The Basic Introduction about Car Air Filters
July 04,2022
The function of the air filter is to provide clean air for the internal combustion engine to prevent the internal combustion engine from inhaling air with impurity particles during operation, which increases the chance of abrasion and damage. Specifically:
The role of the air filter
The main components of the air filter are the filter element and the casing. The filter element is the main filtering part, which is responsible for the filtration of the gas, and the casing is the external structure that provides the necessary protection for the filter element. The working requirements of the air filter are to be able to undertake high-efficiency air filtration work, without adding too much resistance to the airflow, and to work continuously for a long time.
The engine needs to suck in a lot of air during the working process. If the air is not filtered, the dust suspended in the air will be sucked into the cylinder, which will accelerate the wear of the piston group and the cylinder. Larger particles entering the piston and the cylinder can cause serious "pulling of the cylinder", which is especially serious in dry and sandy working environments. The air filter is installed in front of the carburetor or the intake pipe and plays the role of filtering out dust and sand in the air, to ensure that sufficient and clean air enters the cylinder.
Among the thousands of parts of the car, the air filter is a very inconspicuous part, because it is not directly related to the technical performance of the car, but in the actual use of the car, the air filter is very important to the car. The service life (especially of the engine) has a huge impact. On the one hand, if there is no filtering effect of the air filter, the engine will inhale a large amount of air containing dust and particles, resulting in serious wear of the engine cylinder; on the other hand, if the air filter is not maintained for a long time during use, the air filter The filter element of the cleaner will be full of dust in the air, which not only reduces the filtering ability but also hinders the circulation of the air, resulting in the too rich mixture and the engine does not work properly. Therefore, regular maintenance of the air filter is crucial.
Classification of air filters
There are generally two types of air filters: paper and oil bath. Due to the advantages of high filtration efficiency, lightweight, low cost, and convenient maintenance, paper filters have been widely used. The filtration efficiency of the paper filter element is as high as 99.5% or more, and the filtration efficiency of the oil bath filter is 95-96% under normal conditions. The air filter widely used in the car is a paper filter, which is divided into two types: dry type and wet type. For dry filter elements, once immersed in oil or water, the filtration resistance will increase sharply, so avoid contact with water or oil when cleaning, otherwise, new parts must be replaced.
When the engine is running, the intake air is intermittent, which causes the air in the air filter housing to vibrate. If the air pressure fluctuates too much, it will sometimes affect the intake air of the engine. In addition, this time will also increase the intake noise. To suppress the intake noise, the volume of the air filter housing can be increased, and some partitions are also arranged in it to reduce resonance.
The filter element of the air filter is divided into two types: dry filter element and wet filter element. The dry filter element material is filter paper or non-woven fabric. To increase the air passage area, most of the filter elements are processed with many small wrinkles. When the filter element is slightly soiled, it can be cleaned with compressed air. When the filter element is seriously soiled, it should be replaced with a new one in time.
The wet filter element is made of sponge-like polyurethane material. When installing, some oil should be added dropwise and kneaded by hand to absorb foreign matter in the air. If the filter element is dirty, it can be cleaned with cleaning oil, and the filter element should be replaced with a new one if it is too dirty.
If the filter element is seriously blocked, the intake resistance will increase and the engine power will decrease. At the same time, due to the increase in air resistance, the amount of gasoline inhaled will also increase, resulting in an excessively rich mixture ratio, which will deteriorate the engine running state, increase fuel consumption, and easily produce carbon deposits. Usually, you should develop the habit of checking the air filter element frequently.