I hope this is the right place to post this thread. I am writing a research paper, and it is about the diesel engine.

What technical advancements have allowed the diesel engine to become more reliable and efficient? This is the question that I need to answer.

I need information for this to write a research paper that will be 5 pages

Any help would be appreciated



Thanks

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Dave

1985 190D 2.2 auto--gone
1975 240D 4-speed--storage
1985 500SEL--daily driver
1985 300TD--bad rust, soon to part out...
1982 300SD--waiting on engine from RD
1984 190E--storage
1996 Dodge 2500 Cummins--daily driver

Start with the beginning. Moving from burning coal dust to burning diesel fuel advanced the engine's efficiency (probably?), then move up thru the variety of improvements to common rail computer controlled injection systems.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

To get you started -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine

Nick,

Theres a lot of info out there on it, depending on how technical you want to get. My mechanical engineering friends had textbooks with chapters on diesel technology, and there are whole textbook on it with detailed practical methods for modern diesels. A little searching on amazon will have great results, or a trip to the library. Citations of actual books look much better on research papers :-)

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Start at the beginning and work towards 2007. 5 pages is kind of short so you won't be able to get into much detail.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

...and make sure you mention the "mysterious" circumstances of Rudolf Diesel's death.

Professors seem to like that (I did a paper or two on the diesel engine back in my day).

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'79 300SD
'82 Chevy Chevette diesel

Wikipedia is a GREAT way to get started. But try not to cite to it. Use it to point you in the right direction. Citing to wikipedia shows laziness (which is good in practice..not in research).

How Stuff Works is a good site for some of the basic technical background.

__________________
1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)

For Appendices, take 2 sheets of white paper and hold them under the exhaust for 1 minute after two different diesels cold start, one of our classic 616 or 617 MB's and the other a new Jetta or something. Might be a compelling example.
If you really want a contrast, get a video of a CAT 3208 starting in cold weather. Mine fogs the whole neighborhood.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Piezoelectric injectors - 5 to 7 injections per combustion event. Mind bogglingly fast, this IS the engine technology that allows new light duty diesels to be 50 state emissions compliant...

https://www.ct.siemens.com/en/technologies/ps/beispiele/piezo.html


others might say urea injection or particulate traps, but thats really emission/exhaust technology.

Good luck on your paper, folks here are so enthusiastic about compression ignition engines that someone might just write it for you.

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Cheers,
Robert