About Diesel Engines

By. Chris Morel

For those who dont understand diesel engines
University of North Texas
TECM 2700

Table of Contents
Prefix I: Introduction ................................................ 7
Prefix II: Who is this book for? ................................. 7
Chapter 1: History of Diesel Engines ........................ 9
Chapter 2: What is an Internal Combustion Engine?
............................................................................... 11
Chapter 3: Differences between a Diesel and Gas
Engine..................................................................... 15
Chapter 4: How do Diesel Engines Work in Vehicles?
............................................................................... 19
Chapter 5: Diesel Engines are better for the
Environment? ......................................................... 21
Chapter 6: Upgrading Your Diesel Truck ................ 23
Chapter 7: Pros and Cons of Diesel Engines .......... 27
Chapter 8: Uses and the future of Diesel Engines . 29

Prefix I: Introduction
Most people in the 21st century dont understand how diesel engines impact todays society. To
fully appreciate diesel engines, one must know how they were created, as well as how they work
and are used. One also must understand how diesel engines are better for the environment,
compared to other types of popular engines. In addition, one will learn different ways diesel
engines can be made even better for the environment, and how to go about doing so. To finish
off, we will talk about how diesel engines will impact our future?

Prefix II: Who is this book for?

Who should read this book?, people who are interested in diesel engines or who may think they
pollute the environment more than other commonly used engines. People who are just interested
in how diesel engines work would also be interested in reading this book. If you are interested in
learning anything about diesel engines, this book is for you.

Chapter 1: History of Diesel

Engines
The inventor of the Diesel Engine, Rudolf Diesel, was born in Paris, France in 1858 and studied
at Munich Polytechnic. After graduating college, he worked as a refrigerator engineer, but his
real interest laid with engines. Diesel designed many different types of engines, including an
engine using solar energy, or energy from the sun. In 1893, Diesel wrote and published a paper
about the internal combustion engine.
At first, he tried to use powdered coal as a fuel. However, he had
trouble injecting it into the engine, eventually causing an
explosion that destroyed his prototype. He also tried vegetable
oil; it was successful, but after many tests he decided that diesel
fuel, the byproduct of regular petroleum gasoline, was the best
option. He patented his design for the Diesel Engine in 1894.
After almost being killed from his failed prototype, he continued
to make progress and built his first successful Diesel Engine in
1897. Rudolf Diesel proved that you could make an engine run
without a spark. The first diesel engine was a four-stroke, one
cylinder engine, which used air injection, and was cooled with
water. It produced about 20 horsepower, or about 1/10th of normal
gasoline engines today.

Figure 1: First Diesel (Early

History of the Diesel Engine)

Adolphus Busch bought a license from Rudolf Diesel in 1898 for his company Busch-Zulzer
Brothers Diesel Engine Company. With this license, Adolphus could commercially manufacture
and sell diesel engines in the United States. These engines were used in many places: from
submarines in World War I to trucks nicknamed smokers because of the dark unburnt fuel that
would come out of the exhaust.
In the 1960s, the government realized how much engines polluted the environment; this is when
they started adding regulation controls on engines to help reduce pollutants released into the air,
and save the environment. Things they did to help included the addition of the Exhaust Gas
Recirculation system, Diesel Particulate Filter, modified injection timing and pressures, along
with higher quality fuel. Over the years, the combination of these devices has decreased
emissions incredibly.
Note: The information above was taken from (Inventor of the Diesel Engine), (Early History of the Diesel
Engine) and (History of Diesel Fuel & Engines)

Chapter 2: What is an Internal

Combustion Engine?
An Internal Combustion Engine uses fuel which when
ignited produces power in the form of mechanical energy.
The most commonly known Internal Combustion Engine,
which most cars in the United States use, the Gasoline
Engine. Internal combustion engines use similar methods
with which grenades use. Fuel gets injected in a sealed
space and when the fuel ignites, it expands. In grenades,
this expansion sends shards of metal in all directions.
Internal Combustion Engines use this energy to their
advantage, by enabling the enclosed space to expand with
the use of a piston. When the fuel ignites, instead of
exploding and destroying the whole device, the piston
gets forced down, which then converts heat energy into
mechanical energy. Three things necessary for
combustion of the fuel include the fuel, oxygen and heat.

