Detonation - some fresh ideas, article from aviation

[johnl]

http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182132-1.html
Some new ideas, at least to me, on combustion and detonation.

One interesting quote -
"Jimmy Doolittle said that the most important factor in winning WWII was the use of lead in avgas, which permitted the manufacture of 100/130 and 115/145 octane fuels."

[Reaper1]

This is a pretty darn good explanation of what is happening in the cylinder. At the end they start eluding to lean burn and how/why it works, but it isn't enough information to be able to try and accurately tune an engine using that technique. For the most part, piston aviation engines are stuck in the 1950's and are just starting to use modern engine controls to make them more powerful and more efficient.

[zin]

Lots of good info in there! Not 100% applicable to a non-aviation engine, but the "large strokes" are on the money!

I like the way he's explaining it, helps one to see just how much "confusion" there is inside a running engine... Not too unlike a pool of water with rain falling into it, giving is a very chaotic surface of peaks and valleys or high and low pressure regions..

Also makes it clearer how water injection can mute some of these effects (to me anyways!).

Mike

[johnl]

Yeah, stuck in the '50s because of regulation - FAA. Really, earlier than that, more like the '30s but refined/perfected by time and improved materials. Well written article, reader visualizes the dynamics.

[Reaper1]

Yeah, stuck in the '50s because of regulation - FAA. Really, earlier than that, more like the '30s but refined/perfected by time and improved materials. Well written article, reader visualizes the dynamics.

Agreed :thumb: