Unit 3

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES (7ME5-11)

SYLLABUS

1 Engine Systems & Components: Fuel System (SI Engine),

Carburetion & Injection, process & parameters, properties of A/F
mixture, Requirements of A/F ratios as per different operating
conditions, Carburettors, types, Aircraft carburettor, comparison of
Carburetion & injection, F/A ratio calculations.

2 CI engine: Mixture requirements & constraints, Method of

injection, Injection systems, CRDI etc. system components, pumps
injectors

.
3 Ignition system: Conventional & Modern ignition systems
Magneto v/s Battery, CB point v/s Electronic ignition, Fuel
Ignition Energy requirements. Spark advance, centrifugal, vacuum
Firing order,spark plugs.
 CHAPTER 3

CARBURATION AND INJECTION

3.1 Carburetion:
The process of preparing a combustible fuel-air mixture outside engine cylinder in SI engine
is known as carburetion.
Important factors which affect the process of carburetion are given below;
-time available for the mixture preparation i.e. atomisation, mixing and the
vaporisation
-Temperature of the incoming air
-quality of the fuel supply
-design of combustion chamber and induction system

3.1.1 Mixture requirements for steady state operation:

Three main areas of steady state operation of automotive engine which require different air
fuel ratio are discussed below,

Fig. 3.1. Main areas of automotive engine operation

(a) Idling and low load:

-from no load to about 20% of rated power
-No load running mode is called idling condition
-very low suction pressure give rise to back flow of exhaust gases and air leakage
-increases the amount of residual gases and hence increase the dilution effects
-Rich mixture i.e. F/A ratio 0.08 or A/F ratio 12.5:1 provide smooth operation of the engine

(b) Normal power range or cruising range:

-from about 20% to 75% of rated power
-dilution by residual gases as well as leakage decreases, hence fuel economy is important
consideration in this case
-maximum fuel economy occurs at A/F ratio of 17:1 to 16.7:1
-mixture ratios for best economy are very near to the mixture ratios for minimum emissions

(c) Maximum power range:

-from about 75% to 100% of rated power
-mixture requirements for the maximum power is a rich mixture, of A/F about 14:1 or F/A
0.07
-Rich mixture also prevents the overheating of exhaust valve at high load and inhibits
detonation
-in multi-cylinder engine the A/F ratio are slightly lower

3.2.2 Mixture requirements for transient operation:

-Carburettor has to provide mixture for transient conditions under which speed, load,
temperature, or pressure change rapidly
-evaporation of fuel may be incomplete in the transient condition, quantity of fuel may be
increasing and decreasing

(a) Starting and warm up requirements:

-engine speed and temperature are low during the starting of the engine from cold
-during starting very rich mixture about 5 to 10 times the normal amount of petrol is sulpplied
i.e. F/A ratio 0.3 to 0.7 or A/F ratio 3:1 to 1.5:1
-mixture ratio is progressively made leaner to avoid too rich evaporated fuel-air ratio during
warm up condition
-too high volatility may form vapour bubbles in the carburettor and fuel lines particularly
when engine temperatures are high
-too low volatility may cause the petrol to condense on the cylinder walls, diluting and
removing the lubricating oil film

(b) Acceleration requirements:

- Acceleration refer to an increase in engine speed resulting from the opening of the throttle
-acceleration pump is used to provide additional fuel

3.2 Simple Carburettor:

-provide air-fuel mixture for all operating conditions
-Carburettor depression is pressure differential in the float chamber and venture throat which
causes discharge of fuel into the air stream
-flow is controlled by small hole of fuel passage
-pressure at the throat at the fully open throttle condition lies between 4 and 5 cm of Hg and
seldom exceeds 8 cm Hg
-petrol engine is quantity governed
-Drawback of simple carburettor is that it provides too rich and too lean mixture due to
vacuum created at the throat is too high and too small which is undesirable

Fig. 3.2. A simple carburettor

3.3 Complete Carburettor:
Additional systems used with simple carburettor can help the engine to operate at all
conditions, which are given below,

(i) Main metering system:

-provide constant fuel-air ratio at wide range of speeds and loads.

