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What is engine?
 Engine is a machine
for converting energy
into motion or
mechanical work.
The energy is usually
supplied in the form
of a chemical fuel,
such as oil or
gasoline, steam, or
electricity, and the
mechanical work is
most commonly
delivered in the form
of rotary motion of a
shaft.

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What is fuel system?
 The function of the fuel system is to store
and supply fuel to the cylinder chamber
where it can be mixed with air, vaporized,
and burned to produce energy. The fuel,
which can be either gasoline or diesel is
stored in a fuel tank. A fuel pump draws the
fuel from the tank through fuel lines and
delivers it through a fuel filter to either a
carburetor or fuel injector, then delivered to
the cylinder chamber for combustion.

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FUEL TANK

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 fuel supply system of an
internal-combustion engine.
General view
 In most engines with a carburetor, vaporized fuel is conveyed to
the cylinders through a branched pipe called the intake manifold
and, in many engines, a similar exhaust manifold is provided to
carry off the gases produced by combustion. The fuel is admitted to
each cylinder and the waste gases exhausted through
mechanically operated poppet valves or sleeve valves. The valves
are normally held closed by the pressure of springs and are
opened at the proper time during the operating cycle by cams on a
rotating camshaft that is geared to the crankshaft. By the 1980s
more sophisticated fuel-injection systems, also used in diesel
engines, had largely replaced this traditional method of supplying
the proper mix of air and fuel. In engines with fuel injection, a
mechanically or electronically controlled monitoring system injects
the appropriate amount of fuel directly into the cylinder or inlet
valve at the appropriate time. The gas vaporizes as it enters the
cylinder. This system is more fuel efficient than the carburetor and
produces less pollution.

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Working of valves in 4-Stroke
IC/SI engine/ Otto-cycle engine

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Working of valves in 4-Stroke
IC engine/ Otto-cycle engine

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Function of fuel system
 The function of fuel system is to supply the engine
with fuel in qualities exactly metered in proportion
to the power required and timed with utmost
accuracy, so that the engine will deliver that power
within the limits prescribed for fuel consumption,
exhaust smoke, noise and exhaust emissions.
 The fuel must be injected through suitable nozzles at
pressures high enough to cause the required degree
of atomization in the combustion chamber and to
ensure that it mixes with sufficient air for complete
combustion in the cycle time available.
 In multi cylinder engines the periods of injection, the
timing and the delivered quantity must be accurately
metered to ensure an even balance between the
cylinders.

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Multi Cylinder

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Fuel system
 In the past
Fuel metering in automotive engines was
usually performed by a carburetor. However, this
device has been largely replaced by fuel injection
into the intake manifold or ports, which increases
fuel economy and efficiency while lowering
exhaust gas emissions. Various types of fuel
management systems are used on automotive
engines, including electronically controlled
feedback carburetors, mechanical continuous
fuel injection, and sequential electronic fuel
injection.

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Objectives of the fuel
Injection System
 The injection system of the compression
ignition engine should fulfill the following
objectives consistently and precisely:
1. Meter the appropriate quantity of fuel, as
demanded by the speed of, and the load on,
the engine at the given time.
2. Distribute the metered fuel equally among
cylinders in a multi-cylinder engine.
3. Inject the fuel at the correct time (with
respect to crank angle) in the cycle.
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Objectives of the fuel
Injection System

4. Inject the fuel at the correct rate (per unit

time or crank angle degree).
5. Inject the fuel with the correct spray
pattern and sufficient atomization as
demanded by the design of the
combustion chamber, to provide proper
penetration also.
6. Begin and end injection sharply without
dribbling or after injection.

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functional elements
 To accomplish these objectives, a number of
functional elements are required. These
constitute together, the fuel injection system of
the engine. These elements are as follows.
 Pumping elements to transfer the fuel from the
tank to the cylinder, along with the associate
piping and hardware.
 Metering elements to measure and supply the
fuel at the rate as desired by the speed and
load conditions prevailing.

