Machines · machine
Diesel Engine
Heat engine · 1893 · Diesel cycle
- Year
- 1893
- Kind
- Heat engine
- Materials
- Heavy cast-iron blocks, forged steel, injectors machined to micron tolerances at 2,000 bar.
- Efficiency
- 40–45 % in trucks; the largest marine two-strokes exceed 50 %, the best of any piston engine.
- Used In
- Lorries, ships, locomotives, tractors, standby generators.
- Power Density
- Lower revs, heavier build, more torque.
- Cycle
- Diesel
How It Works
Air alone is compressed, hard enough — 15 to 22 times — that it reaches 700 °C. Fuel is then injected and ignites on contact, burning as it sprays rather than all at once. No spark, no throttle, and no knock, so the compression ratio can go where petrol cannot.
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