Briggs & Stratton quantum engine-Interim - Report Example

Briggs & Stratton quantum engine-Interim Report Briggs & Stratton quantum engine-Interim Report Project objectives This paper seeks to prove the finer details of the efficiency and inefficiency of the Briggs and Stratton Quantum engine. This objective set for achievement as engineering student are supposed to conduct a workshop practical in which the engine is disassembled fully –its several parts separately put aside and a detailed scrutiny of the individual parts in relation to their functions and the material it’s made of. The quantum engine is an internal combustion engines used in powering lawn mower among other machines that require an exclusively independent power sources like generators. Therefore in a summarized form, this paper encloses its project into the following forms: 1. To analyze and give an overview of the Briggs & Stratton quantum engine history and general company’s background. 2. To disassemble the engine parts and give the rationale of the material used for the various engine parts. 3. To create the engine model by measuring and remodelling the engine parts using Solid-works software and followed by simulation and engineering drawings. 4. To prepare the tutorial for four parts of Engine, namely Finger Guard, Piston, Connecting Rod and Crankshaft. 5. To do analysis of Crankshaft, Camshaft, Piston and Connecting Rod through Ansys software in order to comprehend the concept of stress caused during loading. And then give idea about weight reduction and changing the material to reduce the price of Lawn mower engine is the other step of this Project. Background Exhaust emissions and the performance of engines have been experimentally researched over for neat gasoline or the n-brutanol blends in a number of ways of working speed (2600-3400 r/min) without any modification or turning on the gasoline engine systems. Among the abilities of the experiment is to evaluate performance and also characteristics of emissions, for instance, break power, volumetric efficiency, in-cylinder pressure, exhaust gas temperatures and CO2, CO and UHC concentrations.(Science direct: Dunn-Rankin, 2008).  The beginning of 1908 marked the establishment of the great company, Briggs & Stratton, when the founders Briggs and Stratton laid the base for the future since they had unrelenting vision of innumerable possibilities (Stern & Shiely, 2004: 315). The great effort put the company into success path of engine powered bicycles, fuses, auto igniters, locks, coined-operated paper towel dispensing machine, electric refrigerators among other machines. The US based company has gained mileage as it is dynamic in its operations and embraces the call for change and advancement in doing business. Briggs & Stratton Corporation, have its headquarter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the biggest producer of gasoline engines for open-air power equipment (Christians & Ritchie, 2002: 95). The company wholly owned subsidiaries include the biggest marketer of portable generators and also pressure washers in North America, being the leading marketer, designer and manufacturer of turf care, lawn and garden equipment. Briggs & Stratton products are serviced, marketed, designed and manufactured in more than 100 countries in six continents (Stern & Shiely, 2004: 298). The infusion of temperately priced premium engines of a Japanese origin, between 1980 and 1995, and successful cost-cutting efforts of its local competitors represented a significant challenge to the leadership position of the company. Again, the retail market, during this time, for the outdoor power equipment started to concentrate in the control of a few influential mass retailers who advocated for greater product diversity and lower prices. John Shiely and Fred Stratton Jr., in the late 1980s, led an effort to respond to this challenge by restructuring the company to product focused divisions. They also adopted “economic value added” correction so as to better manage capital and operating costs. Briggs & Stratton extended its product line and established new plants as an attempt to better handle “mass marketization” of the outdoor power equipment. Fresh efficient product focused structures were built in Georgia, Murray, Statesboro, Kentucky; Alabama; Rolla, Auburn, Missouri and Poplar Bluff. The biggest principle market for the Briggs & Stratton Quantum engine has customarily been the garden and lawn equipment market. Nonetheless, there were developing threat to engine sales; competitive intrusions into the commercial and industrial application markets. As a response to this threat, the Company launched numerous new lines of engines comprising of industrial or commercial line and Vanguard™ line. The engine lines that were introduced in the 1980s, signified improvements in the design and general performance which helped strengthen the company`s hold of its market share in the market segment. The company also