Automotive engines are mechanical devices used to move a car through a rotation process. It converts thermal energy into a mechanical energy. It produces a reciprocating motion that is converted into a rotary motion by using a clutch gear box to move the vehicle’s wheels. Automotive engines have made transportation much faster and easier than ever before. It also helped build globalization.
History
The first type of automotive engines has been successfully built by Nicolaus Otto. In 1876, these automotive engines have been used for automobiles. In 1885, Karl Benz created automotive engines that are similar to Otto’s engine. It is used to propel three-wheeled vehicles. Benz then started creating and selling automobiles in that same year.
Variations
Automotive engines differ in sizes, positioning, and number of cylinders it contains. For instance, a V-6 engine has three pairs of cylinders shaped like “V”, and an Inline-4 engine comes with four cylinders in a line. Some automotive engines are 2-stroke, while others are 4-stroke. They also differ in ignitions such as Spark ignition (SI) engine and Compression ignition (CI) engine.
How It Works
Automotive engines work by burning the fuel and transforming the thermal energy into a mechanical energy. It then produces combustion that drives the piston downwards, triggering the crankshaft to rotate. This rotating crankshaft produces power that ultimately drives the automobile’s wheels.
The internal combustion that provides power to the automotive engines comes from the heat created from burning fossil fuels such as CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel, LPG or liquefied petroleum gas, and gasoline. With the latest technology, some automotive engines use hydrogen nowadays.
Materials Used
Historically, the major components of automotive engines are made of ferrous metals, through casting or forging. However, with the increase in need for weight reduction to improve fuel economy, aluminum comes into use for cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, and other components of the automotive engines.
Some of the engines use magnesium for its covers and intake manifolds. Some engines also use casted or forged powder metallurgy to neatly shape the internal parts of the automotive engines, such as the sprockets, valve guides, connecting rods, and oil-pump rotors. Titanium is also used for connecting rods of high-speed engines to decrease the reciprocating mass.
Today, alternative designs for automotive engines have been studied as replacements for the Otto-cycle piston engines, including the four-stroke, two-stroke, Stirling, diesel, Wankel rotary, steam engines, gas turbine, hybrid engines and electric motors.