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functional elements
 Metering controls to adjust the rate of the
metering elements for changes in load and
speed of the engine.
 Distributing elements to divide the metered
fuel equally among the cylinders in a multi
cylinder engine.
 Timing controls to adjust the start and stop
of injection.
 Mixing elements to atomize and distribute
the fuel within the combustion chamber

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 The fuel supply system of an internal-
combustion engine consists of
 Fuel Tank
 Fuel Lines
 Fuel Pump
 Fuel Filters
 And a device, Atomizer, for vaporizing or
atomizing the liquid fuel. In Otto-cycle
engines this device is either a carburetor
or, more recently, a fuel-injection system.

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components of fuel supply system of
an internal-combustion engine.
 Fuel tank stores the fuel for engine.
 Tank location and design are always a compromise
with available space. Most automobiles have a single
tank located in the rear of the vehicle.
 Fuel tanks today have internal baffles to prevent the
fuel from sloshing back and forth. If you hear noises
from the rear on acceleration and deceleration the
baffles could be broken.
 All tanks have a fuel filler pipe, a fuel outlet line to the
engine and a vent system.
 All catalytic converter cars are equipped with a filler
pipe restrictor so that leaded fuel, which is dispensed
from a thicker nozzle, cannot be introduced into the fuel
system.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Steel lines and flexible hoses carry

the fuel from the tank to the engine.
 When servicing or replacing the steel
lines, copper or aluminum must never
be used. Steel lines must be replaced
with steel. When replacing flexible
rubber hoses, proper hose must be
used.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 A fuel pump is the device that transfers fuel from
the fuel tank into an internal combustion engine.
 A fuel pump is an essential component on a car
or other internal combustion engine device. Fuel
has to be pumped from the fuel tank to the
engine and delivered under low pressure to the
carburetor or under high pressure to the fuel
injection system. Some fuel injected engines
have two fuel pumps for this purpose: one low
pressure/high volume supply pump in the tank
and one high pressure/low volume pump on or
near the engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 types of fuel pump
 Two types of fuel pumps are used in
automobiles:
1. Mechanical
2. Electric

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Mechanical fuel pump
 Carbureted cars use mechanical fuel pumps.
 Mechanical fuel pumps are diaphragm
pumps, mounted on the engine and operated
by an eccentric cam usually on the camshaft.
A rocker arm attached to the eccentric
moves up and down flexing the diaphragm
and pumping the fuel to the engine.
 While mechanical pumps operate on
pressures of 4-6 psi (pounds per square
inch).

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Electric fuel pump
 All fuel injected cars today use electric fuel pumps.
 Electric pumps do not depend on an eccentric for
operation, they can be located anywhere on the
vehicle. In fact they work best when located near
the fuel tank.
 Electric pumps can operate on pressures of 30-40
psi.
 Current is supplied to the pump immediately when
the key is turned. This allows for constant pressure
on the system for immediate starting. Electric fuel
pumps can be either low pressure or high
pressure.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Fuel Pump Safety
 Fuel pump creates positive pressure in the fuel lines,
pushing the gasoline to the engine. The higher gasoline
pressure raises the boiling point. Placing the pump in the
tank puts the component least likely to handle gasoline
vapor well (the pump itself) farthest from the engine,
submersed in cool liquid. Another benefit to placing the
pump inside the tank is that it is less likely to start a fire.
Though electrical components (such as a fuel pump) can
spark and ignite fuel vapors, liquid fuel will not explode
and therefore submerging the pump in the tank is one of
the safest places to put it. In most cars, the fuel pump
delivers a constant flow of gasoline to the engine; fuel not
used is returned to the tank. This further reduces the
chance of the fuel boiling, since it is never kept close to
the hot engine for too long.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Operating a Fuel Pump

 The fuel pump is generally on whenever the
car's ignition switch is in the "on" position.
Depressing the gas pedal results in the throttle
body opening on the engine (metering the air
going in) rather than engaging the fuel pump.
The ignition switch does not carry the power to
the fuel pump, instead it activates a relay
which will handle the higher current load. It is
common for the fuel pump relay to become
oxidized and cease functioning; this is much
more common than the actual fuel pump
failing.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Fuel Pumps in an Accident

