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4.1 Basic Properties of Fuels for I.C. Engines : (GTU - May 2014)
An internal combustion engine is a device which converts the heat energy of a fuel
obtained by combustion of fuel in presence of air into mechanical work.
The fundamental knowledge of the basic properties of the fuels are very essential since
in an I.C. engine the availability of time for completion of chemical reaction is very small
and the rate of heat energy released affects its performance.
4.1.1 Desirable Properties of Good I.C. Engine Fuel : (GTU - May 2014)
The basic properties of the fuels for internal combustion engine are :
1.High energy content per unit quantity of fuel.
2.Good combustion properties.
3.Availability in large quantities economically.
4.Free from fire hazards.
5.High stability with changes in temperature.
6.Low tendency to form deposits to avoid wear and corrosion of engine parts.
7.Easy to store and transport.
8.Low toxicity.
9.Easy starting at atmospheric conditions.
10.Low pollution.
11.Products of combustion in gaseous form and non-corrosive.
The internal combustion engines can be operated upon many kinds of fuels, however, the
character of the fuel used has a considerable influence on the design, output, efficiency, specific
fuel consumption, reliability and the durability of the internal combustion engines.
4.2 Fuels :
Many types of fuels such as solid, liquid or gaseous fuels can be used for operation of
internal combustion engines, however, at present most of them employ petroleum fuels in
liquid state. I.C. engines need to be designed according to the fuel to be used.
4.2.1 Solid Fuels :
During initial stages of development of I.C. engines the solid fuels in the form of
powdered coal, saw dust or similar materials were attempted.
However, the practical problems in handling the solid fuels, disposal of solid residue in
the form of ash and elaborate arrangement in preparation and injection of fuels has prevented
the use of these solid fuels for their commercial application.
The solid fuels can only be used for internal combustion engines after their gasification,
but its high conversion cost has prevented its use for commercial application in internal
combustion engines.
4.2.2 Gaseous Fuels : (GTU - May 2014)
Gaseous fuels can ideally be employed for spark ignition engines because :
1.It makes homogeneous mixture with air for combustion.
2.It can flow in pipes.
3.It eliminates starting problems associated with liquid fuels.
It eliminates the distribution problem associated with liquid fuels in multi-cylinder engines.
4.It can be pressurised and stored in cylinders.
Eventhough the gaseous fuels are most ideally suited for internal combustion engines,
the problem of storage and the high cost on the basis of energy content of gaseous fuels have
prevented their use in automobiles. These fuels are only found suitable for stationary engines.
Brief description of important gaseous fuels :
Most of the natural gas is found in the upper part of the oil wells or gas wells. It mainly
consists of methane (75% to 95%) with small quantities of ethane, propane and higher
hydrocarbons. It may also contain small quantities of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen
sulphide. It is nearly odourless and colourless.
2. Liquified petroleum gas :
During the refining process of petroleum, considerable amount of propane and butane
gases are produced. Propane gas liquefies at 8.8 bar and butane gas liquifies at 2.1 bar at
atmospheric temperature of 21.1C. The liquefied gas can be stored in steel cylinders and these
gases are suitable for domestic and industrial applications.
3. Blast furnace gas :
This gas is obtained as by-product during the production of pig iron in a blast furnace. It
has a low calorific value of 3300 to 3700 kJ/m3. This gas can be used for operating the gas
engines and for heating applications. For application in gas engines, this gas needs to be
thoroughly cleaned since it contains about 30 to 50 gm of dust per m3 of gas.
4. Coke oven gas :
This gas is produced as by-product during the production of good quality of coke by the
process of carbonization of coal in closed retorts at temperatures maintained at 600 to 1000C.
Gas can be used for industrial heating and in gas engines after cleaning.
5. Blue water gas :
This gas is produced by blowing steam through incandescent bed of fuel containing
carbon. Blue water gas is the mixture of CO, CO2 and N2. It burns with blue flame and it is fit
for domestic applications.
6. Producer gas :
This gas is produced by partial gasification of solid fuels i.e. by incomplete combustion
of coal in presence of limited amount of air supplied in a gas producer. The main constituents
of producer gas are N2, CO, CO2 and H2. It's calorific value is low.
7. Sewage sludge gas :
This gas is produced in sewage treatment plants and it can be used for internal
combustion engines. Power developed by the engine, in turn, can be used to drive the sewage
pumps of the plant. The main constituents of sewage sludge gas are CO2 and methane.
4.2.3 Liquid Fuels :
The liquid fuels include the natural fuels which are the derivatives of the crude
petroleum and the artificially prepared fuels like tar, alcohols. However, petroleum products
are the largest single source of internal combustion engines and other power plants.
4.3 Chemical Structure of Petroleum :
According to accepted theory, the crude petroleum was formed due to the anaerobic
bacterial action under very high pressures and temperatures from the decay of buried animal
and vegetable debris with sand and silt million years ago.
The main constituents of petroleum are the mixture of various compounds of
hydrocarbons containing the molecules of carbon and hydrogen. In addition, it may contain
small quantities of other compounds having sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen, etc.
These hydrocarbons can be grouped into four main classes as shown in Table 4.3.1.
Table 4.3.1 : Basic hydrocarbon groups in petroleum
4.3.1 Paraffins :
Paraffins are further divided into normal paraffins and iso-paraffins. The later being
the isomers of the former compounds. (Compounds of the same chemical group with same
number of carbon and hydrogen atoms but of different molecular structure are called isomers.)
(a)Normal paraffins :
(n-octane)
Fig. 4.3.1 : Normal paraffins
These are given the suffix “ane�?. These are saturated compounds because the
valence (4) of the carbon bond is fully utilised. These have open structures with
formula (Cn H2n + 2) .
The simplest member of the family is methane (CH4), followed by ethane
(C2 H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), pentane (C5H12) etc. These compounds are
usually stable and have a low specific gravity.
The lower numbers n = 1 to 4 are gases, further up from n = 5 to 18 are liquids
and for (n 18) are solids. Representation of structures of some of the compounds are
shown in Fig. 4.3.1.
(b)Isoparaffins :
These are the isomers of normal paraffins with the same chemical formula
(Cn H2n+2) but have different molecular structure and physical properties.
In order to specify any particular isomer, they are named by the number of
carbon atoms occuring in the chain and the number, location and the name of attached
group. For example, molecular structure of the isomer of n-octane is 2, 2, 4 - trimethyl
pentane called iso-octane as shown in Fig. 4.3.2.
To understand the nomenclature, pentane indicates five carbon atoms in a chain
of paraffin molecule, trimethyl indicates that there are three methyl groups attached to
the chain and 2, 2, 4 shows that the two methyl groups are attached at second carbon
atom in the chain and the third methyl group is attached at the fourth carbon atom of
the chain.
Cyclo-hexane n-propyl-cyclohexane
Fig. 4.3.4 : Naphthenes
The Naphthenes are desired components of gasoline.
4.3.4 Aromatics :
These are unsaturated and highly unsaturated ring structured compounds with their
chemical formula as Cn H2n – 6.
Benzene C6 H6 is the lowest member of the group whose molecular structure has been
shown in Fig. 4.3.5.
Its thermodynamic properties are similar to naphthenes but this group of hydrocarbons
have desirable combustion characteristics for use in S.I. engines due to which these
compounds are added to gasoline to increase their octane rating, but, these compounds have
a tendency to smoke on burning.
Benzene, C H Toluene, C H CH
6 6 6 5 3
(i)For S.I. engines, the antiknock quality of fuel is poorly exhibited by normal paraffins and improves
with the groups discussed above. Aromatics offer best resistance to knocking.
(ii)For C.I. engines, the suitability of fuel for anticlock characteristics is in reverse order that for S.I.
engine i.e. normal paraffins exhibit best antiknock qualities while the aromatics exhibit the
poorest antiknock qualities as fuels for C.I. engines.
(iii)In each group, the boiling temperature increases as the number of carbon atoms in the molecular
structure increase. Therefore, fuels with fewer atoms in the molecule tend to be volatile.
(iv)Heating value of the fuel increases with the increased ratio of hydrogen to carbon atoms in a fuel
because the hydrogen and carbon represent the best and the least heating values of fuels
respectively.
4.3.6 Properties of Hydrocarbon Fuels :
Table 4.3.2 gives the properties of various hydrocarbon fuels pertaining to various
groups.
