January 30th, 2010 by engineering magazines
It has been 114 years since Rudolph Diesel applied for a patent for his new improved engine. It was hoped to replace the gasoline engine but as we can all see that this has not happened. The gasoline engine having just been invented in 1876 was still considered inefficient in fuel consumption and power. An evaluation of each engine’s performance tells a story that is difficult to reconcile with the way things have shaken out in the beginning of the 21st Century. The invention of the Diesel offered the world a far more efficient and effective fuel based engine. It actually provides more horsepower per gallon or liter than a gasoline. This is why diesel engines power our large earth moving equipment, trucks, marine engines, low mileage
cars and now aircraft.
The diesel is a combustion injection engine. Unlike the gasoline engine, air is compressed first and then the fuel is injected into it. The compressed air is hot enough to ignite the diesel fuel without the use of a sparkplug. Diesel engines developed out of the earlier work surrounding two engines; the original diesel design and the solid injection system of Herbert Akroyd Stuart created in his hot bulb engine. This means that the upward stroke of the diesel engine compresses the air to where its’ temperature is between 1300-1650° F. When the piston has reached the top of its’ upward stroke, diesel fuel is then injected, combustion occurs, pressure increases and pushes the cylinder downwards. This motion is transmitted by means of the connecting rods to the crankshaft which itself turns thus transmitting rotating power to a drive shaft which powers ships, cars, generators, aircraft and even motorcycles.
During cold weather, diesel fuel thickens when the wax crystallizes. It becomes a gel and the fuel injection will not easily work. Technological advances have made this a problem of the past. The fuel lines and fuel filter can be pre-warmed, others use a glow plug in the combustion chamber to pre-heat its’ walls, some use resistive heaters in the intake manifold to warm air taken into the combustion chambers and engine block heaters are used in areas like Kansas or Nebraska when automobiles are left in the cold overnight.
Diesel engine speed used to be controlled by governing the rate of fuel through a gear system. Today the use of electronically controlled engines ECM (electronic control module) allows diesel engines to adjust their timing to start according to the environmental conditions of heat and cold, regulate the engine speed in terms of RPM (revolutions per minute) and maintain fuel economy.
Diesel engines may not have beaten its’ chief contender, the gasoline engine, but it has kept ahead in terms of heavy machine and naval engines. It has recently performed outstandingly in the area of remotely piloted vehicle engines, set amazing land speed records for racecars and motorcycles. The diesel engine has improved amazingly in the past 114 years. The use of electronics has given all engines abilities of fuel conservation unheard of in past years. This makes the diesel engine a real budget-winning contender. This year the new 2006, Volkswagen diesel won fourth place in the best mileage evaluation according to http://www.fueleconomy.gov. Diesels may prove to be the green vehicle engine of choice in the future since they have very little carbon monoxide emissions. Catalytic converters and diesel particulate air filters have made diesel engines free from particulate, nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Diesel engines may prove to be the easiest solution to greenhouse gases.
Read the rest »
January 24th, 2010 by engineering magazines
This article will help you to know more about Gas and Diesel. The plus and minus or strengths and weakness of both fuel either gasoline or diesel. This article will discussed both fuel from various aspects such as price, impact on the machine, maintenance etc.
Cost
Due to the high compression ratios and resulting high cylinder pressure in diesel engines, they must be built to withstand a lot more punishment than gas engines. The parts that are spruced up include a thicker block and cylinder heads, pistons, crankshaft, and valves, which can be very costly indeed.
When it comes to the price, gas wins this one by far. Diesel costs a lot more to own than gas, which is one of the main reasons why people tend to choose gas over diesel.
Fuel cost
Diesel fuel is easier to refine, taking less time to get from raw petroleum to final product from gas, giving it a lower price than that of gas. On the other hand, within the United States, diesel is priced the same or just a bit below regular unleaded gas.
“As we head to war with Iraq, President Bush wants to make one thing clear: This war is not about oil, it’s about gasoline.” 
