The Four Stages of a Combustion Engine
The Four Stages of a Combustion Engine By Seth L.
Have you ever opened the hood of your car and wondered what was going on in there? A car engine can look like a big confusing jumble of metal, tubes, and wires. But Its basic operating principle is that combustion, or the controlled, steady burning of air and fuel in the combustion chamber, creates power that forces components within the engine to move with great speed and force. The process of an internal combustion engine can be explained in four stages. The four stages that need to take place in order for an internal combustion engine to work are called the Intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. An understanding of the the four strokes in the internal combustion engine requires an overview of some of the engine's major components. The components in direct contact with the combustion gases are the cylinder, pistons, valves, and spark plugs. A piston moves up and down within the cylinder. Pistons are cylindrical metal objects whose tops form the base of each cylinder. Air is delivered to the cylinder through the in take valves and exhaust gases leave the cylinder through exhaust valves. The spark plug creates a spark and ignites the compressed air and fuel mixture. Now that we have overviewed some of the the major components in the engine, lets start explaining how a four-stroke engine works with the first stroke. The first stroke of the cycle is called the intake stroke. This is where the piston starts off at the top of the cylinder and begins to move downward. When the piston begins to move downward, the intake valve opens and allows air to be drawn into the cylinder. Also during this time, the fuel injector sprays a small amount of gasoline into the chamber that mixes with the air. The gasoline must be vaporized into the air because liquid gasoline will not burn.
Have you ever opened the hood of your car and wondered what was going on in there? A car engine can look like a big confusing jumble of metal, tubes, and wires. But Its basic operating principle is that combustion, or the controlled, steady burning of air and fuel in the combustion chamber, creates power that forces components within the engine to move with great speed and force. The process of an internal combustion engine can be explained in four stages. The four stages that need to take place in order for an internal combustion engine to work are called the Intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. An understanding of the the four strokes in the internal combustion engine requires an overview of some of the engine's major components. The components in direct contact with the combustion gases are the cylinder, pistons, valves, and spark plugs. A piston moves up and down within the cylinder. Pistons are cylindrical metal objects whose tops form the base of each cylinder. Air is delivered to the cylinder through the in take valves and exhaust gases leave the cylinder through exhaust valves. The spark plug creates a spark and ignites the compressed air and fuel mixture. Now that we have overviewed some of the the major components in the engine, lets start explaining how a four-stroke engine works with the first stroke. The first stroke of the cycle is called the intake stroke. This is where the piston starts off at the top of the cylinder and begins to move downward. When the piston begins to move downward, the intake valve opens and allows air to be drawn into the cylinder. Also during this time, the fuel injector sprays a small amount of gasoline into the chamber that mixes with the air. The gasoline must be vaporized into the air because liquid gasoline will not burn.