-mainly based upon the best economy at full throttle (A/F ratio about 15.6:1)
The different metering systems are,

Compensating jet device:-Addition to the main jet, a compensating jet is provided to

provide the leanness effect

Emulsion tube or air bleeding device:

-mixture correction is done by air bleeding alone
-in this arrangement main metering jet is fitted about 25 mm below the petrol level which is
called as submerged jet

Back suction control or pressure reduction method:

-in this arrangement large vent line connects the carburettor entrance with the top of the float
chamber and another small orifice line is connected with the top of the float chambers with
venture throat
-it creates pressure differences according to engine operating conditions

Auxiliary valve carburettor:

-Valve spring of auxiliary valve lift the valve during increase of engine load which increases
the vacuum at venture
-Allows more admittance more additional air and the mixture is not over rich

Auxiliary port carburettor:

-opening of butterfly allows more air inductance which decreases quantity of fuel drawn
-used in aircraft carburettors

(ii) Idling system:

-Idling jet is added for the idling and low load operation which requires rich mixture sof
about A/F ratio 12:1
-consists of small fuel line from the float chamber to a point of throttle side
-gradual opening of throttle may stop the idling jet

(iii) Power enrichment or economiser system:

-this system provides the richer mixture for maximum power range of operation
-It has meter rod economiser of large orifice opening to the main jet as the throttle is opened
beyond a certain point
-rod is tapered or stepped

(iv) Acceleration pump system:

-Engine acceleration condition or rapid increase in engine speed may open the throttle rapidly
which will not able to provide rich mixture
-acceleration pump of spring loaded plunger is used for fuel supply
(v) Choke:
-Rich mixture is required during cold starting period, at low crancking speed and before the
engine warmed up condition
-butterfly type valve or choke is used between the entrance to the carburettor and venture
throat to meet the requirement
-spring loaded by-pass choke is used in higher speeds

3.4 Carburettor types:

(i) Open choke:Zenith, solex and carter

Constant vacuum type: S.U. carburettor

(ii) updraught type

Horizontal or downdraught: mixture is assisted by gravity in its oassage to the engine
induction

(a) Solex carburettor:

-provide ease of starting, good performance, and reliability
-used in Fiat and standard cars and Willey jeep
-Bi-starter is used for cold starting
-well of emulsion system is used for idling and slow running condition
-diaphragm type acceleration pump is used for increasing speed case

(b) Carter carburettor:

-downdraft type carburettor used in jeep
-has triple venture diffusing type choke in which smallest lies above the level float chamber,
other two below the petrol level, one below other
-multiple venturies result in better formation of the mixture at very low speeds causing steady
and smooth operation at very low and high engine speed
-mechanical metering method is used
-choke valve is provided in the air circuit for cold starting
-plunger type acceleration pump is used

(c) S.U. carburettor:

-constant air-fuel ratio is maintained due to vacuum depression
-has only one jet
-no separate idling jet or acceleration pump
-constant high velocity air across the jet may avoid the use of idling jet
-jet lever arrangement provides the rich mixture in cold starting
-used in many British cars and Hindustan ambassador car

3.5 Drawbacks of modern carburettor:

-improper mixture proportion in multi-cylinder engine
-loss of volumetric efficiency due to obstruction of flow of mixture from choke tubes, jets,
throttle valve etc.
-wear of carburettor parts
-Freezing at low temperature
-surging when carburettor is tilted or during acrobatics in aircraft
-backfiring in fuel pipe line
3.6 Petrol injection:
-to avoid above problem of modern carburettor, petrol injection is used like in diesel engine
-petrol injected during the suction stroke in the intake manifold at low pressure
-injection timing is not much critical as like in diesel engine
-continuous injection and timed injection methods are used

3.6.1 Continuous injection:

-fuel is sprayed at low pressure continuously into the air supply
-amount of fuel is governed by air throttle opening
-in supercharged engine, fuel injected in the form of multiple spray into the suction side of
the centrifugal compressor
--provide efficient atomisation of fuel and uniform mixture strength to all cylinder
-higher volumetric efficiency
-one fuel injection pump and one injector