 Some cars with an electronic control unit have
safety logic that will shut the electric fuel pump
off even if the ignition is "on" if there is no oil
pressure, either due to engine bearing
damage or a stalled engine in a car accident.
In case of an accident this will also prevent
fuel leaking from any ruptured fuel line. Other
cars have an additional roll over valve, that will
shut off the fuel pump in case the car rolls
over.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 The fuel filter is the key to a properly functioning fuel
delivery system. This is more true with fuel injection
than with carbureted cars.
 Fuel injectors are more susceptible to damage from
dirt because of their close tolerances, but also fuel
injected cars use electric fuel pumps.
 When the filter clogs, the electric fuel pump works so
hard to push past the filter, that it burns itself up.
Most cars use two filters.
 One inside the gas tank and one in a line to the fuel
injectors or carburetor. Unless some severe and
unusual condition occurs to cause a large amount of
dirt to enter the gas tank, it is only necessary to
replace the filter in the line.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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Fuel system

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Atomization is conversion of bulk liquid
into a spray or mist (i.e. collection of
drops), often by passing the liquid through
a nozzle. Despite the name, it does not
imply that the particles are reduced to
atomic sizes.
 An atomizer is an atomization apparatus;
carburetors, airbrushes, misters, and
spray bottles are only a few examples of
atomizers used universally. In internal
combustion engines, fine-grained fuel
atomization is instrumental to efficient
combustion.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Carburetor, device that mixes fuel and air for burning in
an internal-combustion engine. A carburetor atomizes
(converts into a vapor of tiny droplets) liquid gasoline. An
airflow carries the atomized gasoline to the engine’s
cylinders, where the gas is ignited.
 The carburetor has been part of internal-combustion
engines since the beginning of the 20th century. In most
passenger vehicles and light trucks built since 1985 the
carburetor has been replaced by fuel injection, a more
efficient, computer-controlled method of injecting fuel
into the engine. Diesel engines, because of their design,
have always used fuel injection instead of carburetors.
Carburetors today are found only on older gasoline
engines in cars and trucks. They are still common in
boat engines, aircraft engines, and some sports
vehicles, including jet-skis and motorcycles.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 functions OF Carburetor
1) it combines gasoline and air creating
a highly combustible mixture.
2) it regulates the ratio of air and fuel.
3) it controls the engine's speed

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 A carburetor basically consists of an open pipe, the
carburetor's "throat" or "barrel", through which the air
passes. The pipe is in the form of a venturi - it narrows in
section and then widens again.
 Just after the narrowest point is a butterfly valve or throttle
- a rotating disc that can be turned end-on to the airflow,
so as to hardly restrict the flow at all, or can be rotated so
that it (almost) completely blocks the flow of air.
 This valve controls the flow of air through the carburetor
throat and thus the quantity of air/fuel mixture the system
will deliver. This in turn affects the engine power and
speed. The throttle is connected, via a Bowden cable or a
set of rods and ball joints, to the accelerator pedal on a
car or the equivalent control on other vehicles or
equipment.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Throttle Valve
 A throttle valve at the base of the carburetor controls the
amount of air pulled through the engine by the partial
vacuum in the pistons. The driver opens the throttle valve
by pressing down on the accelerator (gas pedal). As the
valve opens wider, more air flows through the carburetor,
delivering larger amounts of fuel to the engine. The driver
closes the throttle valve by decreasing pressure on the
gas pedal.
 Float Bowl
 The fuel that enters the carburetor is stored in a reservoir
called a float chamber or float bowl. A device that floats on
the reservoir’s surface is linked to a small valve, which
keeps a constant amount of fuel in the reservoir.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Venturi
 Carburetors pull fuel into the airflow using a principle
called Bernoulli’s effect, named for Dutch-born Swiss
scientist Daniel Bernoulli. Bernoulli discovered that
pressure in a fluid decreases as its velocity increases.
Italian physicist Giovanni Venturi (1746-1822) designed a
specialized type of passageway for fluids based on
Bernoulli’s effect. A carburetor has such a passageway,
called a venturi, in its throat.
 The venturi is a narrowing of the carburetor’s throat and
makes the throat look a little like an hourglass—narrow in
the middle and wider at the ends. Air rushing through the
narrow part speeds up. At the same time, air pressure
against the sides of the passageway decreases, creating
a partial vacuum inside the throat. This partial vacuum
draws fuel through the nozzle and into the air.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Venturis are also used to measure the speed of a
fluid, by measuring pressure changes from one
point to another along the venturi. Placing a liquid
in a U-shaped tube and connecting the ends of the
tubes to both ends of a venturi is all that is
needed. When the fluid flows though the venturi
the pressure in the two ends of the tube will differ,
forcing the liquid to the "low pressure" side. The
amount of that move can be calibrated to the
speed of the fluid flow.
 To avoid undue drag, a venturi typically has an
entry cone of 30 degrees and an exit cone of 5
degrees.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Idle and Transfer Ports
 In addition to the main nozzle in the venturi portion of
the carburetor, two other nozzles, or ports, deliver
fuel to the engine. The idle port is located below the
venturi and allows the engine to get fuel when airflow
through the carburetor is minimal, such as when the
engine is idling at a low speed. An off-idle or transfer
port located just above the idle port delivers
additional fuel at low engine speeds. Fuel from these
two ports is drawn into the cylinders by engine
vacuum. The two ports supply enough fuel to keep
the engine running at slow speeds. Fuel from the
main nozzle is necessary to run the engine at normal
operating speeds.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 AIR-FUEL RATIO
 A carburetor can be adjusted to mix larger or smaller
amounts of air with the fuel. An idling engine at normal
operating temperature requires an air-to-fuel ratio of about
14.6 to 1 or 15-to-1 (by weight) to completely burn the
fuel. Raising or lowering the air ratio makes the mix either
lean (containing less fuel) or rich (containing more fuel). A
lean mixture produces a cleaner, hotter combustion for
cruising speeds, but not enough fuel for starting the
engine efficiently or allowing it to produce more power. A
rich mixture is easier for the engine to burn, but produces
more pollutants as byproducts.
 The carburetor is adjusted to provide a rich mixture for
cold engine starts because the rich mixture burns easier
and longer. As the engine warms up, the carburetor alters
the air-fuel ratio for a leaner mixture.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 CHOKE AND COLD STARTS

