Throttle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the control of engine power. For other uses, see Throttle
(disambiguation).
A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed
by constriction or obstruction.
An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases
(i.e., by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to
refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which the power or speed of an
engine is regulated. What is often termed a throttle (in an aviation context) is more
correctly called a thrust lever. For a steam engine, the steam valve that sets the
engine speed/power is often known as a regulator.
Contents
[hide]

1 Internal combustion engines

2 Throttle body

3 Other engines

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Internal combustion engines[edit]

A cross-section view of a throttle valve

In a gasoline internal combustion engine, the throttle is a valve that directly regulates
the amount of air entering the engine, indirectly controlling the charge (fuel + air)

burned on each cycle due to the fuel-injector or carburetor maintaining a relatively

constant fuel/air ratio. In a motor vehicle the control used by the driver to regulate
power is sometimes called the throttle pedal or accelerator.
The throttle is typically a butterfly valve. In a fuel-injected engine, the throttle valve is
placed on the entrance of the intake manifold, or housed in the throttle body. In a
carbureted engine, it is found in the carburetor.
When a throttle is wide open, the intake manifold is usually at ambient atmospheric
pressure. When the throttle is partially closed, amanifold vacuum develops as the
intake drops below ambient pressure.
Usually, the throttle valve is controlled with a throttle pedal or lever via a
direct mechanical linkage. In vehicles with electronic throttle control, the manual
throttle control sends a signal to the Engine Control Unit (ECU), which then directly
controls the position of the throttle valve. This means that the operator does not have
direct control over the throttle valve; the ECU can finely control the valve in order to
reduce emissions or maximize performance.
In a reciprocating-engine aircraft, the throttle control is usually a hand-operated lever
or knob. It controls the engine power, which may or may not reflect in a change of
RPM, depending on the propeller installation (fixed-pitch or constant speed).[1]
The power output of a diesel engine is controlled by regulating the quantity of fuel
that is injected into the cylinder. Because the engines do not need to control air
volumes, they lack a butterfly valve in the intake tract. An exception to this
generalization is newer diesel engines meeting stricter emissions standards, where a
throttle is used to generate intake manifold vacuum, thereby allowing the introduction
of exhaust gas (see EGR) to lower combustion temperatures and thereby
minimize NOx production.

Throttle body[edit]

The components of a typical throttle body

In fuel injected engines, the throttle body is the part of the air intake system that
controls the amount of air flowing into the engine, in response to driver accelerator
pedal input in the main. The throttle body is usually located between the air filterbox

and the intake manifold, and it is usually attached to, or near, the mass airflow
sensor.
The largest piece inside the throttle body is the throttle plate, which is a butterfly
valve that regulates the airflow.
On many cars, the accelerator pedal motion is communicated via the throttle cable,
to activate the throttle linkages, which move the throttle plate. In cars with electronic
throttle control (also known as "drive-by-wire"), an electric motor controls the throttle
linkages and the accelerator pedal connects not to the throttle body, but to a sensor,
which sends the pedal position to the Engine Control Unit (ECU). The ECU
determines the throttle opening based on accelerator pedal position and inputs from
other engine sensors.

Throttle body showing throttle position sensor. The throttle cable attaches to the curved, black portion
on the left. The copper-coloured coil visible next to this returns the throttle to its idle position when the
pedal is released.

When the driver presses on the accelerator pedal, the throttle plate rotates within the
throttle body, opening the throttle passage to allow more air into the intake manifold.
Usually an airflow sensor measures this change and communicates with the ECU.
The ECU then increases the amount of fuel being sent to the fuel injectors in order to
obtain the desired air-fuel ratio. Often a throttle position sensor (TPS) is connected to
the shaft of the throttle plate to provide the ECU with information on whether the
throttle is in the idle position, wide-open throttle (WOT) position, or somewhere in
between these extremes.
Throttle bodies may also contain valves and adjustments to control the minimum
airflow during idle. Even in those units that are not "drive-by-wire", there will often be
a small electric motor driven valve, the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV), that the ECU
uses to control the amount of air that can bypass the main throttle opening.

Image of BMW S65 from the e92BMW M3 showing eight individual throttle bodies

Many cars have a single throttle body. Others employ more than one, chained
together by linkages to improve throttle response. At the extreme, high performance
cars like the E92 BMW M3 and high performance motorcycles like the Yamaha
R6use a separate throttle body for each cylinder, often called "individual throttle
bodies" or ITBs.
A throttle body is somewhat analogous to the carburetor in a non-injected engine.
Carburetors combine the functionality of the throttle body and fuel injectors into one
in order to modulate the amount of air flow and to combine air and fuel together. Cars
with throttle body injection (called TBI by General Motors and CFI by Ford) locate the
fuel injectors in the throttle body, thereby allowing an older engine to be converted
from carburetor to fuel injection without significantly altering the engine design.

Other engines[edit]
Steam locomotives normally have the throttle (North American English) or regulator
(British English) in a characteristic dome at the top of the boiler. The additional height
afforded by the dome helps to avoid any liquid (e.g. from bubbles on the surface of
the boiler water) being drawn into the throttle valve, which could damage it, or lead to
priming. The throttle is used in conjunction with the reversing lever to start, stop and
to control the locomotive's power although, during steady-state running of most
locomotives, it is preferable to leave the throttle wide open and to control the power
by varying the steam cut-off point (which is done with the reversing lever), as this is
more efficient. A steam locomotive throttle valve poses a difficult design challenge as
it must be opened and closed using hand effort against the considerable pressure
(typically 250psi) of boiler steam. Examples include the balanced "double beat" type
used on Gresley A3 Pacifics.
Throttling of a rocket engine means varying the thrust level in-flight. This is not
always a requirement; in fact, the thrust of a solid-fuel rocket is not controllable after
ignition. However, Liquid-propellant rockets can be throttled by means of valves
which regulate the flow of fuel and oxidizer to the combustion chamber. Hybrid
rocket engines, such as the one used in Space Ship One, use solid fuel with a liquid
oxidizer, and therefore can be throttled. Throttling tends to be required more for
powered landings, and launch into space using a single main stage (such as
the Space Shuttle), than for launch with multistage rockets.
In a jet engine, thrust is controlled by changing the amount of fuel flowing into the
combustion chamber. In some instances, a "throttle" is known as a "thrust lever" (as
in most Airbus and Boeing aircraft). This is chiefly due to the fact that "throttle" is
associated with traditional gasoline engines.[2]

See also[edit]

Adapted automobile

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Chapter 6: Aircraft Systems" (PDF). Pilot's
Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. Federal Aviation
Administration. 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-09.

2. Jump up^ "CEO of the Cockpit #84: Terms of UpGearment". Avweb.com. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2009-09-10.

External links[edit]
Look up throttle in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.
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Automotive engine
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Automotive design
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Aircraft piston engine components, systems and ter

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Engine technology
Engine fuel system technology
Engine components

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This page was last modified on 25 March 2015, at 20:47.

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