Experiment No.

06
TITLE:
To investigate the operation 4 Stroke Diesel Engine for power
generation

THEORY:
The diesel engine is an internal combustion engine or precisely it can be called
as a compression ignition engine, in which the fuel is ignited by the high temperature
and high pressure gas, rather than a separate source of energy like spark plug.
The diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency of any standard internal or
external combustion engine due to its very high compression ratio. Low-speed diesel
engines (as used in ships and other applications where overall engine weight is
relatively unimportant) can have a thermal efficiency that exceeds 50%.
A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical
generator (often called an alternator) to generate electrical energy. Diesel generating
sets are used in places without connection to the power grid, as emergency powersupply if the grid fails, as well as for more complex applications such as peaklopping, Grid Support and export to the power grid. Sizing of diesel generators is
critical to avoid low-load or a shortage of power and is complicated by modern
electronics, specifically non-linear loads.

MAIN PARTS OF DIESEL ENGINE:

1. Cylinder Head:
Also referred to as the top end, the cylinder head houses the pistons, valves,
rocker arms and camshafts.

2. Valves:
A pair of valves, used for controlling fuel intake and exhaust, are controlled by
a set of fingers on the camshaft called lobes. As the intake valve opens, a mixture of
fuel and air from the carburetor is pulled into the cylinder. The exhaust valve expels
the spent air/fuel mixture after combustion.

3. Camshaft:
Usually chain or geardriven, the camshaft spins,
using its lobes to actuate the
rocker arms. These open the
intake and exhaust valves at
preset intervals.

4. The Piston:
The piston travels up
and down within the cylinder
and compresses the air/fuel
mixture to be ignited by a
spark plug. The combustive
force propels the piston

downward. The piston is attached to a connecting rod by a wrist pin.

5. Crankshaft:
The crankshaft is made up of a left and right flywheel connected to the piston's
connecting rod by a crank pin, which rotates to create the piston's up-and-down
motion. The cam chain sprocket is mounted on the crankshaft, which controls the
chain that drives the camshaft.

6. Transmission:
The transmission is made up of a set of gears that convert the rotational speed
of the crankshaft into torque. The transmission is engaged by the clutch and causes
the engine sprocket to spin at the converted ratio, pulling the drive chain and
ultimately causing the rear wheel to spin as the chain pulls the rear sprocket.

FOUR STEPS OF 4-STROKE DIESEL ENGINE:

1. Intake Stroke: The inlet valve is opened and the fuel/air mixture is drawn in as
the piston travels down.

2. Compression Stroke: The inlet valve is closed and the piston travels back up the
cylinder compressing the fuel/air mixture. Just before piston reaches the top of its
compression stroke a spark plug emits a spark to combust the fuel/air mixture. The
number of degrees before the top its stroke is the ignition advance. When the piston is
at the top of its travel it is at top dead centre (TDC).

3. Combustion/Power Stroke: The piston is now forced down by the pressure

wave of the combustion of the fuel air mixture. The engines power is derived from
this stroke.

4. Exhaust Stroke: The exhaust valve is opened and the piston travels back up
expelling the exhaust gases through the exhaust valve. At the top of this stroke the
exhaust valve is closed. This process is then repeated.

The four steps of the air-standard Diesel Cycle are outlined below:

(1-2) Isentropic Compression (Compression Stroke)

(2-3) Reversible, constant pressure heat addition (Ignition)
(3-4) Isentropic Expansion to initial volume (Power Stroke)
(4-1) Reversible constant-volume heat rejection (Exhaust)

WORKING:
Mechanically, 4 stroke diesel engines work identically to four-stroke petrol
engines in terms of piston movement and crank rotation. It's in the combustion cycle
where the differences come through. First, during the intake cycle, the engine only
sucks air into the combustion chamber through the intake valve - not a fuel/air
mix.Second, there is no spark plug.At the top of the compression stroke, the air is
highly compressed (over 500psi), and very hot (around 700 C - 1292F). The fuel is
injected directly into that environment and because of the heat and pressure, it
spontaneously combusts (this system is known as direct-injection). This gives the
characteristic knocking sound that diesel engines make, and is also why pre-igniting
petrol engines are sometimes referred to as 'dieseling'.
The temperature of gas rises when it is compressed. When the inlet valve
opens air is sucked into the cylinder of a diesel engine due to vacuum created. The
piston then moves upward and compresses air raising its pressure and temperature. As
the piston moves up towards the end of compression stroke, injection of diesel fuel
the combustion chamber that is cylinder takes place. There is high pressure inside
cylinder so the fuel is injected through an atomizing nozzle at reasonably high
pressure. The mixture of fuel and air then ignites and burns rapidly. The gas in the
chamber expands. This forces the piston to move down and thereby producing power
stroke. The connecting rod which is linked to crankshaft forces it to turn and delivers
rotary power at the output end of the crankshaft. Scavenging of the engine is
completed either by ports or valves.
Diesel engines typically run around 14:1 compression ratio and can go up as
high as 25:1. Combined with the higher energy content of diesel fuel (around 147,000
BTU per gallon versus 125,000 BTU for a gallon of petrol), this means that the

typical diesel engine is also a lot more efficient than your common or garden petrol
engine, hence the much higher gas-mileage ratings.

RATINGS:
Diesel power plants are divided into two main classes: stationary and mobile.
Stationary diesel power plants use four-stroke diesel engines (less frequently, twostroke diesel engines), with power ratings of 110, 220, 330, 440, and 735 kilowatts
(kW). Stationary diesel power plants are classed as average in their power rating if the
rating does not exceed 750 kW; large diesel power plants can have a power rating of
2,200 kW or more.

APPLICATIONS:
The applications of diesel engine are homes, small shops & offices, industrial,
ships, power plant, large land vehicles such as railroad locomotives, hospitals

CONCLUSION: