[Diy_efi] Combustion temperature for max power

[Adam Wade]

--- Hugh Keir <hugh at sol.co.uk> wrote:

> If burning fuel + oxygen turns into heat and the
> heat gives pressure in the chamber to move the
> piston down, does it then follow that you want the
> maximum in cylinder temperature before melting
> things to get maximum horsepower from your engine?

Yes.  Kinetic energy is what you are going for.  The
more, the better, in terms of power.  Right up until
your components lose structural integrity from
heating, and your motor comes apart with a rather
forceful bang.

Heat engines are always a compromise between
structural integrity/long life and power output.  Thus
the increase in composites and ceramics in
cutting-edge research engines; the more heat you can
keep in the combustion chamber (and the exhaust, to
keep exhaust gas velocity high and aid extraction),
the better.  We've seen ceramic coatings on piston
faces for years; now there are ceramic cylinder liners
coming out, and more.  The future will be very interesting...

=====
| Adam Wade                       1990 Kwak Zephyr 550 (Daphne) |
|   http://y42.photos.yahoo.com/bc/espresso_doppio/lst?.dir=/   |
| "It was like an emergency ward after a great catastrophe; it  |
|   didn't matter what race or class the victims belonged to.   |
|  They were all given the same miracle drug, which was coffee. |
|   The catastrophe in this case, of course, was that the sun   |
|     had come up again."                    -Kurt Vonnegut     |

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com

_______________________________________________
Diy_efi mailing list
Diy_efi at diy-efi.org
http://www.diy-efi.org/mailman/listinfo/diy_efi