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The purpose of piston rings in an internal-combustion engine is to reduce to a minimum the leakage of gas from and the seepage of oil into the combustion-chamber. Asserting that the widely held idea that the leakage of gas past the piston can be eliminated by the use of good piston-rings is incorrect, the author states three possible paths for such gas-leakage and, after commenting upon them, discusses diagonal and lap joints and the subject of leakage with special reference to them. After considering the design of rings for gas-tightness, the author shows a fortunate mathematical relationship, in connection with the application of uniform radial pressures, regarding the bending-moment stresses. Oil leakage is treated in a similar manner and the conclusion is reached that the properties of the material used are of extreme importance.

About 1917 the heavy ends of the fuel sold as gasoline required such an amount of heat to vaporize them that the expression “crankcase dilution” appeared; now they have increased to a maximum boiling-point of 446 deg. fahr., which has made it necessary to go still farther in the direction of heat application. After a brief consideration of the relative heat-absorption of air and fuel and the time factor in its relation to vaporizing, the author describes experiments with a specially designed manifold for increased vaporization efficiency and presents photographs of the device. With this type of manifold it has been possible to eliminate crankcase oil dilution completely and effect a reduction in carbonization. The lubrication efficiency has been improved, as well as other features that are enumerated.

The author selects and sets forth some of the main laws and basic considerations influencing carbureter action. A brief defense of the carbureter as a means of supplying fuel to an engine is made, as compared with the fuel-injection method, and conditions in the cylinder, the manifold and the carbureter during normal operation are stated. The relations of throttle positions, manifold vacuum and engine torque are discussed, followed by an exposition of the effect of manifold vacuum upon vaporization. The subject of air-flow in carbureters is treated at some length and the venturi-tube form of air-passage is commented upon in considerable detail. The flow of air through air-valves, fuel-flow and mixture-proportion requirements are given detailed consideration, the last being inclusive of passenger-car, motor-truck, tractor, motorboat and airplane needs. The essentials for obtaining accurate information with regard to carbureter and engine tests are outlined.

The paper surveys the differences between American and European conditions in the automotive industry and then considers briefly the reasons for them. The governing conditions are stated and their effects are traced. The subjects discussed include motorcycles and small cars, road conditions, car idiosyncracies, selling conditions in Europe, and a comparison of design in general. The differences of practice are stated and commented upon. Six specific points are emphasized in the summary. The author states that the outlook for American cars the world over is seemingly good. In recent American designs, equal compression - volumes are often assured by machining the heads; six-cylinder crankshafts have seven bearings and are finished all over in the circular grinding machine; pressure lubrication is used for all moving parts of the engine; and in all ways the highest practice is aimed at. America is trying to improve the quality without increasing the cost.

Stating that it is conceded by engineers that weight reduction is desirable economically but that it is not unusual to find that weight reduction is looked upon as incompatible with reliability and road-holding properties, the author outlines briefly the normal weight-distribution in an automotive vehicle and gives a short analysis of the power required to drive it having in mind the necessity of reducing the absolute friction-loss. The use of aluminum for various parts is debated, especially those in which reliability is distinctly a function of lightness and not of weight such as engine pistons, and the application is made general to cover all parts of an automobile in which the stresses are determined by road shocks and speed. The trend of design in general and recent research in particular are stated to be along the lines of weight reduction without any sacrifice of essentials.

This paper is a collection of notes gathered from investigation of the subject in the literature on the development of internal-combustion engines and memoranda set down during a long series of tests. The paper includes a discussion of the physical and chemical aspects of the subject and sets forth a working theory that has proved of value. Several methods of measuring turbulence are stated. After outlining the history of the subject and giving references, the effect of turbulence on flame propagation is discussed at length and illustrated by diagrams. Two methods of producing turbulence are then copiously illustrated and described, inclusive of seven diagrams showing characteristic turbulence in typical cylinders. Following the description of the methods of measuring turbulence, the effects of turbulence in performance are summarized under 10 specific divisions.

The distinguished author begins with a short account of the principal actions common to all internal-combustion engines and then proceeds to a more detailed account of the experiments that have been made to develop the theory and establish the properties of the flame working fluid of those engines. The divisions of the paper are headed (a) short statement of cylinder actions, (b) the air standard, (c) flame, the actual working fluid, (d) knocking, pinking and detonating, (e) air and exhaust supercompression, (f) residual turbulence, (g) gaseous explosions, (h) flame propagation and recompression, (i) the specific heat of flame, and (j) conclusions. After treating (a) in considerable detail, the author discusses present efficiencies and knowledge in regard to the limits of the thermal efficiency possible in internal-combustion engines under (b), (c), (d) and (e), going into considerable detail and presenting and analyzing numerous diagrams and charts.