 The choke is a device that can partially block
air from getting into the carburetor. If the
throttle valve is open and the choke valve is
closed, the vacuum from the engine is strong
enough inside the carburetor to draw fuel from
all three nozzles. This added fuel produces a
rich air-fuel ratio to help a cold engine get
started. Once the engine is warm, the choke is
shut off. Early automobiles had manually
operated chokes. The process eventually
became automatic and electronically
controlled.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Carburetor adjustment
 Too much fuel in the fuel-air mixture is referred to as too "rich"; not
enough fuel is too "lean". The "mixture" is normally controlled by
adjustable screws on an automotive carburetor or a pilot-operated
lever on a propeller aircraft (since mixture is air density (altitude)
dependent). The correct air to petrol ratio is 14.6:1, meaning that for
each weight unit of petrol, 14.6 units of air will be burned.
Carburetor adjustment can be checked by measuring the carbon
monoxide and oxygen content of the exhaust fumes. A more
sophisticated way to determine correct mixture, as used in modern
fuel injected engines, is by using a lambda sensor in the exhaust
system. The lambda sensor output is fed to the engine
management system that in turn will adjust the amount of injected
fuel.
 The mixture can also be judged by the state and color of the spark
plugs: black, dry sooty plugs indicate a too rich mixture, white to
light grey deposits on the plugs indicate a lean mixture. The correct
color should be a brownish grey.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 How a carburetor mixes fuel
and air?
 When the piston moves down the cylinder on
the intake stroke it draws air from the cylinder
and intake manifold. A vacuum is created that
draws air from the carburetor. The airflow
through the carburetor causes fuel to be drawn
from the carburetor through the intake
manifold past the intake valves and into the
cylinder. The amount of fuel mixed into the air
to obtain the required air to fuel ratio is
controlled by the venturi or choke.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Delivering gasoline to the
carburetor
 Gasoline is delivered to the carburetor by the
fuel pump and is stored in the fuel bowl. To
keep this level of fuel stored in the bowl
constant under all conditions a float system is
used. A float operated needle valve and seat
at the fuel inlet is used to control the fuel level
in the bowl. If the fuel level drops below a
certain level the float lowers and opens the
valve letting more fuel in. When the float rises
it pushes the inlet valve against the seat and
shuts off the flow of fuel into the bowl.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Controlling the speed of the
engine
 The throttle controls the speed of the engine
by controlling the amount of air fuel allowed in
the engine. The throttle is a butterfly valve
located after the venturi and is opened by
pressing on the gas pedal. The farther the
valve is opened the more air/fuel mixture is let
into the engine and the faster the engine runs.
At low engine speeds when the throttle is only
open a little there is not enough air flow to pull
in fuel.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Handling low speeds

