Poppet Valve

A poppet valve (also called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of gas or vapour flow into an engine. It consists of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide. In most applications a pressure differential helps to seal the valve and in some applications also open it. Poppet valves date from at least the 1770s, when Watt used them on his beam engines.