T-head engine

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Cross-section through a T-head single cylinder engine (1911)

The T-head engine was a type of valve control in a four-stroke engine . The valves were arranged on both sides of the cylinder, the cylinder space had the shape of the letter "T". Ludwig Apfelbeck also referred to this as the "hammer cylinder head". The inlet and outlet valves were installed upright on opposite sides next to the piston and were each actuated by a camshaft below . The additional design expense of two camshafts was offset by the advantage of cross-flow flushing .

The first engine with T-head valve control was installed in Wilhelm Maybach's Mercedes 35 hp from 1901. Other brands were Panhard & Levassor , Hotchkiss , Delahaye , Chadwick , Marquette , Packard (1906–1912), Società TAU and Mercer . T-head engines lasted longer in the commercial vehicle sector, so American LaFrance used them until 1950. The T-head engine was also used in a few single-track motor vehicles, e.g. B. in the American Pierce of 1907.

With the advancement of engine construction and the advent of anti-knock fuels over the past century, T-head engines were replaced by cheaper and easier-to-manufacture L-head engines (both valves on the same side, only one camshaft required).

literature

  • Borgeson, Griffith: The Golden Age of the American Racing Car , 2nd Edition (1998), published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), Warrendale PA, ISBN 0-7680-0023-8 (English).

Web links

Commons : T-Head Motor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ KK Jain, RB Astana: Automobile Engineering. McGraw-Hill, 4th edition 2006, ISBN 0-07-044529-X , p. 17.
  2. ↑ Ludwig Apfelbeck: Paths to the high-performance four-stroke engine. Motorbuch Verlag. 1st edition 1978. ISBN 3-87943-578-2 . P. 10.
  3. ↑ conceptcarz.com: Panhard & Levassor Type Q double phaeton with T-head motor.
  4. ^ Victor W. Pagé: Early Motorcycles. Dover Publications, New York, 1914, ISBN 0-486-43671-3 , p. 144.
  5. ↑ Roger Hicks: The international encyclopedia motorcycles. Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02660-5 , p. 412.