Table 4.3.2 : Properties of hydrocarbon fuels
4.4 Fuels for Spark Ignition Engines :
Gasoline is usually used for S.I. engines. It is a mixture of various hydrocarbons of low
boiling points consisting of paraffins, olefins, naphthenes and aromatics in different
proportions.
The composition of gasoline varies with the quality of crude oil from the source and
the refining process.
4.4.1 Requirement of an Ideal Gasoline :
Requirement of an ideal gasoline as a fuel for S.I. engine are :
1.It should easily vapourise and mix with air.
2.It should possess anti-knock properties.
3.It should be cheap, easy to handle, clean and non-corrosive.
4.It should not pre-ignite easily.
5.It should not form gum or varnishes.
6.It should have minimum sulphur content.
7.It should have high calorific value.
Above requirements of the fuel are connected with certain important properties which
are being discussed below :
4.4.2 Volatility :
In case of S.I. engines, the mixture consisting of partly or fully evaporated gasoline and
the air is prepared in the carburettor and supplied to engine through intake manifolds.
Since the gasoline is a mixture of hydrocarbons in varying proportions and boiling
temperatures, the volatility of fuel plays an important role on the performance and operation
of these carburetted engines.
Methods used for determination of volatility of fuels :
The apparatus used for ASTM distillation test is shown in Fig. 4.4.1. It consists
of a burner, 100 cc flask, thermometer, a condenser and a 100 cc graduated cylinder.
Heat is applied to 100 cc of fuel in the flask under test. The vapour formed in
the flask are condensed.
The temperature of first drop of condensate in the cylinder is recorded as
the initial boiling point. Since the gasoline is a mixture of various hydrocarbons of
different boiling temperatures and due to heating the boiling temperature continuously
rises, the evaporation of the fuel takes place.
Fig. 4.4.1 : ASTM distillation test
The ASTM distillation curve cannot be directly co-related with the performance
of fuel in the engine because the fuel is evaporated in presence of air in actual engines
in the intake manifolds, whereas, in the ASTM distillation test the fuel is evaporated
in the presence of its own vapour.
Therefore, an EAD test apparatus is used to simulate the engine conditions and
the air distillation curves for the gasoline are obtained which are used in practice to
forecast the engine performance.
4.4.3 Effect of Volatility of Fuels on Engine Performance :
The performance and fuel economy of spark ignition engines is vastly affected by the
volatility of the fuel.
In fact, the volatility of the fuel will influence the design of engine, in particular, the
design and shape of the intake manifolds.
The effect of volatility of the fuel as represented by ASTM distillation curve shown
in Fig. 4.4.2 can now be related to various problems of S.I. engines as follows.
1. Starting and warm up :
In order to obtain good acceleration and normal operation of the engine, the fuel
evaporation rates should be high to produce better mixing and distribution of the fuel
in the engine cylinder.
It is found that acceleration is better when boiling temperature is lower at 50%
evaporation rate and normal operation range is governed by 50 to 70% evaporation
rates.
3. Crankcase dilution :
Liquid fuel droplets in the mixture of fuel and air will dilute the engine
lubricating oil and reduces its viscosity.
It tends to increase the engine friction and deteriorates the quality of lubrication
due to weakening of the oil film between the mating parts.
To reduce the problem of crankcase dilution, it is necessary that the ASTM
curve at 80 to 95% evaporation rates should exhibit low temperature range.
Using crankcase ventilationcan minimize this problem.
4. Vapour lock :
An engine is said to be vapour locked when the interruption in the liquid flow
occurs due to its vapourisation.
Depending upon the amount of vapourisation, it will reduce the amount of fuel
flow into cylinder (vapour occupies more volume than liquid). This reduction causes
the loss of power or the complete stoppage of the engine.
To avoid vapour lock, the percentage of volume evaporated at low temperatures
should be small, which is contrary to fuel requirements for case of starting, warm up
and normal operation of engines.
Based on the experience it is estimated that the vapour lock may start if the ratio
of volume of vapour released from the gasoline to the volume of liquid remaining in
the fuel exceeds the ratio 25.
5. Evaporation loss :
The loss of vapour from venting holes of storage tank depends on the volatility of fuel at surrounding
temperatures.
6. Antiknock properties :
The properties of the fuel should be such that it resists the tendency of detonation in S.I. engines. The
antiknock property of the fuel depends on its self ignition temperature, molecular structure and
the chemical composition.
7. Gum and Varnish deposits :
4.6 Highest Useful Compression Ratio (HUCR) : (GTU - May 2012, Dec. 2014)
For a particular fuel, the highest useful compression ratiorepresents the compression
ratio at which the fuel can be used in an engine without detonation on a specified standard
test engine under standard operating conditions and the ignition with mixture strengths
adjusted to give best thermal efficiency.
HUCR rating of certain fuels determined in Recardo E6 engine are given in
Table 4.6.1.
Table 4.6.1 : HUCR of Fuels
It has been shown that the increased delay period or ignition lag promotes the
knocking in C.I. engines.
The fuel cetane (hexadecane) with chemical formula C16H34 is a straight chain
paraffin having good ignition qualities and it is assigned arbitarily a rating of 100
cetane number.
The cetane number for members of other hydrocarbon families are less than
those for n-paraffins, in the order of n-paraffins, naphthenes and aromatics.
Hence, high cetane rating of the fuels, apart from affecting ignition delay, it also
affects the starting, warm up and quality of ignition exhaust.
2. Starting characteristics :
The fuel should help in starting the engine easily. It requires that the fuel should
have high volatility to form a combustibile mixture. It requires a fuel with high cetane rating
in order that its self ignition temperature is low.
3. Smoking and odour :
The fuel should not promote either smoke or odour in the exhaust emissions.
In general, higher the volatility of the fuel, better is mixing of fuel with air,
hence, more complete combustion.
It is observed that fuel with lower cetane numbers tend to give high hydrocarbon
emissions since it increases ignition delay resulting into the start of combustion nearer
to top dead centre and incomplete combustion with loss of power and efficiency.
4. Volatility :
Evaporation and mixing of diesel fuel with air is essential for ignition and efficient combustion of
fuels in C.I. engines. Therefore, fuel used should be sufficiently volatile in the operating range
of C.I. engines i.e. upto 50% point of ASTM distillation curve shownin Fig. 2.5.2.
5. Corrosion and wear :
Engine deposits from the fuel and oil creates serious problems in C.I. engines
caused by incomplete burning of fuel.
These deposit tend to increase with the increase in specific gravity, viscosity
and reduced volatility.
Sulphur compounds in the fuel tends to promote both deposit, corrosion and
wear of engine parts.
Therefore, fuels for C.I. engines should have low sulphur content ash and
residues.
6. Ease of Handling :
The fuel should be in liquid form that should flow easily under all operating
conditions of the engine and it should be safe from fire hazards during storage. These
requirements are measured by flash point, fire point and viscosity of the fuel.
The fuel used should have high flash and fire points to have low fire hazards
with low viscosity to reduce friction pump work and high viscosity to do necessary
lubrication.
Very high viscosity of fuel can render starting problems under cold conditions.
The recommended viscosity of oil for buses and trucks is 1.8 to 2.9 centistokes,
for railway engines it is 2.7 to 3.3 centistokes and for stationary engines it is 2.7 to 6.0
centistokes.
For properties of diesel fuels IS : 1460-1974 may be referred.
7.Cloud point : (GTU - May 2012, Dec. 2014)
The temperature at which the oil starts solidifying when being cooled is called cloud point. The
cloudiness of oil will interfere with free flow of oil in cold climates.
8.Pour point : (GTU - May 2012, Dec. 2014)
It represents the lowest temperature at which oil flows. This temperature is important when oils
are needed to be used in cold weather conditions.
4.9 Rating of Fuels for C.I. Engines (Cetane Number) : (GTU - May 2011, May 2012, Dec.
2014)
Increased delay period or ignition lag promotes knocking in C.I. engines. The property
of ignition lag is generally measured by cetane number.
The fuel cetane (C16H34) is straight chain paraffin with good ignition qualities and it is
arbitrarily assigned a rating of 100 cetane number.
While the hydrocarbon fuel alpha-methyl-naphthalene (C10H7CH3) has poor ignition
quality and it is assigned zero cetane number.
These two fuels are mixed by volume and the mixture is matched with a fuel under test
in a standard engine running under prescribed conditions.
The cetane number of a fuel is defined as the percentage by volume of Cetane in a
mixture of cetane (C16H34) and alpha-methyl-naphthalene that produces the same delay period
or ignition lag as the fuel being tested under same operating conditions on the same engine.
