Spark Ignition Engines

Abstract

This chapter considers how the combustion process is initiated and constrained in spark ignition engines. The air/fuel mixture has to be close to stoichiometric (chemically correct) for satisfactory spark ignition and flame propagation. The equivalence ratio or mixture strength of the air/fuel mixture also affects pollutant emissions, as discussed in chapter 3, and influences the susceptibility to spontaneous self-ignition (that is, knock). A lean air/fuel mixture (equivalence ratio less than unity) will burn more slowly and will have a lower maximum temperature than a less lean mixture. Slower combustion will lead to lower peak pressures, and both this and the lower peak temperature will reduce the tendency for knock to occur. The air/fuel mixture also affects the engine efficiency and power output. At constant engine speed with fixed throttle, it can be seen how the brake specific fuel consumption (inverse of efficiency) and power output vary. This is shown in figure 4.1 for a typical spark ignition engine at full or wide open throttle (WOT). As this is a constant-speed test, power output is proportional to torque output, and this is most conveniently expressed as bmep since bmep is independent of engine size. Figure 4.2 is an alternative way of expressing the same data (because of their shape, the plots are often referred to as ‘fish-hook’ curves); additional part throttle data have also been included. At full throttle, the maximum for power output is fairly flat, so beyond a certain point a richer mixture significantly reduces efficiency without substantially increasing power output.