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How A Car Engine Works (animated)

THIS IMAGE TAKES A MOMENT TO LOAD BEFORE IT ANIMATES. PLEASE BE PATIENT . IT'S WORTH IT :) DESIGN & RESEARCH BY JACOB O'NEAL NEED DESIGN? VISIT JACOBONEAL.COM HOW A CAR ENGINE WORKS [And a note about hybrid gas-electric cars too] Spark plug If your only experience with a car engine's inner workings is "How much is that going to cost to fix?" this graphic is for you! Car engines are astoundingly awesome mechanical wonders. It's time you learned more about the magic under the hood! Valves The 4 Stroke Cycle Intake port Exhaust port 1 Let's take a look inside just one cylinder. INTAKE STROKE The piston descends, sucking air into the cylinder through open intake valves as fuel is injected. Fuel injector COMPRES SION STROKE Piston With all valves closed, the piston comes back up, compressing the fuel-air mixture. Compressing the mixture delivers better power and efficiency. Connecting Rod POWER STROKE A spark ignites the compressed fuel-air mixture, and the resulting combustion forces the piston to the bottom of the cylinder again. Cylinder EXHAUST STROKE The piston comes back up, pushing the spent mixture out through open exhaust valves. Select engine parts Unless your main ride is a lawn mower (no disrespect), your engine probably has more than one cylinder. Here's a 4 cylinder setup. Camshaft Cams Cam gear RPM RPM means Revolutions Per Minute. If your engine is running at 3,000 RPM, that's 50 full crankshaft Timing belt [or chain]. A timing belt or chain revolutions per second! synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft and the camshaft(s] so that the engine's valves open and close at the proper times during each cylinder's intake Cylinder head and exhaust strokes. It also - Engine block prevents the piston from striking the valves. Flywheel A timing belt (shown] is a rubber belt that usually features teeth on the inside surface, while a timing chain is a metal roller chain. Crankshaft < FRONT The crankshaft carries piston power out of the engine and eventually to the wheels. It has counterweights to produce a balanced spin. Other engine configurations You told all your buddies when dad bought that V8 sedan. Now you can find out what it actually means: opposing cylinders arranged in a "V" shape. V TWIN FLAT FOUR A two cylinder arrangement. Four cylinders arranged in a flat, opposing configuration. Found in classic VW Beetles Six opposing cylinders. Well suited for sports cars Eight opposing cylinders. Generally suited for Many Harley-Davidson motorcycles use this or mid-size SUVS. muscle-car applications or configuration, for instance. and various current Subaru heavy duty engines. model cars. Engine systems Here's a look at the basic systems and elements that a gas engine needs to function. Unlike humans, they can't simply run on coffee and deadlines. Fuel FRONT OCTANE RATING Using higher octane fuel in an engine designed for lower octane simply wastes money and can result in less complete combustion, resulting in lower fuel mileage. Fuel injectors spray gas into the cylinder at a precisely timed moment. Gasoline's octane UNLEADED PLUS PREMIUM rating refers to its 87 89 93 resistance to autoignition. Autoignition ocurs PRESS PRESS PRESS when the fuel-air mixture is ignited by compression alone, without any spark. This can contribute to engine knock, and is generally destructive. High performance engines often have higher compression, which requires higher octane fuel to prevent autoignition. Air (Oxygen) Air intake manifold Air filter The ratio of gas to oxygen an engine needs to run is about 1:14 – each part of gasoline requires fourteen parts oxygen. On a 20 gallon tank, your engine will take in 20,000 cubic feet of oxygen (the equivalent of a 2,500 sq. ft. house]! FRONT Oil Motor oil is used to lubricate moving parts, clean, prevent corrosion, improve sealing, and cool the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts. Rings around the top of the piston head keep oil out of the combustion process while otherwise allowing the cylinder to be lubricated. FRO Oil Galleries Oil galleries are channels that carry oil to various engine parts. Thermostat The thermostat Oil pump The oil pump keeps oil properly pressurized and flowing through the engine. regulates coolant Oil filter temperature by The oil filter removes unwanted either routing material from engine oil. coolant back Oil pan The oil pan holds the engine oil. through the engine or to the radiator for further cooling. Coolant