Advantages and Disadvantages of Gas and Electric Engines - Report Example

ELECTRIC ENGINES by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor University City/State Date History of Gas Engines Numerous experiments with gas engines were undertaken in the 19th century; however, Etienne Lenoir of France developed the first practical gas engine in 1860 (Bachman 2006). The engine used illuminating gas and offered practically reasonable service. It was in effect a transformed double-acting stream engine, which has slide valves for admitting air and gas and for getting rid of exhaust products. The Lenoir engine developed limited power, had high fuel consumption, and used only approximately 4% of the fuel energy. The engine was used for printing presses, running water pumps and for effecting various other tasks that required little power output. The German engineer Kikolaus A. Otto improved Lenoir work by building inventing the first four-stroke engine, which efficiently burnt fuel directly in the piston chamber. The Otto engine was very successful and regardless of poor economy and its great weight; a wide range of engines of the same type developed rapidly after this (Bachman 2006). Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler then created the first efficient and speedy four-stroke engine and created a carburetor, which enabled gasoline to be used as fuel. The engine was used to run a bicycle and later a four-wheeled carriage. The gas engine came into common use in the late nineteenth century, with large gas being engines being constructed. Most concepts relative to gas engine development were conceived and modern gas engines have come along as refinements of these concepts and technological breaks in metallurgy or machine tooling and fuel technology. The four –stroke engine consist of four important steps that help in burning gasoline: intake, compression, power, and exhaust. Each of these steps takes place when the piston moves up and down two times. Before the invention of the four-stroke engine, two stroke engines were used to burn gasoline in order to create the mechanical motion, however this was accomplished in two steps. Currently, manufacturers use two-stroke engine for small equipments such as motorcycles and lawnmowers as well as large industrial machines. The four-stroke cycle is used in almost all cars. The four-stroke engines have become industry standard for most cars as they carry numerous benefits including cleaner emissions, better fuel efficient, more torque and power, and more durability. Nonetheless, they are disadvantageous in that they are expensive and more complicated to make and necessitate the use of valves for gas exhaust and intake. Forced induction engines are one of the advancements in the gas engine design. In such engines, air is forced at a higher pressure into the combustion chamber; this creates higher compression as well as more power from every engine stroke. Superchargers and turbochargers are some of the new air compressors that help to force more air into the engine. The carburetor has also been mostly replaced by fuel injection. The carburetor was the most preferred means of mixing air and fuel and depositing it into the combustion chamber of the engine. Pressing the accelerator pedal fully enable the carburetor to allow maximum fuel and air into the engine. The fuel engine is a more effective and sophisticated system of mixing air and fuel. Fuel injectors help to spray gas into the air intake manifold, whereby air and fuel mix into a fine mist. Valves on every cylinder bring in the mix into combustion chamber during intake. The on-board computer in the engine manages the process of fuel injection. According to Bunes and Einang (2000), fuel injection system helps to measure the proper fuel amount for the particular engine load and speed to every cylinder, in every cycle. Gilles (2012), noted that new cars and trucks are equipped with fuel injection systems that serve the same function as the carburetors that they replaced, but fuel injection provides a better means of controlling exhaust emissions and fuel economy. Fuel injection systems have become the standard fuel system used in automobiles because it provides a means of meeting the pollution control and fuel efficiency standard established by the federal government (Gilles 2012). The benefits of fuel injection are fuel efficiency, easier starting, more power, and better throttle response. Fuel injections also remove the risk of carburetor icing since there is no carburetor. Carburetor icing causes a lot of fatalities and serious injuries. Direct injection is a further improvement in fuel injection; it contributes to better fuel economy and more power. It enables fuel injection to “skip a step.” This increases the engine efficiency and leads to more improved economy and power as a result. However, it is a relatively new technology and is more expensive to make (Gilles 2012). Overhead camshafts are also an improvement in engine design. They lead to better performance but are disadvantageous in that they lead to increased complexity. They are part of a car valve train; the system that controls the flow of air and fuel into the cylinders. The setup of the overhead cam enables more gas intake and exhausts valves; as a result, air, fuel, as well as exhaust are able to move more freely through the engine, hence adding power. Electric engines are currently used in factories and mills to drive a wide range of machines. They contain two main parts; the dynamo and the motor. The dynamo generates or produces electricity whereas the motor helps in conversion of electricity into power. The invention of the electric engine was the culmination of many men working in different countries and at different times. The invention of the electricity battery was the first step towards invention of the electric engine. Otto von Guericke, a German made the machine to produce or generate electricity. In 1800, Alaxander Volta discovered that an electric current could be produced when two different metals were exposed to each other. This led to his invention of the electric battery, which comprised of several cups filed on top of each other. In every cup, Volta placed a disk of zinc and a disk of copper covered with salt (Bachman 2006). A copper wire connected the copper disk of the first cup to the zinc disk of the second cup and so on. Volta also fastened a copper wire to the zinc disk of the last cup and the copper disk of the first cup. This led to the creation of a strong electric current and the battery by Volta became the first easy way to produce large quantities of electricity (Bachman 2006). The second important invention was the magnetic magnet. The magnet led to the invention of the dynamo. Professor Oersted of Coperhagen led to the invention of the electromagnet, a very useful electrical invention. Strugeon, an Englishman, made the first electromagnet. Josephy Henry, an American, invented how to control the size of the load to be lifted by the electromagnet or way of controlling the power of the electromagnet. Henry wrapped silk around the copper wire in order to insulate it and put