how does an engine work?

Question

Hi from Liverpoo, England.

I am partially sighted and as this prevents me from learning to drive, I have never bothered finding out how an engine works.

I think its about time I found out, so I was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction of a beginners website that can tell me, or if anyone can tell me on here I would be very gratefull.

Thanks for any info you can provide, and for those who are about to flame me because I have poor eyesight, get a life.

Answer 1

Most automobile engines are of the reciprocating type - the pistons go up and down inside their cylinders, and a rod of metal connects them to a rotating crankshaft. These engines are called "four-cycle", because there are four stages to each operation of a piston. First, the piston goes down, pulling a mixture of air and fuel (in the form of a mist) into the cylinder above the piston. Second, the piston moves up and compresses this mixture. Third, the mixture ignites, either with the help of a spark plug (for gasoline engines) or just from the heat of compression (for diesel engines). The products of combustion (mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor) push the piston down again because they are very hot and are trying to expand. Fourth, the piston comes up again and pushes the gases out of the cylinder into the exhaust pipes.

The four stages can be remembered as "suck", "squeeze", "pop!", and "phooey". Only the "pop!" stage provides power, and that is why more than one cylinder is usually required. At highway speeds, the engine can be running (for example) at 3600 revolutions per minute (rpm). That's 60 revolutions per second.

Answer 2

It converts chemical energy, petroleum, into mechanical energy when the fuel air mix under high pressure ignites in the cylinder head and forces the piston down which is connected to the crankshaft by a connecting rod and it rotates the crankshaft which is connected to the transmission which is connected to the driveshaft and then the wheels.

The most common engines are piston driven and then rotary and then turbine engines. There are also rocket "engines" that operate differently than an oil driven engine.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

suck/sqeeze//bang & blow! thats the simplicity of it...imagine a tin can sliding inside a sealed tube? at one end there are two valves one door in and one door out...at the bottom there is a crankshaft with has a connection to the tin can..a rotating steel disc(flywheel) creates a transfer from up and down movement to rotary movement rather like a steam trains wheels...when at first the can goes down..it creates a vacuum...and at a predermined time the 1st valve(door) opens...the vacuum sucks in a pre-determined amount of fuel and air...then it closes...this is the first stroke...then the pistol rises back to the top..in doing so it compresses the air and fuel and then a predetermined spark appears and ignites the mixture creating a confined explosion...this is the second stroke..this bang sends the piston(can)downwards which is power stroke(3rd stroke) when the piston rises...the other valve (door) opens and waste gas escapes into the exhaust pipe(4th stroke)...this sequence continues until the engine is switched off... the engine has its fuel /air/valves and spark predermined by engine management control unit? the larger the area of explosion plus the number of (cans) decides how powerfull the engine will be ...hope this i helpfull.....

Answer 4

Its complicated see the 1st link there is a moving picture. . The 3rd link has some audio.

There is a toy where you can make your own transparent engine.

When you put your foot on the accelerator pedal, fuel is mixed with air in the carborettr and injected into the engines cylinders,
the alternator fires the spark plugs in order causing explosions.
each explosion pushes a piston which using levers and gears pushes the drive wheel axle(s) round.

the clutch simple disconnects the engine from the gears.

Answer 5

For internal combustion engines, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine

For steam locomotives, check out:
http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/basic1.htm

Answer 6

To but it basically. Suck, Squeeze, Bang and blow.