resolved to extend its presence in profitable foreign markets via the products intended for foreign applications. In an attempt to meet global competition, the company made a joint venture with one company; the Daihatsu Motor Company. This extremely automated facility would manufacture the overhead valve engines (Vanguard™ V-Twin). This joint venture, alongside a strategic alliance with some industries like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries assisted Briggs & Stratton to re-establish its presence in premium engine business. However, during this time, the company continued to explore and launch alternative products like the Smart-Fill Fuel Can, the electric power head, and battery powered lawn mower, which are all environmentally friendly. The working of the Quantum engine-For lawn Mowers Several modifications have been done to the Briggs and Stratton Quantum engine as time passes by and new technology emerge. Among all these it’s found that as small engines trend to be powerful, a new lawn mower that cuts longer and larger swaths of grass popularize. The rotary mower works differently as it spines its horizontal blade around and fast enough to enable cutting of the grass as it hits it unlike how the reel mowers does by cutting grass like scissors. The blade sits in the casing called a Deck-this keeps the grass and other materials from moving in all the directions when struck. Generally, the deck rides on four wheels, having a monitor on top of it together with a bag attached to it for collecting the grass. Normally the basic version of the rotary mower has got a handlebar attached to it and the operator positions himself/herself behind and pushes to make forward move. Self-propelled version has a transmission which turn the wheels using motor’s power. Comparison of different Briggs & Stratton engine models and prices Powerbuilt 17.5 HP Series This mode cost $ 529.95 The engine has an oil capacity of 48 fl. oz and uses gasoline engine fuel. It has a bore of 3.56 inches and a stroke of 3.06 inches. 675 series The model rates at a cost of $ 169.00 It has a bore of 2.69 inches and a power of 6.75 Gross Torque. The engine model holds an oil capacity of 20 fl.oz with the cylinder head made of aluminum. Briggs Stratton 17.5 HP Lawn More Engine 31C7070154E1 This engine model costs $329.99 Powerbuilt 12.5 HP series The model of powerbuilt 12.5 HP series is rated at a cost of $ 663.50. It has a shaft of 1’’* 3-5/32, with a bore of 3.44 inches and a stroke of 2.26 inches. Its fuel capacity is 48 fl.oz of gasoline. 850 series The model has a shaft size of 25mm*3-5/32”, 2.69 inches of bore and a stroke of 2.04 inches. Its power is 8.5 Gross Torque and an oil capacity of 20fl.oz. 7.75 HP intek snow series The model has a power of 7.75 HP, a shaft size of ¾ *2-9/16’’ and a bore of 2.69”. Its stroke rate 2.2”. Its price rates $ 296.10 Vanguard 18.0 HP series It is priced at $ 1,299.95 The model is designed for commercial with a shaft size of 1’’ * 2-29/32 and a gasoline fuel capacity of 56 fl.oz. The bore has a 2.83 inches and a stroke of 2.76 inches with a power of 18 HP. Lawn mower engines It’s worth noting that the engines are very critical components to look into when making decision to buy a push mower (Webster, 2001:195). This is important due to need of efficiency during starting off the mower, durability and power of the engine driving the mower impact on the machine performance. The tasks are some many to get accomplished and therefore one relies on the engine to start when he needs it and consequently deliver the performance so as to get the job done in time. The Briggs & Stratton offer varied models of a complete line of easy-starting engines with the capability to cut tall, thick grass. The efficiency and purpose serving engines of Briggs & Stratton make nine out of ten brands of push mowers’ choice of engines to power their equipment to be from the company. Briggs & Stratton Company produces some of the most reliable lawn mowers and small engines globally. The company has manufactured engines that are reliable, durable and just easy to operate and maintain for more than a 100 years. Progress to date The Briggs and Stratton quantum machine engine has undergone drastic progress cycle geared towards improvement of its efficiency and workability scaling across the globe to much competitive environment by taking a market share that is relatively advantageous on the competitive edge of the market (Stern & Shiely, 2004: 245). Continued service excellence The beginning of 2004 marked the reconstruction of the Briggs & Stratton Company U.S. distribution network that resulted into consolidation of the Central Sales and Service Distributors from 16 to 6. The urge being successful in the evolving lawn and marketplace is the driving force to which the company needed to have a compelling service advantage. The high level of efficiency and effectiveness in distribution that valued dealers and retail customers is today