The Development of Diagnostics and Testing Methods for the Characterization of Carburetor Exit Flow Conditions

This paper describes the development of diagnostics and testing methods for the characterization of carburetor exit flow conditions in small utility engines. These diagnostics include: 1) Three different methods of acquiring intake flow photographs. 2) A technique to measure the thickness of the fuel film running along the bottom of the intake manifold using the electrical properties of the fuel. 3) A system for measuring the A/F ratio across the carburetor exit using a heated catalyst to oxidize the sampled mixture and a wide-range oxygen sensor to determine the A/F of the reacted sample.