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Manifold vacuum
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Manifold vacuum, or engine vacuum in an internal combustion engine is the difference
in air pressure between the engine's intake manifold and Earth's atmosphere.
Manifold vacuum is an effect of choked flow through a throttle in the intake manifold of
an engine. It is a measure of the amount of restriction of airflow through the engine, and
hence of the unused power capacity in the engine. In some engines, the manifold vacuum
is also used as an auxiliary power source to drive engine accessories. Manifold vacuum
should not be confused with venturi vacuum, which is an effect that is exploited in
carburetors to achieve a fixed mix ratio between fuel and air.
The rate of airflow through an internal combustion engine determines the amount of
power the engine generates, and most engines are controlled by limiting that flow with a
throttle that restricts intake airflow. Manifold vacuum is present in all naturally-aspirated
engines that use throttles (including carbureted and fuel injected gasoline engines using
the otto cycle or the two-stroke cycle. Diesel engines do not have throttle plates.).
The mass flow through the engine is determined by the rotation rate of the engine,
multiplied by the displacement of the engine, and the density of the intake stream in the
intake manifold. In most applications the rotation rate is set by the application (road
speed in a car or machinery speed in other applications). The displacement is dependent
on the engine geometry, which is generally not adjustable while the engine is in use.
Restricting the input flow reduces the density (and hence pressure) in the intake manifold,
reducing the amount of power that is produced. It is also a major source of engine drag
(see compression braking), as the engine must pump material from the low-pressure
intake manifold into the exhaust manifold (at ambient atmospheric pressure).
When the throttle is opened (in a car, the accelerator pedal is depressed), ambient air is
free to fill the intake manifold, increasing the pressure (filling the vacuum). A carburetor
or fuel injection system adds fuel to the airflow in the correct proportion, providing
energy to the engine. When the throttle is opened all the way, the engine's air induction
system is exposed to full atmospheric pressure, and maximum airflow through the engine
is achieved. In a "naturally-aspirated" engine, total engine output is thus determined by
the ambient barometric pressure. Superchargers and turbochargers can "boost" manifold
pressure to above atmospheric pressure, usually by a maximum of 0.7 bar.
Some modern engines using the Atkinson cycle rely on variable valve timing to regulate
mass flow through the engine, and hence have no throttle and no manifold vacuum at all.

In those engines, mass flow is regulated by phasing the intake valve to change the
effective displacement of the engine.

Contents
[hide]

1 Manifold vacuum vs. venturi vacuum

2 Manifold vacuum in cars
o 2.1 Uses of manifold vacuum
o

2.2 Manifold vacuum in diesel engines

[edit]

Manifold vacuum vs. venturi vacuum

Manifold vacuum is caused by a different effect than venturi vacuum, which is present
inside carburetors. Venturi vacuum is caused by the venturi effect and depends on the
total mass flow through the carburetor. In engines that use carburetors, venturi vacuum is
proportional to the total mass flow through the engine (and hence the total power output).
[edit]

Manifold vacuum in cars

Most automobiles use four-stroke otto cycle engines with multiple cylinders attached to a
single intake manifold. During the induction stroke, the piston descends in the cylinder
and the intake valve is open. As the piston descends it effectively increases the volume in
the cylinder above it, setting up low pressure. This sucks in air through the intake
manifold and carburetor or fuel injection system, where it is mixed with fuel. Because
multiple cylinders suck on the manifold at different times in the engine cycle, there is
almost constant suction through the inlet manifold from carburetor to engine.
To control the amount fuel/air mix entering the engine, a simple butterfly valve (the
throttle) is generally fitted at the start of the intake manifold (just below the carburetor in
carbureted engines). The butterfly valve is simply a circular disc fitted on a spindle,
fitting inside the pipe work. It is connected to the accelerator pedal of the car, and is set to
be fully open when the pedal is fully depressed and fully closed when the pedal is
released. The butterfly valve often contains a small "idle cutout", a hole that allows small
amounts of fuel/air mixture into the engine even when the valve is fully closed.
If the engine is operating under light or no load and intermediate throttle, the throttle is
closed and the engine pumps the air out of the intake manifold as fast as it can leak in
through the throttle. The engine speed is limited only by the amount of fuel/air mixture
that is available in the manifold. Under full throttle and light load, other effects (such as
valve float, turbulence in the cylinders, or ignition timing) limit engine speed so that the

