Diesel engine

Chapter Outline
This chapter explains a Diesel Engine.
• Description
• Fuel System

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Diesel engine.
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Description Description
The diesel engine uses diesel fuel.
A four-stroke diesel engine operates
with the same cycle of four strokes as
the gasoline engine: Intake, compres-
sion, combustion and exhaust.
One merit of the diesel engine is that the
fuel consumption is better than that of
the gasoline engine because the pump-
ing loss is less and compression ratio is
high. On the contrary, there are demerits
such as the vibration and noise during
the operation are greater. Also, the
amount of harmful substances in the
exhaust gas is greater than that of the
gasoline engine.

1. Intake stroke
Air only is drawn into cylinder.

2. Compression stroke
The piston compresses the intake air
and increases the temperature
enough for the fuel to ignite.
The compression ratio of the diesel
engine is higher than that of the gas-
oline engine.
Compression ratio:
Gasoline engine: 9 - 11
Diesel engine: 14 - 23

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 3. Combustion stroke
Fuel is injected into the combustion
chamber. The fuel ignites by the
compressed air, which is high tem-
perature, and burns.

4. Exhaust stroke
The piston forces exhaust gases out
of cylinder.
(1/2)

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A comparison of the gasoline engine and diesel engine during each stroke is shown in the table below.

Engine
Gasoline engine Diesel engine
Stroke

Intake Air-fuel mixture is drawn into cylinder. Air only is drawn into cylinder.

Compression Piston compresses air-fuel mixture. Piston compresses air to increase both pressure to
approx. 3 MPa (30 kgf/cm2,430 psi) and temperature
to approx. 500 - 800 C (930 -1,470 F).

Combustion Spark plug ignites compressed air-fuel mixture. Fuel is injected into heated,highly compressed air,
where it ignites due to heat of pressurized air.

Exhaust Piston forces exhaust gases out of cylinder. Piston forces exhaust gases out of cylinder.

(1/2)

Conditions to Operate Diesel Engine

Compression
Compression and the fuel system are
the most important factors for the effi-
Fuel system
cient operation of the diesel engine.
The preheating system heats the com-
pression air necessary for cold engine
starting.
Preheating system

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 1. Compression
The diesel engine compresses the
air to attain the heat necessary for
( C) the fuel to self-ignite.
700 Therefore, compression in the diesel
600 Compression temperature engine performs the same role as
(Initial temperature 60 C)
500 ignition in the gasoline engine.
400 Also as with the gasoline engine, a

Temperature
300 great explosive pressure can be
200
Compression temperature
(Initial temperature 20 C)
attained by compressing the air.
100

100 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

(kPa)
1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
(kgf/cm2)
Pressure (Absolute pressure)

2. Fuel system
The diesel engine does not have a
throttle valve for controlling engine
output like the gasoline engine. The
output of the gasoline engine is con-
trolled by opening and closing the
throttle valve, thereby controlling the
amount of air-fuel mixture taken in.
However, the diesel engine controls
engine output by adjusting the fuel
injection volume.
Furthermore, as combustion starts
with fuel injection, it also adjusts fuel
injection timing. This corresponds to
the ignition timing of the gasoline
engine.
HINT:
For various purposes, some engines
are equipped with an intake shutter
for decreasing noise, engine stop-
ping, or decreasing engine vibrations
while engine stopped.

3. Preheating system
The preheating system is particular
Glow plug type Intake heater type to the diesel engine.
The preheating system heats the
compression air by electrically for
cold engine starting.
Glow plug
There are two types: The glow plug
type, which heats the air inside the
combustion chamber, and the intake
heater type, which directly heats the
air coming from the air cleaner.
Intake heater (1/1)

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 Diesel Engine Output Control
Controlled by controlling amount Controlled by controlling amount
Diesel
of fuel injected. (Amount of air en-
Gasoline
of air-fuel mixture supplied to
In a diesel engine, fuel is injected after
engine engine
tering cylinder is not regulated.) cylinder using throttle valve. the air is compressed and becomes high
temperature and pressure.
To obtain a high compression pressure
Accelerator
pedal Accelerator even at low engine speeds, a large
pedal
Injector
amount of air must be drawn into the cyl-
Injection ECU
nozzle
Spark plug inders.
Therefore, a throttle valve is not used
because of the intake resistance.
(Some engines use an intake shutter,
which shape is similar to the throttle
valve.)
In a diesel engine, engine output is con-
trolled by controlling the amount of fuel
Injection
pump injected.
Fuel injection volume small: Output
small
Fuel injection volume large: Output
large

