Diesel Engine Day

Diesel engine is a type of engine used very commonly in many trucks and cars today. But many car users do not necessarily know about this engine and its advantages and disadvantages. And every February 23rd is Diesel Engine Day, which is celebrated to celebrate diesel engines, the anniversary of the first day diesel engines were patented. Diesel Day is also an opportunity for everyone to improve their understanding of diesel engines.

So what is a Diesel engine?

Diesel engine was invented by a German engineer in 1982. This is a type of internal combustion engine, different from conventional gasoline engines. In this type of engine, the combustion of fuel occurs in the combustion chamber when the piston approaches the dead center inside the compression stroke. This is spontaneous combustion under the influence of high temperature and pressure of compressed air.

The engine uses diesel oil as fuel. This is a liquid fuel refined from petroleum with a distillation composition between kerosene and lubricating oil. They usually have a evaporation temperature of 175 - 370 degrees Celsius.

Operation of Diesel Engine?

Its operating cycle consists of 4 phases as follows:

Intake stroke: At the beginning of the cycle, the piston will move to the bottom of the cylinder, the inlet valve will open to suck in air.

Compression stroke: At the end of the intake stroke, the inlet valve will close. The piston goes up and compresses the air.

Explosion: At the beginning of the stroke, fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. It ignites and then the piston goes down

Exhaust stroke: When the piston pushes on the open exhaust valve, the burned gas escapes

Advantages of Diesel engine

Performance is up to 1.5 times higher than gasoline engines.

Diesel engines use Diesel as fuel which is cheaper than gasoline-powered engines.

Diesel is less dangerous because it cannot spontaneously ignite at room temperature

The engine is less prone to minor damage due to the absence of an ignition and carburetor.

Using a diesel engine, the vehicle has a greater load capacity than a gasoline engine.

Disadvantages of Diesel Engine

With the same capacity, the Diesel engine has a heavier weight than the gasoline engine

The compression ratio of the Diesel engine is higher, so it requires the engine parts to ensure quality, so the manufacturing cost is higher; Repair costs are also higher.

Diesel engines are mainly imported engines, to repair this type of engine requires specialized machines, expensive tools and skilled technicians.

Diesel in the engine can cause more black smoke, more odor and more noise than a regular gasoline engine.

The History of Diesel Engines

For more than a century, diesel engines have become a mainstay of heavy industry. The inventor of this engine is German-French inventor Rudolf Diesel.

After graduating from university, Rudolf Diesel worked at the Paris-based Linde Ice Machine Company as an engineer specializing in refrigerators since 1880. He moved to Berlin in 1890 to manage the company's technical department.

Taking advantage of his spare time, he successfully researched and built the first model of a diesel engine in 1892. A year later, he received a patent for his idea.

Although the first engine model of Rudolf Diesel only achieved a mechanical heat conversion efficiency of about 25%. However, this ratio is still more than twice that of the steam engine or other early internal combustion engines. Rudolf Diesel took another four years to refine the design and in 1896 he introduced a new diesel version with a theoretical conversion efficiency of up to 75%.

Today, diesel engines can operate on heavier fuels than gasoline, the most prominent of which is diesel - a fuel refined from crude oil. In addition to being cheaper than gasoline, diesel produces less smoke, so is less likely to cause an explosion.

As of 1912, there were more than 70,000 diesel engines in service around the world, mostly in industrial plants and generators, according to History.

After that, diesel engines were widely used to power cars, trucks starting in the 1920s, ships (after World War II), and trains (starting in the 1930s).

His diesel engine was not only widely used by small businesses, but also by large capitalists eagerly. This was an important factor driving the rapid development of the Industrial Revolution.

Observing Diesel Engine Day

To observe the Diesel engine day, you are encouraged to learn, improve your understanding of this important engine type in this heavy industry. Besides, if you love engineering, you can even design diesel-powered machines. Share your knowledge and appreciation for Diesel engines on social media with the hashtag #DieselEngineDay.