Higher the cetane number of fuel lesser will be the tendency for diesel knock.
4.9.1 Diesel Index :
An alternative method of expressing the quality of diesel fuel is called diesel index.
It is defined as :
Where,
(a) Aniline point represents the lowest temperature at which the diesel fuel is completely
miscible with an equal volume of aniline.
(b) American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity is the density of diesel oil and it is expressed
as :
The specific gravity of diesel oil is the ratio of mass per unit volume of oil to the mass
of water to the same volume at standard temperature of 15C.
4.10 Additives for C.I. Engine Fuels :
Section - II : Carburetion
4.11 Introduction :
The spark ignition or petrol engines use usually the volatile fuels e.g. petrol, alcohol,
benzol etc.
The mixture of fuel and air is prepared outside the engine cylinder and partly evaporated
mixture is supplied to the engine. The mixture prepared outside the cylinder is never
homogeneous. Droplets of fuel continue to evaporate even during the suction and exhaust
strokes.
Therefore the process of formation of mixture is very important for spark ignition
engines for the engine to operate efficiently under all operating conditions. We shall now
discuss few definitions and the induction system for S.I. engines.
4.11.1 Definition of Carburetion : (GTU - Dec. 2012, May 2014, Dec. 2014, May 2015)
The process of preparation of mixture of atomized fuel and air before admission to
cylinder is called carburetion.
The device which supplies the metered spray of fuel mixed with correct amount of air for
efficient combustion in cylinder at all operating conditions is called carburettor.
4.11.2 Basic Fuel Feeding or Induction System for S.I. Engines :
The time available for formation of mixture by the carburettor is greatly affected
by the speed of the engine e.g. if an engine runs at 4000 rpm, the time available for the
process of carburetion is in the range of 0.0075 to 0.01 seconds.
In such a short period, the fuel is required to be atomised, mixed with air,
vaporized and to be inducted into the engine cylinder. Therefore, the design of a
carburettor becomes of utmost importance to accomplish the above processes in such
a short period, particularly, with regard to design of its venturi.
(ii) Temperature of inlet air :
The temperature of air plays an important role in the vaporization process of fuel. Higher surrounding
air temperature increases the vaporization of fuel and homogeneity of mixture. However
increased temperatures reduce the volumetric efficiency, hence, the power output.
(iii) Volatility of fuel :
Complete vaporization could be achieved by using highly volatile fuels, which are expensive to
produce, or by using heat in intake manifolds to promote vaporization. However, excessive
vaporization of fuel decreases the volumetric efficiency (i.e. mass of mixture inducted into the
cylinder per stroke) is decreased. This reduces the power output of the engine.
(iv)Design of intake manifolds :
Fig. 4.13.2 : Effect of air-fuel ratio on power output and efficiency at full throttle and constant speed
Fig. 4.13.3 : Effect of air-fuel ratio on specific fuel consumption at various throttle openings
4.13.3 Starting, Idling and Low Load Running :
The engine is said to idle when no external load is applied on the engine and at this
condition the throttle valve is almost closed.
Under idling conditions the power developed by the engine is just sufficient to
overcome the various friction losses of the engine.
Low load running is usually taken in the range of zero to 20% of the rated power of
the engine.
At the time of starting and idling the engine, the working temperatures are low.
Therefore, the carburettor is not able to vaporize the fuel and the mixture reaching the
cylinder is lean. This may lead to non-initiation of combustion in the cylinder.
To ensure minimum fuel vapour in the cylinder rich mixtures are necessary to initiate
the combustion.
Further, under the conditions of idling and low load running the throttle valve is almost
closed due to which the pressures in the intake manifolds are much lower than atmospheric
pressure while the pressure inside the cylinder is approximately atmospheric pressure at the
end of exhaust stroke.
When the inlet valve opens during the suction stroke, there shall be back flow of
residual gases into the intake manifolds.
When the piston moves outwards, the residual gases are drawn along with the fresh
charge. Therefore the actual mixture inside the cylinder would contain large percentage of
residual gases in the fresh charge i.e. the cylinder mixture is too diluted and it is at low
temperatures. This diluted mixture is not able to initiate proper combustion.
In order to offset the dilution of fresh charge due to residual gases and low temperatures,
it is necessary to supply rich mixtures during starting, idling and low load running of engines.
Usual air-fuel ratio requirements is about 11 to 12 : 1 as represented by the curve (ab)
in Fig. 4.13.1.
4.13.4 Acceleration :
Under normal running of engine the fuel that leaves the carburettor is not completely
vaporized and a part of the liquid remains in the intake manifolds as liquid film because the
liquid particles have larger inertia compared to vaporized fuel.
It does not create any problems under steady state running of engine since the fuel of
previous stroke in the intake manifolds vaporizes and supplied to the engine in the
subsequent stroke.
When the engine is to be accelerated suddenly by opening the throttle valve, the liquid
fuel lags behind in the intake manifolds due to its large inertia. As a result the mixture of fuel
and air reaching the cylinder is lean due to instant opening of throttle valve which is contrary
to the requirement of rich mixture during acceleration.
In order to compensate this ill effect and to provide the needed rich mixtures during
acceleration, a suitable mechanism calledacceleration pump is provided in the
carburettors.
4.13.5 Part Load Running - Cruising Range :
Curve (bc) of Fig. 4.13.1 shows the part load running of engine which is in the range
of 20 to 75% of rated power.
As the load on the engine is increased beyond 20% of load, the throttle valve is opened
gradually with the increase in load. It reduces the inlet pressure and the problem of dilution
of fresh charge by the residual gases is also reduced.
The air-fuel ratio increases and it ensures economical running of the engine.
It is observed that air-fuel ratio of about 17 : 1 is kept in cruising range for a single
cylinder engine. However, comparatively slightly rich mixtures with air-fuel ratio of
16: 1 are necessary in case of multicylinder engines because of problem of unequal
distribution of fresh charge to various cylinders.
4.14 Requirements of a Good Carburettor :
A carburettor has been defined as a device which supplies the metered spray of fuel mixed
with correct amount of air for efficient combustion in cylinder at all operating conditions. The
required operating conditions have been dealt in section 4.13. In view of this, therequirements
of a good carburettor are :
(a)To meter the liquid fuel so as to produce the required air-fuel ratios at all operating conditions like
during idling, low load running, cruising range and maximum power range.
(b)Energy to be supplied to change the fuel from liquid to vapour state since the fuel in liquid form
or drops will not burn efficiently in an engine.
(c)Prepare the homogeneous mixture of fuel and air as far as possible.
(d)Provide rich mixtures for ease of starting the engine.
(e)Provide the required rich mixture during acceleration.
4.15 Simple Carburettor : (GTU - May 2011, Dec. 2012, Dec. 2014, May 2015)
A simple carburettor is shown in Fig. 4.15.1. It consists of a float infloat chamber,
venturi and the main fuel jet.
Float chamber is open to atmosphere due to which the pressure in float chamber is
atmospheric.
Fuel is supplied to the float chamber through strainer from fuel tank with the help of
fuel pump.
The jet tube consists of main nozzle to which fuel is supplied from the float chamber
through a main fuel jet.
The suction of the engine draws air through the choke tube and passes through the
venturi. Since the area of cross-section at the throat of venturi reduces, the pressure at the
main nozzle reduces and the velocity of air increases (Refer section 4.18 dealt later).
Fig. 4.15.1 : Simple carburettor
Due to pressure differential caused at the main nozzle and the pressure in the float
chamber, the fuel from float chamber is supplied to the main nozzle which mixes with the
incoming air.
The velocity of air past the venturi vaporizes the petrol fuel partially which is then
evaporated by the heat in the intake manifolds and the cylinder walls.
A petrol engine is quantity governed. It means that the amount of charge delivered is
according to power delivered by the engine at a particular speed. This is achieved by a throttle
valve of butterfly type.
When the throttle valve opens, more air flows through the venturi tube and more
quantity of fuel and air is delivered to the engine, therefore, engine develops more power.
Reverse is the action when the throttle valve closes.
Nozzle lip, h :
The pressure at the throat under fully open throttle condition lies between 4 to 6 mm of
Hg below atmospheric. In order to avoid overflow of the fuel from nozzle, the main nozzle tip
is kept slightly higher than the level of fuel in float chamber. The difference of level of tip of
main nozzle and fuel level in float chamber is called nozzle lip.
