Diesel Engine Principles For Beginners

Diesel engine principles are pretty straight forward forcylinder which allows compression to take place, the
the experienced mechanic but what about regularHEAT OF COMPRESSION is reached when the
everyday people who have never taken the time topiston reaches the top of the cylinder, the diesel fuel is
find out more about a diesel engine and how it works?then injected into the cylinder at the precise time.
I am going to explain in layman's terms the basic3} POWER STROKE:
principles of a diesel engine.After injection takes place an explosion occurs in the
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN Acylinder because of the combination of heat and
GASOLINE ENGINE AND A DIESEL ENGINE?...a quickatomized diesel fuel. This causes the piston to be
overview.forced downward which produces torque and the
The first thing you should know is a gasoline enginehorsepower required from a typical diesel engine.
and a diesel engine are totally different. A gasoline4} EXHAUST STROKE:
engine is constructed much lighter than the heavier builtAfter the power stroke the piston moves upward
diesel engine and runs on an air/fuel mixture combinedonce again while the exhaust valves open allowing the
with a high energy spark that is timed to ignite the airpreviously ignited gases to escape to the atmosphere
fuel mixture inside each engine cylinder at the preciseout the exhaust system.
time creating power and torque [turning force] whichAs mentioned before each cylinder goes through this
drives your vehicle.exact sequence over and over in a set firing order.
A diesel engine uses high compression [intake air thatFor instance, a 6 cylinder diesel engine has a firing
is compressed / squished] into a very small spaceorder 1- 5- 3- 6- 2- 4 This is the order that each
inside each cylinder causing extreme heat! This iscylinder goes by, following the 4 strokes mentioned
called 'Heat Of Compression' which ignites a very fineabove. This sequence has been engineered to allow
high pressure mist of diesel fuel that is injected into thethe diesel engine to run smoothly with no imbalance.
cylinder at the exact time.DIESEL ENGINE TRIVIA: Today's high performance
So you now know that a gasoline engine needs a highdiesel engines.
energy spark to run while a diesel uses 'Heat OfFuel passes through the injector at speeds of nearly
Compression'1500 miles per hour - as fast as a jet plane at top
THE FOUR STROKE PRINCIPLEspeed.
Every engine today runs on FOUR STROKES orFuel is injected into the combustion chamber in less
FOUR CYCLES- both these terms mean the same.than 1.5 milliseconds, the same time it takes for a
Here is how the four stroke diesel engine operates.camera flash to go off.
The four strokes are:The minimum amount of fuel injected into a diesel
INTAKE-COMPRESSION-POWER-EXHAUST. Theengine is one cubic millimetre - about the same volume
pistons, valves and injectors work together in eachas the head of a pin.
cylinder in a set sequence over and over.Volkswagen has developed a 1 litre diesel powered
1} INTAKE STROKE:car that got 100 kilometres out of .89 litres of fuel {60
Intake valves in the cylinder head open allowingmiles on approxiamately 3/4 of a quart of fuel!}
pressurized air to enter each cylinder while the piston isThere is much to learn about diesel engines and a ton
travelling downward.{the pressurized air supply is madeof information online. If you have ever considered
possible by the TURBOCHARGER which pushes airbuying a vehicle with a diesel engine you have my
into the intake system giving the diesel engine a boostblessing! The extra cost will be to your benefit, so I
of air to keep up with instantaneous injection of fuel}recommend finding out more about diesel engines
2} COMPRESSION STROKE:before you decide which one to choose..
When the piston starts to make it's way back upwardI hope you have found this information on diesel
the valves close which traps the intake air in theengines helpful!