Exhaust-Pipe Effects in a Single-Cylinder Four-Stroke Engine

Abstract

The paper deals with an investigation of the fluctuations of pressure, due to piston motion on the exhaust stroke, which occur in the exhaust pipe of a single-cylinder four-stroke engine. Indicator diagrams of exhaust-port and of cylinder pressure, and measurements of air consumption were recorded, using exhaust pipes of three different diameters at three standard engine speeds; the exhaust pipe length was varied over a wide range in each case. In the light of the data thus obtained, the effects on air consumption of progressive alterations in valve timing were studied under known conditions of exhaust port pressure. Further trials were then carried out in which the valve timing which gave the maximum air consumption was determined for the full range of conditions of speed and exhaust pipe dimensions. The experimental results are discussed, and a method is derived by which the pressures in the exhaust port throughout the cycle may be obtained from theoretical considerations; the method is also directly applicable to induction pipe conditions.