Lab Title: The Petrol Engine Date: 5/4/2011

Contents

1. Introduction and Background.3

2. How it Works4

3. Disassembly & Assembly5

4. Bill of Material7

5. Lab Sheet Requirement & Questions.8

6. Conclusion.8

Introduction and Background.

The petrol engine is an internal combustion engine which uses petrol, a fuel obtained from refined crude oil as its energy source. Petrol engines can run on either the two or four stroke cycle. The petrol engine that we dissected in the lab was a one cylinder, four-stroke Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine. The engine was a side valve rather than overhead valve configured engine. This design is not as efficient as the overhead valve design but the valve gear is simpler and cheaper to produce1. The four-stroke engine was invented and patented by Nikolaus August Otto (this is why the four-stroke cycle is known as the "Otto cycle") whilst the prototype of the modern petrol engine with a vertical cylinder, and with petrol injected through a carburettor was patented by Gottlieb Daimler in 1887.1 Although the four-stroke engine is usually designed to run on petrol they can be run successfully on other fuels such as wood gas or ethanol with only minor modifications. The petrol engine can be found in many places, primarily in vehicles but also had many other uses such as power tools and generators.

1:http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarsgasa.htm:

How it Works

The four-stroke petrol engine works by converting the latent energy in petrol fuel into kinetic energy through the process of combustion. The combustion process that takes place in a petrol engine is achieved by injecting a vaporised mixture of petrol and air into a chamber and then igniting it with an electrical spark. The engine that we dissected in the lab had a manual starter mechanism. To start the engine a pull cord is pulled. This rotates a fly wheel and turns over the engine, moving the piston . The movement of the piston draws the fuel though the carburettor and into the cylinder. The fly wheel has a magnet embedded into it which rotates past a coil as it turns. This generates an electrical charge which is fed to a spark-plug. The spark plug creates a spark that ignites the vaporised air/fuel mix in the cylinder. In a four stroke petrol engine there are four distinct parts to the cycle of combustion, hence the name four-stroke In the first stroke, known as the intake or induction stroke, a valve is opened and the vaporised mixture of air and petrol is drawn into the cylinder. On the second stroke, known as the compression stroke, the piston rises, compressing the vaporised mixture in the chamber. On the third stroke, known as the combustion or firing stroke, the vaporised mixture is ignited by an electrical spark. The combustion in the chamber forces the piston back down. On the fourth stroke, known as the exhaust stroke, a valve is opened as the piston moves back up thus expelling the exhaust from the chamber. The piston(s) are connected to a crank shaft and the crank shaft is caused to rotate by the action of the piston.
Ref: AA the Car, Book of

Jacobson, Motor Vehicle Technology For Mechanics, Read & Reid, Image :http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553622_2/Internal-Combustion_Engine.html.

Dissasembly

Step

Task Carry out a risk assessment on the safety requirements Determine the correct tools required. Remove 2 x 11mm bolts & cover. Remove 9 x 12mm bolts. Remove cylinder head and gasket. Remove 2 X 8mm bolts & air filter. Remove 2 X 8mm bolts & valve cover. Remove 1 10mm bolt, 1 12 mm bolt & starter mechanism. Remove 4x 11mm bolts & crank case cover.

Action Ensure PPE is used. Work Area to be neat & tidy. Select the correct tools Unscrew bolts Lift off cover.

Tools Required

Description of Removed Items

No of Items

Difficulty

Notes

None

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

11 mm socket.

11mm bolts & cover.

4 5 6 7 8

Unscrew bolts. Lift off.

12mm socket.

12mm bolts.

None.

Cylinder head and gasket. 8mm bolts & air filter. 8mm bolts & valve cover. 10mm bolt, 1 12 mm bolt & starter mechanism 11mm bolts & crank case cover.

Unscrew bolts remove air filter. Unscrew bolts remove cover. Unscrew bolts, remove starter mechanism. Unscrew bolts remove cover.

8mm socket.

8mm socket.

10mm socket, 12mm socket.

11mm socket.

Assembly

Step

Task Replace 4 x 11mm bolts & crank case cover. Replace 1 10mm bolt, 1 12 mm bolt & starter mechanism. Replace 2 X 8mm bolts & valve cover. Replace 2 X 8mm bolts & air filter. Replace cylinder head & gasket. Replace 9 x 12mm bolts. Replace 2 x 11mm bolts & cover.

