History

The Diesel engine was

invented by ‘Rudolf
Diesel’ around 1892, this
was 16 years after the
petrol engine was
developed.
 Diesel Engine Operation
A Diesel engines operation
sequence is as follows:
 Stroke 1 (intake) – only air
enters cylinder.
 Stroke 2 (compression) –
air is compressed to high
extent, raising temperature.
 Stroke 3 (power) – diesel is
injected, high air temperature
ignites diesel.
 Stroke 4 (exhaust) – burnt
gases are expelled from the
engine.
 Differences in a Petrol & Diesel Engine

All things being the same the diesel engine generally

has some particularly different traits from the petrol
engine.

They are :
Diesels have more sound & vibrations.
Diesels are heavier.
And diesels have more fuel economy.

There are also more differences in that

Diesel engines generally use glow plugs.
 Differences in a Petrol & Diesel Engine

Diesels have more sound and vibrations.

The higher compression ratios lead to a much

higher operating pressure inside the cylinders, this
high pressure makes the engine produce more
sound and vibrations.
 Differences in a Petrol & Diesel Engine

Diesels are heavier.

Due to the higher pressure inside the cylinder the

cylinder blocks are made more robust thus leading
to a heavier weight.
For this reason also diesel engines almost never use
aluminium cylinder blocks.
 Differences in a Petrol & Diesel Engine

Diesels have more fuel economy.

The two main reasons for this are:

Diesels have a higher compression ratio thus
leading to a higher efficiency and also
Diesel fuel has a higher energy density than petrol.
 Differences in a Petrol & Diesel Engine

Diesels generally use glow plugs.

As seen earlier diesel engines, compress the air to a

high extent to raise the temperature for diesel to
burn.
However in very cold conditions when the initial air
temperature is very low, mostly for I.D.I engines the
compression does not raise the temp. sufficiently thus
starting is difficult.
To avoid this a glow plug is present in the cylinder. It
is just an electrical heater wire that comes on for a
few seconds before engine starting.
Glow plugs generally last the life of the engine and
need no replacement.
 Differences in Operation

As was seen earlier one of the major differences is

that in diesel engines only air is taken through the
intake port and the fuel is injected later into the
cylinder.

Based on the injection there are two main types of

engines today
d) Direct Injection
e) Indirect Injection
 Direct Injection
In a direct injection
diesel engine, fuel is
injected directly into
the cylinder.

Injector
 Direct Injection

Here the burning is more uniform.

The advantages of this are:

 The power developed is high.
 The efficiency is high.
 The emissions are low.

However there are some drawbacks, these are

 The sound levels & vibrations are
generally higher.
 Indirect Injection
 To avoid the drawback Pre Combustion Injector
Chamber
of the direct system a
system called indirect
injection is also used.
 Here diesel engine fuel
is injected into a small
pre-chamber which is
connected to the
cylinder by a narrow
opening.
 The initial combustion
takes place in this pre-
chamber slowing the
rate of combustion.
 Indirect Injection

 The advantages of this are

 The sound and vibrations are reduced

 The Disadvantages of this are

 The Power developed is low
 The efficiency is low
 The Emissions are high
 Differences

Considering all other factors equal, direct and

indirect injection engines are said to have the
following differences.
 Future Trend

 As can be seen the benefits of the direct injection

far outweigh the drawbacks.
 Thus world over indirect injection is on its way
out, as manufacturers are more and more using
direct injection.
 As its only draw back of higher sound levels can
be easily addressed.
 Regular Direct Injection
 In this system a fuel pump, pumps fuel and also
distributes it to each injector.
 This system is mechanically controlled or can be
computer controlled.

Injectors
ENGINE

FUEL PUMP
 Common Rail Direct Injection
 In this system a fuel pump only pumps fuel into a
rail.
 In this system the injection has to be computer
controlled as the pump is not metering fuel.

Common Rail

Injectors
ENGINE

FUEL PUMP
Forced Induction
 Forced Induction

 Air enters into the cylinder via suction. i.e. the

piston moves down and creates a vacuum drawing
air into the cylinder.
 Forced induction is where a device pushes in more
air (than the piston will draw in) into the cylinder.
Usually about 20 to 40 % more.
 Types Of Forced Induction

 There are two major ways in which forced

induction can be done.
 Turbo Charging or Super Charging

 In Turbo Charging the device is driven by engine

exhaust gases.
 In Super Charging the device is directly driven of
the engine.
 Turbo Charging - How it Works

 A turbocharger contains two fans in separate

chambers, mounted on opposite ends of a common
shaft.
 Engine exhaust flows onto one of the fans (called
turbine), causing it to turn & rotate the shaft.
 This rotates the second fan on the opposite side of
the shaft (called compressor) which is mounted in
the engine’s intake system.
 When the second fan turns, it compresses the air
entering the engine’s air intake manifold.
 This “boost” of intake air works to improve the
engine’s performance.
Turbo Charging - How it Works

Compressed
Air

Turbo

Air In To
Engine Muffler

Exhaust Gas
 Intercooling

 When air is compressed it heats up, & this heat

causes it to expand back a little.
 Thus after air is compressed by a turbo, it heats up
& expands a little back again, so some engines use a
device called an intercooler to cool the compressed
air and thus get more air molecules in.
Cool & Compressed
Compressed Air Air

Intercooler
Turbo
To
Air In Muffler
Engine

Exhaust Gas
 Intercooling

 The intercooler is very much a radiator where

compressed air flows inside small pipes, and outside
air moves past the fins surrounding these pipes.