Noise and vibration
Despite many improvements in noise isolation and engine noise technology in trucks over the last 10 years, diesels are still much louder and shake more than gasoline powered vehicles. At idle, the clatter and shake of diesel vehicles are clearly noticeable, while it can be hard to tell if the gas engine is even running.
Cold weather
If you’ve tried to start a diesel engine on a cold day, you know that gas is by far easier to start. Diesels don’t have spark plugs like gas engines do, as the fuel is ignited once it’s injected into the cylinder that is already under pressure. When it gets cold, the air isn’t hot enough to ignite the diesel fuel.
Maintenance
Maintenance on a diesel vehicle is more expensive, thanks to many things including the larger volume of oil in the engine and the fact that fuel filters and water separators must be serviced more often than gas vehicles. Gasoline engines have a bigger advantage due to extended service periods on spark plugs, engine oil, and even antifreeze.
Making that final choice between gas and diesel comes down to what you’ll do with your vehicle and where you live. If you use your vehicle for quick, fast acceleration and rarely ever haul heavy loads, and don’t plan to keep your vehicle past 100,000 miles, you may want to consider buying a gasoline vehicle.
Gas runs smoother, fuel is easier to find, and they are easier to start in cold weather. On the other hand, if you plan to tow, value good fuel economy and plan on racking up a lot of miles, then you’ll want to buy a diesel.
Price is also an important consideration, as diesel vehicles can be a bit more expensive than gas. If you aren’t worried about price, then diesel may be your best bet. For trucks, diesel is by far the superior choice for those who like to haul heavy loads on a frequent basis.
As the last words, I like this quote so much:
“What is needed is an all-out science project to get vehicles off of gasoline, rather than off of the earth.”
Read the rest »
November 12th, 2009 by engineering magazines
Automobile is a vital object of your life and it is used for turning your life forward. To understand your car finer and make it intact you have to think your car as a absolute automatic system. And like all automotive systems it requires upkeep to make alive. Time we use cars or vehicles we rarely observance it as a absolute system. Just imagine how the things are structured and how this automotive system works. The variations introduced by vehicle manufacturers are nothing but making automotive systems finer and finer!
All the units in your car from keyless entry to power steering wheel, chrome alloy wheels to power windows, cooling system and engine adjustment all together form automotive systems. And upkeep of automotive systems is not an effortless thing. Today’s car is not a object of big machineries and parts; it is more or less like a computer; fine, fitted with smaller and brainy units. upkeep of it requires intelligence and knowledge. Without suitable knowledge and intent about the systems one cannot just cover the job of maintaining an engine perfectly. Hence it is very strategic for you to give an extra eye to upkeep of automotive systems.
Maintenance of your automotive systems must be done according to standards mentioned by manufacturers. Besides going for the proper upkeep of automotive systems, you can also cerebrate of certain enlistment in your car for improving automotive performance. Such enlistment and installation of parts in your automotive system will raise the performance of your vehicle and gain gas mileage. Given beneath are few accessories which can upgrade the performance of your car.
Reusable Air Filters: Reusable air filters are one of the good units you can buy for your car. It not only saves a favorable deal of money, but such filters have been found to amount acceleration of your vehicle. The use of reusable air filters have also a favorable outcome on environment. Such reusable air filter lasts longer for your car and keeps on keeping the performance uncastrated.
Performance Chips: Most brand new cars are operated by computer chips and those chips terminate the torque and h.p. to be displaced. Recalibrations or performance chips are highly in use these days to improve automotive performance. Installing performance chips will help you amount the torque and h.p. of your vehicle significantly.
Performance Exhaust Systems: This is another way to take care of automotive performance. The catalyst back exhaust system is a extraordinary way to free cornered force and loose the h.p.. This automotive system incorporates larger width exhaust pipe and low restriction muffler tips into your vehicle which lowers the exhaust back pressure. Another favorable gain of this system is a sound impression of your vehicle which is really awesome.
Cold Air Intake: This upgrade system is under the bonnet mod which is utilised to reduce the temperature of air entering the car to amount power of engine. This installation enhances your engine looks besides increasing its power. This object too makes the sound of engine appealing.