If h is the nozzle lip and (p)a is the pressure drop due to flow of air, then the pressure
drop available for flow of fuel will be,
(p)f = (p)a – f h gwhere, f is the density of fuel ...(4.15.1)
4.15.1 Drawbacks of a Simple Carburettor :
A simple carburettor has the drawbacks outlined below :
1.It provides the required air-fuel ratio only at one throttle position. At other throttle positions, the
mixture is either richer or leaner depending upon the throttle valve is opened more or less.
2.It provides increasing richness of A/F mixture as the speed of the engine increases.
The reason for above is that as the throttle valve is opened gradually, the pressure at the venturi throat
decreases, which decreases density of air with increase in its air velocity. Whereas, the quantity
of fuel flow remains constant. Therefore, A/F ratio decreases with increase in speed of engine.
3.If the speed is too low, we get very lean mixtures which may not be sufficient to ignite the mixture.
4.15.2 Application of Simple Carburettor :
Simple carburettor is only suitable for small stationary engines to run at constant speed.
4.16 Modifications of Simple Carburettor : (GTU - Dec. 2013)
Various operating requirements of an engine have been dealt insection 4.13 while it has
been observed that the simple carburettor, discussed in section 4.15.1, cannot meet all the
requirements. Therefore, it is necessary that the simple carburettor needs to be modified to meet
the operational requirements of the engine, these modifications are being discussed below:
4.16.1 Starting Choke :
It has been brought out earlier that the rich mixture is required at the time of starting of
the engine due to cold conditions of the engine.
In order to achieve this, a butterfly valve called choke is incorporated before the venturi
as shown in Fig. 4.16.1.
At the time of cold starting of the engine the choke is almost closed.
It lowers the pressure at the venturi which is nearly equal to pressure in the intake
manifolds. This large pressure drop between the pressure in the float chamber and at the
venturi increases the mass flow rate of fuel thereby ensuring that a very rich mixture is
supplied to the engine.
Fig. 4.16.5 shows the arrangement of a compensating jet device. It's function is
to make the mixture leaner.
It consists of an additional compensating jet connected to compensation well
which is open to atmosphere.
The fuel is supplied from float chamber through a restricted orifice.
When the air flow increases the fuel level in compensating well decreases. It
results into decrease of fuel supply through compensating jet while the main jet
increases the fuel supply.
Net result of both the jets is to maintain the constant A/F ratio.
The effect of compensating device on air-fuel ratio is shown in Fig. 4.16.6.
Initially, air is drawn through the holes into the well and petrol is emulsified.
When the throttle valve is opened, the reduced throat pressure causes the
emulsified petrol and mixes with incoming air and reduces the richness of mixture.
As the speed increases, the holes in the central tube are progressively uncovered,
thus maintaining the A/F ratio.
(iii) Auxiliary air valve method :
Fig. 4.16.8 shows the principle of air bleed system to maintain air-fuel ratio with
speed.
As the throttle valve is opened, the decrease in pressure at the throat of the
venturi causes the auxiliary valve spring to push down the air valve. This allows the
additional atmospheric air from surroundings to bleed past the air valve into the main
nozzle. It prevents the mixture from becoming over rich.
The opening of the air valve is proportionate to speed of the engine, therefore,
the fairly a constant A/F ratio is maintained.
Fig. 4.16.8 : Auxiliary valve method
Fig. 4.17.1(c) shows the side draught carburettor. It consists of a horizontal jet tube.
Such a carburettor has the advantage where under bonnet space is limited and also the
resistance to flow is reduced due to elimination of one right angled turn in the intake
passages.
4.18 Analysis of a Single Jet Carburettor (Calculations for Air-Fuel Ratio) :
A simple through the nozzle because of pressure difference created at the venturi.
4.18.1 Air Fuel Ratio if Air is Assumed Incompressible : (MU - May 2016)
(a) Mass flow rate of air through venturi (neglecting compression) :
Also, the change in density is negligible for small change in pressure. Therefore,
Density of air, a = 1 = 2. Equation (iii) becomes;
a A1 C1 = a A2 C2
In view of the above, we define a term coefficient of discharge for air as the ratio of
actual mass flow rate to theoretical mass flow rate. i.e.
Consider the flow of fuel through an orifice of cross-sectional area Af as shown in Fig.
4.18.2.
If the nozzle lip ‘h’ is neglected. Then from Equation (4.18.7) we get,
Note :In all equations the units of A be in m , h in m, (p) in N/m and in kg/m .
2 2 3
Comments on A.F. ratio supplied by simple carburettor : Refer Equations (4.18.6) and (4.18.7)
1.From Equation (4.18.6) it is clear if p h g f , there will not be any flow of fuel from the
orifice.
5. The flow of fuel starts when p > h g f.
3.At high speeds of the engine the value of p is far greater than h g f. In such a case the
effect of nozzle lip, h can be neglected.
4.If the density of air a is reduced, the A.F. ratio reduces i.e. mixture supplied is richer. Such a
case occurs at high altitude in case of aircrafts and in case of high speed engines.
4.18.2 Exact Air-Fuel Ratio (when Compressibility of Air is Considered) : (MU - May
2016)
Applying S.F.E.E. given by Equation (i) above in which q = 0, wsf = 0, Z2 = Z1 and C1≃0,
For air, Cp = 1005 J/kgK, R = 287 Nm/kgK and = 1.4. On substituting these values
in
Equation (4.18.10),
If Cda is the coefficient of discharge for venturi and area of throat A2= Aa,
Soln. :
= 14.016 : 1...Ans.
Ex. 4.18.2 :The diameter of the main jet of a simple carburettor is 0.2 cm and the pressure drop across the venturi is
equivalent to 12 cm of water and the coefficient of discharge is 0.68. Density of petrol is 760 kg/m . Find
3
= 0.00286 kg/s...Ans.
Ex. 4.18.3 :The throat diameter of a carburettor is 9 cm and nozzle diameter is 5.5 mm. The air and fuel discharge
coefficients are 0.85 and 0.7 respectively. The nozzle lip is 6 mm. The pressure difference causing the
flow is 0.1 bar.
Find :
(i) Air to fuel ratio of the mixture supplied by the carburettor considering the nozzle lip.
(ii)Minimum velocity of air required to start the fuel injection through the nozzle. Take
density of air as 1.2 kg/m and density of fuel as 750 kg/m .
3 3
Soln. :
= 13.035 : 1...Ans.
(ii) Minimum velocity of air required :
The flow of fuel will start only when the pressure difference created overcomes
pressure equal to nozzle lip.
Pressure difference (p) of air must be equal to the pressure (hgf)
corresponding to nozzle lip, h.
Let the velocity at entrance to venturi, C1 = 0. From S.F.E.E. we can write,
= 8.5776 m/s...Ans.
Ex. 4.18.4 :A four cylinder, 4 stroke engine runs at 2000 r.p.m. The bore and stroke for each cylinder is equal to 12
cm and 14 cm respectively. The carburettor used for the engine has the venturi throat diameter of 3.5
cm. Determine the suction pressure at the throat if the volumetric efficiency of the engine is 75%. The
coefficient of discharge for air flow is 0.8. Assume density of air,
= 1.293 kg/m
a
3
Soln. :
Ex. 4.18.5 :A carburettor without air filter gives a air-fuel ratio of 15.5 while the pressure measured at venturi is 0.813
bar at sea level. When the air filter was fitted, it was found that the pressure lost in the air filter amounts
to 0.04 bar when the air flow rate was 4 kg/min. Assuming coefficient of discharge as 0.96, find the
throat pressure and the air-fuel ratio when the air filter is fitted.
Soln. :
D = 2.174 cm...Ans.
Ex. 4.18.7 :A simple jet carburetor is required to supply 6 kg of air per minute and 0.45 kg of fuel of density 740 kg/m .
3
The air is initially at 1.013 bar and 27°C. Calculate the throat diameter of the choke for a flow velocity
of 92 m/s, velocity coefficient of 0.8. If the pressure drop across the fuel metering orifice is 0.75 of that
at the choke, calculate orifice diameter assuming C =0.60.(GTU - Dec. 2015, 7 Marks)
d
Soln. :
Ex. 4.18.8 :A petrol engine consumes 6.8kg/hr. The choke diameter of the engine carburettor is 2 cm. The density of
the fuel used is 700 kg/m and A:F ratio of the mixture supplied by the carburettor is 15:1.Determine the
3
carburettor jet diameter if the top of jet is 5 mm above the petrol level in float chamber . Take
R = 287 Nm/kg-K. The Ambient pressure and temperature are 1 bar and 32C. Take C = 0.9 ,C =da df
Soln. :
Ex. 4.18.9 :Determine the air-fuel ratio supplied at 5000 m altitude by a carburettor which is adjusted to give an air-
fuel ratio of 14:1 at sea level, where air temperature is 27C and pressure is 1.0325 bar.