3.6.2 Timed injection system:

-similar to high speed diesel engine
-components are fuel feed or lift pump, fuel pump and distributor unit, fuel injection nozzles
and mixture controls
-mixture controls are automatic for all engine operating conditions

(i) Multiple plunger jerk pump system:

-pump with separate plunger and high injection nozzle pressure for each cylinder
-100 to 300 bar pressure
-measured quantity of fuel for definite time and over definite period is delivered

(ii) Low pressure single pump and distributor system:

-single plunger or gear pump supply fuel at low pressure to a rotating distributor
-pressure about 3.5 to 7 bar

(a) Lucas petrol injection system:

-firstly used in racing car
-single distributor system with novel metering device
-line pressure is maintained at 7 bar
-metering distributor and control unit distributes the required amount of fuel at correct time
and interval
-has shuttle arrangements for metering unit
-in aircraft engine two injectors and spark plug provided for direct injection of fuel in
combustion chamber

Fig. 3.3. Lucas petrol injection system for 6-cylinder petrol engine
(b) Electronic fuel injection
Fuel delivery system:
-electrically driven fuel pump draws fuel from tanks to distribute
-fuel and manifold pressure kept constant by pressure regulator

Air induction system:

-air flow meter generate voltage signal according to air flow
-cold start magnetic injection valve give good fuel atomisation and also provide extra
fuel during warm up condition

Fig. 3.4. Electronic fuel injection system- L-Jetronic with air flow meter

Electronic control unit (ECU):

-sensors for manifold pressure, engine speed and temperature at intake manifold
-sensor measures operating data from locations and transmitted electrically to ECU

Injection timing:
-injected twice for every revolution of crank shaft
-triggering of injectors

3.7 Diesel injection system:

Requirements of diesel injection system:

-fuel must introduce precisely defined period of cycle
-amounts metered very accurately
-rate of injection meet desired heat release pattern
-quantities of fuel meet changing speed and load condition
-good atomisation of fuel
-good spray pattern for rapid mixing of fuel and air
-no dribbling and after injection of fuel i.e. sharp injection
-injection timing suits the speed and load requirements
-distribution of fuel in multi-cylinder should uniform
-weight, size and cost of fuel injection system should be less

3.7.1 Types of diesel injection system:

(a) Air injection system:

-fuel supplied through camshaft driven fuel pump
-fuel valve is also connected with high pressure airline to inject into cylinder
-multi-stage compressor which supply air at a pressure of about 60 to 70 bar
 Fig.3.5. Air injection system
-blast air sweeps the fuel along with it
-good atomisation results in good mixture formation and hence high mean effective pressure
-heavy and viscous fuels are used
-fuel pump require small pressure
-but it is complicated due to compressor arrangement and expensive
-bulky engine and low bhp
-overheating and burning of valve seat

(b) Solid injection system:

-Fuel directly injected to combustion chamber without primary atomisation termed as solid
injection.
-Also known as airless mechanical injection
-2 units-pressurise and atomising unit
3 different types which are described below,

(i) Individual pump and injector or jerk pump system:

-separate metering and compression pump is used for each cylinder
-reciprocating fuel pump is used to meter and set the injection pressure of the fuel
-heavy gear arrangements which gives jerking noise, hence name is given is jerk pump
-jerk pump is used for medium and high speed diesel engines

Fig.3.6. Individual pump and injector or jerk pump system

 Fig. 3.7. Unit injector

(ii) Common rail system:

-high pressure fuel pump delivers fuel to an accumulator whose pressure is constant
-plunger type of pump is used
-driving mechanism is not stressed with high pressure hence noise is reduced
-common rail or pipe is connected in between accumulator and distributing elements
-separate metering and timing elements connected to automatic injector
-self-governing type

Fig. 3.8. Common rail system

(iii) Distributor system:

-fuel pump pressurises, meters and times the fuel supply to rotating distributor
-number of injection strokes per cycle for the pump equals to the number of cylinder
-One metering element which ensure uniform distribution

