Intake System: Air

Induction and Volumetric

Efficiency
 Air Induction

We will study how air and fuel are delivered into the cylinders.
Objective of intake system
to deliver proper amount of air-fuel mixture (accurately, equally)
to deliver proper time
Intake system consist of :
intake manifold, a throttle, intake valves, fuel injector/ carburetor
 Volumetric Efficiency

Volumetric efficiency in internal combustion engine is a ratio (or percentage) of what volume of fuel
and air actually enters the cylinder during induction to the actual capacity of the cylinder under
static conditions.
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Volumetric efficiency is affected by :

i) Fuel
ii) Mixture temperature
iii) Valve overlap
iv) Fluid friction losses
v) Choked flow
vi) Closing intake valve
vii) Intake tuning
viii) Exhaust residual
ix) EGR
 Volumetric Efficiency (Fuel)

In naturally aspirated engines (no supercharging) the

volumetric efficiency will always be less than 100%
because fuel is added and the fuel vapour will displace
incoming air.

volumetric efficiency affected by type of fuel, how it is

added and when it is added.

The earlier the fuel is added in the intake system the

lower the volumetric efficiency because more of the
fuel evaporates before entering the cylinder.

Multipoint injector is better to improve volumetric

efficiency.

In Diesels, GDI, fuel is added directly into the

cylinder so get a higher efficiency.
Note: piston speed proportional
to air flow velocity
Gaseous fuels displace more incoming air than liquid
fuels.
 V.E. (Intake Temperature)

All intake systems are hotter than ambient air, so the density of the air entering the cylinder
is lower than ambient air density.

At lower speed, air remains in the intake system for longer time. So purposely heated to
enhance fuel evaporation.
 V.E. (Valve Overlap)

#In engines valves dont open and close instantaneously

#In order to ensure that the valve is fully open during a stroke for volumetric efficiency, the valves
are open for longer than 180o.
#The exhaust valve opens before BDC and closes after TDC and the intake valve opens before
TDC and closes after BDC.
#At TDC- period of valve overlap =both the intake and exhaust valves are open.Real time valve
overlap is greater at low RPM. Volumetric efficiency getting lower at lower RPM.
 VE (Friction Losses)

The air flows through a duct through an air filter, throttle and intake valve

Air moving through any flow passage or past a flow restriction undergoes a pressure drop.

The pressure at the cylinder is thus lower than atmospheric pressure

Greatest problem at higher engine speeds when the air flow velocity is high

Solutions
smooth walls
avoidance sharp corners and bends
no gasket protrusions
multi intake valves
 VE (Choked Flow)

In choked flow the mass flow rate will not increase with a further decrease in the
downstream pressure environment.

Sonic velocity at some point in the system.

Lowering volumetric efficiency at higher RPM.

 VE (Closing Intake Valve)

When the piston reaches BDC there is still a pressure

difference across the intake valve and the mixture
continues to flow into the cylinder, therefore the intake
valve need to be close after BDC.
Best time to close the intake valve is when the manifold
and cylinder pressures are equal, close the valve too
early and dont get full load, too late and air flows back
into the intake port.
At high engine speeds, there are larger pressure drop
across intake valve because of higher flow velocity, so
ideally want to close valve later after BDC (60o aBDC).
At low engine speeds smaller pressure drop across the
intake valve. Ideally it is better to close the intake valve
earlier after BDC (40o aBDC).
Most engine cannot control the intake valve closes with
the engine speed.
The profile, or position and shape of the cam lobes on
the shaft, is optimized for a certain engine revolutions
per minute (RPM), and this tradeoff normally limits low-
end torque, or high-end power.
 VE (Intake Tuning)

When the intake valve opens the air suddenly rushes

into the cylinder and an expansion wave propagates
back to the intake manifold at the local speed of sound
relative to the flow velocity.
When the expansion wave reaches the manifold it
reflects back towards to
intake valve as a compression wave.
The time it takes for the round trip depends on the
length of the runner and
the flow velocity.
If the timing is appropriate the compression wave
arrives at the inlet at the
end of the intake process raising the pressure above the
nominal inlet pressure allowing more air to be injected.
Many modern engines have passive constant-length
intake runner systems. However, some advanced
modern engine have active intake systems that can tune
the manifold by changing the length of the intake runners
to match the air flow rate at various engine operating
conditions.
 VE (Exhaust Residual)

When the intake valve opens the cylinder pressure is at Pe

Part throttle (Pi < Pe): residual gas flows into the intake port. During intake
stroke the residual gas is first returned to the cylinder then fresh gas is
introduced. Residual gas reduces part load performance.

Supercharged (Pi > Pe): fresh gas can flow out the exhaust valve

Pi Pe Pi Pe

Throttled Supercharged
Pi < Pe P i > Pe
 VE Improvement

There are several standard ways to improve volumetric efficiency.

A common approach for manufacturers is to use larger valves or multiple valves. Larger
valves increase flow but weigh more. Multi-valve engines combine two or more smaller
valves with areas greater than a single, large valve while having less weight.
Carefully streamlining the ports increases flow capability. This is referred to as Porting and
is done with the aid of an air flow bench for testing. Changing the diameter and length of
intake manifold can improve VE.
Variable valve timing, attempts to address changes in volumetric efficiency with changes
in speed of the engine: at higher speeds the engine needs the valves open for a greater
percentage of the cycle time to move the charge in and out of the engine.
Volumetric efficiencies above 100% can be reached by using forced induction such as
supercharging or turbocharging.
 IAFM

Runners diameter and length should equalize amount of air and fuel delivered to each cylinder.
Large enough no flow resistance
Small enough assure high air velocity and turbulence
enhance capability to carry fuel droplets, evaporates and air-fuel mixing.
Some engine have active intake manifold.
- Low speed air is directed through longer, smaller diameter to keep the velocity high
- High speed shorter, larger diameter runners are used,
minimize resistance but still enhance proper mixing
To minimize resistance - runners must have no sharp bends
- interior surface should be smooth
IAFM cont.

