The Effect of Compression on the Fuel Consumption of a Gasoline Engine

The title of this thesis was originally: “The Effect of Compression on the Consumption of an Internal Combustion Engine Using Gasoline, Kerosene, Distillate and Alcohol.” And it was thought that it comprised afield sufficiently broad to insure the expenditure of the efforts of two men. Curves of the various fuels were to be obtained from: the compress ion pressures as abscissae and pounds of fuel per delivered horsepower per hour as ordinates. These curves were to be plotted from the results of a least two tests at an interval of one delivered horsepower apart ranging from zero to the maximum output of the engine; this series being re2eated at each of the four or six compress ions obtainable. Thus with a five brake horsepower engine, which was used, there would be two tests at each horsepower, at each compression, and with each fuel; making in all; assuming five different compression pressures ranging between forty-five pounds per square inch (Gage) and one hundred and ten pounds per square inch (Gage) two (tests) X five(horse power ) X five (compression pressures) X four (fuels) equals two hundred (Total number of tests). This figure is conservative as it would have required more than two tests in many cases in order to get anything like checking results. All tests were to be of not less than an hour’s duration and in some cases it was hoped to run longer ones in order to procure more accurate indicated horsepower readings. The curves thus obtained and plotted would show at what power the maximum economy occurred for each fuel. Such curves are not to be found at this time in any source obtainable.