Figure 2: Internal Combustion

Engine (Fuel Injected ECU)

Basics
The four steps, or strokes that allow
internal combustion engines to work
include: the intake, compression,
power, and exhaust strokes. It all starts
with the intake stroke, when oxygen
gets sucked into the engine when the
piston goes downward or on its intake
stroke. The oxygen enters the cylinder
through a valve called the intake
valve.
Figure 3: Strokes of internal compression engines
After the proper amount of oxygen
(Fuel Injected ECU)
gets sucked into the cylinder, the
piston goes up on its compression stroke, compressing the oxygen. During the compression
stroke, fuel gets injected into the cylinder, and once the piston reaches top dead center, or when
the piston reaches the top of the cylinder, the spark plug sparks, igniting the fuel which then
causes the piston to go back down; this is called the power stroke.
11

After the power stroke pushes the piston down, the hot exhaust gases have to exit the cylinder to
repeat the cycle, so another valve called the exhaust valve opens, allowing the piston to go up
with ease and push out the hot exhaust gases; this is called the exhaust stroke.

How power is transferred

The piston, and the connecting rod
Camshaft
both connect to the crankshaft
(Figure 4, left), and work as a unit
to convert the heat power to
mechanical power. The crankshaft,
an oddly shaped cylinder with
metal arms that stick out of it, turn
Crankshaft
with the used of the piston and
Figure 4: Camshaft (left) and Camshaft (Right)
connecting rod. It does this by
(HowStuffWorks)
pushing up and down on the
crankshafts arms with the use of
the connecting rods, this motion converts the linear up and down motion of the piston into
rotational motion of the crankshaft. The crankshaft then transfers the power from the engine to
the wheels in the case of a vehicle. In addition, the crankshaft also tells the valves when to open
by turning the camshaft (Figure 4, right). The camshaft, another oddly shaped cylinder, opens
and closes the valves. The valves get pressed closed by a spring, but when the camshaft turns, a
notch on the camshaft presses the spring down (As seen in Figure 4), which opens the valve,
letting cold air in or exhaust gas out.

Fuel system
For the engine to run, fuel must get transferred from the holding tank to the engine; the engine
does this with the lift pump. After the fuel gets lifted to the engine, the fuel gets pressurized; the
system does this with the use of the high pressure fuel pump. The high pressure fuel pump
pressurizes the fuel, so the engine has a constant supply of fuel. The fuel then travels from the
high pressure fuel pump to the fuel rail. The fuel rail then distributes the fuel to each injector.
The injectors then inject the fuel into the cylinder when the Fuel Injection Control Module
(FICM or part of the computer) tells them to.

Electrical
Without the alternator, the battery would drain quickly, and therefore engines would constantly
need new batteries. The alternator connects to the engines crankshaft with the use of a belt, and
this belt turns the alternator and generates power using magnets spun next to coils of wires,
which in turn generated power and charges the battery. The battery must always have power
because it powers the spark plugs, which keep the engine running. The battery also keeps the
computer of the engine alive; the computer tells the engine when the injectors should inject fuel,
when the spark plugs should spark to ignite the fuel, and in the case of in vehicles, tells the
transmission when to shift gears to achieve higher speeds.
12

Starting
The engine starts with the use of the starter. The starter, an electric motor, simply turns the
engine, which starts the engine stroke cycle without the use of explosions, and the engines goes
through each cycle, and once the injected fuel ignites, the engine takes over, and the starter gets
disengaged.

13

Chapter 3: Differences between

a Diesel and Gas Engine
Some people might think that the difference between a diesel and a gas engine only comes down
to what type of fuel they use. Diesel and gas engines do use the same concept of using
explosions to push a piston which converts heat energy to mechanical energy; however, each
engine varies in their own interesting ways.

