A Study of Air Flow in an Engine Cylinder
Abstract
A 4-stroke-cycle test engine was equipped with a glass cylinder and the air movements within it were studied while the engine was being motored. Different types of air flow were produced by using shrouded intake valves in various arrangements and by altering the shape of the intake-air passage in the cylinder head. The air movements were made visible by mixing feathers with the entering air, and high-speed motion pictures were taken of them so that the air currents might be studied in detail and their velocities measured. Motion pictures were also taken of gasoline sprays injected into the cylinder on the intake stroke. The photographs showed that: A wide variety of induced air movements could be created in the cylinder; the movements always persisted throughout the compression stroke; and the only type of movement that persisted until the end of the cycle was rotation about the cylinder axis. The velocities of the air currents were approximately proportional to the engine speed and had about the same value whether the flow was orderly or turbulent. Orderly air movements greatly aided the distribution of the sprays about the cylinder.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 15, 1938
- Accession Number
- ADA800834
Entities
People
- Dana W. Lee
Organizations
- Langley Research Center