An Investigation of the Liquid Petrol Wall Film in the Manifold of a Carburetted Spark Ignition Engine: Effect of Carburettor and Manifold Geometry on Wall Film Quantities, Engine Performance and Emissions

Abstract

The rate of deposition on the manifold wall of liquid droplets from the multi-component, two-phase stream of fluid flowing in the inlet manifold of a carburetted petrol engine and the re-entrainment of droplets into the stream from the liquid film which flows on the walls have been investigated using a single cylinder crossflow engine. The effect of throttle opening, straight manifold length, a smooth bend and a mitre bend is reported: measurements of exhaust emissions and cycle-to-cycle pressure variation of cylinder pressure are related to wall film quantities. It was found that throttle position was important in determining the initial wall film, that the average thickness of the film decreases with length along the straight manifold and that droplet re-entrainment from a sharp bend is greater than from a smooth bend. Removal of the wall film yields a significant reduction in the emission of unburned hydrocarbons and virtually eliminates cycle-to-cycle variations of pressure in the engine cylinder.