Car Engines Essay, Research Paper
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Teacher 8 MS
Senior English, Period 2
5, December 2000
Introduction
Car engines have been drastically improved over the past eighty years that they
have been produced. Car engines have made life much easier. They provide a more
efficient method of traveling. People don’t know how much the world has changed, due
to the operation of the car engine. The car engine is a very complex piece of machinery.
It consists of a series of wires and different types of parts. The car engine is constantly
being improved to be more efficient and will revolutionize the future of transportation.
The car engine may be improved to be more efficient. The many different car
manufacturers are now developing new parts to make cars run safer for the environment
and for the people who drive them. That way they decrease the fatalities of car accidents.
The carburetor is being improved to use gasoline more efficiently so that the gas will run
longer. The drive train is being improved so that the gears will run smoother. Cars are
also being made with electric engines that run off of a battery.
One of the main parts on an engine is the carburetor. The carburetor sends
gasoline through a circulatory system to run the engine. It also cleanses the gasoline
before it enters the engine. The air filter takes the dirt away from the gasoline as it is
going through the carburetor. There are four main parts to a carburetor: The float
chamber, the venturi tube, the choke valve, and the throttle valve. (Kuns 44-45)
The float chamber is a small fuel storage tank in the carburetor. It receives
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gasoline from the fuel line. When the chamber is full, the float shuts the valve. The float
will drop as the gasoline is used by the engine. When the chamber is empty, the process
starts over. The float chamber keeps a steady mount of gasoline in it. Without the float
chamber, the carburetor would be useless because the gasoline would just overflow. (Fuel)
The Venturi tube is one of the most common components, it is where air and
gasoline are mixed. The shape of the Venturi tube looks much like that of an hour glass.
The air cleaner cleans the air of dirt and other unwanted substances before it enters the
engine. There are many little jets that accept the gasoline from the float chamber. The
first jet, the pump jet, is located in the first wide section of the carburetor. The second jet
is the main jet. It releases gasoline into the narrow section of the Venturi tube. When the
tube widens back up, that is where the idle jet would be found. The decrease of the
pressure in the narrow part of the tube, creates a vacuum that sucks gasoline from the
main jet and into the Venturi. (Fuel)
The choke valve controls the amount of air that enters the carburetor. Between
the air cleaner and the Venturi tube is where the choke valve is located. When an engine
is cold, it needs more gasoline and less air. A warmer engine needs more air and less
gasoline. The choke valve controls all of that when the engine is cold or warm. The
throttle valve regulates the amount of fuel-air mixture that enters the intake manifold. The
throttle valve is located in between the main jet and the idle jet. The fuel tank is a tank
that holds the gasoline. The gasoline is sucked from the fuel tank and into the carburetor
to make its process through the engine. (Fuel)
There are many different parts that make the car run. One of the major
components that allows the car to run is gasoline. The gasoline makes its way throughout
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the whole system. Without gasoline, the carburetor would not be able to keep up in good
shape. The metal would dry out and the carbon in the gasoline could not create a power
source.
The ignition starts the car. To start the car, the driver puts the key into the
ignition and turns it. This closes the switch which allows electricity to flow through the
battery to the electrical starter. (Under)
The transmission is another major necessity of the engine. The transmission can
adjust the proportions of torque and speed that it delivers from the engine to the drive
shaft. When it increases the torque, it decreases the speed. The torque is the amount of
pressure and power that the transmission puts out. When it increases the speed, it
decreases the torque. Thus, the transmission provides low speed with high torque and
high speed with low torque. It can also reverse the torque to allow the car to back up.
Almost every transmission varies torque and speed by means of gears. The power from
the transmission goes from the engine to the drive shaft, which carry’s it to the
Differential. The Differential also has a gear ratio to it. The higher the ratio the more low
end torque developed and lower top end. The lower the ratio the more top end speed
acquired. The power is delivered from the Differential to the drive axles and onto the
drive wheels. (World Book, 19: 375)
The cooling system of a car engine runs through many different parts on an engine.