REFERENCE:
• Gasoline engine output control
The output of a gasoline engine is
controlled by opening and closing the
throttle valve, thereby controlling the
amount of air-fuel mixture taken in.
Air-fuel mixture volume small:
Output small
Air-fuel mixture volume large: Out-
put large
(1/1)

Combustion Cycle
1. Combustibility of diesel fuel
Increasing the fuel temperature, causes the fuel to ignite spontaneously, even it is not exposed to a flame. The
minimum temperature that this occurs is called the autogenous ignition point (self-ignition temperature).
The fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and heated by the air of high temperature and pressure. Then,
the fuel self-ignites and burns.
In a diesel engine, the fuel ignitability is improved because as the compression ratio increases, the temperature
increases quickly.
Also, ignition performance is improved when using fuel with a high cetane number.
Cetane number
The cetane number of the diesel fuel corresponds to the octane number of gasoline and represents ignitability of the
fuel.
The higher the number is, the lower the ignition point and the better the fuel.
• For diesel engine fuel, a cetane number of at least 40 - 45 is usually required.
• Generally a cetane of 53 - 55 is used.

A high cetane number corresponds to the following effects.

• Good startability
• Clean exhaust gas
• Large output
• Improvement of fuel consumption
• Engine operates smoothly and there is less noise.
(1/3)

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 2. Relationship between compression ratio and com-
pression pressure or temperature
The diesel engine compresses the air inside the cylin-
der and raises the temperature for combustion.
(kgf/cm2) (MPa) ( C)
130 13 1300
The graph on the left shows the relationship between
the compression ratio and compression pressure or
120 12 1200
temperature. It is assumed that no leakage of air and
110 11 1100 heat loss between the piston and the cylinder occurs.
100 10 1000 When the compression ratio is 16, for example, the
graph shows that the compression pressure and tem-
Compression pressure

90 9 900

80 8 800 perature can go as high as approx. 5 MPa (50 kgf/

cm2) and 560 °C (1,040 °F) respectively.

Air temperature
70 7 700
Air temperature
60 6 600
However, in an actual engine, the compression pres-
sure and air temperature values are usually somewhat
50 5 500
lower than the theoretical values shown in the graph
40 4 400
because the heat is released.
30 3 300 (2/3)
20 2 200
Compression pressure
10 1 100

0 0 0
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
Compression ratio

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 3. Diesel engine combustion process
For the combustion process that
occurs in the diesel engine, there is a
(kgf/cm2) (MPa)
relationship between the pressure
60 6 inside the combustion chamber and
D
the crank angle as shown on the left.
Fuel injection
50 5
C
ends
This combustion process can be
divided into the following four stages.
40 4
Ignition (1) Ignition delay (A - B)
B In preparation for combustion fine
Pressure

Fuel injection
30 3
starts E particles of the injected fuel evapo-
rate and mix with the air in the cylin-
20 2 A Combustion
der to form an ignitable mixture.
Ignition delay
10 1 (2) Flame propagation (B - C)
Fuel injection
In this stage, ignition starts from the
0 0 areas within the air-fuel gas that
100 75 50 25 TDC 25 50 75 100
have reached the proper ratio, and
Crank angle then continues to burn outward.
From point B to C, the pressure rises
sharply.
The rise of pressure is affected by
the volume of fuel injected at ignition
delay, fuel spraying condition and air-
fuel mixture, etc.
(3) Direct combustion (C - D)
In this stage, the fuel is burned with
the flame in the combustion chamber
immediately after the injection.
The pressure from combustion rises
more gradually because the fuel
burns immediately after injection.
The pressure at this time can be
adjusted to a certain extent by
adjusting the fuel injection volume.
(4) After burning (D - E)
The fuel injection into the combustion
chamber ends at point D.
However, the remaining fuel, which
could not burn, burns during this
period.
As the after burning period gets
longer, the exhaust temperature rises
and the heat efficiency*1 lowers.
*1: With heat engines, the heat effi-
ciency means the ratio of heat
energy converted into the workload
and the heat energy of the supplied
fuel.
• Combustion process (A - E)
(3/3)

