Diesel Engine Testing and Performance

Description

Named after Rudolf Diesel, the diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which the ignition of fuel which is injected into the combustion chamber is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression. Diesel engines work by compressing only the air. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a high degree that atomised diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber ignites spontaneously. This contrasts with spark-ignition engines such as a petrol engine or gas engine, which use a spark plug to ignite an air- fuel mixture. In diesel engines, glow plugs may be used to aid starting in cold weather, or when the engine uses a lower compression-ratio, or both.
The original diesel engine operates on the “”constant pressure”” cycle of gradual combustion and produces no audible knock. These engines may be designed as either two-stroke or four-stroke cycles. Originally they were used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have been used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, trucks, heavy equipment and electricity generation plants followed much later.
This book covers topics such as thermodynamics, cooling systems, exhausts, indirect and unit injectors, free piston engines, diesel engine components and technology.