See inside a running engine

nkaminar

nkaminar

Well-known member
This is not a Model A engine but close. Same style 4-cylinder flat head. With a plexiglass head you can see the combustion process and exhaust exiting. Slow motion starts at 11:55 mark. Interesting to see how uneven the combustion is and how it follows the piston down. It is still burning when the exhaust valve opens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXfYXzISlwg
 
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Neil. It didn't run for long before the heat softened the plexiglass but enough to show how slowly the fuel really burns (not an explosion). We will show this on the big screen at our clubrooms. I bet there will be a big group of guys standing, watching!
 
This is really interesting. These guys really went the extra mile to see what it would look like. Reminds me of when I was a kid I put together a see through model of a Chevy V8 and rotary Wankel engine. It helped me understand the functions, but this video is great, a big boy model.
 
On my computer i can run the video at 1/4 speed which makes the slow motion part even more interesting. On studies of carburetors, the fuel actually comes out in spurts and large drops and doesn't vaporize completely. You can see this in the combustion process where there are areas that have liquid fuel burning long after the spark ignition. (Long after in relative terms.) Devices were sold for the Model T that were designed to break up the fuel drops so that the combustion was better. A modern car, of course, has fuel injection, which does a better job of atomizing the fuel which leads to better combustion which in turn leads to better fuel economy and less pollution.
 
Very cool. Love to see a head cast out of glass, that thick. It should take the temperature better, with out distortion.
 
Several racing groups back in the 50's did extensive research on single and multi cylinder engines with "see thru" heads and pans. This was to determine best dimensions for various parameters. Polycarbonate was the plastic of choice then.
A lot of good info was discovered with that research but it didn't seem to soak in over the years.
 
I love polycarbonate (AKA Lexan) for machining and mock-ups. It's easy to drill, tap, machine. Acrylic (plexiglass) tends to snap and crack when drilling or under stress. I'm not sure what these guys in the video were using, I think they were Russian from the language, but not sure. I was impressed, but maybe the spark plugs needed better grounding.
 
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stickshift said:
I love polycarbonate (AKA Lexan) for machining and mock-ups. It's easy to drill, tap, machine. Acrylic (plexiglass) tends to snap and crack when drilling or under stress. I'm not sure what these guys in the video were using, I think they were Russian from the language, but not sure. I was impressed, but maybe the spark plugs needed better grounding.
Click to expand...

They said they were using Plexiglass (methylmethacrylate)
A very poor choice where heat is involved.
 
Pretty darn cool! I have watched a few of his other videos, which are also just as interesting. He is Russian.
 
nkaminar said:
On my computer i can run the video at 1/4 speed which makes the slow motion part even more interesting. On studies of carburetors, the fuel actually comes out in spurts and large drops and doesn't vaporize completely. You can see this in the combustion process where there are areas that have liquid fuel burning long after the spark ignition. (Long after in relative terms.) Devices were sold for the Model T that were designed to break up the fuel drops so that the combustion was better. A modern car, of course, has fuel injection, which does a better job of atomizing the fuel which leads to better combustion which in turn leads to better fuel economy and less pollution.
Click to expand...

I don't want to get too far off-topic, but I remember back in the mid '80's I visited the U.S. patent office in San Jose, Ca. No computers back then of course, but I looked up patents for devices to atomize fuel to make cars more efficient, all on micro-fiche. Many patents in the 1920's and 1930's that made carburetors more efficient and better mileage, more power, burn clean, etc. Here's one I remember seeing: https://patents.google.com/patent/US1896786
I don't know why they didn't get more widely used, or why the auto manufacturers didn't try something better. Maybe got stamped out by big oil? Who knows?
 
Thinking out of the box, what a fantastic video!
I'd love to see a complete running engine using all see through parts. If I was to say " It can't be done", would that be enough for someone to take up the challenge?
Don't forget to post the video!
 
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