How the Diesel Engine works

Released on = November 6, 2006, 2:34 pm

Press Release Author = John Stafford

Industry = Automotive

Press Release Summary = Visit http://www.diesel-generator-central.com to research
your next diesel engine or diesel generator then purchase from one of our wide
range. http://www.diesel-generator-central.com offers experienced and professional
advice to assist you in your next diesel decison.

Press Release Body = It has been 114 years since Rudolph Diesel applied for a patent
for his new improved engine. It was hoped to replace the gasoline engine but as we
can all see that this has not happened. The gasoline engine having just been
invented in 1876 was still considered inefficient in fuel consumption and power. An
evaluation of each engine's performance tells a story that is difficult to reconcile
with the way things have shaken out in the beginning of the 21st Century. The
invention of the Diesel offered the world a far more efficient and effective fuel
based engine. It actually provides more horsepower per gallon or liter than a
gasoline. This is why diesel engines power our large earth moving equipment, trucks,
marine engines, low mileage cars and now aircraft.
The diesel is a combustion injection engine. Unlike the gasoline engine, air is
compressed first and then the fuel is injected into it. The compressed air is hot
enough to ignite the diesel fuel without the use of a sparkplug. Diesel engines
developed out of the earlier work surrounding two engines; the original diesel
design and the solid injection system of Herbert Akroyd Stuart created in his hot
bulb engine. This means that the upward stroke of the diesel engine compresses the
air to where its' temperature is between 1300-1650° F. When the piston has reached
the top of its' upward stroke, diesel fuel is then injected, combustion occurs,
pressure increases and pushes the cylinder downwards. This motion is transmitted by
means of the connecting rods to the crankshaft which itself turns thus transmitting
rotating power to a drive shaft which powers ships, cars, generators, aircraft and
even motorcycles.
During cold weather, diesel fuel thickens when the wax crystallizes. It becomes a
gel and the fuel injection will not easily work. Technological advances have made
this a problem of the past. The fuel lines and fuel filter can be pre-warmed, others
use a glow plug in the combustion chamber to pre-heat its' walls, some use resistive
heaters in the intake manifold to warm air taken into the combustion chambers and
engine block heaters are used in areas like Kansas or Nebraska when automobiles are
left in the cold overnight.
Diesel engine speed used to be controlled by governing the rate of fuel through a
gear system. Today the use of electronically controlled engines ECM (electronic
control module) allows diesel engines to adjust their timing to start according to
the environmental conditions of heat and cold, regulate the engine speed in terms of
RPM (revolutions per minute) and maintain fuel economy.
Diesel engines may not have beaten its' chief contender, the gasoline engine, but it
has kept ahead in terms of heavy machine and naval engines. It has recently
performed outstandingly in the area of remotely piloted vehicle engines, set amazing
land speed records for racecars and motorcycles. The diesel engine has improved
amazingly in the past 114 years. The use of electronics has given all engines
abilities of fuel conservation unheard of in past years. This makes the diesel
engine a real budget-winning contender. This year the new 2006, Volkswagen diesel
won fourth place in the best mileage evaluation according to
http://www.fueleconomy.gov. Diesels may prove to be the green vehicle engine of
choice in the future since they have very little carbon monoxide emissions.
Catalytic converters and diesel particulate air filters have made diesel engines
free from particulate, nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Diesel engines may prove to be
the easiest solution to greenhouse gases.

Web Site = http://www.leebaldock.com

Contact Details = PO BOX 1498, West Perth, 6872, Perth, WA, Australia

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