HomeCalculatorsAir–Fuel Ratio (AFR) & Excess Air

Air–Fuel Ratio (AFR) & Excess Air

AFR and excess-air factor λ from measured fuel and air flows. Diesel engines typically λ = 2.0–3.5 at full load.

EngineCombustion
Actual AFR
39.05 -
Excess-air factor λ
2.69 -
Formula, assumptions, and limits

λ > 1 means lean; λ < 1 rich. Diesel operates lean at all loads; spark-ignited gas engines can operate either stoichiometric with 3-way catalyst (Otto DF) or lean-burn without catalyst (LBSI).

Symbol legend

SymbolMeaningUnitSource
Air mass flowkg/hcharge-air meter
Fuel mass flowkg/hfuel-flow meter
Stoichiometric AFR for the fuel - combustion chemistry
Excess-air factor - result