Construction of Spark Plug
The core insulating assembly is housed in the steel shell assembly.
The lower threaded portion of the shell which has 18mm or 14mm Dia. has a ground electrode welded to it.
The center electrode is screwed into the insulator at its upper position.
The upper end of the center electrode is connected to the terminal which communicates with the distributor.
When a high voltage is applied, the spark jumps in the small gap.
This is provided between the lower end of the center electrode and the ground electrode.
This spark is responsible for starting ignition in the cylinder.
Platinum and nickel are generally used as electrode materials.
Because of its capacity to withstand corrosives, high temperature, and good thermal conductivity.
The insulator should have good thermal conductivity and chemical inertness to gases of combustion.
It has also high resistance, is non-brittle, and is able to withstand high temperature and pressure.
In recent practice is to use aluminum and silicon oxides are also.
In order to prevent the escaping of gases from the cylinder to the atmosphere.
Suitable sealing gaskets are provided between the shell and the core insulator.
Another steel gasket is also provided in the area where the steel shell is to contact the cylinder head.
The leakage of the hot gases past a defective or worn-out gasket is likely to raise the temperature of the plug.
Generally, a 0.3 to the 0.6-millimeter gap is kept in the spark plug. Under special circumstances, a 0.7-millimeter gap can also be kept.
The efficiency of the entire ignition system is greatly reduced both by a too large or too small a gap.
Hence, the gap must be kept within the desired limits.
The deposit of foreign materials such as carbon between the electrodes or on the outside of the insulator between the plug terminal and the shell is a source of nuisance and permits some of the high voltage to bypass the gap resulting in a reduced intensity of spark giving decreased engine efficiency.
To avoid carbon deposits, we should have to operate spark plug above 400-degree centigrade. By bending the ground electrode, we can adjust the gap of a plug.