Action Replace bolts & cover.

Tools Required 11mm socket.

Description of Removed Items 11mm bolts & crank case cover.

No of Items 5

Difficulty 1

Notes

Replace bolts & starter mechanism. Replace bolts & cover.

10mm socket, 12mm socket. 8mm socket.

10mm bolt, 1 12 mm bolt & starter mechanism 8mm bolts & valve cover.

4 5 6 7

Replace bolts & air filter. Replace cylinder head & gasket. Replace bolts.

8mm socket. None.

8mm bolts & air filter. Cylinder head & gasket. 12mm bolts.

12mm socket. 11 mm socket.

Replace bolts & cover.

11mm bolts & cover.

Bill of Material

Item

Quantity

Description

Material / Manufacturing Process Pressed-steel

Function

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 1 1 1 1 1

Crank case cover.

Cover crank case.

Starter mechanism

Pressed steel, moulded nylon, woven nylon. Pressed steel

Starts engine.

Valve cover.

Cover Valves.

Air filter.

Pressed steel

Filter incoming air .

Cylinder head .

Moulded aluminium

Enclosed valves and piston. Creates a seal between cylinder head and cylinder block. Allow vaporised mixture /exhaust fumes into and out of the cylinder Open and close valves.

Gasket

Compressed fibre / steel

Valves

Forged alloy steel

8 9 10

2 1 21

Valve pins

Forged alloy steel

Fuel tank

Pressed steel

Hold fuel.

Bolts (8,10,11 & 12 mm )

Machined steel

Hold engine together.

Lab Sheet Requirement & Questions

A: How a carburettor operates. The function of a carburettor is to control the proportion of petrol and air entering the engine cylinders whilst also atomising the petrol into a combustible vapour. The carburettor consists of two main parts: a float chamber which supply's the fuel and a choke or venturi tube in which air is mixed with the fuel. Fuel is pumped into the float chamber by the fuel pump via a needle valve and as the fuel rises so does the float. The float lifts the needle until the fuel supply is closed. The float chamber has an air vent which allows atmospheric pressure to act upon the fuel within. When the engine turns over the movement of the pistons creates a difference in air pressure in the engines inlet manifold. This causes air to enter the inlet manifold through the specially shaped venturi tube. The venturi is a narrow passage whose shape causes the air that passes through it to move with increased speed resulting in another pressure difference. This 'venturi effect' is achieved because as an air streams speed increases its pressure decreases. The fuel outlet from the float chamber is located in the venturi tube at the centre of this point of low pressure. The fuel enters the venturi at this point due to the difference between the atmospheric pressure acting upon the fuel in the float chamber and the lower pressure in the venturi tube caused by the faster moving air. As the fast moving air meets the fuel in the venturi it is atomised into a fine spay. The fuel/air mix is then drawn into the inlet manifold where it becomes vaporised and passes into the cylinder via the inlet valve. The amount of air/fuel mixture drawn into the cylinder depends upon the operation of the throttle valve. This can be controlled by an accelerator pedal in a vehicle or by a lever on a lawnmower. The amount of air entering the carburettor can also be regulated with a choke. This allows for a fuel rich mixture to be used to start the engine.

Ref : Motor vehicle technology for mechanics / P.P.J Read, V.C. Reid, Small engines : operation and maintenance Crouse, William H.

B. What is meant by the calorific value of a fuel source?

The calorific value of a fuel source is the total energy or heat that is produced by a fuel source when it is completely combusted. There are two measurements that are usually used when measuring a fuels calorific content; Gross Calorific Values (GCV) which include the energy required evaporate any water present in the fuel and Net Calorific Values (NCV) which exclude this energy. NVCs are considered to be a more accurate indicator of the usable energy that is actually available in the fuel source. Calorific values are measured in joules per tonne.

C. A table showing the calorific values for petrol, diesel, gas, bituminous coal and dry wood.

Fuel Petrol1 Diesel1 Gas2 Bituminous coal 2 Wood (dry)2

Calorific value of 1kg 48,000 kJ 44,800kJ 55,000 kJ 28,000 kJ 15-18,000 kJ

Calorific value of 5kg 240,000 kJ 224,000kJ 275,000 kJ 140,000 kJ 75-90,000 kJ

1: www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fuels-higher-calorific-values, 2: Renewable Energy, Godfrey Boyle

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