The temperature of air decreases with altitude and is given by the expression
T = Ta – 0.0065 h
Where, h is the height in meters and Ta is the temperature in C. The air pressure decreases with altitude as per the
relation h = 19200 log (1.03/p), where, p is in bar.
10
Soln. :
= 10.972 : 1...Ans.
1. The air-fuel ratio for depression of 0.07 bar when nozzle lip is neglected.
2.Air-fuel ratio when nozzle lip is considered.
3.The critical (minimum) air velocity to start the fuel if nozzle lip is provided.
Data : Density of air 1.2 kg/m and that of fuel is 750 kg/m .
3 3
Soln. :
Nozzle lip :
The pressure at the throat at fully open throttle valve position lies between 4 to 6 mm of
Hg below atmospheric pressure while the pressure in the float chamber is atmospheric.
In order to avoid dripping of fuel and its wastage, the level of liquid in the jet is adjusted
by the float chamber needle valve to maintain the level of fuel at a short distance below the tip
of discharge jet. This difference of fuel level in the float chamber and in nozzle is called nozzle
lip and it avoids the wastage of fuel.
Given :Venturi throat diameter, da = 20 mm,
Cda = 0.85, fuel orifice diameter, df = 1.25 mm,
Cdf = 0.66, nozzle lip, h = 5 mm, Depression, p = 0.07 bar,
a = 1.2 kg/m3,f = 750 kg/m3
The flow of fuel will start only when the minimum velocity of air, C2 required to create
the pressure difference equals to pressure difference corresponding to nozzle lip.
pa = h g f
Let the velocity of air at entry to venturi be negligible
i.e. C1 = 0
= 7.83 m/s...Ans.
Ex. 4.18.11 :A : F ratio of mixture supplied to an engine by carburettor is 15 : 1. The fuel consumption of engine is 7.5
kg/hr. The diameter of venturi is 2.2 cm. Find the diameter of fuel nozzle if the tip of nozzle is 4 mm.
Take the following additional data :
ln. :
In normal running circuit, the fuel is provided by the main jet (b) and the air by
the choke tube or venturi (c).
The fuel from the main jet enters into the air bleed emulsion tube (d).
The correct balance of air and fuel is automatically ensured by air entering
through air correction jet (f).
The metered emulsion of fuel and air is discharged through the orifice (g) drilled
horizontally in the vertical pipe in the middle of venturi tube.
(ii)Cold starting and warming :
In this circuit, the pilot jet (n) is taken from the main jet.
At the idling, the throttle (h) is almost closed and hence engine suction is applied
at the pilot jet.
Fuel is drawn therefrom and mixed with a small amount of air from pilot air
bleed orifice (o). This mixture is conveyed down the vertical passage and discharged
into the throttle body through the idling screw (p).
The idling screw permits variation of the slow running jet's delivery of petrol
and allows the richness of the mixture.
(iv) Acceleration : (GTU - May 2012)
t = ta – 0.00675 h...(4.23.2)
where, ta = Temperature of air at sea level in C
h = Altitude in meters
Accordingly, when an aircraft operates at high altitude, the pressure and temperature of
air is reduced compared to sea level condition. It follows that the density of air supplied by
the carburettor at high altitudes is reduced.
A carburettor supplies the air and fuel by volume and not by mass. In view of this, the
mass of air taken into the engine decreases caused by decreased density of air as the altitude
increases. Consequently, the mixture supplied by carburettor becomes richer and power
developed by the aircraft engine is reduced.
Mixture control system can be classified according to their principle of operation. These
are :
1.Needle type : It restricts the flow of fuel through the metering system of carburettor.
5. Back suction method : In this, the effective suction on the metering system is reduced. It is
achieved by aneroid bellows which move a tapered rod from the orifice near the venturi throat
as the altitude increases.
3.The air port type : It allows additional air to be supplied to the carburettor between the main
discharge nozzle and the throttle valve as discussed in section 4.16.6(iv).
4.24 Gasoline Injection in S.I Engines (Drawbacks of Carburettor System) :
Modern tendency is to use gasoline injection in S.I engines inspite of development of
efficient carburettors which are cheap and reliable.
Reasons for use of gasoline injection system are due to the following inherent
drawbacks of the carburettors :
1.Low volumetric efficiency due to restrictions of mixture flow across the venturi and other
metering elements in air passage.
2. Non-supply of exact A.F ratio at all loads.
3. Distribution of mixture is non-uniform to cylinders in case of multicylinder engines due to
resistance to mixture flow in unequal length of intake manifolds.
4. Economy of fuel is affected during idling and low load running of the engine.
5.It limits the use of compression ratio, however, the C.R by fuel injection can be increased by
1 to 1.5.
6.Possibility of back firing at low speeds particularly in multi-cylinder engines.
7. Exhaust emissions are high.
8.Problem of ice formation at low temperatures.
A gasoline injection system eliminates most of the above drawbacks of a carburettor.
4.25 Types of Gasoline Injection systems in S.I. Engines :
In case of C.I engines the fuel is injected directly into the cylinder, before the end of
compression stroke whereas, the fuel in case of S.I engines is injected during suction stroke
near the inlet port or in the intake manifolds in low pressure injection system and directly into
the cylinder in high pressure injection system.
Thus the fuel injection system can be classified as follows :
(c)In gasoline direct injection (GDI) system, the fuel pump injects the gasoline directly into the
cylinder as shown in Fig. 4.25.1(c). The system uses an electronic control unit (ECU) and a
solenoid operated fuel injector to meter the fuel.
The ECU uses various sensors located on the engine components. It receives inputs from
sensor in the form of voltage signals which is analysed and adjusts the air-fuel ratio and
injection timing.
Various sensors used are :
The ECU sends the signal to the injector to regulate the amount of gasoline supply for
injection.
4.27.2 L-M.P.F.I. System :
This system is a port fuel-injection system.
In this system the fuel metering is regulated by the engine speed and the amount of
air that actually enters the engine. The block diagram of
L-M.P.F.I. system is given in Fig.4.27.2.
As air enters into the intake manifold, the air flow sensor measures the amount of air
and sends the signal to the ECU and the speed sensor sends the signal of RPM to ECU.
The ECU in turn sends the signal to the injector, in order to regulate the amount of
gasoline to be injected into the manifold.
Turns the fuel pump relay on, so that the current is supplied to the fuel pump when the
engine is cranking or running.
(b) AC relay control :
Turns on the fuel pump for about 7 seconds to built up the fuel pressure as soon as the
ignition switch is turned on.
(d) Purge control solenoid valve control :
Turns the Purge control solenoid valve on and off when an activation is received from
the ECU.
4.27.5 Idle Air Control :
The idle speed is kept at the optimum speed by controlling the amount of air that by-
passes the throttle valve in accordance with changes in the idling conditions.
The engine-ECU drives the idle speed control motor to keep the engine running at the
pre-set idle target speed in accordance with the engine coolant temperature and air-conditioner
load, in addition, when the air-conditioner switch is turned off to on while engine is idling, the
idle speed control (ISC) motor operates to adjust the throttle valve bypass air amount in
accordance with the engine load conditions in order to avoid fluctuations in the engine speed.
The arrangement is shown in Fig. 4.27.5.
Fig. 4.27.5 : Idle air control system
The RAM data inside the engine - ECU that is related to the sensors and actuators can be
read by means of the monitor (diagnostic equipment). If a malfunction is detected a blink signal
is also given to the “check engine soon�? light.
When the engine is running, the light blinks slowly when engine temperature is over 92C
or voltage below 12.2 volts over or 15 volts. On seeing the blinks, action is to be taken as per
the Table 4.27.1.
Table 4.27.1
Fig. 4.27.6 : Ignition timing control
1.System is costly.
2.System needs elaborate arrangement requiring large number of components and sub-systems.
1.It cannot be used for portable engine due to requirement of air compressor and, if the system is
used it reduces power output and mechanical efficiency.
2.Air compressor needs extra maintenance.
3.System is bulky and expensive.
This system is not used now a days.
4.31 Solid Injection or Airless Injection System : (GTU - Dec. 2013)
In case of solid injection system, fuel is directly injected into cylinder without the aid
of compressed air. For this reason, this system is called solid or airless mechanical system.