the backbone of Briggs & Stratton’s strategy service delivery. Due to move to consolidate the distributors, Briggs & Stratton with its Integrated Distribution Network (IDN) announced the establishment of a new Dealer Council during the year 2007. The creation of the Dealer Council was to foster an avenue in which ideas would be exchanged to forge ways on how best the business would grow for the Company, Briggs & Stratton Dealers and the IDN (Stern & Shiely, 2004: 367). The Dealer Council is composed of more than one dozen dealers who are located within the United States. The council creates a sounding board for all the members to have a better understanding of the marketplace and promptly respond to change. This further opens up avenues for the creation of winning programs that give room for dealers to thrive in a highly competitive marketplace. Service The quantum engine is recommended for service by the authorized Brigs and Stratton service dealer. The service dealers carry a stock of genuine Briggs and Stratton parts and are especially equipped special service machines and tools for the quantum engine. There need to raise customers hope and a promise of continuous operation even in case of machine breakdown of the machine (Christians & Ritchie, 2002: 304). The customer is put into an assurance edge that in case of engine mechanical breakdown they can great services of the quantum engine service dealers at the most nearest access and will charge the most affordable charges in case of expiry of warrantee. This progress has been inevitable to the success of the company as their reliance of the engine service provisions. The engine parts are also equipped with highly special service tools. This caters for any urgent minor engine breakdown. When the Briggs & Stratton quantum engine experiences major mechanical breakdown, trained mechanics assure the customers of expert repair services on any quantum engine. Only dealers categorized and advertising as “authorized Briggs & Stratton” are the ones having the requirement to meet the Briggs & Stratton defined standards when a customer purchases equipment that is powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine. The assurance of access to highly skilled and effectively reliable service at various destined Authorized Service Dealers across the globe being approximated to be about 30, 000 dealer outlets keeps the Briggs & Stratton engine customers operational ease and sense of relieve in case of engine emergencies. The worldwide based service dealers include more than 6,000 Master Service Technicians (Christians & Ritchie, 2002: 88). It is necessary and equally significant to the customer to locate the nearest Authorized Briggs & Stratton service dealer in the company’s website for the dealer locator map or rather one would still check on the “yellow pages” directory under the “Engines Gasoline” or “Gasoline Engines” or “Lawn mower” or any category of similar such details. The engine warranty Briggs & Stratton highly welcomes warranty repair and render their timely apologies for any convenience caused to the customer. Any of the highly spread Authorized Service Dealers may perform warranty repairs (Briggs & Stratton Corporation, 1990). The Briggs & Stratton in most circumstances handle the warranty repairs routinely, but for some cases the warranty requests may not be appropriate. For instance, the warranty may not be applicable if the engine damage happened due to misuse, shipping, improper installation, handling or warehousing. In addition, the warranty may be void in case where the engine’s serial number has been tampered with or there have been any form of alteration or modification of the quantum engine. Any form of disagreement with the between the customer and the service dealer, the matter is investigated to determine whether the warranty holds. The customer is asked to remit their supporting facts to the Distributor or the factory for review. If the factory or the distributor declares that the complaint is genuine then the customer is fully reimbursed for the defective items (Bartlett, 2010: 54). Misunderstandings are avoided by putting clear some of the causes of engine failure that is not covered by the warranty as: Improper maintenance The conditions under which an engine is put to operate in and the care that engine is given relates to the life span upon which the engine depends on. A number of applications, for instance, the tillers, rotary mowers, pumps, are usually used in dirty or dusty conditions which can result into premature wear and tear. In cases where wear is as a result of the dust, dirt, spark plug cleaning grit or any abrasive material that has got into the quantum engine due to improper maintenance is not catered for in the warranty. Normal wear The engine just all mechanical devices, require periodic parts replacement and service so that it operates efficiently. The Briggs & Stratton warranty will not cover for the engine repair when normal