Igniting the fuel

To start off, gas engines use a spark plug to ignite the fuel, but diesel engines dont have spark
plugs. Diesel engines use the compression generated when the piston moves up to create the heat
necessary to ignite the fuel. When anything gets compressed, the molecules become tightly
packed. Molecules always move when in a gaseous state, which in turn means they always run
into each other. When something gets compressed, and the molecules have less area to move,
they start to bounce off of each other much more often than at normal pressures. Each time these
molecules run into each other friction occurs, and this friction creates high levels of heat, enough
to ignite diesel fuel. Diesel fuel needs much higher temperatures than gasoline to ignite. One
disadvantage of diesel engines; in cold temperatures, the compression the starter produces when
rotating the engine cant start the engine, so diesel engines have to use glow plugs, a piece of
metal that heats up to warm up the cylinder, so that the cylinder can achieve the heat required to
combust the diesel fuel. After the engine starts the glow plugs turn off, so the glow plugs only
help start the engine.

15

Turbo Chargers
Diesel engines must use a turbo charger
(Figure 4) to run properly. A turbo
charger basically use a fan to push air
into the engine, giving the engine more
oxygen, which allows for more frequent
explosions in the cylinder. Without a
turbo charger, diesel engines would run
very slow, and wouldnt have very much
power. Gas engines do not need turbo
Figure 5: Turbo Chargers
chargers, or the almost equivalent belt
driven super chargers (Belt driven fans), but they can use them to increase the power made.

The Brains
All engines have a computer; or the brains of the engine. All engines require a computer to
properly function; both gas and diesel engines use computers. When engine manufacturers
program the computers, they dont know what the vehicle will do exactly. Most diesel trucks
haul heavy loads, but may also transport people from one location to another, like most gas cars
do. Manufacturers must take this into account and program diesel engines so they can do both as
efficiently as possible. Most gas engines only have one function, to bring people from one
location to another, so the gasoline engine manufacturers dont need to balance both power and
efficiency, so they can simply aim the programming towards fuel economy. Because
manufactures do this, companies sell programs so people can program their vehicle to their
needs, from a simple economy tune with less power but more fuel economy, to a tune that makes
the most power, which makes heavy loads much easier to haul. Companies do sell new programs
for gas engines, but they wont change performance of the engine like diesel engine programs
do.

Power vs RPM
Diesel engines produce maximum power at low engine speeds (revolutions per minute, rpm), but
gas engines produce their maximum power at high rpms. Since diesel engines run at slower
rpms to reach their maximum power, they burn less fuel. When an engine runs at high rpms, it
uses much more fuel because the pistons move much faster, so more fuel gets injected more
times a second to keep the engine at that speed. Running at lower rpms also causes alot less
stress on the engine, so diesel engines tend to last much longer. When engines run at higher
rpms, more heat gets generated, which effects the engine components. When metal gets hot, it
tends to bend much easier; so when metal engine components start to bend, they must get
replaced, and if they break, the engine can completely fail.

16

Fuel Economy
Many people may think diesels get very bad fuel economy, but when you take into consideration
that diesel trucks weight around 6 tons, you will easily see why. Surprisingly diesel cars, which
weight significantly less, do exist in the United States, but most cost alot due to their rarity. To
compare the fuel efficiency (mpg) between gasolines vs. diesel cars, I have chosen the two best
from each class, excluding hybrids because of unfair advantages from electric motors. The 2015
Mitsubishi Mirage (Gas Engine) got an astounding combined mpg of 40, and the BMW 328d
Sedan (Diesel) got 39 mpg. Many may say the gas car still gets better mpg, but you must also
take into consideration the size of the engine as well as the weight of the vehicle. The Mitsubishi
Mirage weights about 2000lb which makes its weight to mpg ratio 50lbs for every 1 mpg. The
BMW 328d Sedan weights almost double at 3510lbs, so its weight to mpg ratio, 90 lbs. for every
1 mpg. So with the weight taken into consideration, the BMW is much more efficient because it
carries 90 lbs. for every mpg, while the Mitsubishi only carries 50lbs. In addition, the BMW has
an almost twice as large displacement, or engine size, as the Mitsubishi. When an engines
displacement gets larger, the fuel economy drops because more fuel is need to move the larger
engine components. Because the BMW has a larger displacement, it should have much less mpg,
showing how much more efficient the BMW is.
Note: The vehicle specifications were taken from (2015 Mitsubishi Mirage) and (Features & Specs)

