ABSTRACT
The modern motor vehicle engine burns a fuel to obtain power. The fuel is usually petrol (gasoline) or diesel, although liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) are sometimes used. Specialist fuels have been developed for racing car engines. Motor vehicle engines are known as ‘internal combustion’ engines because the energy from the combustion of the fuel, and the resulting pressure from expansion of the heated air and fuel charge, is applied directly to pistons inside closed cylinders in the engine. The term ‘reciprocating piston engine’ describes the movement of the pistons, which go up and down in the cylinders. The pistons are connected by a rod to a crankshaft to give a rotary output ( Fig. 2.1 ).
