What is the function of an air filter?
1 Answers
The function of an automotive air filter is to filter out dust and particulate matter from the air, ensuring that a sufficient amount of clean and dry air enters the cylinders. The air filter is installed in front of the carburetor or intake pipe and is used to filter the air entering the engine. During operation, the engine inhales a large amount of air, which contains many dust particles. If the air is not filtered by the air filter, it can accelerate the wear of the piston group and cylinders. If larger particles enter between the piston and cylinder, it can cause cylinder scoring. Types of air filters: According to the filtration principle, air filters can be divided into several types: filtration type, centrifugal type, oil bath type, and composite type. The commonly used air filters in engines include inertial oil bath air filters, paper dry-type air filters, and polyurethane filter element air filters. The inertial oil bath air filter undergoes three stages of filtration: inertial filtration, oil bath filtration, and filtration-type filtration. The latter two types of air filters mainly rely on the filter element for filtration. The inertial oil bath air filter has advantages such as low intake resistance, adaptability to dusty and sandy working environments, and a long service life. Methods to determine if an air filter is dirty are as follows: You can observe the engine's operating condition. If the air filter is dirty, the intake air volume will be insufficient, leading to incomplete fuel combustion, which causes unstable engine operation. When continuously pressing the accelerator pedal, the engine sound becomes muffled, acceleration response is sluggish, operation is weak, and the exhaust gas is thick and black. You can check the surface color of the air filter. If the filter paper remains gray-black after cleaning the dust from the surface, it indicates that the filter paper can no longer be used and should be replaced immediately.
