15
The compression ignition engine e
diesel engine
Topics covered in this
chapter
The four-stroke compression ignition engine (CIE)
The Diesel cycle and the dual combustion cycle
The two-stroke CIE
Diesel engine construction
Direct injection engine
Indirect injection engine
Turbulence
Induction stroke turbulence
Combustion in a compression ignition engine
Three phases of combustion
Diesel fuel and products of combustion
Flash point
Pour point
Cloud point
Products of combustion
Emissions limits
Emissions control on CIE
Particulate trap and selective catalyst reduction
Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)
Rudolf Diesel (1858e1913) is generally accepted as the
person who first developed an internal combustion engine
that worked by injecting fuel into compressed air that
was hot enough to ignite the fuel. His patent used these
words: ‘Compressing in a cylinder pure air to such an
extent that the temperature thereby produced is far higher
than the burning or igniting point of the fuel.’ The orig-
inal diesel engines of the type shown in Fig. 15.1(a)
were large and heavy, and they operated at slow speed;
they were used for stationary engines and ships but
were not considered suitable for use in road vehicles.
Around the 1920s, developments in fuel injection
equipment and other technologies led to the develop-
ment of engines of the type shown in Fig. 15.1(b) that
were suitable for use in road vehicles e these engines
work on a cycle of operations that is known as the
dual combustion cycle. For this reason some authorities
Ó 2011 Allan Bonnick and Derek Newbold. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
suggest that the vehicle engines that work on the prin-
ciple of compression ignition should be called compres-
sion ignition engines (CIEs). In modern literature the
terms are used interchangeably.
The four-stroke compression
ignition engine
The four strokes (Fig. 15.2) are:
1. The inlet valve is opened and pure air is drawn into
the cylinder as the piston moves down. This is the
induction stroke.
2. Both of the valves are closed and the piston moves up
the cylinder, compressing the air so that the
temperature rises above the ignition point of the fuel.
The high pressure and temperature is achieved by
a high compression ratio of approximately 20:1. As
the piston approaches top dead centre (TDC), fuel is
injected so that ignition has started by the time that
the piston starts on the next stroke.
3. Both of the valves are closed and the piston is forced
down the cylinder by the expanding gas and fuel
injection continues for a short period. The fuel is shut
off after a few degrees of crank rotation and the high
pressure of the gas forces the piston down the
cylinder on the power stroke.
4. The exhaust valve is opened and the piston rises in
the cylinder, expelling the spent gas through the
exhaust port e at the end of this stroke the engine is
ready to start the next cycle.
The Diesel cycle and the dual
combustion cycle
The difference between the two theoretical cycles can
be seen in pressureevolume diagrams, which are graphs
that are used to show how the gas pressure and the
cylinder volume are related as the piston moves along
the cylinder.
 The compression ignition engine e diesel engine 169

(a) (b)

Fig. 15.1 (a) Diesel engine, 1897 (Mirlees). (b) Diesel engine, 2005 (MAN)

The Diesel cycle The dual combustion cycle

In the Diesel cycle the fuel is injected into the hot air in the
cylinder and the pressure remains constant until fuel injec-
tion ceases. This is represented by the line from 1 to 2 in the
pressureevolume diagram shown in Fig. 15.3(a). At point
2 the gas in the cylinder continues to expand, pushing the
piston along the remainder of the power stroke. Because
the combustion takes place while the pressure remains
constant, the Diesel cycle is also known as the constant-
pressure cycle. This cycle is close to the sequence of events
that takes place in very large diesel engines that operate at
slow speeds of a few hundred revolutions per minute.
In the dual combustion cycle (Fig. 15.3(b)) the fuel
injection starts at point 1; this causes the pressure to
rise rapidly, as shown by the vertical line that ends at
point 2. In this first stage the combustion has taken place
while the volume in the cylinder remains constant.
Between points 2 and 3 further injection takes place,
pushing the piston along the cylinder, while the pressure
remains constant and the gas expands, pushing the
piston down the cylinder. At point 3 combustion ceases
and the gas in the cylinder continues to expand, doing
work on the piston until it reaches the end of the stroke.

Inlet valve Injector

First stroke – Induction.
Inlet valve open – pure air
drawn into cylinder as piston
moves down the stroke.
Second stroke – Compression.
Inlet and exhaust valves
closed. Piston moves up the
stroke. Air is compressed
until it is very hot. Fuel
sprayed into cylinder and
ignites.
Third stroke – Power.
Both valves closed. Further fuel
injected. The burning fuel raises
the pressure in the cylinder and
forces the piston down the cylinder
on the power stroke.
Fourth stroke – Exhaust.
Exhaust valve opens. Piston
raises in the cylinder and
expels the spent gas. Exhaust
valve closes at end of stroke
and inlet valve opens ready
to start the next cycle.