The general requirements for ideal carburetion are considered first, as an introduction to what the Packard fuelizer is and how it functions. Since it is difficult to secure uniform distribution with what is termed a wet mixture, this problem is discussed in general terms and it is stated that the fuelizer was evolved only after several different types of exhaust-heated manifold had been tested and found wanting. Detonation is treated at some length, four specific rules being stated that apply to the most desirable mixture temperatures to be maintained, and the source of the ignition spark for the fuelizer is discussed as an important element in the device. Further consideration includes comments upon the comparative merits of the hot-spot and the fuelizer, “hot-spot” being intended to mean any of the exhaust-heated manifold-designs in which the heat is more or less localized.

In addition to using a smaller quantity of fuel per horsepower-hour, the small high-speed internal-combustion engine has other important features of advantage which are stated. The authors outline specifications intended to secure these advantages. The high-speed racing engine designed by the authors, which won the 500-mile race on the Indianapolis Speedway in 1920, is illustrated and described in detail, its distinctive features being commented upon. The automobile should be built to a higher standard for the use of the high-speed engine. The builder should work to a greater degree of precision and, as the working parts of the engine are all light and stressed fairly highly, this necessitates the use of properly heat-treated high-grade materials. Few small cars of this type seem to give satisfaction. The authors look for further developments to counteract this in the near future.

First reviewing the history of the progressive insufficiency of the supply of highly volatile internal-combustion engine fuels and the early efforts made to overcome this by applying heat to produce rapid vaporization, the author gives an outline of the methods already found valuable in offsetting the rising boiling points of engine fuels and states the resulting three-fold problem now confronting the automotive industry. The tendency to subordinate efficient vaporization to the attainment of maximum volumetric efficiency is criticised at some length and the volatility of fuel is discussed in detail, with reference to characteristic distillation, time of evaporation and distillation-temperature curves which are analyzed. Heating devices are then divided into four classes and described, consideration then being given to fuel losses outside the engine.

Engine lubrication troubles resulting from the dilution of the lubricating oil in engine crankcases appear with increasing frequency, particularly where economy demands the use of cheap grades of fuel. Unless a lubricant not miscible with present engine fuels can be produced, lubricants will steadily decrease in viscosity whenever fuel finds its way into them. The most satisfactory remedy is to prevent dilution of the oil. To prevent absorption of the fuel by the oil is a problem of engine design. In experiments made by the Bureau of Standards the absorption of fuel vapors at average engine temperatures was found to be negligible; further experiments and oil tests showed no indication of dilution due to cracking, with representative refiners' products from typical crude oils available in this country.

The two broad divisions of aluminum pistons from a thermal standpoint are those designed to conduct the heat from the head into the skirt and thence into the cylinder walls, and those designed to partly insulate the skirt from the heat of the piston head. Pistons of the first type seem logical for heavy-duty engines; those of the second type are better suited for passenger-car engines. The objections of wear, piston slap, excessive oil consumption and crankcase dilution are stated as being the same for aluminum as for cast-iron pistons; and these statements are amplified. Piston slap is next considered and, as this can be overcome by using proper clearance, pistons of the second design tend to make this condition easier to meet. Many tests show that when too much oil is thrown into the cylinder bores, tight-fitting pistons and special rings will not completely overcome excessive oil consumption.

If at great altitudes air is supplied to the carbureter of an engine at sea-level pressure, the power developed becomes approximately the same as when the engine is running at sea level. The low atmospheric pressure and density at great altitudes offer greatly reduced resistance to high airplane speeds; hence the same power that will drive a plane at a given speed at sea level will drive it much faster at great altitudes and with approximately the same consumption of fuel per horsepower-hour. Supercharging means forcing in a charge of greater volume than that normally drawn into the cylinders by the suction of the pistons. Superchargers usually take the form of a mechanical blower or pump and the various forms of supercharger are mentioned and commented upon. Questions regarding the best location for the carbureter in supercharged engines are then considered.

