into work and heat.

The term six-stroke engine has been applied to a number of alternative internal combustion engine designs that attempt to improve on traditional two-stroke and four-stroke engines. Claimed advantages may include increased fuel efficiency, reduced mechanical complexity, and/or reduced emissions. These engines can be divided into two groups based on the number of pistons that contribute to the six strokes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glowplug</span> Heating element used to aid in starting diesel engines

A glowplug is a heating device used to aid in starting diesel engines. In cold weather, high-speed diesel engines can be difficult to start because the mass of the cylinder block and cylinder head absorb the heat of compression, preventing ignition. Pre-chambered engines use small glowplugs inside the pre-chambers. Direct-injected engines have these glowplugs in the combustion chamber.

Internal combustion engines come in a wide variety of types, but have certain family resemblances, and thus share many common types of components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squish (piston engine)</span>

Squish is an effect in internal combustion engines which creates sudden turbulence of the air-fuel mixture as the piston approaches top dead centre (TDC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal combustion engine</span> Engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber

An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to. This replaced the external combustion engine for applications where the weight or size of an engine was more important.

References

    1. ↑ "Setting Your Squish Clearance". www.nrhsperformance.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
    2. ↑ "How to Measure Your Cylinder Head Squish Clearance". homes.ottcommunications.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
    3. ↑ "Combustor - Burner". NASA Glenn Research Center. 2015-05-05. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
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