Read the rest »
July 15th, 2009 by engineering magazines
Try increasing displacement – the more displacement means the more power you’ll because it burns more gas during each revolution of the engine (Not very fuel saving). Try making the cylinders bigger or by adding more cylinders. 12 seems to be the limit.
Modify the compression ratio – You can produce more power by increasing compression ratios. The more air/fuel mixture is compressed the more power it will generate, however the more likely it is to spontaneously burst into flame (prior to the spark plug igniting it). Higher octane gasolines prevent this sort of early combustion. High-performance cars generally use high octane gasoline – because the engines use high compression ratios.
Stuff more into each cylinder – you can get more power from the cylinder, if you can cram more air (and therefore fuel) into a cylinder of a given size. Turbo chargers and super chargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder.
Cool the incoming air – It get pretty hot when compressing air. You would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is the less it will expand when combustion takes place. An intercooler is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder. Therefore many turbo charged and super charged cars have an intercooler.
Let air come in more easily – As a piston moves down in the intake stroke, air resistance can rob power from the engine. Air resistance can be lessened dramatically by putting two intake valves in each cylinder. Some newer cars are also using polished intake manifolds to eliminate air resistance there. Bigger air filters can also improve air flow.
Let exhaust exit more easily – If air resistance makes it hard for exhaust to exit a cylinder, it robs the engine of power. Air resistance can be lessened by adding a second exhaust valve to each cylinder (a car with 2 intake and 2 exhaust values has 4 valves per cylinder, which improves performance – when you hear a car ad tell you the car has 4 cylinders and 16 valves, what the ad is saying is that the engine has four valves per cylinder). If the exhaust pipe is too small or the muffler has a lot of air resistance then this can cause back-pressure which has the same effect. High-performance exhaust systems use headers, big tail pipes and free-flowing mufflers to eliminate back-pressure in the exhaust system. When you hear that a car has “Dual Exhaust”, the goal is to improve the flow of exhaust by having two exhaust pipes instead of one.
Try making everything lighter – The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes. Lightweight parts help the engine perform better. Each time a piston changes direction it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another.
Inject the fuel – This improves performance and fuel economy. Fuel injection allows very precise metering of fuel to each cylinder.
Read the rest »
June 28th, 2009 by engineering magazines
Like any piece of machinery, a
car needs an extra amount of maintenance and protection during seasons where the temperature spikes or falls drastically. On such occasions, regularly checking your car for damage and necessary replacements such as car seat covers, windshields, engine oil status, and car floor mats, not only lengthens the service life of your car, but also maintains comfort and cleanliness.
Winter / Extreme Cold
Driving through blizzards, iced roads, and chilly air is way different than driving through the bliss of a summer breeze. While safe driving is imperative all year long, driving during winter requires a lot of precaution and necessary steps to ensure optimum car control, safety and comfort.
Speaking of comfort, changing the interior of a car to suit the cold weather is a must. Ditching those old sets of cotton jeep seat covers and switching to sheepskin car seat covers is one of the best ways to keep warm inside a car while a snowstorm is brewing outside. A great addition to provide some warmth inside a vehicle is a car warmer to complement those thick sheepskin jeep seat covers. Apart from generating heat to the car’s interior, car warmers also prevent vehicles from icing up and becoming brittle. Placing thick car floor mats can also help insulate your car and create warmth.
Replacing regular tires with winter tires is also a good option to maintain maneuverability of the vehicle whendriving on snow and ice-covered roads. Winter tires offer better grip and road traction because special treads enable the snow to slide off as the tire rolls.
To keep the car engine in tip-top shape throughout the winter, make sure that you put an antifreeze solution in your radiator every day to keep your engine from frosting. A 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze solution at full level every single day will keep your engine running and protected from the biting cold. Keeping a daily track of the engine oil and other motor fluids, such as steering and brake fluids, is also a must to ensure the optimum performance of the car and your safety as well.