In this system the air is first compressed in the cylinder to a high temperature due to
high compression ratio employed by C.I. engines.
High temperatures of air help in vapourising the fuel when injected.
Since, the fuel does not vapourise at ordinary temperatures, also, the fuel supplied needs
to be atomized and mix with the air. Hence, it requires high injection pressures over
70 bar.
Main components of solid injection system are :
1.Fuel tank.
2.Fuel filters.
3.Fuel feed pump to supply fuel to injector.
4.Injection pump to meter and pressurise the fuel and supply to injector.
5.Governor to ensure that fuel is injected in accordance with variation in load.
6.Injector to inject fuel into the cylinder.
The solid injection system consists of mainly a fuel pump and a fine nozzle.
4.31.1 Types of Solid Fuel Injection System :
Fuel injection system are divided into two groups :
1.Mechanical injection
2.Electronic injection.
Mechanical injection is further classified as :
(a) Common rail direct injection (CRDI) system : In this system the fuel is injected through
a mechanically controlled valve using the fuel stored in a receiver under high pressure.
(b) Individual pump system : It has a separate metering and compressing pump for each
cylinder of engine.
(c) Distributor system : It uses a single pump for metering and compressing the fuel and a
distributor for distributing the fuel to the various cylinders.
4.31.2 Common-Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) System : (GTU - May 2012, Dec. 2012)
The system is shown schematically in Fig. 4.31.1.
In this system the fuel from the tank is first supplied to common header
called accumulator with the help of high pressure pump.
Fuel from accumulator is led into the engine cylinders through tubing to the injectors.
A spring loaded high pressure relief valve maintains a constant pressure in the system
and it returns the excess fuel of the header to the fuel tank.
The fuel is sprayed into the cylinders through a nozzle whose opening and closing is
controlled by a needle valve.
The upward and downward motion of needle valve is controlled by the motion of
the cam.
When the cam is during its dwell period, the spring forces the needle valve into the
nozzle passages and prevents the admission of fuel into the cylinder.
The lift of a cam pushes the push rod upwards and this motion is transmitted to the
needle valve through the rocker arm and lever.
The fuel is always kept in the space above the valve seat from the header and sealed
from top through the packing gland.
When the needle valve lifts, the high pressure fuel is passed through the nozzle to the
cylinder.
The wedge is operated either manually or by a governor which controls the amount of
fuel to be injected in accordance to the power requirement of the engine since the duration
of its opening depends upon its position.
The fuel pressure in the accumulator can be varied by adjusting the spring pressure in
high pressure relief valve.
Advantages :
In this case only a single pump (P) is used to meter the fuel and raise the high pressure.
Further distribution of the fuel is done by the distributor (D) to various nozzles. The
remainder working is similar to individual pump system.
4.31.5 Electronic Injection : (GTU - May 2014)
Electronic injection system uses the electronic sensors for precise metering of fuel.
Such a system is called “Electronic Diesel Control (EDC)�? system. The various sensors
used are engine speed, crankshaft position, temperatures of intake & ambient air and
lubricating oil, mass flow rate of air, accelerator pedal position.
The sensors feed the data to an electronic control unit (ECU). Which determines the
amount of fuel to be injected depending upon the engine speed, throttle position and other
parameters.
Advantages of electronic system :
These nozzles have a thin shanks or ends in the form of pin which protrudes through the
mouth of the nozzle as shown in Fig. 4.34.1(a). By varying the shape of this pin we can obtain
either a hollow cylindrical jet of high penetration effect or a wide angle spray under low
injection pressures of 80-100 bar with a spray cone angle of 55 – 60. Advantage of this type
of nozzle is that it avoids dribbling of fuel in the combustion chamber.
(ii) Single hole nozzle :
In this type of nozzle the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber through a single
hole bored through the nozzle body and closed by the nozzle valve as shown in Fig. 4.34.1(b).
Spray cone angle obtained ranges from 5 to 20 from a hole diameter of 0.2 mm. These
nozzles are suitable for open combustion chambers. The disadvantage of this nozzle is that it
gives a small spray cone angle due to which it does not provide a very good mixing of fuel and
air unless high injection pressures are used. Also, these nozzles have a tendency to dribble.
(iii) Multiple hole nozzle :
These nozzles have multiple holes bored at the tip of the nozzle as shown in Fig.
4.34.1(c). Its advantage is that it ensures proper mixing of fuel in case of open combustion
chambers even when the air velocities are low. The number of holes vary from 4 to 8 and its
size varies from 0.2 mm to 0.35 mm. The disadvantage of these nozzles is that it requires high
injection pressures in the range of 180 to 200 bar.
(iv) Pintaux nozzles :
It is a pintle type of nozzle with an auxiliary hole drilled in the nozzle body shown in Fig.
4.34.1(d). The auxiliary hole injects the fuel in a direction upstream the direction of air before
the main injection starts. Its advantage is that it reduces the delay period due to better heat
transfer between fuel and air, therefore, it results into better cold starting performance at a
temperature 20 to 25C lower than multiple hole nozzles.
The velocity of fuel required for proper atomisation and mixing of fuel is of the order of
400 m/s. This velocity is expressed in terms of h as :
Soln. :
Ex. 4.35.2 :A eight cylinder, four stroke diesel engine develops 180 kW at 4000 rpm. Its brake specific fuel
consumption (b.s.f.c) is 0.21 kg/kWh. Calculate the quantity of fuel to be injected per cycle if the specific
gravity of fuel is 0.86.
Soln. :
= 0.0458 cc...Ans.
Ex. 4.35.3 :A six cylinder, four stroke C.I engine develops 500 kW at 4800 rpm and consumes 0.2 kg/kWh. Determine
the diameter of single orifice injector if the injection pressure is 200 bar and cylinder pressure is 40 bar.
The period of injection is 30C of crank rotation. Assume, specific gravity of fuel as 0.89 and coefficient
of discharge as 0.9.
Soln. :
= 0.7803 cc
Solution :
= 0.0025 seconds.
= 6.93 10– 8 m3 / s
Ex. 4.35.5 :A four stroke, 6 cylinder oil engine operates on A.F. ratio = 20. The diameter and stroke of cylinder are
10 cm and 14 cm respectively. The volumetric efficiency = 0.8 The condition of air at the beginning of
compression are 1 bar, 300 K.
Determine (i) the maximum amount of fuel that can be injected in each cylinder per cycle
(ii) If the engine speed is 1500 rpm, injection pressure is
150 bar, air pressure during fuel injection is 40 bar and fuel injection is carried out for
20 of crank rotation, determine the diameter of the fuel orifice assuming only one orifice
is used.
Soln. :
mf1 = f Af Cf
Diameter of orifice, d = 5.8 10– 4 m
= 0.58 mm…Ans.
Ex. 4.35.6 :A six cylinder four stroke CI engine developing a power output of 270 kW at 1000 rpm has a fuel
consumption of 0.25 kg/kWh. The injection takes place over 20 crank angle with pressure across the
injector orifice of 100 MPa, Calculate rate of fuel injection in mg/s through each hole of four hole injection
fitted in the engine cylinders and thermal efficiency of the engine.
Soln. :
(pi – pc) = 100 Mpa = 1000 bar ; Number of holes in each nozzle = 4
(i)Thermal efficiency of the engine, b :
where, KLi.m.e.p represents the knock limited indicated mean effective pressure.
Highest useful compression ratio (HUCR) represents the compression ratio at which
the fuel can be used in an engine without detonation under standard operating conditions.
Diesel fuels are used for C.I. engines. Fuel should have high cetane number, high
volatility for easy starting, not to promote smoke and odour, anti-corrossive and flow easily
under all operative conditions.
Cetane number of a fuel is defined as the percentage by volume of cetane fuel
(C16 H34) in a mixture of cetane and alpha methyl naphthelene (C11H10) that produces the same
ignition lag under standard operating conditions.
Diesel index is another way expressing the quality of diesel fuel.
Section I : Carburetion
The process of preparation of mixture of atomized fuel and air is called carburetion.
The device which supplies the metered spray of fuel mixed with correct amount of air
for efficient combustion in cylinder at all operating conditions is called carburettor.
Fuel feeding system for S.I. engines consists of fuel tank, carburettor, throttle valve
and intake manifolds.
