Abstract
About 14 percent of the energy losses in automotive engine may be recovered by applying a special technique. The non-stationary flow phenomenon in the manifold is a prime source of uneven fuel distribution between cylinders resulting in the increase of pollutant emission, fuel consumption, and power loss. The pressure transient in the flow is reduced by using an accumulator. The effect of accumulator is tested in a one-liter four-cylinders Suzuki engine that is placed just at the downstream of the carburetor. The accumulators used in the present study are 250 ml accumulator, which corresponds to the volume of one cylinder, and 1000 ml one, which corresponds to the total volume of the cylinders. The result shows that the accumulator increases the acceleration and the power, and reduces the fuel consumption. The larger the volume of the accumulator the higher the acceleration and the power of the engine. The lowest fuel consumption of the engine is reached when the 250 ml accumulator is used. The 250 ml accumulator reduces the fuel consumption at all engine operation conditions. The 1000 ml accumulator, however, increases the fuel consumption at high traveling speed.