Vehicle

MPG

Mitsubishi Mirage
40 MPG
(Gas Engine)
BMW 328d
Sedan
39 MPG
(Diesel Engine)
Figure 6: MPG to weight ratio

17

Weight

MPG to Weight
Ratio

Engine Size

2000lbs

50/1

1.2 liter

3510lbs

90/1

2 liter

Chapter 4: How do Diesel

Engines Work in Vehicles?
To understand how diesel engines work, one must understand how internal combustion engines
work. Please refer to Chapter 2 to understand how internal combustion engines work before
reading here.
Note: See Chapter 2 for a more detailed version of how internal combustion engines work

Basics
Diesel engines use the same concept as a regular internal combustion engine. It all starts with the
intake stroke when the piston goes down, sucking cold air and fuel into the cylinder. The piston
goes to the top of the cylinder, compressing the fuel air mixture. This compression heats up the
fuel/air mixture to the point of combustion. Diesel engines use this compression to ignite the
fuel, instead of spark plugs. This combustion expands the gas, and sends the piston down in the
power stroke. This power then gets converted into mechanical energy with the use of the
crankshaft. Gasoline engines cant do this because they dont compress the fuel air mixture as
much as diesel engines, so when gasoline engines compress their fuel air mixture, they generate
heat, but not enough to ignite gasoline.

Turbo Chargers
These hot exhaust gases power what we
mentioned in Chapter 2 as the turbo charger
(Figure 6). As the hot gases get pushed out of
the cylinder, they spin a fan in the turbo
charger, which connects to another fan in the
turbo charger which then sucks the oxygen into
the engine; therefore, the system uses the
already fast moving hot exhaust gases to force
the necessary oxygen into the engine. This
creates pressure, which gives the engine more
oxygen than it would if it didnt have a turbo

19

Figure 7: Turbo Charger (Turbo chargers: the

best power your penny)

charger. If diesel engines didnt have a turbo charger, they would lack responsiveness, and would
produce much less power.

Cooling
Engines use coolant to keep the engine cool. This coolant runs through small passages in the
engine, and simply takes the heat from the engine. The coolant then flows through the radiator,
which then cools the coolant using the air from outside. Without coolant, engines would easily
overheat and people would have to stop on the side of the road to give their engines time to cool
down.
Because the hot exhaust gas runs through the turbo, the turbo gets very hot. When the cool
oxygen gets sucked through the intake side of the turbo, the oxygen tends to increase in
temperature because it runs through the now hot turbo. Before this oxygen enters the engine, it
must get as cool as it can to produce the most power. To cool the oxygen, the system pushes it
through the intercooler, which acts just like a radiator, and cools the oxygen. The cold air not
only helps produce more power but also cools the engine down. Furthermore, when cold air and
fuel gets ignited, it actually expands more, resulting in a more violent explosion creating more
power.
Note: See Chapter 3: Igniting the fuel, to get a better understanding of how colder air makes
more violent explosions.

Emissions
Diesel engines have alot of emissions controls, but for good reason. Like gas engines, diesel
engines use a Catalytic Converter, Exhaust Gas Re-circulator, and a Diesel Particulate Filter to
help lower the amount of bad chemicals coming out of the engine. These emission controls
decrease the emissions that diesel engines put out significantly, which allows for a cleaner
atmosphere and a better world to live in.
Note: Refer to Chapter 5 to understand how emission controls work.

20

Chapter 5: Diesel Engines are

better for the Environment?
Many may think that because diesel engines produce black smoke, they
pollute the earth much more than gasoline engines, but in actuality,
diesel engines emit less emissions than gasoline engines. Diesel
engines emit lower amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and
carbon dioxide than does gasoline (HowStuffWorks). The black smoke
that comes out simply consists of unburnt fuel. Black smoke mostly
occurs when something wrong occurs with the truck like tuning or
injector problems, or when the driver gets aggressive with the
accelerator, and the engine isnt able burn all the fuel that the injectors
inject.
Note: Removing any emissions controls off of you truck is highly
illegal and you will be fined.