11 bhp = 0.75 kWh

 VVT

Variable valve timing, often abbreviated to VVT, is a generic term for an automobile piston
engine technology.
VVT allows the lift, duration or timing (some or all) of the intake or exhaust valves (or both)
to be changed while the engine is in operation.
The profile, or position and shape of the cam lobes on the shaft, is optimized for a certain
engine revolutions per minute (RPM), and this tradeoff normally limits low-end torque, or
high-end power.
VVT allows the cam profile to change, which results in greater efficiency and power, over a
wider rev-range.
 VTEC

VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) is a valvetrain system developed
by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine.
This system uses two camshaft profiles and electronically selects between the profiles.
Mivec
 VTC or VVT-i

Variable valve timing allows the relationship between

the separate inlet and exhaust camshafts to vary the
valve timing overlap. A computer continuously vary
the intake valve timing and overlap. The valve timing
and overlap are adjusted through a series of simple
mechanisms to ensure the optimum conditions
apply across all the working rev range. The
advantages are lower fuel consumption, lower
exhaust emissions and higher power output.
Because the system is continuously variable, an i
for intelligent has been added to the acronym.
 VVTL-i or i-VTEC

Toyotas VVTL-i is the most sophisticated VVT design

yet. Its powerful functions include:

Continuous cam-phasing variable valve timing

2-stage variable valve lift plus valve-opening duration
Applied to both intake and exhaust valves

The system could be seen as a combination of the

existing VVT-i and Hondas VTEC, although the
mechanism for the variable lift is different from
Honda.
 D-4S or i-VTEC I

Toyota's 2GR-FSE V6 uses a more advanced direct injection

system, which combines both direct and indirect injection using
two fuel injectors per cylinder, a traditional port fuel injector
(low pressure) and a direct fuel injector (high pressure). This
system known as D-4S or D4 Superior first appeared in the US
with the launch of the Lexus IS 350.
 Supercharger
Pint > Patm
A supercharger is an air compressor used for
forced induction of an internal combustion Patm
engine. The greater mass flow-rate provides
more oxygen to support combustion than
would be available in a naturally-aspirated
engine, which allows more fuel to be provided
and more work to be done per cycle,
increasing the power output of the engine.
A supercharger can be powered mechanically
by a belt, gear, shaft, or chain connected to the
engine's crankshaft.
Superchargers can spin at speeds as high as
50,000 to 65,000 rotations per minute (RPM).
There are three types of superchargers: Roots,
twin-screw and centrifugal. The main
difference is how they move air to the intake
manifold of the engine.
 Supercharger Types

The Roots supercharger is the oldest design

As the meshing lobes spin, air trapped in the
pockets between the lobes is carried between the
fill side and the discharge side. Large quantities of
air move into the intake manifold and "stack up" to
create positive pressure. For this reason, Roots
superchargers are really nothing more than air
blowers.
Least efficient supercharger for two reasons: They
add more weight to the vehicle and they move air in
discrete bursts instead of in a smooth and
continuous flow.
 Supercharger Types

Twin-screw supercharger compresses the air inside the

rotor housing. That's because the rotors have a conical
taper, which means the air pockets decrease in size as
air moves from the fill side to the discharge side. As
the air pockets shrink, the air is squeezed into a
smaller space.
This makes twin-screw superchargers more efficient,
but they cost more because the screw-type rotors
require more precision in the manufacturing process.
 Supercharger Types

Centrifugal superchargers are the most efficient and the

most common of all forced induction systems. They are
small, lightweight and attach to the front of the engine
instead of the top.
Typically, a centrifugal supercharger will make it's
maximum (quoted) boost at the engine's redline rpm and
nearly nothing at 1500-2000 engine rpm. Boost builds
exponentially with engine rpm, meaning that boost
comes on very quickly in the upper half of the
powerband. While this normally isn't a problem for lighter
cars with manual trannsmissions, it poses a significant
problem to heavier vehicles, towing vehicles, or vehicles
with automatic transmissions.
 Turbocharger

A turbo can significantly boost an engine's

horsepower without significantly increasing its weight
In order to achieve this boost, the turbocharger uses
the exhaust flow from the engine to spin a turbine,
which in turn spins an air pump. The turbine in the
turbocharger spins at speeds of up to 150,000
rotations per minute (rpm)
One cause of the inefficiency comes from the fact that
the power to spin the turbine is not free. Having a
turbine in the exhaust flow increases the restriction in
the exhaust. This means that on the exhaust stroke,
the engine has to push against a higher back-pressure
(turbo lag).
 Super vs Turbo

The key difference between a turbocharger and a supercharger is its power supply.
Something has to supply the power to run the air compressor. In a supercharger, there is a
belt that connects directly to the engine. It gets its power the same way that the water
pump or alternator does. A turbocharger, on the other hand, gets its power from the
exhaust stream.
In theory, a turbocharger is more efficient because it is using the "wasted" energy in the
exhaust stream for its power source. On the other hand, a turbocharger causes some
amount of back pressure in the exhaust system and tends to provide less boost until the
engine is running at higher RPMs. Superchargers are easier to install but tend to be more
expensive.