You must also stock on windshield washer fluid in conjunction to replacing the wiper blades as you need to keep the windshield clean when driving out. Battery state must also be checked frequently because extreme cold strips the battery of its charge. Washing and waxing the car on a regular basis not only gives the car a boost in terms of looks during the winter, but also protects the body, the chassis, and the tires from salt corrosion.
Extreme Heat
When driving though extremely hot regions, such as deserts, or areas affected by heat waves, it is best that you prep your vehicle and yourself for the significant rise in temperature. Unchecked vehicles cruising through a heat wave may end up with blown tires or melted rubber accessories under the hood. Hoses, engine belts, and tires are made of rubber. Under extreme heat, they can easily cause a total breakdown of your vehicle.
Checking the pressure of your tires not only prevents them from blowing up, but allows you to see if they need to be replaced. Worn-out tires are very vulnerable of blowing up under tremendous heat. Aside from tires, checking the engine for clogged air filters, corroded battery posts and the coolant level of your car before heading out to the road or desert trail is pretty much an imperative.
You can leave air-conditioning out in the equation, as it is the one that provides interior cooling. Checking the status of the air-conditioning system’s refrigerant is one way to keep the cooling system running smooth.
Read the rest »
June 25th, 2009 by engineering magazines
The
car may be one of their most valuable investment. However, maintenance and keeping it at its optimum condition can be very costly. There are many factors that influence money to keep your car. Their driving habits, the type of car, the car engine performance can be some of these factors.
To be able to obtain a good understanding of what really are the factors why you leave your wallet empty, below the list of “must formulate proposals” on driving, maintenance, or buying a car:
List options before knowing what vehicle you definitely need. Taking a little ‘time to list down things you will use your car to determine the differences between their real needs and wishes. It ‘important to remember that any further want to add more of what you definitely need will cost not only during the time of buying, but in the majority of cases on the right track, with an increase in the cost of maintenance and operational costs.
Adopt measures to reduce their operating costs. The moment you have a car, take some simple steps may reduce their operating costs with hundreds of dollars. For example, if it reduces its consumption of gas at $ 20 per week, will save more than $ 1000 a year. For a simple change of some driving habits and pay more attention and utmost care for their
cars, many of the people can easily save this amount.
Driving within the speed limit. Vehicles use approximately 20% more fuel driving at 70 miles per hour what they do at 55 mph.
Avoid using your car’s air conditioning whenever it is possible. If not necessarily hot, just choose not to use their air conditioning. Air conditioning may reduce fuel economy by 10% to 20%.
Avoid hitting roads in poor conditions. Help on gravel or dirt roads can lower fuel efficiency up to 30%. It is good for the paved roads where practicable.
Travel light. Be sure to remove all the excess weight from your vehicle. Do not use your vehicle’s trunk as a storage space. This adds unnecessary pounds to the weight of the car, consequently, reduces the car fuel efficiency.
Drive with ease. When driving, always try to slowly accelerate, brake gradually and avoid stops that are unnecessary. Gunning the engine, accelerating rapidly, and stopping abruptly are fuel wasters.
Avoid stop and go driving. Traffic may be one of the most gas consuming situation driving can be. When you’re stuck in traffic, trying to maintain a crawl. As the hills or steep slopes, the first to speed up the hill. Accelerating once on a slope much more gas is consumed.
Visit car service regularly. When doing this, always be sure to pay special attention to oil filters. Blocked air filters increase fuel waste. Try to also check the alignment of your car like this can attribute to engine drag that will also add to gas wastage.
Calculate your fuel. Occasionally, take time to calculate and check your car fuel efficiency. The loss of fuel efficiency of your car is an indication of any mechanical problems.
Read the rest »
Tags: Cold Weather, Combustion Chamber, Connecting Rods, Crankshaft, Diesel Engine, Diesel Engines, Diesel Fuel, Drive Shaft, Earth Moving Equipment, Fuel Consumption, Fuel Filter, Fuel Lines, Gasoline Engine, Glow Plug, Marine Engines, Mileage Cars, Pressure Increases, Rudolph Diesel, Stroke Diesel, Upward Stroke