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Diesel Knock
The fuel accumulated during the ignition delay period is burned at one time during the flame propagation period.
Thus the pressure inside the combustion chamber rises sharply.
The pressure inside the combustion chamber rises sharply in proportion to the amount of the fuel injected during the
ignition delay. This pressure wave causes the engine to vibrate and make a noticeable noise.
This is called as diesel knock. The diesel engine uses a self-ignition combustion system, so to a certain extent, die-
sel knock is unavoidable.
Causes of diesel knock are as follows:
• Engine temperature is low.
• Intake air temperature is low.
• Fuel ignition temperature is high. (Cetane number is low.)
• Injection timing is early. (The fuel is injected when the compression temperature is still low.)
• Injection condition is not good. (The fuel does not mix well with the air.)
To prevent diesel knock, shortening the ignition delay, thus avoiding a sudden rise in pressure.
The following methods are employed:
• Using fuel with a high cetane number.
• Raising the compression pressure and the intake air temperature until the beginning of the fuel injection.
• Raising the combustion chamber temperature.
• Maintaining the proper coolant temperature.
• Maintaining the proper fuel injection timing, injection pressure and spraying condition.
(1/2)

1. Comparison between diesel knock

How to prevent knocking and gasoline knocking
Items Diesel engine Gasoline engine Diesel knock and gasoline knocking
Compression ratio Raise Lower
Air supply temperature Raise Lower
both have a sudden rise of compres-
Compression pressure Raise Lower sion pressure during the combustion
Cylinder temperature Raise Lower period. However they vary basically
Fuel ignition point Lower Raise
by timing, cause and condition.
Ignition delay Shorten Lengthen
(1) Diesel knock
Diesel knock occurs because of diffi-
P P
Knocking culties with self-ignition.
Knocking Normal
combustion Normal Also, it occurs when the combustible
combustion
air-fuel mixture burns all at once and
Injection
explosively causing the pressure to
Compression only
Compression rise suddenly.
only Ignition
In a diesel engine, it is difficult to dis-
t
Diesel knock
t
Gasoline knocking
tinguish between normal combustion
and diesel knock. Therefore it can
only be distinguished by whether a
sudden rise in pressure knocking
noise is generated by or by which
portion of the engine is shocked.
(2) Gasoline knocking
Gasoline knocking occurs when self-
ignites. In a gasoline engine, normal
combustion and knocking are com-
pletely different.
(2/2)

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Fuel System Description
The fuel system delivers the fuel to the
engine. The injection pump is driven by
the timing belt or the timing gear of
engine.
HINT:
Injection pump
Fuel filter
The injection pump is driven by the
camshaft in accordance with the
engine.
The fuel, which is highly compressed
by the injection pump, is sent into the
injection nozzle of each cylinder in
order to be injected into the combus-
Injection
tion chamber.
nozzle Excess fuel is also returned to the
fuel tank.
(1/1)

Fuel tank

Priming Pump
1. Description
The priming pump is a manual pump used for bleed-
ing air when the fuel tank becomes empty, the fuel fil-
ter is replaced or the air is mixed into the fuel pipe.
Priming pump
If air enters the fuel line, it may cause the injection
pump to have difficulty in pumping the fuel up and the
engine may be difficult to start.
from Fuel tank to Injection pump
Therefore, it is necessary to bleed the air from the fuel
system, using the priming pump before starting the
engine.
Also it is used when bleeding the water in the sedi-
Fuel filter menter.
(1/2)

Water sedimenter

Fuel fiow

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 2. Operation
Pump chamber
Pump handle

Diaphragm
Inlet check
valve

Outlet check
valve

Injection
pump

Fuel tank
Injection
nozzle

Fuel

(1) When pushing the pump handle:

Pump chamber When pushing the pump handle, the
Pump handle
fuel or air inside the pump chamber
Diaphragm opens the outlet check valve and
Inlet check
valve flows to the fuel filter and injection
Outlet check pump.
valve
At the same time, the inlet check
valve closes and reverse flow of fuel
is prevented.
Injection
The air that has entered into the
pump
injection pump flows with the fuel
from the return pipe of the injection
pump to the fuel tank.
Fuel tank
Injection
nozzle

Fuel

(2) When releasing the pump handle:

Pump chamber When releasing the pump handle,
Pump handle
the force of the spring pushes the
Diaphragm diaphragm returning to its original
Inlet check
valve position. At this time, a vacuum is
Outlet check created in the pump chamber.
valve
The inlet check valve opens and
draws the fuel in with this vacuum.
At the same time, the outlet check
Injection
valve closes and reverse flow of fuel
pump
is prevented.
(2/2)