use has resulted to exhaustion of the life of a part of the engine. Air cooling system The timely development of the engine to fit and operate with the highest level of efficacy is also advancing in research and inventions of best functioning regulations and machine practice trend. As time goes by debris may accumulate in the cooling fins of the cylinder and tends to be hard to notice when there haven’t been partial engine disassembly. As a result of this reason it is recommended that the customer gets an authorized Briggs & Stratton service dealer to clean the cooling system in every recommended intervals. Making sure that the top of the engine is kept free from debris is also one thing to do (Bartlett, 2010: 278-279). Combustion deposits The Briggs & Stratton develops a continuous plan in recommending that after every 100-300 hours of operation with the machine having the quantum engine, the customer should have an authorized Briggs & Stratton Service Dealer so that he can remove the combustion deposits that have accumulated in the cylinder, top of the piston, cylinder head and around valves. This timely removal of the combustion deposits is necessary as the blockage of engine parts like the valves would result to inefficiency in operation or total failure of the engine abruptly. Emission control Among the many areas of development and concern today on the Briggs & Stratton quantum engine is the content of air emission and to what quantity of such emission is released. The effects are pollution hits the global mark in rating as to the various impacts these practices create to the lives of any creature (Randall, 2005: 232). Briggs & Stratton put concerns into the rate of emission of their machine combustion creates to the environment. They recommend that replacement, repair or maintenance of the emission controlling systems and devices may be undertaken by any nonroad engine repair establishment or individual. As par to the emissions warranty, it is only bestowed upon a factory authorized dealer to perform any service or emission control part replacement or repair lest charge repairs under the provisions and terms of the Briggs & Stratton are paid. Engines which are certified to meet the set standards of CARB (California Air Resources Board) Tier 2 Emission Standards are required to show the information regard of the Emission Durability Period and also the Air Index (Bartlett, 2010: 56-64). The Briggs & Stratton put the information available to the consumers on the emission labels. The certification information is shown on the engine emission label. The Emission Durability Period illustrates the number of hours of the actual running time that the engine is certified to be emission compliant (Webster, 2001: 321). The assumption behind this is that the engine is properly maintained in accordance with the maintenance and operating instructions. Modification of the engine The Briggs and Stratton engine can be modified to ensure its portability and the efficiency it offers while its safety requirements are maintained at the top most level. The use of cutting edge technology and making sure that all the masters are grinded on a camgrinder makes the parts to be of exact fit with less wastage of materials- this offers efficiency in material usage and thus relative pricing to cover for the less cost incurred during manufacturing. Precision cams have steadily become the leader in mower racing engines, camshafts and components. (Science direct: Bajpai, 2013) Parts of Briggs and Stratton Engine The Crankshaft Among the very important moving parts of an internal combustion engine is the crankshaft. The crankshaft is an engine component which is very large and has complex geometry that converts the piston`s reciprocating displacement into a rotary motion (Norton, 2009, pg. 93). The crankshaft must be strong enough to withstand the downward force at the time of power stroking with no excessive bending. Norton suggests that this shows that the reliability of the life of the engine depends highly on the strength of the crankshaft. While the engine runs, the power impulses tend to hit the crankshaft in a place and then the other. The torsional vibration acts when the crankshaft is hit on the engine’s front by a power impulse and thus the power stroke ends. Designing crankshaft Crankshaft is among the most significant moving parts of the internal combustion engine that transforms the piston` reciprocating displacement into a rotary motion. The force of the piston is calculated as the area of the bore times the maximum combustion pressure, that is; = π/4 x D2 x P max. For us to get the thrust in the connecting rod (FQ), we first find out the inclination angle of the connection rod with the line of stroke. The crankshaft figure above shows an application of optimal force at 335 phase angle. Filter-A/C Cartridge This is an air filter which is a genuine OEM replacement part. The filter is sold individually (Randall, 2005: 43). The filter