manifold pressure can increase -- but in practice, parasitic drag on the internal walls of
the manifold, plus the restrictive nature of the venturi at the heart of the carburetor, means
that a low pressure will always be set up as the engine's internal volume exceeds the
amount of the air the manifold is capable of delivering.
If the engine is operating under heavy load at wide throttle openings (such as accelerating
from a stop or pulling the car up a hill) then engine speed is limited by the load and
minimal vacuum will be created. Engine speed is low but the butterfly valve is fully
open. Since the pistons are descending more slowly than under no load, the pressure
differences are less marked and parasitic drag in the induction system is negligible. The
engine pulls air into the cylinders at the full ambient pressure.
Vacuum is created in some situations. On deceleration or when descending a hill, the
throttle will be closed and a low gear selected to control speed. The engine will be
rotating fast due to the fact that the road wheels and transmission are moving quickly, but
the butterfly valve will be fully closed. The flow of air through the engine is strongly
restricted by the throttle, producing a strong vacuum on the engine side of the butterfly
valve which will tend to limit the speed of the engine. This phenomenon, known as
compression braking, is often used in engine braking to prevent acceleration or even to
slow down with minimal or no brake usage (as when descending a long or steep hill).
Note that although "compression braking" and "engine braking" are sometimes used to
describe the same thing, "compression braking" here refers to the phenomenon itself
while "engine braking" refers to the driver's usage of the phenomenon. Compression
braking can be greatly increased by closing the exhaust with a valve on the over-run,
which is often done on large trucks.
[edit]

Uses of manifold vacuum

This low (or negative) pressure can be put to uses. A pressure gauge measuring the
manifold pressure can be fitted to give the driver an indication of how hard the engine is
working and can be used to achieve maximum momentary fuel efficiency by adjusting
driving habits: minimizing manifold vacuum increases momentary efficiency. A weak
manifold vacuum under closed-throttle conditions shows that the butterfly valve or
internal components of the engine are worn, preventing good pumping action by the
engine and reducing overall efficiency.
Vacuum is often used to drive auxiliary systems on the vehicle. Vacuum-assist brake
servos, for example, use atmospheric pressure pressing against the engine manifold
vacuum to increase pressure on the brakes. Since braking is nearly always accompanied
by the closing of the throttle and associated high manifold vacuum, this system is simple
and almost foolproof. Petrol engine 4x4 vehicles or older petrol-engine trucks used for
towing sometimes have a vacuum tank fitted to allow vacuum to be available at all time
to provide power to run trailer-mounted braking systems.

Some cars built before the 1960s used manifold vacuum to drive windscreen wipers via a
small piston and valve arrangement connected to the wiper mechanism. This system was
simple and reliable, but meant that the speed of the wipers changed often- speeding up as
the car went downhill and slowing down or stopping as the car accelerated.
[edit]

Manifold vacuum in diesel engines

Many diesel engines do not have butterfly valve throttles. The manifold is connected
directly to the air intake and the only suction created is that caused by the descending
piston with no venturi to increase it, and the engine power is controlled by varying the
amount of fuel that is injected into the cylinder by a fuel injection system. This assists in
making diesels much more efficient than petrol engines.
If vacuum is required (vehicles that can be fitted with both petrol and diesel engines often
have systems requiring it), a butterfly valve connected to the throttle can be fitted to the
manifold. This reduces efficiency and is still not as effective as it is not connected to a
venturi. Since low-pressure is only created on the over-run (such as when descending
hills with a closed throttle), not over a wide range of situations as in a petrol engine, a
vacuum tank is fitted.
Most diesel engines now have a separate vacuum pump ("exhauster") fitted to provide
vacuum at all times, at all engine speeds.
Many new BMW petrol engines do not use a throttle valve in normal running, but instead
use "Valvetronic" variable-lift intake valves to control the amount of air entering the
engine. Like a diesel engine, manifold vacuum is practically non-existent in these engines
and an exhauster must be added to power the brake servo. Valvetronic requires very high
modulus valve springs and results in a heavy valvetrain, so despite its advantages in fuel
economy, it is currently unsuitable for high-revving engines.