Fuel injection is a technology used in internal combustion engines to mix the fuel with air prior to

combustion.
As in a traditional carburettor, fuel is converted to a fine spray and mixed with air. However, where
a traditional carburettor forces the incoming air through a venturi to pull the fuel into the air
stream, afuel injection system forces the fuel through nozzles under pressure to inject the fuel into
the air stream without requiring a venturi.
The use of a venturi reduces volumetric efficiency by approximately 15%, which results in a
reduction in engine power. Thus, a fuel injection system increases the power that an engine with
the same engine displacement will produce. Additionally, fuel injection allows for more precise
control over the mixture of fuel and air, both in proportion and in uniformity.
The fuel injection may be purely mechanical, purely electronic or a mix of the two. Early systems
were mechanical but from about 1980 onward more and more systems were completely electronic.
By the middle of the decade, nearly all new passenger vehicles were equipped with electronic fuel
injection. The 1990 Subaru Justy was the last passenger car sold in the United States with a
carburettor.
The modern electronic systems that cars are equipped with today utilise a number of sensors to
monitor engine conditions, and an electronic control unit (ECU) to accurately calculate the needed
amount of fuel. Thus fuel injection can increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution.
Fuel injection systems may be single point where the fuel is injected using one nozzle, usually in
the throttle housing, or multi point where each cylinder has its own injector in the inlet manifold.
The nozzles may be opened using the pressure in the fuel system or there may be a solenoid on
the injector that will pulse it open and closed in a duty cycle according to the desired fuel
requirement.
History
Frederick William Lanchester joined the Forward Gas Engine Company Birmingham, England in
1889. He carried out what were possibly the earliest experiments with fuel injection. Fuel injection
has been used in diesel engines since the mid 1920s, almost from their introduction (due to the
higher energy required for diesel to evaporate). It was adapted for use in petrol-powered aircraft
during World War II and a system developed by Bosch was first used in a car in 1955 with the
introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL. An electronic fuel injection system was also developed
by the Bendix Corporation.
Fuel injection became widespread with the introduction of electronically controlled fuel injection
systems in the 1980s and the gradual tightening of emissions and fuel economy laws. Meeting
modern emissions standards whilst retaining acceptable performance would be impossible without
it. In addition, the development of microprocessor technology made it possible to control the
amount of fuel injected precisely.
Diesel
Many modern diesel engines use direct injection, in which the injection nozzle is located inside the
combustion chamber. Some petrol engines utilise this system as well since it gives a better
volumetric efficiency since only air is drawn in through the induction system, not fuel which takes
up space, which means more power.
Some diesel engines have a very highly pressurised common rail fuel supply line to allow the
injection process. For the diesel engine this replaces the older mechanically more complicated,
noisy combined pump and selector valve assembly.
Throttle-body injection
Electronic throttle-body injection (normally called TBI, though Ford used the abbreviation, CFI)
was introduced in the early 1980s as a transition technology to fully-electronic port injection. The
system injects fuel into the throttle-body (a wet system), so fuel can condense and cling to the
walls of the intake system, harming emissions. Computer-controlled TBI was inexpensive and
simple, however, and lasted well into the 1990s.
Central port injection
General Motors developed a new "in-between" technique called central port injection or CPI. It
uses tubes from a central injector to spray fuel at the intake port rather than the throttle-body (it
is a dry system). However, fuel is continuously injected to all ports simultaneously, which is less
than optimal.
Sequential central point injection
GM refined the CPI system into a sequential central port injection (SCPI) system in the mid-1990s.
It used valves to meter the fuel to just the cylinders that were in the intake phase. This worked
well on paper, but the valves had a tendency to stick. Fuel injector cleaner sometimes worked, but
the system remained problematic.
Multi-port fuel injection
The goal of all fuel injection systems is to carefully meter the amount and timing of fuel to each
cylinder. This is achieved with the more sophisticated fuel injection systems, often called multi-port
fuel injection (MFI) or sequential port fuel injection (SFI). It uses a single injector per cylinder and
sprays the fuel right above the intake valves.
Direct injection
The newest method for petrol engines now is direct injection or DI. It has a special fuel injector
inside the combustion chamber itself, along with the valves and spark plugs. This system is just
appearing in the mid-2000s, and like most systems before, it is being pioneered in Diesel
applications. This method was used in various WWII aircraft as well. Notable engines included the
Daimler Benz DB 605 and later versions of the Wright R-3350 used in the B-29 Super fortress.
In direct injection, the piston incorporates a depression (often toroidal) which is where initial
combustion takes place. Direct injection diesel engines are generally more efficient than indirect
injection engines, but tend to be noisier.