How Do Diesel Engines Work?

Diesel technology has given us the most fuel-efficient engine. These internal combustion engines turn chemical energy into mechanical energy. But what makes a diesel engine more powerful and efficient and how do diesel engines work?

Diesel engines power our largest machinery, including trucks, trains, ships, and submarines. On the surface, they appear to be similar to standard gasoline (petrol) engines. However, they generate more power and efficiency by operating in a slightly different manner.

This is one of the many diesel engine benefits, but let us investigate further!

What Is a Diesel Engine?

A diesel engine is a form of internal combustion engine, just like a gasoline engine. An internal combustion engine is simply one in which the fuel burns up inside the engine’s major component (the cylinders), which is where power is generated. Combustion is another word for burning, and internal means inside.

Compared to an external combustion engine, there are many differences. A large fire is at one end of a boiler in a steam engine, which heats water to produce steam. Long tubes lead from the boiler’s other end to a cylinder.

As a result of the fire being outside the cylinder, this is external combustion. The fuel burns inside the cylinders of a gasoline or diesel engine. Internal combustion uses substantially less energy since nothing moves from where the heat is made to the cylinder—everything takes place there.

Internal combustion engines are more effective than external combustion engines because of this (they produce more energy from the same volume of fuel).

How Is a Diesel Engine Different From a Gasoline Engine?

Diesel and gasoline engines both use internal combustion to power them, but they do it in slightly different ways. In a gasoline engine, fuel and air enter into small metal cylinders.

The mixture is made explosive by a piston’s compression, and it is lit on fire by a tiny electric spark produced by a spark plug. By causing the mixture to erupt, this moves the piston down the cylinder and rotates the wheels.

Both gasoline and diesel engines use internal combustion, although in slightly different ways. Fuel and air are injected into small metal cylinders of a gasoline engine. A piston compresses the explosive combination, and a little electric spark from a sparking plug ignites it. This causes the mixture to erupt, generating power that drives the piston down the cylinder and turns the wheels.

How Do Diesel Engines Work?

Diesel engines are similar to gasoline engines, but they aren’t the same. For instance, diesel engines run on a repeating cycle of four stages.

The first stage is intake. As the piston lowers, the air gets moved into the cylinder through the open-air inlet valve.

The second stage is compression. When the inlet valve is closed, the piston rises and compresses the air mixture, heating it. The central fuel injection valve injects gasoline into the heated gas, which spontaneously ignites. A diesel engine doesn’t need a spark plug is required to accomplish this.

The third stage is power. Air and fuel combine and burn, pulling down the piston. This causes the crankshaft to get the wheels moving.

The fourth and last stage is exhaust. The exit valve opens to allow the returning piston’s exhaust fumes to escape.

Diesel engines are typically more powerful and efficient than gasoline engines. Diesel can be used in vehicles, but there are other uses as well including in diesel generators. Find out more about diesel engine sales at the link!

Efficiency

Diesel engines are up to twice as efficient as gasoline engines, with optimum efficiency rates of 40-45 percent.  Simply put, you can travel significantly further on the same quantity of fuel (or get more miles for your money).

These engines compress more and run at greater temperatures. Carnot’s rule, a key idea of how heat engines work, states that the efficiency of an engine is determined by the high and low temperatures at which it runs. A diesel engine that cycles across a wider temperature range (higher hottest temperature or lowest colder temperature) is more efficient.

Second, the absence of a sparking-plug ignition mechanism allows for a simpler design that can readily compress the air considerably more, causing the fuel to burn hotter and more fully, releasing more energy. There’s another way to save money. While a gasoline engine is not operating at maximum power, more fuel (or less air) must be supplied to the cylinder to keep it running; diesel engines do not have this difficulty, therefore they use less fuel when operating at lower power.

Diesel Fuel

Diesel and gasoline are two very distinct things. If you’ve ever heard horror stories of folks who filled up their car or truck with the wrong type of fuel, you’ll understand!

Diesel is essentially a lower-grade, less-refined petroleum product derived from heavier hydrocarbons. In theory, crude diesel engines without sophisticated fuel injection systems may run on nearly any hydrocarbon fuel, which explains the appeal of biodiesel.

Never Ask “How Do Diesel Engines Work?” Again

Diesel engines power our most powerful machinery, including trucks, trains, ships, and submarines. They share similarities with gasoline engines but they generate more power and efficiency by operating in a slightly different manner. Now that you know how these engines work, you’ll never have to ask “how do diesel engines work?” ever again!

Are you looking to buy a diesel generator? Check out our used diesel generators and get a great deal on a high-quality engine today.