The internal combustion engine is one of our most highly valued engineering marvels. It gets us from point a to b, and sometimes it even gets us that long awaited adrenaline rush we've been searching for.

In a nutshell, the internal combustion engine is a complicated machine in which the compression and expansion of gases takes place. The engine can vary greatly depending on it's designed application, but here are some basic parts. The engine block houses the major moving parts such as the crankshaft. The crankshaft is the rotating shaft and the heart of the engine. It is attached to connecting rods, which are linked to pistons, the cylindrical pieces that force and draw air and fuel in and out of the engine. The camshaft, is a shaft commonly found on top of the pistons (Overhead Cam= OHC) and it actuates the valves which control the air and fuel flow into and out of the engine, through passageways called ports. The port is designed to allow air and exhaust in and out of the engine's combustion chamber, which is where all the exploding and compression is done. The most common method of getting fuel into the engine is through fuel injection. This is when a series of injectors sprays gas under pressure, into the engine's intake manifold. The intake manifold is where the fuel and air, or charge, will mix. The engine also has an exhaust manifold, where the burned charge is ejected from the engine. This gas travels through a series of pipes known as the exhaust system. The spark plug is an essential piece to every engine, as it is situated on top of the piston, at the top of the combustion chamber. It is ignited in a precise manner, when the charge has been compressed, and is ignited by a spark, from the plug. The flywheel is attached to the outside of the engine block, onto the crankshaft where it spins to create momentum for the engine to maintain an idling speed. The engine found in your car is a four stroke. This means that to complete one cycle of revolutions (the crankshaft revolves at very high speed) it has to go through a series of strokes. These four strokes are:

Intake- The engine's piston draws air in as the intake valve is open, the mixture of air and fuel (charge) rushes in.

Compression- The valves then close, and the charge is compressed as the piston travels upwards, squeezing the molecules until it is time for the next stroke.

Power- With both intake and exhaust valves still closed, the piston travels up, and just before it reaches

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about How the combustion engine works?
We want to hear your view. Write now!