GUITREAN USA GLOBAL

Technical Info

Conventional Combustion Engines:
Internal combustion engines use fuel and air to combust, generating the force that moves each piston in its cylinder, thus powering the vehicle.
Since Otto invented the modern four-stroke cycle engine in 1876, liquid fuels, namely petrol and diesel, have become the preferred fuels, due to their physical properties of high energy content, ease of storage and handling. Relatively, only a small quantity of fuel is required and stored onboard to give the vehicle an acceptable range.
In conventional petrol engines the liquid fuel is premixed with air in the carburettor, while in diesel and fuel-injection engines, the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber by injectors. Pressured fed via a fuel pump, the fuel is 'atomised' or turned into a fine spray through an injection nozzle.
Air flow into and out of the cylinder is controlled by valves. The atomised liquid fuel changes to a gaseous state known as ' vaporisation ' and its molecules attach to the air oxygen molecules, 'volatilisation '. Liquid fuels cannot burn until they are volatilised. During the compression stroke the valves close and the containment of the cylinder is compressed. Due to the density and composition of petrol or diesel, the compression causes a quantity of the vaporised and volatilised fuel to return into an un-combustible liquid state.
In a petrol engine, ignition of the air/fuel mixture is accomplished by a spark plug. In the diesel, combustion takes place automatically as soon as the fuel is injected. The volatilised fuel ignites and the force of the explosion drives the piston. This first explosion powers the vehicle. The release of heat from this first explosion vaporises and volatilises additional liquid fuel and re-ignites due to the auto-ignition temperatures, resulting in waves of combustion. The combustion wave explosions generate sufficient heat to release NOx emissions from the dissociated atmospheric nitrogen. The ambient air is typically composed of 20% oxygen required for combustion, 78% nitrogen and 2% of N2 compounds.
The remaining un-burnt fuel hydrocarbons that are not burnt-up are released to the atmosphere as undesirable emissions. The emissions of hydrocarbons and NOx have caused severe damage to our environment, ozone layer and the health and welfare of humans, plants, and animals. The engine efficiency of petrol engines range from 35% to 40% and some diesels can achieve efficiencies up to 42%. This means that only a small percentage of the energy in the fuel is converted to mechanical power. The remainder is wasted into the atmosphere or as heat into the vehicle's cooling system.