Fuel tank
Injection
nozzle

Fuel

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 Injection Nozzles
1. Description
The injection nozzle converts the
high-pressurized fuel, which is sent
from the injection pump, into a mist
by injecting the fuel into the combus-
tion chamber. The diesel engine
directly injects the fuel into the com-
bustion chamber, which is different
from the gasoline engine which
makes the air-fuel mixture in
advance. Thus, the time for mixing
with the air is much shorter.
Therefore, the fuel is injected at high
pressure and high speed to create a
mist that mixes easily with the air,
thus improving the ignition perfor-
mance.
(1/4)

2. Necessity of adjusting nozzle opening pressure

For the injection nozzle, the nozzle opening timing
Nozzle holder varies according to the nozzle needle opening pres-
Overflow pipe
sure.
If the injection nozzle does not open or close correctly,
Adjusting shim
it affects the timing and volume of the fuel injection.
Pressure spring Therefore, the nozzle opening pressure must always
Pressure pin be adjusted to be at the specified value.
Distance piece

Nozzle needle

Nozzle body
Retaining nut

Injection pump
discharge pressure
Correct nozzle Injection
opening pressure volume
Pressure

Time
Correct injection timing

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 Nozzle opening pressure and injection timing volume

Nozzle holder Opening pressure Low High

Overflow pipe
Injection timing Advanced Retarded
Injection volume Large Small
Adjusting shim

Pressure spring
Pressure pin The nozzle opening pressure is adjusted by changing the
Distance piece thickness of the adjusting shims and adjusting the force of
Nozzle needle
the pressure spring.
Nozzle body Reduce thickness of shim: Injection pressure is low
Retaining nut Increase thickness of shim: Injection pressure is high
(2/4)

Low
Pressure

Time
Advanced injection timing

Nozzle holder

Overflow pipe

Adjusting shim

Pressure spring
Pressure pin

Distance piece

Nozzle needle

Nozzle body
Retaining nut

High
Pressure

Time
Retarded injection timing

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 3. Two-stage injection nozzle
Nozzle assembly No.2 pressure
spring seat In some diesel engines, the two-
No.3 pressure
stage injection nozzles are used.
spring washer Use of two-stage injection nozzles
Needle
tip
No.2 pressure
spring
makes it possible to lower the nozzle
Nozzle
body Straight pin
opening pressure. Therefore, injec-
Nozzle holder
tion stability in the low load range or
Tip packing
retaining nut at idling is better than that of normal
injection nozzles. Also, diesel knock
that occurs with small injection vol-
No.1 pressure
spring umes is decreased.
No.1 pressure
Nozzle holder body (1) Construction
spring seat
Two pressure springs and two pres-
No.2 pressure spring washer
(adjusting shim) sure pins are built into the nozzle
Pressure pin holder body.
No.1 pressure spring washer Clearance is provided between the
(adjusting shim)
needle tip and the pressure pin
because of the two stages of the fuel
injection. This clearance is called
pre-lift.
In order to adjust the fuel injection
pressure at the 1st stage and 2nd
stage, replace each pressure spring
washer.
(3/4)

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 (2) Operation
<1> 1st stage operation
When the fuel pressure of the injec-
Two-stage injection nozzle
No.1 pressure spring tion pump reaches approx. 18MPa
(180 kgf/cm2), the needle tip pushes
Normal injection nozzle

the pressure pin up through the No.3

mm pressure spring washer, exceeding
Maximum lift
0.25 pressure pin the force of the No.1 spring pressure.
Nozzle needle lift

No. 2 pressure spring

At this time, the fuel is injected.
The amount of lift changes until the
No. 2 pressure
spring seat needle tip makes contact with the
Pre-lift
0.04 Tip packing No.2 pressure spring seat.
No.3 pressure After the No.3 pressure spring
spring washer
0 18 28 (MPa) washer makes contact with the No.2
(kgf/cm2)
0 180 280 pressure spring seat, the amount of
Fuel pressure the needle tip lift does not change
Needle tip until the fuel pressure reaches
approx. 23 MPa (230 kgf/cm2).
Initial position (closed)
<2> 2nd stage operation
Pre-lift When the fuel pressure reaches
Maximum lift approx. 23 MPa (230 kgf/cm2), it
overcomes the force of both the No.1
and No.2 pressure springs. And the
needle tip pushes the No.2 pressure
spring seat through the No.3 pres-
sure spring washer.
The amount of the needle tip lift does
not change when it reaches the max-
imum amount of lift even if the fuel
pressure changes.
For this reason, when the engine is
running at low load, small amounts of
fuel are injected in the low-lift range
only. When a load is applied to the
engine, small amounts of fuel are
injected in the pre-lift range, and then
larger amounts are injected in the
high-lift range.

