| Questions | 5 |
| Topics | Coolant, Crankshaft, Fluid Reservoir, Internal Combustion, Power Stroke |
Modern car engines are cooled by liquid which circulates through the engine block and cylinder heads absorbing excess heat. This liquid is made up of half water and half antifreeze (commonly, ethylene glycol) which both keeps the water from freezing at low temperatures and raises its boiling point making heat transfer more efficient.
The crankshaft converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotational motion that's used to power the vehicle and its components.
The fluid reservoir stores the brake fluid that the master cylinder uses to maintain hydraulic pressure.
Combustion is the burning of an air-fuel mixture to provide energy. It requires the presence of air, fuel, and a heat source to ignite the air-fuel mixture. In the internal combustion engine that powers automobiles and trucks the combustion happens inside the engine utilzing a fuel like gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural gas.
During the power stroke, just before the piston reaches top dead center, the spark plug fires and ignites the compressed air-fuel mixture. The resulting expansion due to combustion pushes the piston back down the cylinder toward bottom dead center.