VEHICLE EXHAUST
Vehicle exhaust is produced from a vehicle’s engine. Your exhaust system is probably the last thing on your mind when you get in your vehicle, but it should be one of the first. If there’s an issue with it that hasn’t been repaired that can be very costly in dollars and health. If there’s any doubt have it checked immediately.
The vehicle exhaust system has three main parts:
- The engine itself – the heart of any vehicle, it generates heat energy which can be used to power other systems on board such as vehicle headlights and vehicle exhaust system which we will look at later.
- The vehicle’s transmission – this transfers the vehicle’s energy from the engine to the vehicle wheels and is responsible for moving vehicle itself while vehicle is in motion.
- The exhaust system: allows hot gases formed during vehicle combustion to escape out of vehicle via a suitable exit point, usually underneath vehicle or in front of vehicle towards its rear bumper. This prevents dangerous build up of heat inside vehicle that may have serious side effects such as explosions or fires. It also helps prevent excessive heating on other parts of vehicle especially those made from sensitive materials such as rubber or plastic. Vehicle manufacturers design their vehicles’ engines so that they release more exhaust gases when it is idling than when it is in motion and vehicle speed is relatively high. This makes vehicle exhaust less toxic when vehicle is stationary at traffic lights or parked as opposed to when vehicle is in motion.
Types of vehicle exhaust
There are three main types:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) – a poisonous gas that interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen. Effects of long term exposure may result in headaches, weakness, nausea and even death. The colourless gas sometimes has a yellowish tinge.
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – can be identified by its pungent smell, similar to urine or ammonia. This oxidant irritates the linings of the nose, throat and lungs causing inflammation of these tissues which becomes more severe over time making it difficult for people to breathe properly. It also reacts with other chemicals in vehicle exhausts to create acid rain which may damage or corrode vehicle surfaces and produce toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide.
- Particulate matter – also called soot, is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (aerosols). The main health risks associated with particulates are cardiovascular effects including heart attacks and strokes in humans, particularly for people who have existing cardiac or respiratory disease. In extreme cases particulates can cause death within hours of exposure via inhalation.
How it works
The vehicle exhaust system may be manually or automatically controlled depending on type of vehicle engine. There are two main types: petrol vehicles which use petrol (gasoline), and diesel vehicles which run on diesel fuel . A vehicle’s fuel does not directly affect the emission levels of CO and HC from its vehicle exhausts. In both cases, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, the higher the temperature at which combustion occurs, the more harmful emissions will be from each litre of gasoline or diesel burned by that vehicle’s engine. While highly efficient engines can burn carburant gas at a lower temperature, vehicle exhaust gases are also affected by vehicle’s speed and vehicle load which means that vehicle engines must burn a higher percentage of the fuel in their petrol tanks to maintain vehicle’s speed at higher vehicle loads.
Vehicle mufflers are designed to reduce vehicle exhaust noise as it leaves vehicle into vehicle environment. Exhaust gases leaving vehicle engines through vehicle mufflers can reach temperatures of about 400 degrees Celsius (752 Fahrenheit) and if allowed to escape without being cooled, could cause serious burns even when only a few centimetres away from human skin.
For all your exhaust auto repair Saint John needs, contact Ray Roach Service Center.
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