For this reason, when the engine is run-

ning at low load, small amounts of fuel
are injected in the low-lift range only.
When a load is applied to the engine,
small amounts of fuel are injected in the
pre-lift range, and then larger amounts
are injected in the high-lift range.
(4/4)

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 Delivery Valves
1. Construction
The delivery valve is mounted on the
distributive head of injection pump.
Injection Injection
The valve spring and delivery valve
pump side nozzle side are mounted in the delivery valve
holder.
The surface of the delivery valve seat
Valve seat Valve spring
Gasket Delivery valve Delivery valve holder is made with high precision.
(1/2)

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 2. Operation
Injection pump Injection nozzle
The delivery valve closes the fuel line quickly at the
side side end of fuel injection in order to keep the residual pres-
sure inside the injection pipe.
At the same time, the fuel is drawn back in allowing
the injection nozzle to snap shut, thus preventing fuel
"dribble (dripping)".
(1) Start of fuel injection
<1> The highly pressurized fuel from the injection
pump is sent to the delivery valve before injec-
tion.
<2> The highly pressurized fuel pushes the delivery
valve to open the fuel line.
Relief valve Valve face
<3> The highly pressurized fuel is sent into the injec-
tion nozzle.
(2) End of fuel injection
<1> Pumping from the injection pump ends, and the
fuel pressure lowers.
<2> The delivery valve is pushed back by the valve
spring.
<3> The delivery valve returns until the valve face
adheres the valve seat.
<4> The above process ensure a sudden drop in
Operating stroke
pressure inside the injection pipe. The nozzle
needle then draws back the fuel, which would
otherwise be fuel dribble.
(3) Keeping airtightness (keeping residual pressure and
preventing reverse flow)
Airtightness (for keeping residual pressure and pre-
venting reverse flow) is maintained by the valve seat
and the surface of the delivery valve.
If the pressure inside the injection pipe after the fuel
injection is low, the fuel volume is decreased.
Because the injection pressure does not reach quickly
if the pressure inside the pipe is low.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep the pressure con-
stant inside the injection pipe all the times.

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 • Fuel dribble (dripping) after injection
This occurs when the fuel supply is not precisely cut-
off at the end of fuel injection and fuel particles are
accumulated on the tip of the nozzle.
If fuel dribble occurs after fuel injection, the fuel in the
cylinder will not burn completely.
This will result in the emission of black or white smoke
Injection nozzle being exhausted.
To prevent fuel dribble, the relief valve of the delivery
valve is designed to draw back any fuel that may drip
out of the nozzle after injection.
Fuel dribble occurs if there is any failure in the delivery
valve or injection nozzle, as the residual pressure
remains in the injection pipe after fuel injection.
Faulty (2/2)

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Exercise

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Question- 1
Mark each of the following statements True or False.

No. Question True or False Correct Answers

In a diesel engine, the fuel ignitability is better as the compression

1 True False
ratio increases.

The self-ignition temperature decreases as the cetane number of

2 True False
the diesel fuel is increases.

The fuel injection timing is delayed when the nozzle opening pres-
3 True False
sure of the injection nozzle is low.

In a diesel engine, the fuel self-ignites by heat generated from com-

4 True False
pression of the intake air.

Question- 2
The following graph shows the relationship between the pressure inside the combustion chamber and crank angle
during the combustion stroke. From the following word group, select the words that correspond to each statement.

1. The injected fuel into the 2. The air-fuel mixture is ignited,

(kgf/cm2) (MPa) combustion chamber evapo- causing it to burn outward
60 6
D rates and an ignitable mixture and the pressure in the com-
50 5 C is created. (A-B) bustion chamber to rise
40 4 sharply. (B-C)
Pressure

B
30 3 E 3. The fuel is burned by the 4. The remaining unburned fuel
20 2 A
flame in the combustion that could not burn burns. (D-
chamber immediately after E)
10 1
injection. (C-D)
0 0
100 75 50 25 TDC 25 50 75 100
Crank angle

a) After burning b) Flame propagation c) Direct combustion d) Ignition delay

Answer: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Question- 3
The following statements pertain to the conditions in which the diesel knock occurs easily. Select the statement that
is True.

1. The diesel knock occurs easily when the engine and coolant temperature is high.

2. The diesel knock occurs easily when fuel of a high cetane number is used.

3. The diesel knock occurs easily when the injection timing is advanced.

4. The diesel knock occurs easily when the intake air temperature is high.

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