04-12-2012, 03:23 PM
Lean burn
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Principle
A lean burn mode is a way to reduce throttling losses. An engine in a typical vehicle is sized for providing the power desired for acceleration, but must operate well below that point in normal steady-speed operation. Ordinarily, the power is cut by partially closing a throttle. However, the extra work done in pumping air through the throttle reduces efficiency. If the fuel/air ratio is reduced, then lower power can be achieved with the throttle closer to fully open, and the efficiency during normal driving (below the maximum torque capability of the engine) can be higher.
The engines designed for lean burning can employ higher compression ratios and thus provide better performance, efficient fuel use and low exhaust hydrocarbon emissions than those found in conventional petrol engines. Ultra lean mixtures with very high air-fuel ratios can only be achieved by direct injection engines.
The main drawback of lean burning is that a complex catalytic converter system is required to reduce NOx emissions. Lean burn engines do not work well with modern 3-way catalytic converter—which require a pollutant balance at the exhaust port so they can carry out oxidation and reduction reactions—so most modern engines run at or near the stoichiometric point. Alternatively, ultra-lean ratios can reduce NOxemissions[citation needed].
Chrysler Electronic Lean Burn
From 1976 through 1989, Chrysler equipped many vehicles with their Electronic Lean Burn (ELB) system, which consisted of a spark control computer and various sensors and transducers. The computer adjusted spark timing based on manifold vacuum, engine speed, engine temperature, throttle position over time, and incoming air temperature. Engines equipped with ELB used fixed-timing distributors without the traditional vacuum and centrifugal timing advance mechanisms. The ELB computer also directly drove the ignition coil, eliminating the need for a separate ignition module.
ELB was produced in both open-loop and closed-loop variants; the open-loop systems produced exhaust clean enough for many vehicle variants so equipped to pass 1976 and 1977 US Federalemissions regulations, and Canadian emissions regulations through 1980, without a catalytic converter. The closed-loop version of ELB used an Oxygen sensor and a feedback carburetor, and was phased into production as emissions regulations grew more stringent starting in 1981, but open-loop ELB was used as late as 1990 in markets with lax emissions regulations, on vehicles such as the Mexican Chrysler Spirit. The spark control and engine parameter sensing and transduction strategies introduced with ELB remained in use through 1995 on Chrysler vehicles equipped with throttle-body fuel injection[citation needed].
Heavy-duty gas engines
Lean burn concepts are often used for the design of heavy-duty natural gas, biogas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuelled engines. These engines can either be full-time lean burn, where the engine runs with a weak air-fuel mixture regardless of load and engine speed, or part-time lean burn (also known as "lean mix" or "mixed lean"), where the engine runs lean only during low load and at high engine speeds, reverting to a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture in other cases.
Heavy-duty lean burn gas engines admit as much as 75% more air than theoretically needed for complete combustion into the combustion chambers. The extremely weak air-fuel mixtures lead to lower combustion temperatures and therefore lower NOx formation. While lean-burn gas engines offer higher theoretical thermal efficiencies, transient response and performance may be compromised in certain situations.
Honda lean burn systems
One of the newest lean-burn technologies available in automobiles currently in production uses very precise control of fuel injection, a strong air-fuel swirl created in the combustion chamber, a new linear air-fuel sensor (LAF type O2 sensor) and a lean-burn NOx catalyst to further reduce the resulting NOx emissions that increase under "lean-burn" conditions and meet NOx emissions requirements.
This stratified-charge approach to lean-burn combustion means that the air-fuel ratio isn't equal throughout the cylinder. Instead, precise control over fuel injection and intake flow dynamics allows a greater concentration of fuel closer to the spark plug tip (richer), which is required for successful ignition and flame spread for complete combustion. The remainder of the cylinders' intake charge is progressively leaner with an overall average air:fuel ratio falling into the lean-burn category of up to 22:1.
The older Honda engines that used lean burn (not all did) accomplished this by having a parallel fuel and intake system that fed a pre-chamber the "ideal" ratio for initial combustion. This burning mixture was then opened to the main chamber where a much larger and leaner mix then ignited to provide sufficient power. During the time this design was in production this system (CVCC, Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) primarily allowed lower emissions without the need for a catalytic converter. These were carbureted engines and the relative "imprecise" nature of such limited the MPG abilities of the concept that now under MPI (Multi-Port fuel Injection) allows for higher MPG too.