
3 Combustion chambers and processes
3.1 BASIC LAYOUTS OF COMBUSTION
CHAMBERS
General background
The general arrangement of the combustion chamber in
respect of its geometric shape, disposition of the valves,
siting of either the sparking plug or the fuel injector,
and cooling provision is always regarded by an auto-
motive engineer as a critical factor in the design of
spark-ignition (petrol) and compression-ignition (diesel)
engines. An enormous amount of both theoretical and
practical research has been devoted to this aspect of
engine design, especially since H.R. Ricardo in this
country began his pioneering investigations into the
combustio ...