Fig. 3.9. Distributor system

3.7.2 Fuel Injectors

3 main types of fuel injectors,
Blast injector:
-these are superseded by mechanically operated injectors used in air injection system
Mechanically operated injector:
-consist of a set of camshaft, cams and rocker gear and other cams for controlling the timing
of the fuel injection
Automatic injector:
-consists of spring loaded needle valve and operated hydraulically by the pressure of fuel
-quanity of fuel is metered by the fuel pump

3.7.3 Types of nozzles:

(a) Depends on the type of combustion chamber,
Open combustion chamber:
-fuel seeks air
-air swirl is created due to inclined induction port
-multi-hole nozzle injects fuel at a pressure of about 200 to 300 bar to slow moving air
-provide good cold starting performance and improved thermal efficiency

Pre-combustion chamber:
-air velocity is very much high
-single hole nozzle with 65 to 100 bar injection pressure is used
-used in high speed engine due to rapid combustion
-external heating device for easy starting of the engine

(b) Open and closed type of nozzle,

Open type:
-consists of fuel orifices and open to burner
-cheap and less efficient
ex- opposed piston two-stroke Junkers diesel engine
Closed type: pressure drop is minimised compared to open type

(c) Different types of nozzle for different combustion chamber

(i) Single hole nozzle:
-used in open combustion chamber
-size of hole larger than 0.2 mm
-very high injection pressure required

(ii) Multi-hole nozzle:

-no. of hole varies from 4 to 18 and the size from 1.5 to 0.35 mm
-injection rate is not uniform

(iii) Pintle nozzle:

-a projection or pintle is provided in the nozzle to avoid weak injection and dribbling
-pintle may be cylindrical or conical shape
-cone angle varied from 0 to 60ᵒ
-provide good atomisation and reduced penetration
-fuel pressures are lower than single and multi-hole nozzle

(iv) Pintaux nozzle:

 -injected fuel in upstream of air
-development of pintle nozzle with auxiliary hole drilled in the nozzle body
-reduced delay period and increased thermal efficiency

ENGINE SYSTEMS

3.8 Ignition System

An ignition system in an IC engine is meant for igniting the air-fuel mixture inside the
cylinder. The ignition has to be performed at a pre-set timing. If it is not done at a correct time
the engine may not produce sufficient power, or may run erratically, or may not run at all the
ignition of mixture requires a spark in spark ignition engines. The spark can be produced only at
a curtain voltage is produced by an ignition coil which is supplied with a low voltage form
battery. The combination of all devices required to produce an electric spark of desired intensity
and at proper moment is called the spark ignition system.

3.8.1 Requirements of an efficient spark ignition system

1. Spark must occur continuously & timely.

2. The spark should be any misfire.
3. The spark should be strong enough to ignite the charge.
4. The ignition system should be simple, cheap & contained as a comport unit.
5. The system should operate efficiently at all the engine speed.
6. It should not cause interference with the radio & television transmission.

3.8.2 Types of spark ignition systems

1. Battery ignition system

This system generally employs a battery of 12 or 24 volts, & this voltage is raised to an
extremely high value of 15000 to 24000 volts for producing sparks.

Main components of the system are.

1. Battery
 2. Switch
3. Conductor
4. Coil
5. Contact breaker
6. Conducer
7. Advance
8. Cam
9. Distributor
10. Spark plug.

Fig.3.10: Layout of battery ignition system showing various components

Battery marked 1, supplies 12 or 24 volts direct current to the system. When the ignition
switch 2 is turned on switch marked 2, serves to disconnect the ignition system devices from the
current sources when the engines is to be stopped. Conductor marked 3, carries low voltage
current from the battery to primary winding of the ignition coil. Coil marked as 4, liens form
low-voltage current received from the storage battery into high-voltage current which is
necessary to ignite the combustible mixture these are two winding. One is primary, lesser
number of turns but the wire is thick & secondary winding with more number of turns but wire is
thin.
 Due to these two kinds of winding, the induction coil operates on the principle of an
ordinary atelic transformer in raising the voltage from a low to a very high value. Contact
breaker marked 5, makes & breaks the flow of current repeatedly between ignition coil & the
distribution condenser marked 6, is connected in parallel across the breaker contact to eliminate
the harmful effect of self in diction currents in the primary winding which would otherwise cause
an undesired electric spark between the contact. Advance marked 7, sets automatically the in
start at which a spark is to be generated it is required because sparking time depends on speed of
the vehicle engine & the load on it.

