Nowadays there are so many techs being installed on even an entry level sports bike that it has become really hard to keep track of these. Fear not your pals at BikesMedia got you covered, this time we are going to talk about another hidden but important piece in our motorcycles known as Lambda sensor. The name rhymes with “Lame” but jokes aside, this is one of the most important components present in the exhaust system, whose importance is, even more, today when the phenomenon like global warming is taking a toll on the environment. You will see how this device helps in making our bike ride greener each and every day, so let’s see what actually is this thing.
History of the sensor:
An efficient internal combustion engine is the one whose air to fuel mixture is the ratio of 14.7 part air to 1 part fuel. This particular combination of air and fuel is known as Lambda, and that’s how the sensor gets its name, it is also known as the oxygen sensor. This sensor was first used in cars in 1977. This sensor was introduced in cars for efficient burning of fuel thus reducing the harmful gas release from the exhaust. The origin story of this sensor dates back to 1889, when Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Professor Walther Nernst discovered the “Nernst equation”.
RELATED ARTICLE: Importance Of Air Fuel Mixture/Ratio Explained
At first, BOSCH would use the lambda sensor technology to measure oxygen content in the lead smelters used for producing batteries. It would be in 1970’s when the United States will announce strict emission laws, The BOSCH will take up this opportunity to come up with the first generation lambda sensor in 1975. The first customers of the lambda sensor were Volvo automotive and after that, it was an exponential climb for the company, very recently in 2016 they celebrated the sale of 1 billionth lambda sensor.
The function of the lambda sensor:
The Lambda or oxygen sensor functions by measuring the amount of oxygen in the exhaust system. It works in collaboration with the ECU to maintain the perfect air to fuel mixture thus preventing the mixture from becoming either lean, which is high in air and less in fuel or rich, which is high in unburnt fuel and less in the air. In either of those cases, the combustion process is not efficient. The sensor sends signals to the ECU which further adjusts the air to fuel mixture until it reaches close to the prescribed “Lambda” ratio mentioned above.
Many times there arises confusion between the function of a catalytic converter and a Lambda sensor, though both of them help inefficient usage of fuel, it's only in different part of the 4-stroke cycle that each of their function comes into play.
The role of the Lambda sensor is to make the fuel mixture ideal enough so that the combustion process during the power stroke becomes more efficient by measuring the oxygen content in the exhaust gas. The catalytic converter, on the other hand, converts the toxic byproducts of combustion process into less harmful products like carbon-monoxide is converted into carbon-di-oxide.
RELATED ARTICLE:What Are Catalytic Converters & How Do They Work?
Consider the function of both of these devices in a single cycle; if you have better air to fuel mixture then combustion will be efficient which will decrease the production of harmful gases in the first place. So the catalytic converter can easily convert them into less harmful gases resulting in a smoother and greener driving experience.
Final thoughts:
With the coming of BS4, we have seen better mileage, better efficiency across all the range of motorcycles and even other vehicles. This necessary step has ensured our country’s march towards a much greener and safer environment. Companies like Bajaj were the first in our country to make all of its vehicles BS4 complaint while also introducing Secondary Air induction technology to further improve the fuel efficiency across its Pulsar range. This is the time where we as a customer also need to take an initiative to demand all the bike manufacturers to make more environmentally friendly motorcycles and must also understand that paying a little more premium while buying a motorcycle today is definitely going to result in a much better tomorrow.
For everything related to Bikes and a better tomorrow, Stay tuned to BikesMedia.
By: Yetnesh Dubey
History of the sensor:An efficient internal combustion engine is the one whose air to fuel mixture is the ratio of 14.7 part air to 1 part fuel. This particular combination of air and fuel is known as Lambda, and that’s how the sensor gets its name, it is also known as the oxygen sensor. This sensor was first used in cars in 1977. This sensor was introduced in cars for efficient burning of fuel thus reducing the harmful gas release from the exhaust. The origin story of this sensor dates back to 1889, when Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Professor Walther Nernst discovered the “Nernst equation”.
RELATED ARTICLE: Importance Of Air Fuel Mixture/Ratio Explained
At first, BOSCH would use the lambda sensor technology to measure oxygen content in the lead smelters used for producing batteries. It would be in 1970’s when the United States will announce strict emission laws, The BOSCH will take up this opportunity to come up with the first generation lambda sensor in 1975. The first customers of the lambda sensor were Volvo automotive and after that, it was an exponential climb for the company, very recently in 2016 they celebrated the sale of 1 billionth lambda sensor.
The function of the lambda sensor:
The Lambda or oxygen sensor functions by measuring the amount of oxygen in the exhaust system. It works in collaboration with the ECU to maintain the perfect air to fuel mixture thus preventing the mixture from becoming either lean, which is high in air and less in fuel or rich, which is high in unburnt fuel and less in the air. In either of those cases, the combustion process is not efficient. The sensor sends signals to the ECU which further adjusts the air to fuel mixture until it reaches close to the prescribed “Lambda” ratio mentioned above.
Many times there arises confusion between the function of a catalytic converter and a Lambda sensor, though both of them help inefficient usage of fuel, it's only in different part of the 4-stroke cycle that each of their function comes into play.
The role of the Lambda sensor is to make the fuel mixture ideal enough so that the combustion process during the power stroke becomes more efficient by measuring the oxygen content in the exhaust gas. The catalytic converter, on the other hand, converts the toxic byproducts of combustion process into less harmful products like carbon-monoxide is converted into carbon-di-oxide.
RELATED ARTICLE:What Are Catalytic Converters & How Do They Work?
Consider the function of both of these devices in a single cycle; if you have better air to fuel mixture then combustion will be efficient which will decrease the production of harmful gases in the first place. So the catalytic converter can easily convert them into less harmful gases resulting in a smoother and greener driving experience.
Final thoughts:
With the coming of BS4, we have seen better mileage, better efficiency across all the range of motorcycles and even other vehicles. This necessary step has ensured our country’s march towards a much greener and safer environment. Companies like Bajaj were the first in our country to make all of its vehicles BS4 complaint while also introducing Secondary Air induction technology to further improve the fuel efficiency across its Pulsar range. This is the time where we as a customer also need to take an initiative to demand all the bike manufacturers to make more environmentally friendly motorcycles and must also understand that paying a little more premium while buying a motorcycle today is definitely going to result in a much better tomorrow.
For everything related to Bikes and a better tomorrow, Stay tuned to BikesMedia.
By: Yetnesh Dubey