Flame propagation has received much attention, but few results directly applicable to operating conditions have been obtained. The paper describes a method devised for measuring the rate of flame propagation in gaseous mixtures and some experiments made to coordinate the phenomena with the important factors entering into engine operation; it depends upon the fact that bodies at a high temperature ionize the space about them, the bodies being either inert substances or burning gases. Experiments were made which showed that across a spark-gap in an atmosphere of compressed gas, as in an engine cylinder, a potential difference can be maintained which is just below the breakdown potential in the compressed gas before ignition but which is sufficient to arc the gap after ignition has taken place and the flame has supplied ionization. These experiments and the recording of the results photographically are described.

Some of the salient facts regarding the character of the engine fuel marketed within the past few years are shown in accompanying curves. The desirability of operating present-day experimental cars with fuel that is the equivalent of fuel that will probably be generally marketed two years hence is stated and various methods of meeting the fuel problem are then examined. A dry fuel mixture is desired to prevent spark-plug fouling, to improve engine performance in cold weather and to minimize lubricating oil contamination by fuel which passes the pistons. Various methods of obtaining a dry mixture are then discussed, leading to a detailed description of the construction and operation of a device specially designed to accomplish such a result more successfully.

The author advocates the use of the fragile aluminum crankcase as a spacer, running crankshaft bearing bolts clear through the crankcase and the cylinder base, so tieing the bearings firmly to the castiron cylinder-block and using the through-bolts also as holding-down studs for the cylinders. The results of experiments on six-cylinder engines with reference to the satisfactory utilization of engine fuel now on the market are then presented. The problem is how to carry the fuel mixture in a proper gaseous state from the carbureter into the cylinder without having the fuel deposited out meanwhile. The power developed at engine speeds of 400 to 2800 r.p.m., with and without hot air applied to the carbureter, is tabulated, the proper location of the intake manifold is discussed, and the necessary features of a satisfactory engine to utilize present-day fuel are summarized.

The comments the author makes regarding fuels, lubricants and engine and piston performance are suggested by pertinent points appearing in papers presented at the 1920 Annual Meeting of the Society. A list of these papers is given. The subjects upon which comments are made include salability of a car, engine balancing, pressure and chemical constitution of gasoline at the instant of ignition, the use of aluminum pistons, the success attending the various departures from orthodox construction, gasoline deposition in the crankcase and cleanness of design, as stated by Mr. Pomeroy; the performance of a finely atomized mixture of liquid gasoline and air and the contamination of lubricating oil by the fuel which passes the pistons, as discussed by Mr. Vincent; the dilution of lubricating oil in engine crankcases and the saving that can be effected by its prevention, as mentioned by Mr. Kramer; and tight-fitting pistons and special rings as presented by Mr. Gunn.

The free, resilient, self-expanding, one-piece piston-ring is a product of strictly modern times. It belongs to the internal-combustion engine principally, although it is applicable to steam engines, air-compressors and pumps. Its present high state of perfection has been made possible only by the first-class material now available and the use of machine tools of precision. The author outlines the history of the gradual evolution of the modern piston-ring from the former piston-packing, giving illustrations, shows and comments upon the early types of steam pistons and then discusses piston-ring design. Piston-ring friction, the difficulties of producing rings that fit the cylinder perfectly and the shape of rings necessary to obtain approximately uniform radial pressure against the cylinder wall are considered at some length and illustrated by diagrams.

Vibrations of several kinds can occur in crankshafts, but the principal ones are transverse and torsional; the paper deals entirely with the latter. A simple case of torsional vibration is considered first and the principles are applied to the torsional vibration of a shaft, the argument being carried forward at some length. A discussion of critical speeds follows and this is supplemented by a lengthy mathematical analysis, inclusive of diagrams. Calculations were made to determine the period of the shafting of United States submarines S4 to S13 and these are described. The three cases investigated include the charging condition when the engine is driving the dynamo, the after clutch being disconnected; the surface condition, when the engine drives the propeller; and the submerged condition, when the motors drive the propeller, the forward clutch being disconnected. Calculations were made also with a Sperry magnetic clutch substituted for the usual flywheel and clutch.

Ignition is discussed in a broad and non-technical way. The definition of the word ignition should be broad enough to include the complete functioning of the ignition apparatus, beginning from the point where mechanical energy is absorbed to generate current and ending with the completion of the working stroke of the engine. The ignition system includes the mechanical drive to the magneto or generator and the task imposed on the system is by no means completed when a spark has passed over the gap of the spark-plug. Ignition means the complete burning of the charge of gas in the cylinder at top dead-center, at the time the working stroke of the piston commences. The means employed to accomplish this result is the ignition system. In the present-day type of gasoline engine a spark produced by high-voltage electricity is almost universally used for ignition. This high-voltage electricity is produced by a transformer.