|
clint, Cyclone is the nickname of Iowa State University teams - which may be why John Deere chose it. JD's got the right idea as it's used in JD's. The concept is also called swirl, and has been around since the 30's. It was real popular in the 50's as everybody want to have some "jet" power. In general you get the air/fuel mixture spinning in a corkscrew fashion (though I think in some 4 valve/cylinder designs it's done in torodial fashion) so that the mixture burns more efficiently. You get more bang for the buck, and less crud coming out the exhaust pipe. So for pollution reasons, swirl is still a hot topic. You vortex generators; ridges, or compound curves in the intake runners, on the valve tops or on the piston tops. Downside is getting too much swirl which results in incomplete combustion. I think the idea with cyclone air cleaners is the too much swirl side of things - that is the dirt particles are supposed to get bashed up against the side of the cleaner, into the screen as the air swirls. If there's too much swirl in a combustion chamber, the fuel is bashed up against the cylinder walls. I caught an info-mercial on TV lately with some miracle device shaped like the top of a cyclone air cleaner that's supposed to have magical properties when you stick in inside the air cleaner of your car. Just goes to show that good ideas can live forever - or, be hyped to death. Steve
| 