Distributor marked 9, consists essentially a rotor & a stator. Rotation to the rotor is
impaled by camshaft through meshing gears of which one is mounted on the camshaft & the
other is on rotor spindle. One revolution of the rotor brings current to all spark plug of different
cylinders. Conductor marked 10, connects stationary electrodes with the spark plugs & carries
extremely high voltage required for sparking. Spark plug marked 11m is device used to produce
the spark.

2. Magneto Ignition System

Fig.3.11: Layout of magneto ignition engine showing various parts

 A Magneto ignition system is shown in fig. the battery in a coil ignition system is
replaced by a magneto assembly for producing low voltage current other parts are similar to
battery ignition system in their construction & working the magneto, in this case, consists of a
fixed armature having a primary & a secondary winding and also a rotating assembly of magnets
driven form the engine the arrangement shown in this figures is for a four-cylinder engine whose
firing order is 1- 3-4-2 as marked on the distributor the sequence of spark plug is 1-2-3-4 on the
cylinders 1-2-3-4 in which cylinder 1 is in front of the block while cylinder 4 is in rear.

3.8.3 Comparison between Coil & Magneto ignition systems

The high tension voltage characterizes of a coil ignition system is different from that of
the magneto ignition system. Where as in coil ignition this voltage decrease with increase in the
engine speed the current values at the moment of break of the contact breakers for the two
systems are shown in fig. it shows that the coil ignition gives a higher current at lower speeds but
the magneto current is more at higher engine speeds.

Fig. 3.12: Comparison of performance between coil and magneto ignition system at different
engine speed versus (a) voltage developed (b) current at break at the contact breaker

3. Electric Ignition Systems

The coil ignition system is an electro-mechanical arrangement which suffers from the
following limitations.
 1. The contact breakers points are switched on and off frequently to arrow flow of large
inductive current it not only requires regular dining & resetting but also causes wear and
burning of the points.
2. The contact breakers point does not function well at higher speeds because of its inertial
effect.
3. The dwell period in contact breakers point at higher speeds is insufficient to build-up fail
strength magnetic field which results in a weak spark.
4. The inductive circuit restricts satisfactory sparking rate above 300-400 sparks per second.
This means that in a six-cylinder engine the sparking will be erratic above 9000-12000
rpm. Since the racing car engines run above this speed, hence coil ignition system is not
fit for their satisfactory operation.
To obviate these limitations, the electronic ignition is a good answer.

Merits of electronic ignition system employs solid-state electronic device made from
semiconductor. Transistor & thruster are such devices which are rugged and comport limits &
are capable of switching the electricity without opening & closing the contact the timely sized
trausistor behaves as a relay & can operate as a switch also at speeds much higher than those
required for an ignition system.

Types: - Electronic ignition systems can be of different kinds as given below

1. Semi transistorized (or hybrid) coil ignition system (TCI system)

2. Fully transistorized (or contact breaker less) coil ignition system (TCI system)
3. Capacitive discharge ignition (CDI) system.

4. Semi-transistorized (or hybrid) Ignition System

In this case, a transistor unit is interposed between the ignition coil & the contact-breaker
the function of transistor is to interrupt the primary current which is being done by C.B points in
coil ignition system. In this case, the C.B. points serve to carry a very small non-inductive
control current of transistor this helps in much reduced wear of points, absence of arcing &
improved low & high speed performances the transistor-assisted contact results in a better
starting also. Also because the transistor can handle a much higher main current than could the
contact breaker points when used in the normal way, the design of the coil can be modified to
improve its performance at high speed.