many turns around the iron core. This increases the strength of the magnet significantly. Henry also discovered ways of making the electromagnet work at a distance. Michael Faraday is credited for making the first dynamo. Faraday produced an electric current from a magnet after five attempts. He discovered that an electric current is generated when a magnet in motion or when the wire coil breaks through magnetism currents originating from the magnets. With this discovery, Faraday was able to make the first dynamo; a new machine that generated electricity. He fastened a copper disk, one fifth inch thick, and twelve inches diameter on a brass axle. He then placed a powerful permanent to enable the disk to revolve between the two ends. He fastened two collectors to the device; one to the axle and the other one to the edge of the disk. Turning the disk generated a steady current of electricity. The invention of the dynamo paved way for invention of electricity and electric driven machines. Each dynamo has a whirling disk and a magnet. The disk or armature produces electricity by breaking across or through the magnetism currents from the magnet. A permanent magnet supplied the magnetism currents in the dynamo created by Faraday. Various advances were made to create a strong dynamo. For instance, an electromagnet replaced the permanent magnet in almost all the dynamos currently being used. The large dynamos even have more than one electromagnet. In Faraday’s dynamo, the armature was just a copper disk. Currently, the inner portions for core as well as the copper wire windings over the core make up the armatures. The most common armature is the core and it comprises of various soft and very thin sheet-iron disks. Currently the dynamo has been made useful and electricity is generated in large quantities and at a small cost. The other important that led to the development of electric engines was the motor which was used to convert electricity into power that could be used to turn all types of machines. It was later discovered that the dynamo was a motor and it could be used to change electricity into power. Currently, the motors and dynamos are build almost in the same way, however the most motors are not as heavy and large as dynamos. Efforts to perfect the dynamo perfected the motor. The motor was put to work immediately in creating electric locomotives, cars, and electric railways among other devices. Edison built the first electric locomotive in 1880, which was created using an ordinary flat dump car and a dynamo. Advantages and Disadvantages of Gas Engines Gas engines are less expensive to maintain, efficient, cheaper, easy to refuel, lightweight, and lead to limited emissions. They have a smooth acceleration, high power, and better burning rate. They are also less noisy and have lesser vibrations. They are gas engines that produce an effective torque and which offer greater gas economy; this leads to lower consumption as well as more power. Gas engines operate on gaseous fuel and are usually spark ignited which emits lower particulate matter by nature. This enables the combustion system to operate at or near stoichiometric air to fuel rations (AFR), and maintain high tailpipe exhaust temperature over the normal duty cycle. Gas engines are disadvantageous in that they are less fuel efficient due to their lower compression rations. They also produce less energy and produce more carbon dioxide compared to electric engines. They also produce gases, which lead to air pollution and have less torque. They are also less reliable compared to electric engines. A bad fuel mix can cause the engine to malfunction and this causes some engines to have a shorter life. Technical advantages include external mixing, homogenous charge (manifold induction), low compression ration and mixture control in speed and load. Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Engines Electric engines have no environmental pollution (no carbon dioxide or soot), which leads to the overall well-being of the environment at the same time. The operating conditions of an electric engine can be changes as per the load demand with the help of control equipment. The engines also have a good starting torque and are easy to maintain. They can generate its utmost torque from standstill. Acceleration is much smoother and better. They have only a single moving part, the rotor and hence little subject to wear. The engines have a long life and their efficiency can be improved over a wide range of speed. They have short time overload capacity. They have a smooth acceleration, high power, and better burning rate compared to gas engines. The engine is also quieter as no explosions take place therein. The electric engine is efficient as it can yield up to 90%: it achieves an efficiency of about 30%. Electric engines are disadvantageous as they are very expensive. Second, they have a short range of about 100 miles. Electric vehicles use electricity as energy for propulsion. They are environmental friendly than the normal gas-driven cars. In addition, they have many other benefits such as zero emissions, increased fuel economy, no transmission, simple engine system and less sophisticated construction and also very quiet. Electric cars use an electric motor to power the car instead of the conventional internal combustion engine and this means that they do not contribute to any pollution at all (State Government Victoria 2012). They do not emit harmful gases, which contribute to greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and ultimately global warming (McAuthor 2010). They are also easier to maintain. The electric cars are fitted with batteries that are smaller, lighter, and which have a larger capacity when it comes to electricity storage. In addition, they can be easily recharged. According to Grunig, Witter, and Marcellino et al. (2011) electric vehicles are a promising technology that will reduce the greenhouse gases emissions as well as other environmental impacts on road transport. Generally electric engines have limited or no environmental impact than gas engines. Reference List Bachman, F 2006, Great inventors and their inventions, Yesterday Classics. Bunes, O & Einang, P 2000, Comparing the performance of the common rail fuel injection system with the traditional injection system using computer aided modeling and simulation, MARINTEK paper at ENSUS 2000, International Conference on Marine Science and Technology for Environmental Sustainability, Newcastle. Gilles, T 2012, Automotive service: inspection, maintenance, repair, Cengage Learning, Clifton Part, NY. Grunig, M, Witte, M, Marcellino, D, Selig, J & van Essen, H 2011, Impact of Electric Vehicles- Deliverable 1, viewed July 10, 2014, http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/docs/d1_en.pdf McAuthor, W 2010, The advantages of electric cars, Clinton Gilkie. State Government Victoria 2012, The Victorian electric vehicle trial: Environmental impacts of electric vehicles in Victoria, viewed July 10, 2014, http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/83665/EV-Environmental- Impacts-of-Electric-Vehicles-in-Victoria.pdf Read More

