The stratified charge engine is a type of internal-combustion engine, similar in some ways to the Diesel cycle, but running on normal gasoline. The name refers to the layering of fuel/air mixture, the charge inside the cylinder. An internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. ... The diesel cycle is the combustion process of a type of internal combustion engine in which the burning of the fuel is triggered not by a spark plug as in the Otto cycle, but rather by the heat generated in compressing the fuel-air mixture. ... Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol (abbreviated from petroleum spirit), in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... For the workstation, see SGI Fuel. ... Air is a name for the mixture of gases present in the Earths atmosphere. ...

In a traditional Otto cycle engine, the fuel and air are mixed outside the cylinder and are drawn into it during the intake stroke. The air/fuel ratio is kept very close to stoichiometric, which is defined as the exact amount of air necessary for a complete combustion of the fuel. This mixture is easily ignited and burns smoothly. The four-stroke cycle of an internal combustion engine is the cycle most commonly used for automotive and industrial purposes today ( cars and trucks, generators, etc). ... In chemistry, stoichiometry is the study of the combination of elements in chemical reactions. ...

The problem with this design is that after the combustion process is complete, the resulting mixture contains considerable amounts of free single atoms of oxygen and nitrogen, which were produced by the heat splitting the O₂ and N₂ molecules in the air. These will readily react with each other, creating NO_x, a pollutant. This is currently addressed with the use of a catalytic converter in the exhaust system, which re-combines the NO_x back into O₂ and N₂. Properties For alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... A molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ... NOx is a generic term for the various nitrogen oxides produced during combustion. ... A catalytic converter in an automobiles exhaust system provides an environment for a chemical reaction where unburned hydrocarbons completely combust, using platinum and rhodium as catalysts. ... The word exhaust can mean:- A verb meaning tire out, as in After the long gallop, his horse was exhausted. ...

A Diesel engine, on the other hand, injects the fuel into the cylinder directly. This has the advantage of avoiding premature spontaneous combustion - a problem known as ping that plagues Otto cycle engines - and allows the Diesel to run at much higher compression ratios. This leads to a more fuel-efficient engine, which is why they are commonly found in applications where they are being run for long periods of time, like in trucks. Knocking (also called pinking or pinging)—technically detonation—in internal combustion engines occurs when fuel in the cylinder is ignited by the firing of the spark plug and smooth burning proceeds but some of the unburned mixture in the combustion chamber explodes before the flame front can reach it, combusting... The compression ratio is a single number that can be used to predict the performance of any internal-combustion engine. ... Fuel efficiency relates the efficiency of conversion to kinetic energy from energy contained in a carrier fuel, specifically in a transportation vehicle, such as an automobile. ...

However the Diesel engine has problems as well. The fuel is sprayed right into the highly compressed air, and never has time to mix properly. This leads to portions of the charge consisting almost entirely of air, and others almost entirely of fuel. The inefficient combustion that results from this poor mixture leads to the presence of other pollutants, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the plainly visible soot. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also known as PAH, are chemical compounds that consist of fused aromatic rings and that do not contain heteroatoms and that do not carry substituents. ... Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen. ...

The stratified charge design attempts to fix the problems with both designs. It uses a direct-injection system like the Diesel, with its inherent ability to be run at efficient high compressions. However, like the Otto, it relies on gasolines ability to mix quickly and cleanly in order to avoid the poor combustion found in the Diesel. An injection system is a system delivering fuel to an internal combustion engine. ... Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol (abbreviated from petroleum spirit), in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ...

To do this, the fuel injectors are aimed in order to inject the fuel into only one area of the cylinder, often a small "subcylinder" at the top of the main cylinder. This leads to a very rich charge in that area that ignites easily and burns smoothly. As the combustion proceedes, it meets a very lean area (often only air) where it cools rapidly and the harmful NO_x never has a chance to form. The additional oxygen in the lean charge also combines with any CO to form CO₂, which is less harmful. The much cleaner combustion allows for the elimination of the catalytic converter, as well as allowing the engine to be run at leaner mixtures, using less fuel. Fuel injection is a technology used in internal combustion engines to mix the fuel with air prior to combustion. ...

After years of trying, this layout has proven not to be terribly easy to arrange. The system has been used for many years in slow-running industrial applications, but has generally failed to develop into an automobile engine. Many attempts have been made over the years, notably in Wankel engine applications, but only the Japanese car manufacturers have pressed ahead with its development. It is estimated that they have spent several hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D since the 1970s. Wankel Engine in Deutsches Museum Munich, Germany The Wankel rotary engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, which uses a rotor instead of reciprocating pistons. ...

Honda's CVCC engine, released in the early 1970s models of Civic, then Accord and City later in the decade, is a form of stratified charge engine which had wide market acceptance for some time. The CVCC system had conventional inlet and exhaust valves, and a third, supplementary inlet valve, which charged a volume around the spark plug. The spark plug and CVCC inlet was isolated from the main cylinder by a perforated metal plate; upon ignition flame fronts shot into the very lean main charge through these perforations, ensuring complete ignition. In the Honda City Turbo, such engines produced a high power to weight ratio at up to 7,000 rpm and above. Honda Motor Co. ... CVCC is a trademark by the Honda Motor Company for a device used to reduce automotive emissions called a Compound Vortex Combustion Chamber. ... rpm or RPM may mean: revolutions per minute RPM Package Manager (originally called Red Hat Package Manager) RPM (movie) RPM (band), a Brazilian rock band RPM (magazine), a former Canadian music industry magazine In firearms, Rounds Per Minute: how many shots an automatic weapon can fire in one minute On...

Today, however, several of these engines are appearing on the market. Mazda and Mitsubishi both have cars using these designs, Volvo Cars recently teamed with Mitsubishi to produce their designs in Europe, Audi has a car using this design, and PSA Peugeot-Citroën has developed such an engine. The primary "sales advantage" to these engines is fuel economy, running at a leaner setting they use some 15 to 20% less fuel than traditional designs. Mazda Millenia luxury sedan. ... The Mitsubishi companies, or the Mitsubishi Group of Companies or the Mitsubishi Group is a large group (keiretsu) of independently operated Japanese companies which share the Mitsubishi brand name. ... A Volvo S80 car, model year 2002. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Audi is a luxury automobile maker in Germany, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. ... PSA is a TLA which stands for: Persian Student Association at Texas A&M University PSA Public service announcement Prostate-specific antigen, a substance that can be detected in the blood of men and which helps to determine if there may be a prostate cancer Pacific Southwest Airlines, a former... Peugeot is a major French car marque which is today part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group. ... Citroën is a French automobile manufacturer, started in 1919 by André Citroën, today part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group. ...