Fig. 3.13: Simplified diagram of a semi transistorized ignition system (a) when the points are
closed and (b) when the points are open
 The contact breaker & condenser can be dispensed with and contact adjustments are
required only at 40,000 km intervals, solely to compensate for mechanical wear of the operating
mechanism.

5. Fully transistorized (or contact breaker less) ignition system

This is more advanced system & is vastly used on racing engines. It employs two stages
of transistor switching in conjunction with a special design of coil, & eliminates the needs of
C.B. points that is why the system is also known as “breaker less” it has been employed on
Volvo 740 car engine.

Fig. 3.14: A simplified diagram of a fully transistorized ignition system

In this arrangement the transistor are triggered by electrical pulses produced by an

electromagnetic pickup, for that the pole pieces are used around the engine flywheel this system
is capable of producing well-timed sparks up to 1000 per second which is sufficiently enough to
operate the engines at 15000 rpm. A typical circuit is shown which is used on contests classic car
engine. A spark is generated in it when one of the probes is released.

6. CDI Ignition

Capacitor discharge ignition is generally used on engines of 2 wheelers. In this system a

capacitor is used to store the ignition energy the amount of stored energy is decided by the
capacitance used & the charging voltage of capacitor. The ignition transformer steps up the
primary voltage which is generated at the time of spark by the discharge of capacitor through the
thyristor, to a high voltage necessary at the spark plug. It works in conjunction with a magneto &
employs a CDI unit it performs the following functions.

Fig. 3.15: A CDI system (a) layouts (b), (c) Working

1. As the rotor turns, current is produced in the source coil & then stored in the
ignition condenser.
2. At the same time, the pickup coil sends a pulse to activate the thyristor.
3. Then the ignition conductor discharge the stored current rapidly this induces a high
voltage in ignition coil, there by a strong spark is produced.

3.8.4 Advantage of CDI system over battery ignition system

A CDI system processes following advantage over battery ignition system.

 1. The condenser of CDI can store many thousand times more energy. It therefore allows
a high output voltage at higher speeds when sparking rates are also high.
2. The internal resistance is small it therefore allow a faster rise in voltage. Hence the
system does not get side tracked.
3. Since the breaker points serve as a trigger only, this system is free from frequent
maintenance of C.B points.
4. This system draws less current from the battery at low speeds, which increases with
increase in engine speed. Due to this feature, the low speed efficiency is increased &
the cold starting also become easier.
5. The output voltage is relatively independent of engine speed this eliminates the
chances of misfire even when the spark play is fouled.

Fig. 3.16: Merits of a CDI system showing (a) Current drawn from the battery and (b) Output
voltage

3.8.5 The components used for ignition systems

1. Battery
To provide electrical energy for ignition, a storage battery is used. It is charged by a
dynamo driven by the engine. Owing to the electrochemical reactions, it is able to convert
the chemical energy into electrical energy. The battery must be mechanically strong to
 with stand the strains to which it is constantly subjected to given reason able care &
attention two years or more trouble free life may be obtained from a battery.
Two types of batteries are used for spark ignition engines, the lead acid battery & the
alkaline battery the former is used in light duty commercial vehicles & the later on heavy
duty commercial vehicles.

2. Ignition Switch
Battery is connected to the primary winding of the ignition coil through on ignition
switch & ballast resistor with the help of the ignition switch the ignition system can be
turned on or off.
3. Ballast Resistor
A ballast resistor is provided in series with the primary winding to regulate the primary
current the object of this is to prevent injury to the spark coil by overheating if the engine
should be operated for a long time at low speed, or should be started with the breaker in
the closed position this coil is made of iron wire, & iron has the property that its electrical
resistance increases very rapidly if a curtain temperature is exceeded the coil is therefore
made of wire of such size that if the primary current flows nearly continuously, the
ballast coil reaches a temperature above that where this rapid increase in resistance
occurs. This additional resistance in the primary circuit holds the primary current down to
a safe value for starting from cold this resistor is by passed to allow more current to flow
in the primary circuit.
4. Ignition Coil
Ignition coil is the source of ignition energy in the conventional ignition system this coil
stores the energy in its magnetic field & delivers it at the appropriate time in the form of a
ignition pulse through the high tension ignition cables to the respective spark plug.
The purpose of ignition coil is to step up the 6 to 12 volts of the battery to a high voltage
sufficient to induce an electric spark across the electrodes of the spark plug.
 Fig.3.17: Ignition Coil

The ignition coil consists of a magnetic core of soft iron wire or sheet & two insulated
conducting coils, called primary & the secondary windings.
5. Contact Breaker
This is a mechanical device for making & breaking the primary circuit of the ignition coil
it consist essentially of a fixed metal point bears which is being on a spring loaded
pivoted arm.

