Forced induction
Encyclopedia : F : FO : FOR : Forced induction
Forced induction is a term used to describe internal combustion engines that are not naturally aspirated. Instead, a gas compressor is added to the air intake, thereby increasing the quantity of air or fuel-air mixture available for combustion.
Forced induction can be used to increase the power of an engine, its efficiency, or both, without much extra weight. Pressurizing the intake of combustion ingredients increases the effective capacity of the engine without an increase in physical size. The forced induction approach has the advantage that the intake pressure may be regulated according to the engine speed, thus providing power from extra capacity at high speed, but without wasting fuel at lower speeds.
Two of the commonly used forced induction technologies are superchargers and turbochargers. They differ mainly in the power source for the compressor. Turbochargers are driven by the exhaust gases of the engine, whereas superchargers are driven by a belt connected to the crankshaft of the engine. Also, turbochargers require a connection to the oiling system of the engine, whereas superchargers do not.
Another forced induction mechanism uses a solenoid to force pressurized nitrous oxide gas into the intake manifold.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.