Figure 8: Black Smoke

(Diesel Engine
Problems Black Smoke
Explained)

Diesel engines have highly regulated emission controls because

thousands of diesel powered 18 wheelers drive on the roads hauling stuff around 8 hours each
day. Engineers have managed to reduce these emissions with the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel,
the Diesel Particulate Filter, Catalytic converter, Exhaust Gas re-circulator, and better
programming, and have reduced soot, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions by as much
as 90 percent (HowStuffWorks).

Clean Diesel Fuel

Ultra low sulfur diesel simply burns cleaner, reducing the amount of soot, carbon monoxide and
existing unburnt fuel emissions. No matter how well engineers design engines, they will never
achieve 100% combustion, so fuel will always escape unburnt. Engineers tend strive towards
complete combustion not only because it makes the vehicle more efficient, but also because
carbon monoxide poisons humans. When one inhales, oxygen normally goes into the lungs and
attaches to red blood cells. But when one inhales carbon monoxide, it attaches to their red blood
cells better than oxygen does, therefore they get less oxygen in their blood and less gets
absorbed.

21

The DPF
The Diesel Particulate Filter aka the DPF, filters the black smoke, or soot, out of the exhaust.
Unfortunately the DPF requires a separate tank of diesel, around 2-5 gallons, because when the
DPF gets clogged, the system injects fuel into the exhaust, and ignites it to unclog the filter. The
DPF, a necessary emission control, constantly requires fuel to unclog the filter, which adds to the
existing fuel costs.

The CAT
Catalytic converters (CAT) use a chemical process to clean the exhaust by changing the chemical
composition of carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide. It does this by breaking the bonds between
each element, leaving the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen elements all separate. CATs must do
this because carbon monoxide poisons humans, and nitrogen oxide destroys the ozone, which
ultimately allows more radiation rays to reach humans.
Unfortunately the CAT slows the flow of the exhaust out of the exhaust pipe. Slowing the
exhaust causes the exhaust pipe to heat up which ultimately increases the temperature of the
engine. The faster the exhaust can flow out of the engine through the exhaust pipe, the cooler the
system will stay.

The EGR
The Exhaust gas re-circulator (EGR) says what it does in the name. After the diesel has ignited in
the cylinder and has escaped as hot exhaust gas, it still has unburnt fuel in it, so the EGR sends
about of the exhaust gas back into the engine. Sending the hot exhaust gas back into the engine
heats the engine up. Though the hot exhaust that goes back into the engine gets cooled with the
use of the EGR cooler, the engine still gets effected because the coolant cools the hot exhaust
gases, or the same coolant that cools the engine.

22

Chapter 6: Upgrading Your

Diesel Truck
Why would anyone want to upgrade their +$40,000 truck? Upgrading ones truck increases its
capability to tow, in addition to raising its mpg. Though most people upgrade their truck to look
cool, sound cool, or to have the fastest truck out there, real reasons to upgrade do exist.
Unfortunately gasoline engines cost much more to upgrade than diesel. For example, when
upgrading an exhaust on a diesel, it will cost around $400, but will cost around $1500 on a gas
engine.
To begin upgrading, make sure to do research to find out what parts need to get replaced first
before adding horsepower. Main engine components may need to get replaced before adding
horsepower, so the engine wont fail; some stock engine components cant handle high
horsepower and will fail if that horsepower gets exceeded. Horsepower, a unit of measurement;
or how much power an engine has, or how much weight the engine can tow.
Note: Prices and horsepower numbers have been taken from (Xtreme Diesel Performance | XDP)

