VIDEO: Structure of the diesel engine simply explained
Nicolaus August Otto and Robert Diesel are the two inventors of the Otto and diesel engines that are still in use today. They are certainly similar in their basic structure, but have different combustion processes and different fuels. Otto engines run on gasoline and are so-called external igniters, and the diesel engine runs on diesel and is a compression-ignition engine. Both types of engines and fuels are of course constantly being developed. Nowadays, diesel engines even run on vegetable oil after a few modifications.
This is how a diesel engine works
- The principle of this combustion process is based on the fact that after air is drawn in, only this air is compressed in the next cycle. The diesel fuel is injected into this air (700 to 900 ° C), which has been heated by the compression. Then it comes to self-ignition and thus to the work cycle of this engine.
- A fuel-air mixture is only created in the combustion chamber of the cylinder and no ignition aids, such as spark plugs in gasoline engines, are necessary.
- Due to the high compression, the diesel engine also has a very high level of efficiency.
The structure of the diesel engine
- Diesel engines are mainly available as reciprocating engines. Two- and four-stroke engines are used as single-cylinder and multi-cylinder.
- The simple structure of the diesel engines is basically always the same. An engine consists of an engine block in which the piston moves back and forth on a connecting rod. The crankshaft to which the other ends of the connecting rods are attached is located in the crankshaft housing. Here the reciprocating motion of the pistons is converted into a rotating motion. The oil pan forms the end here. The upper end of the engine is the cylinder head with the exhaust and intake valves, which are covered with a cylinder cover. The valves are controlled by a camshaft. This can be above or below.
- In order for the diesel engine to work, the injection system that is attached to the engine is still required. The fuel is brought from the tank to the injection pump via a feed pump. The timing of the injection is set via the various drives in the control area of the engine (mostly gear wheels, belts or chains). Shortly before the top dead center of the piston, diesel is injected into the cylinder by the injection pump via the injection nozzle. The injection nozzle is usually built into the cylinder head so that the fuel gets directly into the combustion chamber with the compressed air.
- There is an additional component in turbodiesel engines. The turbocharger is coupled to the exhaust and presses the air required for combustion into the cylinder. This again increases the compression and thus the performance.
- The structure of the engine includes additional attachment systems that are necessary for operation. These are, for example, the water pump and its accessories for the cooling circuit, the engine oil pump for lubrication, the alternator for Power supply of the vehicle, the compressor for the compressed air supply and any hydraulic systems for the steering and others Things.
Many historical tractors and other machines have 2-stroke diesel engines ...
This is the basic structure of a diesel engine, but the details are constantly being further developed, for example to improve consumption, exhaust emissions or volume.