What makes a good spark plug?

POSTER

Abstract

The quality and condition of spark plugs play a key role in achieving peak efficiency of a gasoline internal combustion engine. Since the first mass-produced spark plug, the design has remained constant, but the materials used in making them have changed. The original copper and nickel center and ground electrodes have been replaced with materials such as platinum and iridium. I will study the thermal and electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion of a variety of spark plugs, and compare their performance to manufacturer's claims.

Authors

  • James C. Evans

    The Evergreen State College, Department of Physics, University of Washington, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Portland State University, Whitman College, University of British Columbia, University of Portland, Dordt College, Calvin College, Evergreen State College, Department of Materials Science, Tmfy-MSE, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA, Department of Physics, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA, Army Research Lab, Physics Dept., Washington State University, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Department of Physics, University of Puget Sound