channels surround the Cooling cylinders and ports in the engine block and cylinder head. Engines get hot - the cooling system of a car going down the freeway dissipates enough heat to keep two average-sized 387.1°F [1973°C) Boil homes warml Freeze Anti-freeze Anti-freeze (engine coolant] is the green 212°F liquid in your radiator, normally in a 50/50 [99.98"C) mixture of coolant and water. It is designed to resist temperature-related changes like freezing or boiling. Radiator and fan e FRONT The radiator is made of a series of metal tubes and fins. When the hot coolant returns 32 F Water Pump The water pump keeps the coolant system flowing and properly pressurized. from the engine block, it passes through the tubes. Air flowing through the radiator (over [00°C) 8.78°F -12.9°C) the fins) cools the coolant in preparation for another cycle through the engine. 0° Water Coolant Distributor Distributes electricity to spark plugs in the correct timing and Spark plug wires Electrical order. Cylinders fire one at a time, and in a particular sequence. Spark Plug The spark plug delivers the electrical spark that ignites the fuel-air mixture for combustion. A spark plug consists of a threaded outer metal electrode (the casing), with an inner metal electrode which is e FRONT insulated by porcelain. Battery Supplies power for starting and also other electrical A spark is produced in the gap between systems. these electrodes Alternator Starter The alternator works Cranks the like a generator, con- verting the engine's mechanical energy into electricity to charge the engine to start the combustion process. battery or run other electrical systems while the engine is running. Exhaust Exhaust manifold Catalytic Collects gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. converter The catalytic Muffler converter helps The muffler reduces engine reduce toxic exhaust noise. chemicals in engine exhaust. FRONT > The full model This model is a very simplified example of the basic science behind automotive gas engines. Even so, it looks pretty complex! It's no wonder that to most of us, opening the hood feels like opening the door to another dimension. -Engine belts External belts are used to drive multiple peripheral devices; such as the engine fan, alternator, power steer- ing pump, water pump, air conditioning compressor and more. e FRONT Hybrid Vehicles Hybrid vehicles generally use a combination of gasoline and electric motors to produce power. The gasoline engines in these systems are often smaller and more efficient than their gas-only counterparts. Hybrid cars use electric motors in many ways, REGENERATIVE BRAKING The electric motor applies resistance to the drivetrain which causes the wheels to slow down. In return, energy from the wheels turns the motor which then acts like a generator, giving power back including the following: to the battery. Battery ELECTRIC MOTOR DR IVE /ASSIST 0 Gas engine The electric motor provides additional power to assist the engine in accelerating, passing, or hill climbing. This allows a smaller, more efficient engine to be used. In some vehicles, the motor alone provides power for low-speed driving conditions where internal combustion engines are least efficient. AUTOMATIC START/SHUTOFF Electric motor Automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop and restarts it when the accelerator is pressed. This prevents wasted energy from idling. Design & Research by Jacob 0'Neal. Visit Jacoboneal.com to see more work or get in touch! Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-stroke_engine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor oil http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/532/around-around-where-oil-goes-in-your-engine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-UvQuMJDeZpQ http://autorepair.about.com/od/autorepairdictionary/a/def_antifreeze.htm http://www.fueleconomy gov/feg/hybridtech.shtml http://auto.howstuffworks.com/oxygen-enginel.htm

How A Car Engine Works (animated)

shared by Jake ONeal on Sep 04
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Did you know that your car will take in 20,000 cubic feet of oxygen to burn 20 gallons of fuel? That's the equivalent of a 2,500 sq. ft. house! If your only experience with a car engine's inner worki...

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Jacob O'Neal

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automotive 3d

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Transportation
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