 When the engine is idle there is very little air flowing
through the venturi because the throttle valve is closed.
The idle port allows the engine to operate under this
condition. Fuel is forced through the idle port because of a
pressure differential between air in the fuel bowl and
vacuum below the throttle valve. Idle fuel mixture is
controlled by an adjustable needle valve.
 Handling high speeds
 At higher engine speeds more fuel is drawn from the main
nozzle. Fuel comes from the fuel bowl through the fuel
nozzle and into the throat of the carburetor where it mixes
with air.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 The carburetor under high

engine load
 Higher engine loads demand more fuel. The
carburetor handles this by increasing the
amount of fuel through the power valve
controlled by the intake manifold vacuum.
Manifold vacuum travels from the base of the
carburetor to the power valve through a
passage. As the engine load is increased the
vacuum drops and the power valve starts to
open. The valve will be completely opened
when the engine is under a heavy load
resulting in very low vacuum.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 The carburetor during

engine acceleration
 When an engine initially accelerates the
balance of air and fuel is thrown off
balance because fuel is heavier than air.
This results in more air than fuel, an overly
lean mixture. To solve this, the accelerator
pump is used to supply more fuel to the
engine. This maintains the balance until the
fuel air ratio reaches proper levels. The
accelerator pump is operated by a linkage
and does not rely on vacuum to operate.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 The carburetor under cold engine
starting conditions
 Cold engine starting uses more fuel because the fuel is not
fully vaporized due to less air in the carburetor. To increase
the amount of fuel during starting the choke plate is used.
When the choke plate is closed the vacuum in the carburetor
increases and pulls more fuel from the fuel nozzle and both
the idle ports. The choke is usually thermostatically controlled
but can be controlled manually. Once the engine gets started
the amount of extra gas for starting needs to reduced. This is
done by using the vacuum in the intake manifold, which pulls
the choke partially opened to stop too much gas from flowing
in the engine and allowing more air flow while the engine
starts. As the engine warms up the thermostat control of the
carburetor opens the plate until the engine reaches normal
temperature. At normal running engine temperature, the plate
will be fully open.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 types of carburetors
 There are two types of carburetors:

1. Fixed choke
2. Constant depression

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Fixed choke carburetors

 Constant choke carburetor is the type of carburetor in
which the air and fuel flow area is always kept
constant. In constant choke carburetor, the air-fuel
ratio is changed due to varying pressure difference or
depression as per the demand. This type of carburetor
should have a compensating device to avoid air-fuel
mixture enrichment with the increase in speed.
Example: Solex carburetor and Zenith
 This is the common downdraft carburetor found on
American and most Japanese cars.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Constant depression
carburetors
 The constant depression carburetors vary the
airflow to change the fuel jet opening which in
turn alters the fuel flow. A vacuumed operated
piston connected to a tapered needle, which
slides inside the fuel jet, does this. The most
common variable choke (constant depression)
type carburetor is the side draft SU carburetor,
which was simple in principle to adjust and
maintain. This rose to a position of domination
in the UK car market for that reason. Other
similar designs are used on some European
and a few Japanese automobiles
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Carburetor is also categories as

 Natural or side draft

 Updraft
 Downdraft

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.

 Natural
Draft
Carburetor
 This carburetor is
used where there
is little space on
top of the engine.
The air horizontally
into the manifold.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Updraft
Carburetors
 This type is placed
low on the engine
and use a gravity
fed-fuel supply.
 Even this carburetor
uses gravity to
receive the fuel from
the tank, the air-fuel
mixture must be
forced upward into
the engine.

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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Downdraft
Carburetors
 This carburetor
operates with
lower air
velocities and
larger
passages. This
is because
gravity assists
the air-fuel
mixture flow to
the cylinder.
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components of fuel supply system
of an internal-combustion engine.
 Down-draft
Carburetors
 The downdraft
carburetor can
provide large
volumes of fuel
when needed
for high speed
and high
power output.

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