Research on the effect of mixture quality on the exhaust gas emissions of a petrol engine

摘要

To meet the existing and proposed legislation for the controlof air pollution by the exhaust emissions of petrol engines, amajor research effort is required within the next five years. Notonly are the regulations expected to become more stringent as thenumber of motor vehicles increases, but improvements will show adiminishing; return in terms of the percentage reduction of emissionswhen primary factors have been treated. A fundamental problem thatis not well understood is the effect of the quality of the fuel-airmixture on combustion in the spark ignition engine. Knowledge ofthis factor could be important when the emissions are at a lowlevel as a consequence of the employment of devices that treatfactors such as mixture strength or the distribution of the fuel.Although the devices are effective in the reduction of the concentrationsof hydrocarbons it is thought that many have an undesirableeffect on the concentrations of the oxides of nitrogen.To improve the knowledge of these problems, it is the proposalthat the research at the Advanced School of Automobile Engineeringshould be extended to a comprehensive study of the effects ofmixture quality on the concentrations of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbonsand oxides of nitrogen in the exhaust gas of a sparkignition engine. The facilities at the School are comprehensiveand no financial assistance is requested for equipment. To allowthe study to be completed within a time that is relevant to theurgency of the problem, a grant is requested for the employment ofa Senior Technical Officer and a Laboratory Technician for a periodof three years.