Air Flow Optimization for Internal Combustion Engines

Sandbrook, Theresa A.

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Air Flow Optimization for Internal Combustion Engines

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There are many ways to improve engine performance. At some point, however, a large limiting factor will be the amount and speed of air travelling through the engine at a given time. Porting and polishing an engine head, or the process of removing material from inside the valve passages to allow for better air flow, can help increase performance and remove this limiting factor. The increase in performance can be measured on a flow bench, which reads pressure changes within the head using a fluid manometer. These readings can be used to compare pressure and volumetric air flow before and after porting and polishing to measure improvement. This study considered porting, polishing, and flow measurement applied to a 1.6L Miata cylinder head. The air flow was improved on both the exhaust and intake side valve passages.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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