The different parts that the cooling system works off of are as follows: the radiator, the
radiator hose, the water pump, the fan, the fan belt, and the engine. First, the water
mixture must be right. The best mixture is 60% water and 40% antifreeze. The antifreeze
will also help the water from freezing when it is to cold on the outside. The process
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starts with the fan spinning the water pump. The water pump sends the water through the
radiator hose into the radiator. The radiator sends the water through a cycle of tubes, and
out another radiator hose to the thermostat. The thermostat holds the water until the
water is heated. The water will be released when the temperature reaches 180 degrees.
The hot water runs through the engine and out the water pump. Then back into the
radiator hose. The fan sucks in air that cools off the water in the radiator. If the water
doesn’t cool down, the engine will overheat. (Interview)
Some engines have a camshaft mounted above, or over the cylinder head instead of
inside the block. This arrangement has an advantage of eliminating the added weight of
the rocker arms and push rods. The rocker arm setup is operated by the camshaft lobe
rubbing directly on the rocker. Stem to rocker clearance is maintained with a hydraulic
valve lash adjuster for “zero” clearance. A double overhead camshaft is the same as an
overhead camshaft, except its two instead of one. The double overhead camshaft is a bit
heavier than a single one, but puts out twice the amount of ability. In an overhead valve
engine, the valves are mounted in the cylinder head, above the combustion chamber. The
timing refers to the delivery of the ignition spark, or the opening and closing of the engine
valves. More accurate timing results in better performance of the vehicle when needed.
(Auto 101)
The combustion chamber is where the air-fuel mixture is burned. The location of
the combustion chamber is between the top of the piston and the cylinder head. TDC is
the pistons position when it has reached the top of the cylinder. The two most commonly
used types of combustion chambers are the hemispherical and the wedge shape. The
hemispherical type is compact and allows high compression with a minimum of
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detonation. In the hemispherical type of the combustion chamber, the valves are placed on
two planes, enabling the use of larger valves. The wedge type of the is part of the cylinder
head. Its very more efficient than the hemispherical chamber. (Auto 101)
There are four different strokes that the pistons make. The first of the strokes is
the intake stroke. The piston moves down the cylinder and creates a partial vacuum in the
cylinder. A mixture of air and fuel is forced through the inlet valve into the cylinder by the
atmospheric pressure. The second stroke is the compression stroke. The piston moves up
the cylinder with both valves closed. The third stroke is the power stroke. The air and
fuel mixture is ignited by a spark from the spark plug. The combustion that occurs causes
a rise in the temperature and enough pressure to force the piston down again. The fourth
and final stroke is the exhaust stroke. The piston moves up again and forces the burned
gases out of the cylinder and into the exhaust system. (Auto 101)
The car engine will be the greatest enhancement on every day life. The car engine
will revolutionize the future of transportation. Without the car engines many people
would have to take more time out of their day, because the people would have no means
of mechanical transportation. There will be more efficient improvements as technology
betters itself. More engines are being produced every day. Car engines are almost the
way of life. People use cars every day to get where they desire. With all of that driving,
the car needs the gasoline, which means people have to pay more. The gasoline cars will
be no more, and only electric cars will be used, which is a good thing because gasoline
prices are going drastically moving up. The prices are getting outrageous and the gasoline
producers are doing this because they think that if the people don’t buy their gasoline, the
people would not be able to survive and get to work. They’re wrong, because with all of
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this new technology they’re coming out with it will revolutionize the future.
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Works Cited
Kuns, Ray F. Automotive Essentials. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1966.
Li, Jon. “Under the Hood.” 10 Oct. 2000
**http://library.thinkquest.org/19199/nojava/index.html**.
“Autoshop-online.” 10 Oct. 2000 **http://www.autoshop-online.com/*
auto101/eng.html*.
“Autoshop-online.” 10 Oct. 2000 **http://www.autoshop-online.com/*
auto101/fuel.html*.
“Transmission.” The World Book Encyclopedia: 1988.
Kuns, Ray F. Automotive Essentials. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1966.
Li, Jon. “Under the Hood.” 10 Oct. 2000
>.
“Autoshop-online.” 10 Oct. 2000
auto101/eng.html>.
“Autoshop-online.” 10 Oct. 2000
auto101/fuel.html>.
“Transmission.” The World Book Encyclopedia: 1988.