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The diesel engines that power our global economies exist because of an invention of a man named Rudolf Diesel, more than a century ago.
There are more diesel engines powering vehicles and equipment around the world than ever before. I think, if he were to come back today, Diesel would be astounded by the diversity of applications using diesel as the technology of choice. I suspect he would be in awe of his engine’s modern-day performance. Our modern designs and configurations likely mystifying to him.
History shows us that Diesel was a curious man when it came to so-called heat engines. He even designed a solar-powered air engine.
Diesel’s inventions all centered around three common areas: the transference of heat based on natural processes and laws of physics; they had creative mechanical designs and were motivated by his concept of sociological needs - at the time enabling independent craftsman and artisans to compete with large industry.
So, I think Diesel would be right at home working to develop new fuels and energy sources to tackle a major sociological need, meeting the challenge of climate change. Thousands of engineers around the world are doing so right now, working to reduce emissions, and make technology more efficient to boost performance.
Two foundational aspects of Diesel’s initial concept and engine design live on: it’s energy (or thermal) efficiency and ability to utilize biobased fuels like vegetable oils. Thermal efficiency is the ability to convert energy from one form (liquid fuel) to another (mechanical work) with as little waste as possible.
Diesel’s first certification test for verifying efficiency and commercial suitability of his engine was done back in 1897 on a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base. That engine delivered about 18 hp (about 13.4kW), with mechanical efficiency achieving 75% and thermal efficiency 35%, with a net efficiency of 26% which was boosted to 30% later that same year.
Considering that steam engines were only about 10% thermally efficient, the opportunities were obvious. Just last year, the US Department of Energy and Cummins announced they had achieved 55% brake thermal efficiency in a heavy-duty diesel commercial truck engine as part of the SuperTruck II program.
Diesel preferred to use vegetable oils for fuel, a visionary idea in 1897. Now we consume billions of gallons of renewable biodiesel fuels each year, 3 billion in 2020 alone. We’ll need much more as we work to tackle climate change. The use of low carbon biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions by 20-80% compared to conventional diesel fuel. Imagine the opportunity for using more biodiesel fuels in the millions of existing engines and vehicles, without the need for expensive new vehicles or costly infrastructure!
Diesel also demonstrated the advantages of compression ignition engines yielding more complete combustion than spark-ignited gasoline engines. Modern day engineers seized on this advantage of compression ignition engines and incorporated some elements into gasoline direct injection (DGI) technology, making a gas engine more like a diesel engine.
Our future will be more eclectic with a widening range of fuels and technologies to power our global economies. It is clear that we’re not done with enduring technologies that demonstrate continuous improvement of Diesel’s simple idea over 125 years ago, making the next generation of diesel even more energy efficient and lower in emissions.
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Resources:
Smil, Vaclav, Diesel Engine at 120
Bellis, Mary, "Rudolf Diesel, Inventor of the Diesel Engine", ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020
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