A property of nitrous oxide is that at about 565 degrees
F., it breaks down into nitrogen and oxygen. When it
is introduced into the intake tract of an internal combustion
engine, it is sucked into the combustion chamber and,
on the compression stroke, when the charge air temperature
reachs 565 deg., a very oxygen-rich mixture results.
If we add extra fuel during nitrous oxide injection,
the effect is like a super charger or increasing the
compression ratio of the engine. Automotive nitrous
systems work like the automotive eqivalent of a jet's
"afterburner" and is used for short duration
extra bursts of power.
Nitrous oxide has this effect because it has a higher
percentage of oxygen content than does the air in
the atmosphere. Nitrous has 36% oxygen by weight and
the atmosphere has 23%. Additionally, nitrous oxide
is 50% more dense than air at the same pressure. Thus,
a cubic foot of nitrous oxide contains 2.3 times as
much oxygen as a cubic foot of air. Just do a bit
of math in your head and you can see if we substitute
some nitrous oxide for some of the air going into
an engine than add the appropriate amount of additional
fuel, the engine is going to put out more power.
Simply stated, nitrous oxide injection is very much
like a supercharger or a compression ratio increase
in that, during combustion, it can dramatically increase
the dynamic cylinder pressure in the engine.
|
