Rudolf Diesel

 This adventure is a look at the creator of the Diesel engine. Rudolph Diesel was a French Mechanical engineer who is of German origin. He had a 'turbulent' upbringing moving around Western Europe until he decided to become an engineer studying at the Royal Bavarian Polytechnic of Munich.

In 1890 Diesel moved to Berlin with his wife and children. He worked in a refrigeration company where he went beyond engineering refrigerators. He explored how he could make engines. He first made an ammonia vapour steam engine through his study of thermal and fuel efficiency. However, during his tests of the engine he was very nearly killed and was hospitalised for a year. During this year he developed the first sketches of his famous diesel engine.

Diesels aim for his new engine was to improve on the thermal efficiency of the Carnot cycle. The Carnot cycle is the upper limit on the efficiency of a classical engine converting heat into work done (energy). The cycle can also be used in refrigeration to change the temperature through the application of work to the system. There are 2 reservoirs that transfer heat between them allowing entropy to be conserved as it is converted into work done. The work done is dependent on the temperature of the thermal reservoirs. This is a brief introduction to the cycle and a small paragraph doesn't do it justice. 

Anyway, Diesel made the cycle more efficient by utilising compression of gases to generate more power. The engine relied on the simple 4 step process: intake, compression, combustion and exhaust. The engine Diesel made is most comparable to a modern day 4 stroke engine. Let me explain how this 4 step process works.

Intake - air and fuel go into the combustion chamber through the intake valve.

Compression - The valves close and a piston squeezes the air - fuel mixture 

Combustion - The air and fuel create a spark, there is a bit of chemistry here so I'll have to make a post on why they create a spark.

Exhaust - The exhaust valve opens letting the mixture out and propelling the car.

The engine had a profound impact on the world at the time. The engine had an efficient of around 50%, which is pretty good even for today's standards. The second most efficient engine was the steam engine, it had an efficiency of around 7%. Assuming maximal loss it would have an efficient of around 30%, which is still amazing for the time. His initial theory he published in 1893 was wrong, but he corrected it in 1893 to form the basis of how diesel engines work.

Although Diesel had revolutionised the engine industry it did not come without consequences. Diesel died in 1913, he was not in his room on the ship he was on crossing the channel. There are theories that he committed suicide, or that the spiteful coal and steam owners had killed him. Nonetheless it is a strange death, but that is not the point of this blog post and page. I hope you enjoyed this adventure and enjoy the next few to come.