Reading Materials

Passage 1

Fuel Supply System for Gasoline Engine—The Basics

The fuel supply system of the vehicle constitutes an important element of an engine.Its core function is to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted supply of fuel to other peripherals of an engine.An automobile fuel supply system comprises of various components and devices like fuel cells, carburetor, fuel pump, fuel tank, fuel coolers, automobile filters which are used for storing fuel and distributing it to internal combustion engine as in when needed.Today, almost every automobile has a pressurized fuel supply system equipped with a pump that is used for pushing fuel from the fuel tank to engine of the vehicle.

An automobile fuel supply system comprises a number of automotive components that assist in supplying fuel to the engine's combustion chamber and regulating it, thereby preventing any loss of fuel.

The fuel supply system for internal combustion engines typically comprise a fuel delivery pipe to which fuel injectors are mounted through connectors, which lead to a fuel tank through a fuel pipe.Further, the connectors of the injectors extend upward to open at an upper portion in the delivery pipe.When the vehicle starts and the air and fuel vapor is produced in the fuel supply system, it is gradually introduced into the delivery pipe and rapidly injected through the connectors and the injectors into the combustion chamber of an engine.

The fuel supply system of an automobile comes into play when the person driving the automobile steps on the gas.The gas pedal is linked to a throttle valve which opens and closes depending upon how much the gas pedal has been pressed.The harder the press, more is the fuel supplied to the engine.

All of this is accomplished with the help of a valve called the fuel injector.The injector is capable of opening and closing many times each second as well as atomizing the fuel when it sprays it into the combustion chamber.

Automobile Filters

An automobile filter or an air filter is a device which purifies the air supplied to the engine by removing dust and other particulates from it.Air filters are essential because the air supplied to an engine needs to be free of pollutants, lest it damages the engine, contaminates the oil or causes it to malfunction.Most of today's automobiles using fuel injection technology utilize a pleated paper filter element in the form of a flat panel.The filter is positioned inside a plastic box linked to the throttle body.

Carburetor

The carburetor is an automotive component that mixes air and fuel for an internal combustion engine.Invented by Karl Benz before 1885, it's colloquially known as carb in North America and the UK.The construction of a typical carburetor entails a“barrel”through which the air rushes into the inlet manifold of the engine.The shape of the barrel causes the airflow to increase in speed at the narrowest part.Fuel is introduced into the air stream through small holes located at narrowest part of the barrel.This operation mixes air and fuel before it is reaches the cylinder through the fuel injector.

Fuel Cell

Fuel cells are electrochemical conversion devices, which produce electricity from fuel and an oxidant, when they react in the presence of an electrolyte.These cells continue to produce electricity as long as the reactants flow into the cell and the by-products flow out of it.Fuel cells can continue operation continuously till the necessary flows of electrolytes and reactants are maintained.

Fuel Injection System

Fuel injection system refers to the set of automotive part which mix fuel with air in an internal combustion engine.The primary component of this system is the fuel injector, which is a computer controlled valve.When pressurized fuel is supplied to it, it delivers fine droplets of fuel and air mixture into the combustion chamber of the engine.It's a sophisticated piece of machinery and can open and close multiple times within a second.The quantity of the fuel supplied to the engine is determined by amount time the fuel injector stays open.This function is electronically controlled.The system also makes use of a lot of sensors to ensure that the right amount of fuel is sprayed into the cylinders.

Fuel Pump

The fuel pump is a vacuum device controlled mechanically or electrically to draw gasoline from the tank and supply it to the carburetor or the fuel injector.A fuel pump is an essential component of automobiles.Carburetor and fuel injected engines make use of different kinds of fuel pumps.While carbureted engines utilize low pressure mechanical pumps mounted outside the fuel tank, the fuel injected engines use electric fuel pumps that are mounted inside the fuel tank.

Fuel Tank

The fuel tank is that part of an automobile engine, which stores the fuel supplied into the engine.Depending upon the type of automobile and fuels, fuel tanks vary in sizes, types and complexity of designs.