The on-board computer in the engine manages the process of fuel injection. According to Bunes and Einang (2000), fuel injection system helps to measure the proper fuel amount for the particular engine load and speed to every cylinder, in every cycle. Gilles (2012), noted that new cars and trucks are equipped with fuel injection systems that serve the same function as the carburetors that they replaced, but fuel injection provides a better means of controlling exhaust emissions and fuel economy.

Fuel injection systems have become the standard fuel system used in automobiles because it provides a means of meeting the pollution control and fuel efficiency standard established by the federal government (Gilles 2012). The benefits of fuel injection are fuel efficiency, easier starting, more power, and better throttle response. Fuel injections also remove the risk of carburetor icing since there is no carburetor. Carburetor icing causes a lot of fatalities and serious injuries. Direct injection is a further improvement in fuel injection; it contributes to better fuel economy and more power.

It enables fuel injection to “skip a step.” This increases the engine efficiency and leads to more improved economy and power as a result. However, it is a relatively new technology and is more expensive to make (Gilles 2012). Overhead camshafts are also an improvement in engine design. They lead to better performance but are disadvantageous in that they lead to increased complexity. They are part of a car valve train; the system that controls the flow of air and fuel into the cylinders. The setup of the overhead cam enables more gas intake and exhausts valves; as a result, air, fuel, as well as exhaust are able to move more freely through the engine, hence adding power.

Electric engines are currently used in factories and mills to drive a wide range of machines. They contain two main parts; the dynamo and the motor. The dynamo generates or produces electricity whereas the motor helps in conversion of electricity into power. The invention of the electric engine was the culmination of many men working in different countries and at different times. The invention of the electricity battery was the first step towards invention of the electric engine. Otto von Guericke, a German made the machine to produce or generate electricity.

In 1800, Alaxander Volta discovered that an electric current could be produced when two different metals were exposed to each other. This led to his invention of the electric battery, which comprised of several cups filed on top of each other. In every cup, Volta placed a disk of zinc and a disk of copper covered with salt (Bachman 2006). A copper wire connected the copper disk of the first cup to the zinc disk of the second cup and so on. Volta also fastened a copper wire to the zinc disk of the last cup and the copper disk of the first cup.

This led to the creation of a strong electric current and the battery by Volta became the first easy way to produce large quantities of electricity (Bachman 2006). The second important invention was the magnetic magnet. The magnet led to the invention of the dynamo. Professor Oersted of Coperhagen led to the invention of the electromagnet, a very useful electrical invention. Strugeon, an Englishman, made the first electromagnet. Josephy Henry, an American, invented how to control the size of the load to be lifted by the electromagnet or way of controlling the power of the electromagnet.

Henry wrapped silk around the copper wire in order to insulate it and put many turns around the iron core. This increases the strength of the magnet significantly. Henry also discovered ways of making the electromagnet work at a distance. Michael Faraday is credited for making the first dynamo. Faraday produced an electric current from a magnet after five attempts. He discovered that an electric current is generated when a magnet in motion or when the wire coil breaks through magnetism currents originating from the magnets.

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