Fig. 3.18: Contact Breaker

 When points are closed the current flows & when they are open, the circuit is broken &
the flow of current stops.

6. Capacitor
The principal of construction of the ignition capacitor is the same as that of every
electrical capacitor, which is very simple two metal plates separated by an insulating
material are placed face to face the insulation is often only air. But in most cases it
consists of some high quality insulation materials suitcase for the particular technical
requirements, capable of withstanding electrostatic stresses without suffering damages
the metal plates themselves are usually replaced by metal foil or by metallic layers
deposited by evaporation on the insulation material itself. In order to save space, these
thin strips, for example, consisting of two strips of aluminum foil &several layers of
special capacitor paler are rolled up in a solid roll contacts are attached to the two metal
strips & the entire roll is first impregnated in an oily or waxy material to improve the
insulating properties of the paper & then the roll is inserted into a metal shell for
protection against moisture, external physical contact & damage.

7. Distributor
The function of the distributor is to distribute the ignition surges to the individual spark
plugs in the correct sequence & at the correct instant in time. Depending on whether a
particular engine has 4,6 or 8 cylinder, there are 4,6 or 8 ignition pulse generated for
every rotation of the distributor shaft. The use of a distributor represents a considerable
simplification in a battery ignition system because in most cases we wale t use only a
single ignition circuit the contact breaker & the spark advance mechanism are combined
with the distributor in a single unit because of the absolute necessity that the distributors
operate in synchronism with the crankshaft.
There are two types of distributors, the brush type & the gap type in the former, carbon
brush called by the rotor arm slides over metallic segments embedded in the distributor
cap of molded insulating material, thus establishing electrical connection between the
secondary winding of the coil & the spark plug, while in latter the electrode of the rotor
 arm pass close to, but does not actually contact the segments in the distribution cap with
the latter type of distributor, there will not be any appreciable wear of the electrodes.

8. Spark plug
The spark plug provides the two electrodes with a proper gap across which the high
potential discharges to generate a spark & ignite the combustible mixture within the
combustion chamber.
A spark plug consists essentially of a steel shaft an insulator & two electrodes the control
electrode to which the high knsion supply from the ignition coil is connected, is well
insulated with porcelain or other ceramic materials the other electrode is welded to the
steel shell of the plug & thereby is automatically grounded when the plug is instated on
the cylinder head of the engine. The electrodes are usually made of high nickel alloy to
with stand the severe erosion and corrosion to which they are subjected in use.

Fig. 3.19: Schematic of a typical spark plug

The tips of the central electrode & the insulator are exposed to the combustion gases.
This results in the insulator having a tendency to crack from the high thermal &
mechanical stresses. Some insulators are also seriously affected by moisture and by
abnormal surface deposits. Since the central electrode & the insulator are subjected to the
high temperature of the combustion gases, the heat must flow from the insulator to the
steel shell which is in contact with the relatively cool cylinder head in order to cool the
electrodes & there by prevent pre ignition.
Spark plug are usually classified as hot plug or cold plug depending upon the relative
operating temperature range of the tip of the high tension electrode. The operating
temperature is governed by the amount of heat transferred which in turn depends on the
length of the heat transfer path from the tip to the cylinder head and on the amount of
surface area exposed to the combustion gases. A cold plug has a short heat transfer path
and a small area exposed to the combustion gases as compared to a hot plug.
The type of spark plug used in an engine depends on the particular engine requirement.
Every engine manufacture determines the type of plug, cold or hot, that is best switch to
his engine.