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Comparative Performance of Alcohol and Hydrocarbon Fuels
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English
Abstract
Three factors are of consequence when considering the comparative performance of alcohols and hydrocarbons as spark ignition engine fuels. These are: relative amounts of products of combustion produced per unit of inducted charge, energy inducted per unit of charge, and latent heat differences among the fuels. Simple analysis showed significant increases in output can be expected from the use of methyl alcohol as compared to hydrocarbon and somewhat lesser improvement can be expected from ethyl alcohol. Attendant increases in fuel consumption, disproportionate to the power increase, can also be predicted.
More sophisticated analysis, based upon thermodynamic charts of combustion products, do not necessarily improve correspondence between prediction and engine results.
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Starkman, E., Newhall, H., and Sutton, R., "Comparative Performance of Alcohol and Hydrocarbon Fuels," SAE Technical Paper 640649, 1964, https://doi.org/10.4271/640649.Also In
References
- Bolt J. A. “A Survey of Alcohol as a Motor Fuel” SAE Summer Meeting June 1964 Chicago, Ill.
- Edson M. H. “The Influence of Compression Ratio and Dissociation on Ideal Otto Cycle Thermal Efficiency,” SAE Technical Progress Series 7 1964 SAE Trans. 70 1962 665
- Vickland C. W. Strange F. M. Bell R. A. Starkman E. S. “A Consideration of the High Temperature Thermodynamics of Internal Combustion Engines,” SAE Transactions 70 1962 785
- Newhall H. K. Starkman E. S. “Thermodynamic Properties of Octane and Air For Engine Performance Calculations,” SAE Technical Progress Series 7 1964 SAE Annual Meeting Detroit, Mich. January 1963
- Obert Edward F. “Internal Combustion Engines,” 2nd Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co. 1953