WORKING OF INLINE 4 ENGINE

 IMPORTANT POINTS (You must know)

4 strokes mean INTAKE STROKE, COMPRESSION STROKE, POWER STROKE AND EXHAUST STROKE while inline means ALL CYLINDERS (3,4,5 OR 6) ARE IN ONE LINE. Inline 4 and inline 6 means four or six cylinders are in a straight line. 

Motorbike engine has only one cylinder working in two strokes while cars, buses, vans has 3,4,6 or 8 cylinders, each cylinder works in four strokes. 

Introduction:

4-stokes engines are the modern engines used in automotive world for over a century. Many vehicles were based upon inline 4 engine, the inline-four are known as one of the maximum famous picks for vehicles, designed with many technologies for many types of vehicles. In this text, we delve deep into the internal workings of each inline-4 petrol and diesel engines, unraveling the complexities that force those powerhouses.

Above diagram showing all important parts of one cylinder of a petrol engine. In diesel engine instead of spark plug there is an injector to spray diesel. 

Anatomy of an Inline-four Engine

A. Pistons and Cylinders:

1. The inline-4 engine consists of four cylinders aligned in a single line.

2. Each cylinder consists of an intake valve, an exhaust valve, a piston and a spark plug or spray pump. (in petrol engine there is a spark plug while diesel engine has a spray pump instead of spark plug.

3. Pistons within every cylinder move up and down, pushed by way of the combustion of     gasoline.

B. Crankshaft and the Camshaft:

1. The crankshaft is like the rod which carry pistons and move when piston moves up or down.

2. The camshaft is also like the thin rod which have the work to control the intake and exhaust of gases from atmosphere to cylinder and cylinder to atmosphere.

crankshaft and pistons

camshaft and valves

C. Intake and Exhaust System:

1. In first stroke, intake valve is open for the intake of air or air-gasoline mixture.

2. In forth stroke, exhaust valve is open to exhaust the burnt gases from the cylinder

In second and third stroke, both the valves are closed.

D. Fuel Injection System:

1. In a petrol engine, injector is used to inject petrol (gasoline) which goes into cylinder with air.

2. Diesel engines also contain injector (spray pump) as in diesel engine diesel injected by an injector without any delay means it also inject when air in cylinder is totally compressed and then diesel is injected for combustion.

E. Cooling System:

1. Coolant circulates into the engine to maintain a temperature on which it works and don’t overheat.

2. Radiator and cooling fan changes the temperature of the coolant which goes into engine and maintain temperature of the engine.

 

 Working Principle of Petrol Engine

A. Intake Stroke:  The intake valve opens and air-petrol mixture enters in the cylinder. This is the 1^st stroke, in this process piston moves downward, sucking the air-petrol mixture.

B. Compression Stroke:  Both intake and exhaust valves are closed and as the piston moves in upward direction, so compressing the air and gasoline mixture.

C. Power Stroke:  Both intake and exhaust valves are still closed. The spark plug (only in petrol engine) produces a spark in the cylinder. Due to which an explosion take place inside the cylinder. As a result, piston moves downward by the power of this explosion. In this stroke engine gains power.

D. Exhaust Stroke: The exhaust valve opens and piston moves upward. In this stroke gases after combustion goes outward from engine to atmosphere.

Keep in mind, spark plug normally works on 20,000 to 50,000 volts, however, for some modern powerful engines, it works almost 1,00,000 volts as well.

Working Principle of Diesel Engine 

Intake Stroke:  Like petrol engines, air also intake into cylinder and the intake valve is open,            however only air enters through intake valve, the gasoline does not enter in cylinder with air and do not make mixture of both.

B.     Compression Stroke:  Then piston moves upward into the cylinder, compressing the air. This high compression generates sufficient warmness to ignite the injected diesel gasoline spontaneously.

C.     Power Stroke:   On this hot compressed air, diesel is sprayed by a spray pump, causes an explosion inside the cylinder. In this way engine gains power and piston moves downward by a strong force of this explosion.

D.    Exhaust Stroke: The exhaust valve opens and piston moves upward. In this stroke gases after combustion goes outward from engine to atmosphere.

Keep in mind, precise timing of fuel injection is important in diesel engines to make certain efficient combustion. Modern diesel engines make use of digital manipulate units to optimize injection timing.

Performance and Efficiency

A. Petrol Engine:

1. Petrol engines normally give us smoother and silent operation as compared to diesel engines.

2. Using of petrol engines is a great idea for vehicles which are less heavy and also using for bikes as a petrol engine gains smooth RPM and it provides good acceleration and feels as a responsive machine.

B. Diesel Engine:

1. Diesel engines excel in torque output, making them perfect for heavy-obligation applications like vans, trucks and buses.

2. They are more economical and powerful than petrol engines, however, a little noisier.

3. Diesel engines operate at decrease RPMs but produce higher torque, imparting better towing abilities.

 

Environmental Impact

A. Emissions:

1. Petrol engines produce less ranges of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate count number as compared to diesel engines.

2. Diesel engines emit higher ranges of NOx and other matter, contributing of air pollutants.

B. Emission Control Systems:

1. Both petrol and diesel engines use catalytic converters to produce less harmful radiation.

2. Selective catalytic converter reduction (SCR) systems are usually hired in diesel engines to mitigate NOx, not to add in atmosphere.

Conclusion:

Inline-four petrol and diesel engines are those engines which are most used in economically cars because it provides good fuel efficiency and better horse power and torque. We can use these engines to create FWD/RWD or AWD means front wheel drive, Rear wheel drive or All wheel drive respectively as it has a power to drive three types of vehicles.