1. The Diesel Cycle Robert Amirault Objective: To establish the function, pros and cons and uses of a diesel engine.

2. Gasoline Engine Burns unleaded refined gasoline Lower compression ratio (8:1 to 12:1) Subject to “knocking” at high compression Mixes the fuel before injection Uses spark plugs

3. Diesel Engine Burns less refined diesel fuel High compression ratio (14:1 to 25:1) Low risk of “knocking” easy to turbo charge and supercharge Relies only on pressure to ignite fuel Uses glow plugs (larger engines do not) Injects the fuel directly into the cylinder

4. Benefits More energy is contained in diesel fuel –One gallon of diesel contains 155 MJ –One gallon of gasoline contains 132 MJ More efficient Cheaper fuel

5. Drawbacks More expensive to manufacture Noisier More pollutant Low acceleration due to high torque Required to run at lower RPM

6. The Diesel Cycle Definition –The diesel cycle is the combustion process of a type of internal combustion engine in which the burning of the fuel is triggered not by a spark plug as in the Otto cycle, but rather by the heat generated in compressing the fuel-air mixture. Four parts –Intake –Compression –Injection/combustion –Exhaust

7. The Engine The dissected engine was a gasoline engine The spark plug shows that it is not diesel Diesel engines are most often found in large trucks, boats, trains and anything requiring a lot of power without much speed.

8. References http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/diesel.html http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2005- 09,GGGL:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:Diesel+cycle http://auto.howstuffworks.com/diesel1.htm