Various mixture requirements of S.I. engine are :
(a) Maximum power : Rich mixtures with air-fuel ratio 12.5 to 13.5 : 1
(b) Maximum economy : Lean mixtures 16.5 to 17.5 : 1
(c) Starting, idling and low load running : Rich mixtures 11 to 12 : 1
(d) Acceleration : Rich mixtures provided with the help of accelerating pumps.
(e) Part load running-Cruising range : Lean mixtures 17 : 1 for single cylinder engines and
16 : 1 for multicylinder engines.
Main components of a simple carburettor are float chamber with float, main fuel jet,
venturi and the choke tube. Drawback of this carburettor is that it supplies rich mixtures with
the increase in air speed.
Starting choke, when closed, provides rich mixtures at the time of cold starting of the
engine.
Idling system consists of an idle port located just below of throttle valve. During idling,
the low pressures existing in intake manifolds helps in providing the rich mixture through
idle jet.
Acceleration system consists of an accelerating pump whose plunger is controlled by
spring force and supplies excess fuel through metering orifice.
Various compensating devices are used to maintain constant air-fuel ratio with
variation in speed since a simple carburettor tends the supply richer mixtures with increase
in speed.
Modern carburettors use the following compensating devices :
(i) Compensating jet
(ii) Emulsion tube or air bleed
(iii)Auxiliary air valve
(iv) Auxiliary air part
(v) Metering pin method for part load running.
(vi) Quality control by back suction.
A.F. ratio of a simple carburettor is :
(a) When compressibility of air is neglected :
Modern engines use fuel injection system in S.I. engines also. It is due to inherent
drawbacks of the carburettor like non-supply of exact A.F ratio at all loads and speeds,
unequal distribution of A.F ratio in multicylinder engines, high s.f.c, back firing, low
volumetric efficient and high exhaust emissions.
Types of Gasoline injection system in S.I. engines are :
(i)Continuous port and intake manifold injection system : A pump under pressure of 1 to
1.5 bar injects fuel through a nozzle continuously into air supply.
(ii) Timed fuel injection system : (Obsolete today due to high fuel consumption and high
exhaust emissions.)
(iii)Gasoline direct injection (GDI) into cylinder.
Advantages of continuous injection system are that it increases atomisation of fuel,
provides uniform A.F ratio and improves volumetric efficiency.
M.P.F.I. System for S.I. Engines involves the injection of fuel under low pressure into
each cylinder by separate injectors.
(a) It’s main components are computer (ECU), sensors and solenoid injector.
(b) It is classified as :
(i) D-M.P.F.I. system in which fuel is injected in the intake manifolds by sensing vacuum,
density of air and speed of engine.
(ii)L-M.P.F.I. system regulates the fuel injection by sensing speed. It is a port fuel injection
system.
M.P.F.I. System components are fuel injection control, idle air control and ignition
time control.
Advantages of M.P.F.I. system over conventional system are :
(i) more uniform A.F ratio
(ii) high volumetric efficiency
(iii)more power
(iv) less s.f.c
(v) provision for sudden acceleration / deceleration
(vi) low exhaust emissions
(vii)better mileage
(viii)no need to crank the engine in case of cold starting.
Fuel injection systems are of two types :
(i) Solid or airless injection system
(ii) Air injection
In solid injection system air is first compressed to a high pressure and temperature and
used for injecting the fuel at 70 bar and higher pressures. These are of three types :
(a) Common rail system
(b)Individual pump system
(c) Distributor system.
Nozzle is a part of an injector through which fuel is injected to combustion chamber,
these are pintle, single hole, multiple hole and pintaux types. The use of pintle nozzles avoid
the dribbling of fuel in the combustion chambers. Single hole nozzles are suitable for open
combustion chambers, since these give small spray cone angle with inadequate mixing of
fuel and air.
Quantity of fuel and size of nozzle orifice :
Fuel jet velocity,
Section I
Theory :
Q. 1Enumerate the desirable properties of a fuel for I.C. engines. [Section 4.1.1]
Q. 2 How the fuels are classified ? Is it possible to use solid fuels in I.C. engines ? If no, what are associated
problems ? [Sections 4.2 and 4.2.1]
Q. 3 Classify liquid fuels. How the hydrocarbons are classified into various groups.
[Section 4.3]
Q. 5 Discuss the ideal properties of gasoline for S.I. engines. [Section 4.4.3]
Q. 8 Discuss the effect of high sulphur content in fuels on performance of I.C. engines. [Section 4.4.3 (8)]
Q. 10Define : Octane number, Cetane number and HUCR. Discuss the method to determine Octane number
of a fuel. [Sections 4.5, 4.5.2, 4.6 and 4.9]
Q. 11What are the ideal characteristics of a fuel for C.I. engines ? [Section 4.8.1]
Q. 12What do you understand by dopes ? Name some of the additives used for S.I. and C.I. engine
fuels. [Sections 4.7 and 4.10]
Section II : Carburetion
Theory :
(ii)Lean mixture
(iii)Stoichiometric mixture.
What are the limits of burning the rich and lean mixtures in S.I. engines.[Section 4.12]
Q. 6What are A.F. ratio requirements of a spark ignition engine under varying operating conditions ? why
? [Section 4.13]
Q. 7With the help of a neat sketch explain the working of a simple carburettor. Why is this type not used in
actual S.I engines ? [Sections 4.15 and 4.15.1]
Q. 8Sketch a typical induction system of a petrol engine and explain the A.F. ratio requirements of a petrol
engine from no load to full load.[Sections 4.11.2 and 4.12 and 4.13]
Q. 9Explain with the help of neat pencil sketch operation of a carburettor having starting, idling and main jet
system. [Section 4.19.1]
Q. 10Explain the mixture strength required while accelerating and at the time of cold starting. [Sections 4.13.3
and 4.13.2]
Q. 11What are mixture requirements for steady state and transient conditions for the S.I. engine ? [Sections
4.12 and 4.13]
(i)idling
(ii)maximum power
(iii)sudden acceleration. [Sections 4.13.2 and 4.13.1 and 4.13.3]
Q. 13Explain the reason for increase in thermal efficiency with weak mixtures in S.I. engines. [Sections 4.13
and 4.13.2]
Q. 14Give your comments and explain a petrol engine is a quantity governed.[Section 4.15]
Q. 15Discuss the working of a simple carburettor with the help of a neat sketch. What modifications are required
in simple carburettor to meet the requirement of cold starting and low load running of the engine
?[Sections 4.15 and 4.16.1 and 4.16.4]
Q. 16What do you understand by the term compensation as applied to carburettors ? Explain various methods
of compensation. [Section 4.16.6]
Q. 18What is meant by slow running jet ? How does it compensate the A.F. requirement of
S.I. engine ? [Section 4.16.2]
Q. 19What is a choke and throttle valve ? What are their functions ?[Sections 4.15 and 4.16.1]
Q. 20What is an emulsion tube ? How does it help to control the uniform A.F. ratio with increase in speed to
engines ? [Section 4.16.6(ii)]
Q. 24Draw a neat sketch of a Carter carburettor and explain its working.[Section 4.19.2]
Q. 25Explain the working of a S.U. Carburettor with the help of a neat sketch.[Section 4.19.3]
Q. 26Explain the working of an electric fuel pump used for S.I. engines.[Section 4.12]
Explain, how the mixture is controlled at high altitudes by the carburettor.[Section 4.13]
Numericals :
Q. 1A four cylinder, four stroke engine having cylinder diameter 6 cm, 10 cm stroke runs at 2400 rpm. The
volumetric efficiency is 80 %. If the pressure difference causing the flow is 0.157 bar, find the required
throat diameter of the venturi.
If the carburettor is required to supply an air-fuel ratio of 16 : 1, find the diameter of nozzle orifice.
Assume : C = 0.85, C = 0.7, = 1.26 kg/m , = 730 kg/m
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Q. 2If Q. 1 the nozzle lip is 6 mm, find the diameter of nozzle orifice required.
The velocity coefficient for the venturi is 0.8 and the air flow velocity is 90 m/s. Calculate the required throat
diameter of venturi by considering compressibility of air. Assume, C = 1005 J/kg K and = 1.4 p
Q. 4A simple carburettor has the venturi throat diameter of 10 cm and coefficient of discharge is 0.9. The fuel
orifice diameter is 0.6 cm and its coefficient of discharge is 0.7. Find the A.F. ratio if the pressure drop
across the venturi is 0.18 bar.
