The Physics of a Diesel Engine
The world we live in is surrounded by diesel engines. They are on the freeways, railways, airways, and are one of the leading electricity producers in the world. They are also becoming more popular in automobiles. These engines are efficient and reliable and they are getting very sophisticated. However, the physics behind these engines has not changed.
By way of definition, courtesy of Diesel Engine
Engineering: [a] diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which the chemical energy of fuel is transformed into thermal energy of the cylinder charge, in consequence of the self-ignition and combustion of fuel in the engine cylinder after compression of the air charge in the cylinder (p1
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The piston then travels down pulling in fresh air, (third stroke), after the piston bottoms again it travels up compressing the fresh air, (fourth stroke). The fuel is then injected and one cycle is completed in 720 degrees or two full rotations of the crankshaft.
The disadvantage of two-stroke engines is their dependency on a blower to force air into the chamber and their inefficiency. A four-stroke engine does not have an expansion stroke every 360 degrees but it is more efficient because it has more time to completely burn the fuel injected into the cylinder.
There are mechanical and fundamental differences between the two-stroke and four-stroke engines but the physics remain the same. They both rely upon the compressed air to ignite the pressurized fuel and the resulting expansion for their power. At first glance it may look like the explosion in the chamber does the work but upon further inspection you can see the physics involved. There are two questions I would like to address. The first question is what is the physics behind the compressed air raising the temperature upwards of 900 degrees. The second question is what is the physics behind the rapid expansion of the ignited air fuel mixture.
The physics behind the temperature increase of compressed air begins with a fresh charge of air. The air fills the combustion chamber when the cylinder is at bottom dead center. As the
2. “ Because of their efficiency and durability, diesel engines have become the standard in powering trucks and buses. Other heavy vehicles and mobile equipment, including bulldozers and cranes, are also powered by diesel engines, as are many commercial boats, and some passenger cars and trucks. Diesel technicians handle many kinds of repairs. They may work on a vehicle’s electrical system, make major engine repairs, or retrofit exhaust systems with emission control systems to comply with pollution regulations. Diesel engine maintenance and repair is becoming more complex as engines and other components use more electronic systems to control their operation. For example, fuel injection and engine timing systems rely
At first glance, someone who doesn’t know much about either of the two engines might ask, “What’s the difference?” To the untrained eye they might look exactly alike, but don’t judge the engine by its exterior look.
Over the years, there have been many different configurations of radial engines, from three-cylinders to nine cylinders, with the seven and nine cylinder versions preferred. When more power is required, a second engine is bolted at an angle to allow cooling air to reach the second set of cylinders. The famous P & W “corn-cob” engine had four banks of seven-cylinder engines attached to one crankshaft. That’s 28 cylinders, and 56 spark plugs to regularly change.
A very common variant of the internal combustion engine is the four stroke engine. These engines have four "strokes" for each combustion cycle. These engines are
In the next step the air travels into the combustion chamber (cylinder), where it is mixed with the other components of combustion.
The 2-stroke reciprocating engine completes a power cycle in only one crankshaft revolution and two strokes, compression and power stroke. This is achieved when power and compression stroke happens simultaneously while the piston is near the bottom of its travel.
The lack of ignition system simplifies repair and maintenance, the absence of throttle also help. The output of a diesel engine is controlled simply by the amount of fuel injected. This makes the injection system very decisive to fuel economy. Even without direct injection, diesel inherently delivers superior fuel economy because of leaner mixture of fuel and air. Unlike petrol, it can combust under very lean mixture. This inevitably reduces power output
During every cycle in a typical four stroke engine, piston moves up and down twice in the chamber, resulting in four total strokes and one of which is the power stroke that provides the torque to move the vehicle.
For more than 100 years, the two most prevalent types of engines used in the manufacture of vehicles have been mainly diesel and gasoline engines. Despite the fact that both are considered internal combustion engines, each type of engines comes with unique advantages and disadvantages when compared to its counterpart (Curtis and Anderson 45). The primary difference between gasoline and diesel engines is in the ignition process. Gasoline engines use spark plugs for the ignition of the fuel and air mixture, a process technically referred to as Otto cycle. On the other hand, diesel engines attain combustion by compression of the diesel fuel, a process technically referred to as diesel cycle. Although diesel engines are less popular than gas engines, but they are superior in numerous ways. The primary advantage of diesel engine is that they have higher engine efficiency, leading to improved fuel economy. Diesel engines have a reputation for producing higher levels of torque than gasoline powered engines, and boast of longer durability than gas engines. The absence of an electrical in diesel engines plays an integral role in improving its reliability (Erjavec 145). The distinctive benefits of diesel engines have helped increase their popular usage in commercial vehicles and large trucks. This is mainly because of the improved levels of torque, which facilitates greater towing capacity. The design of smaller cars relying on fuel efficiency can also benefit when using diesel
There are no traditional valves in a two-stroke engine. In a two-stroke the engines fires once every revolution. This makes the engine highly efficient and lightweight compared to four-stroke systems. Rather than entering through valves, the fuel/air mixture enters through an intake port and exhaust exits out of an exhaust port. In place of traditional valves the two-stroke engine uses the piston’s position to force out exhaust or suck in fuel mixture.
The main objective of the direct injection (DI) stratified charge engine is to combine the benefits of the petrol spark ignition (SI) engine, controlled and complete combustion of charge at full load; and diesel compression ignition (CI) engines, lean burning and higher compression ratios and efficiencies[1].
Compression ignition engine are also know as diesel engine as they use diesel as a fuel. In
Four stroke basic engine which has spark ignition system was invented more than a century ago. No doubt several changes and modifications are done in the field of 4 stroke engines. But development in technology and innovation always seek for development in efficiency. And Otto cycle
For а two stroke engine, there mаy simply be аn exhаust outlet аnd fuel inlet insteаd of а vаlve system. In both types of engines there аre one or more cylinders (grey аnd green), аnd for eаch cylinder there is spаrk plug (dаrker-grey, engines only), а piston (yellow), аnd а crаnkpin (purple). А single sweep of the cylinder by the piston in аn upwаrd or downwаrd motion is known аs а stroke. The downwаrd stroke thаt occurs directly аfter the аir-fuel mix pаsses from the fuel injector to the cylinder (where it is ignited) is аlso known аs а power
Great fuel economy could be expected from such a machine. But the opportunity was a long time coming. Meanwhile, in 1880 he returned to Paris to help in the construction of a refrigeration plant for Linde and then became manager of it. During the making he put much effort into an design for an expansion engine using ammonia as working fluid (ammonia was also the working fluid in the refrigerator). From Paris, Diesel moved to Berlin in 1890 and continued to work for Linde's refrigeration concern. Rudolf Diesel (formally Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel) was a thermal engineer and inventor of German descent, best known for the invention of the diesel engine. Diesel was born on March 18, 1858 in Paris to immigrant parents.