The Intake
Upgrading the intake easily benefits diesels. Adding
one wont add major amounts of horse power, but
will allow the truck to breathe clean cool air at a
higher rate. The three options of intakes include:
Stages 1, 2 and 3. Stage one consists of a higher
flowing filter, with tubing going to the engine. In
addition to Stage one, Stage two also has a partially
enclosed box and tubing. And stage three, the best
stag, contains a higher flowing filter, enclosed box
with tubing to gather cleaner air, and larger tubing
for faster flow into the engine. One may also upgrade Figure 9: Stage 3 Cold Air Intake
(Xtreme Diesel Performance)
their intake horn, or the metal tubing that goes
directly into the engine. The intake horn must connect to the engine first because the engine gets
really hot, and the plastic hose would easily melt; so the horn acts as a more heat resistant
connection. Installation of a cold air intake takes no time at all because the intake sits on the side
of the engine, allowing for easy access.

23

Larger Turbo Charger

One should only get a bigger turbo after they have added many other modifications to their truck.
Adding a larger turbo charger wouldnt benefit ones truck unless they already have decently high
horsepower. Bigger turbos always take more horsepower to benefit the truck, therefore if the
turbo doesnt match a trucks horsepower, it would only hurt it. Turbos usually range from $800$3000, but typically add around 100 horsepower, so they easily make up for the cost. One can go
a cheaper route and get a better fan blade for their stock turbo which will add about 40
horsepower for around $230. Installing a new turbo will take from 2 to 3 hours, depending on the
truck. Installing a new turbo fan blade will take around 1 hour.

High Flowing Exhaust

If one does anything to add horsepower to their truck, they must
install a strait pipe exhaust. A strait pipe exhaust allows the hot
exhaust gases to move faster out of the truck, which helps keep
the engine cool. One must add a strait pipe exhaust before they
get a tune or upgraded injectors, otherwise the engine will stay
hot all of the time and possibly overheat. In addition, one may
have a muffler, but legally the turbo actually acts as the muffler,
so it doesnt actually need one. The installation of the DPF,
which started in 2007 year models, tends to make it difficult to
upgrade the exhaust because one cant legally remove the DPF.
Installing a new exhaust system usually takes about one to two
hours. A truck with a DPF will take about an hour more.

Figure 10: High Flow

Exhaust System (Xtreme
Diesel Performance)

Tuning
Adding a tuner will add quick and easy horsepower for
prices ranging from $350-$1000. One can install a tuner
simply by plugging it into their truck and selecting which
tune they want. Tuning usually takes around 15 minutes
and will add 50 to 200 horse power depending on which
tuner they get. Unfortunately, some tunes nick named hot
tunes actually damage the engine so one must read up on
which tuner to get. These hot tunes usually add 150+ horse
power.

Figure 11: Edge Evolution

Programmer (Xtreme Diesel
Performance)

Fuel
24

Upgrading fuel components will increase horsepower from 50 to 250 horsepower. Some
upgradable fuel components include: the lift pump, high pressure fuel pump (cp3), and the
injectors. The lift pump carries fuel from the gas
tank to the second pump which then pressurizes
the fuel. Some lift pumps also filter the diesel
fuel, taking out any air, which makes fuel pure,
and allows for exact measurements of the
computer. The computer calculates how much
fuel to inject with sensors that identify how much
fuel passes through the system, but when oxygen
gets mixed with the fuel, the calculation becomes
off, so the purer the fuel the more accurate the
reading. Another fuel component that can get
Figure 12: An Injector (Xtreme
upgraded, the cp3, pressurizes the fuel so the
Diesel Performance)
injectors always have a constant supply fuel to
inject into the cylinder. A new cp3 will range
from $400-$600, injectors start at $1500 and go as
far as $5000.
Installing a lift pump takes about 3 to 5 hours because one must drop down the gas tank and drill
a hole into it. To install a cp3, one will need about 30 minutes to an hour; doing this only
required a quick unbolting. To install injectors one will have to remove the valve cover, and
unbolt the injectors, which will take about 3-8 hours depending on the truck.