[Ans. : 14.99:1]
Q. 5The throat diameter of the venturi of a simple carburettor is 3 cm and that of fuel orifice 1.5 mm. The nozzle
lip is 5 mm. If the pressure drop across the venturi amounts to
0.1 bar find :
Assume, C = 0.8, C = 0.65, = 1.2 kg/m and = 740 kg/m
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Q. 6A six cylinder, 4 stroke engine runs at 4000 rpm. The bore and stroke of each cylinder is 12 cm and 14 cm
respectively. The throat diameter is 4 cm and the volumetric efficiency is 0.8.
Q. 7A simple carburettor supplies the A.F ratio of 17 : 1. The throat diameter is 2.4 cm. The mass flow rate of
fuel is 8 kg/hr. Assume, = 750 kg/m , = 1.2 kg/m , C = 0.8, C = 0.65
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(i) Air flow rate in kg/s(ii) Pressure drop across the venturi
(iii) Fuel orifice diameter.
[Ans. : (i) 0.03778 kg/s (ii) 4540.5 N/m (iii) 1.25 mm]
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Q. 8A carburettor without air filter supplies A.F ratio of 16 : 1. When the pressure measured at venturi is 0.8
bar.
When the air filter was fitted, the pressure lost in filter amounts to 0.03 bar and the air flow rate is 300 kg/hr.
If C = 0.9, find the throat pressure and the A.F ratio with air filter fitted.
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Q. 9A carburettor is designed to provide an A.F. ratio of 14 at sea level. If the same carburettor is required to
work at an altitude of 5000 m, find the A.F ratio at this altitude given by the same carburettor.
Assume :
p = 1.013 bar, T = 300 K;
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T = T + 0.0065 h
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Theory :
Q. 1Discuss the reasons for adopting fuel injection system for S.I. engines. What are various types of petrol
injection system ? [Sections 4.24 and 4.25]
Q. 2Discuss various methods of continuous injection system used in S.I. engines.[Section 4.25.1]
Q. 3Why M.P.F.I. system is used in modern automobiles in S.I. engines ?[Section 4.27.7]
Q. 4Draw a neat sketch of a general M.P.F.I. system and explain its working.[Section 4.26]
Q. 6How the M.P.F.I. system classified ? Explain the working principle any one of them.[Sections 4.27 and
4.27.1]
Q. 7Explain with the help of block diagram a M.P.F.I. system. [Section 4.27.3]
Q. 8What are various controls of a M.P.F.I. injection system used in S.I engine ? Explain them with the help of
block diagrams. [Sections 4.27.3, 4.27.4, 4.27.5 and 4.27.6]
Q. 9What are the advantages of M.P.F.I. injection system over conventional system ?[Section 4.27.7]
Q. 10Write brief explanatory note on multipoint fuel injection system (MPFI) for S.I. engines.[Section 4.26]
Q. 11What are the requirements of a fuel injection system in C.I. engines ?[Section 4.28]
Q. 12Discuss the types of fuel injection system used in C.I. engines. Why air injection system not used now-a-
days ? [Sections 4.29 and 4.30]
Q. 13With a diagram explain the working of a common-rail fuel injection system. Obtain an expression for the
amount of fuel injected per cycle.[Sections 4.29.2 and 4.35]
Q. 14Explain with the help of neat sketch the working of a Diesel engine fuel injection pump.[Section 4.32.1]
Q. 15Give brief classification of diesel injection systems with explanation of any one system. [Sections 4.29,
4.31.1 and 4.31.3]
Q. 16Explain the working of individual pump system used in C.I. engine.[Section 4.31.3]
Q. 17Differentiate between individual pump system and distributor system of injection of fuel in C.I.
engines. [Sections 4.31.3 and 4.31.4]
Q. 19Explain the working of distributor type fuel injection pump with a neat sketch.[Section 4.32.2]
Q. 20Draw sketches showing the constructional features of different type of nozzles used in automobile diesel
engines, explaining the function of each. [Section 4.34]
Numericals :
Q. 1A eight cylinder, 4 stroke C.I. engine develops 1000 kW at 3600 rpm. s.f.c is
0.22 kg/kWh. Injection pressure is 240 bar and cylinder pressure is 50 bar. The period of injection is
30 of crank rotation. Determine the diameter of single orifice injector required. Assume, C = 0.9 and
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Q. 2A single cylinder four stroke diesel engine running at 650 rpm uses 2.2 kg/hr of fuel (sp. gravity 0.875). It
has a single hole nozzle and the injection period is 28 of crank travel. If the average injection pressure
is 150 bar and average air pressure is 30 bar during the injection, calculate the fuel orifice diameter.
Assume, C = 0.88.
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4.36 University Questions and Answers :
May 2011
Dec. 2011
Q. 2Draw neat and labeled diagram of multi point fuel injection system for modern automobile engines
and explain its working. (Section 4.26)(7 Marks)
Q. 3With neat sketch explain working principle and constructional detail of Bosch fuel injection
pump. (Section 4.32.1)(7 Marks)
May 2012
Q. 5Write a note on mpfi system for modern automobiles. (Section 4.26)(7 Marks)
Q. 6With a line diagram explain the working of common rail fuel injection system.(Section 4.31.2)(7
Marks)
Q. 7State the different types of carburetors and explain working of any one of them.(Sections 4.19,
and 4.19.1)(7 Marks)
Q. 8Explain construction and working of bosch fuel pump. (Section 4.32.1)(7 Marks)
Dec. 2012
Q. 9What is the function of carburetor in an SI engine? Briefly explain with a neat sketch the operation
of simple float type carburetor. (Sections 4.11.1 and 4.15)(7 Marks)
Q. 12 Describe different types of injection nozzles and discuss their relative advantages and
disadvantages. (Section 4.34)(7 Marks)
May 2013
Dec. 2013
Q. 17 A petrol engine consumes 6.8kg/hr. The choke diameter of the engine carburetor is
2 cm. The density of the fuel used is 700 kg/m and A:F ratio of the mixture supplied by the
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carburetor is 15:1.Determine the carburetor jet diameter if the top of jet is 5 mm above the petrol
level in float chamber . Take R = 287 Nm/kg-K. The Ambient pressure and temperature are 1 bar
and 32C.Take C = 0.9 ,C = 0.7.(Ex. 4.18.8)(7 Marks)
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Q. 18 Explain with neat sketch different devices used to meet the requirements of an ideal
carburetor. (Sections 4.16 and 4.16.6)(7 Marks)
Q. 19 Explain with neat sketch air-less injection system. (Section 4.31)(7 Marks)
May 2014
Q. 20 What are the criteria for the selection of I.C. Engine fuels ? (Section 4.1.1)(7 Marks)
Q. 21 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using gaseous fuels in I.C. Engines. (Section
4.2.2)(7 Marks)
Q. 22 What is the function of a carburetor ? What is carburetion ?(Sections 4.11 and 4.11.1)(7 Marks)
Q. 23 Explain the construction and operation of a simple carburetor with the help of a diagram. (Section
4.15)(7 Marks)
Q. 26 Describe the construction and working of a fuel injector nozzle with the help of a
diagram. (Section 4.33)(7 Marks)
Dec. 2014
Q. 28 Define the following terms : Cloud point, pour point, Cetane number and HUCR.(Sections 4.8(7),
4.8(8), 4.9 and 4.6)(7 Marks)
Q. 29 What is the function of carburetor in an SI engine? Explain the operation of simple float type
carburetor with a neat sketch. (Sections 4.11.1 and 4.15) (7 Marks)
Q. 30 Draw neat and labeled diagram of multi point fuel injection system for modern automobile engines
and explain its working. (Section 4.26)(7 Marks)
May 2015
Q. 31 What is carburetor? Explain any one type of carburetor with neat sketch.(Sections 4.11.1 and
4.15)(7 Marks)
Q. 33 Explain simple jet type carburetor with neat sketch. (Section 4.15)(7 Marks)
Dec. 2015
Q. 35 A simple jet carburetor is required to supply 6 kg of air per minute and 0.45 kg of fuel of density
740 kg/m . The air is initially at 1.013 bar and 27°C. Calculate the throat diameter of the choke
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for a flow velocity of 92 m/s, velocity coefficient of 0.8. If the pressure drop across the fuel
metering orifice is 0.75 of that at the choke, calculate orifice diameter assuming C =0.60. (Ex.
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4.18.7)(7 Marks)
Q. 36 Draw neat sketch of pintaux nozzle and discuss its merits. (Section 4.34)(7 Marks)
May 2016
Q. 39 Explain construction and working of bosch fuel pump. (Section 4.32.1)(7 Marks)