serves the purpose of helping to eliminate dirt, debris and dirt from contaminating the carburetor and thus causing damage to the engine. An air filter which is dirty can cause the proper functioning of the engine. The filter can be cleaned once or twice by use of air supply. It is advised to replace the filter once it becomes dirty. The camshaft design The camshaft is a shaft that fastens the cam. In the IC engine which is having pistons, the camshaft is used to the poppet valves (Randall, 2005: 176). The camshaft has a cylindrical rod that is running the cylinder bank`s length with various oblong lobes that protrudes from it, one for every valve. The cam lobes press on the valves forcing them to open during rotation. The chilled iron castings used in the camshaft is good for greater volume production. The chilled iron camshaft provides some level of resistance against wear since the have chilled thus become harder. When a high quality camshaft is needed then engine builders go for the billet steel. Designing muffler The internal combustion engines are equipped with an exhaust muffler to help in suppressing the acoustic pulse during the process combustion. Generation of a high intensity pressure wave during combustion in the engine cylinder spreads along exhaust pipe and discharges from the end of exhaust pipe (Randall, 2005: 154-157). In every muffler the tailpipe length has important effect. The tailpipe acts like a resonant cavity which couples with the muffler cavity. The attenuation features of a muffler are modified in cases where design tailpipe is not used. The fig below is a sketch of a reactive muffler having two cavities and no restriction of flow. The design is frequently chosen since it has low cost and it causes a lower back pressure (Webster, 2001:129-131). . Designing Flywheeel The flywheel smoothens out variations in the speed of a shaft that is caused by torque fluctuations. In a case where the driving torque or the load torque fluctuates in nature, a flywheel is necessary. The designing parameters for the flywheel necessitates that the size of flywheel inertia that is needed depends on the acceptable speed changes (Bartlett, 2010: 78). The cylinder head gasket Cylinder head gaskets form the most vital of the seal on the engine-between the engine block deck and the cylinder head. The head gasket must be able to seal combustion pressure up to 1,000 psi (689.5kPa) in gasoline engines. It also has to withstand combustion temperatures that are in surplus of 2,0000C. Piston & Connecting rod The conrod links the crankshaft to the piston, forming simple mechanism that changes the reciprocating motion into rotating motion. The spark plug In designing the spark plug, conduction of electricity is a secondary concern to minimize the power that is needed to ionize the spark gap. This is because the heat ionization of the gap requires electrical energy of high intensity supplied to it-the gap breakdown voltage. Though copper being a good conductor than materials like iridium, the plugs usually use copper plugged nickel/chrome alloy for the center electrode. The carburetor The whole idea about an engine is the burning of the gasoline to create pressure, thereby turning the pressure to create motion. A given amount of gasoline is required to at the time of combustion cycle (Randall, 2005, pg. 49). Randall claims the carburetor`s work is to mix the required amount of gasoline with air in order to make the engine run properly. The carbs are used by small machines like lawn mowers because it’s inexpensive and simple. The less expensive carburetors do have an air bleed to be used for idle adjustment. References 1. BARTLETT, T. (2010). Motor Wheels and Flyers. Lulu Enterprises Inc. 2. BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION. (1990). Student training manual for the Quantum Power engine. [Milwaukee, Wis.?], Briggs & Stratton. 3. CHRISTIANS, N. E., & RITCHIE, A. (2002). Scotts lawns: your guide to a beautiful yard. Des Moines, Iowa, Meredith Books. 4. DUNN-RANKIN, D. (2008). Lean combustion technology and control. Amsterdam, Academic Press. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10378795. 5. NORTON, R. L. (2009). Cam design and manufacturing handbook. New York, Industrial Press. 6. RANDALL, M. (2005). Small engines: maintenance, fault finding and repair : 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines up to 5.5 hp. Sparkford, Haynes. 7. STERN, J. M., & SHIELY, J. S. (2004). The EVA Challenge: implementing value-added change in an organization. New York, Wiley. 8. WEBSTER, J. (2001). Repairing your outdoor power equipment. Albany, NY, Delmar. 9. http://home.howstuffworks.com/lawn-mower.htm 10. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-carburetors-work.html. 11. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/car-part-longevity/crankshaft-bearings-last.htm. 12. BAJPAI, P. (2013). Advances in bioethanol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1584-4. Read More