Main Engine Components

One can replace many engine components ranging
from the camshaft, crankshaft, rocker arms, pistons,
connecting rods, head studs, and many other engine
components. Most people dont upgrade these
engine components because it takes alot of time,
money, and if they dont get installed properly, it
can get very dangerous. If one wants to install
engine components, they should pay a professional
to do it, but it will get very pricy considering the
engine has to get taken almost all the way apart;
but if done, the engine will last through whatever
one will put it through, either heavy, aggressive
pulling, or driving fast at the local track.

25

Figure 13: Engine Components

(Xtreme Diesel Performance)

Chapter 7: Pros and Cons of

Diesel Engines
Diesel engines will always be more efficient than gasoline engines, and the pros and cons easily
show how.

Pros:

Diesel Engines are much more dependable than gas engines because of their more
durable design, not requiring spark plugs and the fact that they operate at lower
temperatures than gas
Diesel Engines are more efficient than Gasoline Engines. Gasoline engines convert
approximately 30 percent of the energy in the fuel into power but a diesel engine often
converts 45 to 50 percent (Diesel Mechanic Guide)
Diesel Engines can use Biodiesel and even cooking oil
Diesel Fuel is much safer than Gasoline. Diesel fuel is almost impossible to ignite with
even an open flame. Gasoline easily bursts into flame when even a spark in the area
Diesel Engines pollute the environment much less than Gasoline Engines
Modifying diesel engines is easier than gasoline engines
Diesel Engines are cheaper to modify than Gasoline Engines

Cons:

27

Diesel Fuel costs more than Gasoline

Diesel Cars are very expensive in the United States
Diesel Engines are heavy and large, so they can be tough to fit into small cars
Some Diesel Engines have trouble starting in really low temperatures

Chapter 8: Uses and the future

of Diesel Engines
People use diesel engines to do many tasks that gasoline engines would do much less effectively.
One big example of how diesel engines surpass gasoline engines capabilities, lies in semi-trailer
trucks, which haul loads up to 150000 lbs. Industries today need diesel engines when dealing
with heavy loads since they have much higher torque than gasoline engines. Other examples
include: generators, pumps, trains, military vehicles, and many other industrial devices.

Generators
Industrial generators use the power of diesel fuel to generate electricity. Many smaller generators
used residentially use gasoline engines but only because smaller generators need less power to
produce less electricity. Diesel engines run these big industrial generators not only because they
have higher torque than gas but also because of their reliability, and efficiency.

Pumps
Large pumps use diesel engines when they pump thick oil out of the ground. To pump this oil,
companies need powerful pumps to get it out of the ground. High torque engines like diesel
engines make this possible, to efficiently suck up oil thousands of feet out of the ground and into
trucks. Using gasoline engines would take much longer to do the same amount of work, and
would also use more fuel.

Trains
Trains haul 3000-4000 tons at a time, so they need diesel engines to pull them. If trains used
gasoline engines, they might pull the weight but like said with pumps, it would use much more
fuel, and would take much longer to get going, therefore using gas engines would lead to less
fuel efficiency.

The Future

29

The future will consist of many diesel engines as they continue to increase efficiency. Diesel
engine manufacturers have improved the design since Rudolf Diesel created them, and will
continue to be improved. In addition, the emission controls will continue to improve, and these
manufacturers may discover other ways to save the environment that will do much less harm to
the engine.

30

Index
Adolphus Busch, 5, 29
camshaft, 8, 21
carbon dioxide, 17
carbon monoxide, 17, 18
computer, 8, 12, 21
connecting rod, 8
coolant, 16, 18
cp3, 21
crankshaft, 8
diesel, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23,
25, 26
Diesel Particulate Filter, 5, 16, 17, 18
emission, 16, 17, 18, 26

31

exhaust, 5, 7, 8, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20

Exhaust Gas re-circulator, 17
gasoline engines, 5, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25
intake, 7, 15, 16, 19
internal combustion engine, 5, 15
Internal Combustion Engine, 7
lift pump, 8, 21
mpg, 13, 19
piston, 7, 8, 11, 15
Rudolf Diesel, 5, 26, 29
tune, 12, 20
turbo, 11, 15, 16, 20

Sources
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