Fig. 15.2 The four-stroke compression ignition cycle

170 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance

1 2
2 3

Pressure
Power

Pressure
Power
1

bar

bar
Comp
Comp

TDC TDC BDC

BDC
(a) Diesel Cycle (b) Dual Combustion Cycle

Fig. 15.3 Diesel and dual combustion cycles

This theoretical cycle is considered to be close to the
cycle of events that takes place in the compression igni-
tion engines used in motor vehicles. Indicator diagrams
for the Diesel cycle and the dual combustion cycle are
shown in Fig. 15.3.
The two-stroke CIE
The two-stroke CIE shown in Fig. 15.4 employs end-to-
end scavenging, where there is a compressor that feeds
compressed air to a ring of ports around the circumfer-
ence of the cylinder and a pair of exhaust valves that
are operated by a camshaft. The air ports are controlled
by the piston. When the piston is at bottom dead centre
the air ports are uncovered and air under pressure enters
the cylinder. At this stage the cylinder is occupied by the
exhausted gas from the previous power stroke e the
entering fresh air is denser and at higher pressure than
the exhaust and this, coupled with the upward motion
of the piston, pushes the exhaust gas out through the
open exhaust valves. As the piston rises further it covers
the air ports; at this stage the exhaust valves close and the
compression process begins. Towards the end of the
compression stage, fuel is injected and combustion takes
place to drive the piston down the cylinder on the power
stage of the cycle. At the end of the compression stage the
air ports are uncovered, the exhaust valves are opened,
and the process is completed in two strokes of the piston.
The compressor is similar to a supercharger and it is nor-
mally gear driven from the crankshaft.
Diesel engine construction
Much of the diesel engine mechanism and structural
details are similar to those found in petrol engines. The
principal differences are concerned with the way in
which combustion takes place and the stronger
components that are required to cope with the high pres-
sures that are needed to produce the temperature required
for combustion. Diesel engines can conveniently be
divided into two types:
1. Direct injection engines
2. Indirect injection engines.

Fig. 15.4 Principle of the two-stroke CIE


Direct injection engines
In the direct injection engine shown in Fig. 15.5 the fuel
is sprayed directly into the cylinder. The circular space
in the piston crown forms part of the combustion
chamber; it is designed to produce turbulence when
air is forced in towards the end of the compression
stroke. This type of turbulence is known as ‘squish’
turbulence because it is produced by the ‘squashing’
of air as the piston forces the air down into the piston
cavity. The injector is normally of the multi-hole type
and operates at a pressure of approximately 180 bar e
the compression ratio of the direct injection engine is
of the order of 16:1, which is somewhat lower than
that used in indirect injection engines.
Indirect injection engines
In the indirect engine (Fig. 15.6) the fuel is sprayed
into a small pre-combustion chamber that is placed in
the cylinder head above the piston. As the piston
approaches TDC, air is forced into the pre-combustion
chamber, which is designed to produce the swirling
action necessary for good combustion.
The combustion that starts in the pre-chamber rapidly
heats the air and the burning fuel, and air is forced into
Direct injection
Cylinder head
Circular
combustion
chamber in
the piston
crown
Fig. 15.5 A direct injection engine
The compression ignition engine e diesel engine 171
the space at the top of the piston, where it mixes with the
main body of air to complete the combustion process.
The injection pressure in the indirect injection engine
is of the order of 120 bar e compression ratios between
22:1 and 28:1 are normal in these engines.
Turbulence
Turbulence is required to ensure that all droplets of fuel
are surrounded by sufficient air to provide the oxygen
that is required for efficient combustion. There are
basically two methods of creating turbulence:
1. Turbulence created on the induction stroke
2. Turbulence created on the compression stroke.
Induction stroke turbulence
Figure 15.7(a) shows the arrangement of the induction
ports on a modern diesel engine. The tangential port is
designed to set up a rotary motion in the air as it passes
through the port into the cylinder on the induction
stroke, as indicated in Fig. 15.7(b).
Injector
Air swirl
Squish
Coolent
jacket
Piston
172 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance

Indirect injection
Injector

Port

Pre-
combustion
chamber

Cylinder Piston
block

Special shape in
the piston crown
induces swirl as
burning mixture
leaves the pre-
combustion chamber

Fig. 15.6 An indirect injection system

1
1. Exhaust port
2. Exhaust valve
3. Fuel injector
2 4. Inlet swirl port
5. Inlet valve
6. Tangential inlet port
4 7. Heater plug

(a) (b)

Fig. 15.7 A tangential inlet port


Combustion in a compression
ignition engine
The power output of a compression ignition engine is
determined by the amount of fuel that is injected e
for low power output such as engine idling a very small
amount of fuel is injected, while for high power output
a large amount of fuel is required. The amount of fuel
injected is determined by the length of time for which
the fuel is injected and this is controlled by the design
of the fuel injection system, which is covered in a later
section. For the time being I wish to concentrate on the
process of combustion.
Three phases of combustion
Sir Harry Ricardo, the founder of the Ricardo research
laboratories at Shoreham in Sussex, first put forward
the idea that combustion in a compression ignition engine
takes place in three separate phases. The graph in
Fig. 15.8 shows how pressure, temperature, and heat
release from combustion changes from the point at which
injection of fuel starts. Images (a)e(d) are photographs of
the cylinder contents from the start of injection at about
a. Start of injection
b. Combustion begins
a
c. Peak rate of heat release
-30 -20
d. Combustion by turbulent
diffusion
Fig. 15.8 Compression ignition engine combustion (Lucas CAV)
The compression ignition engine e diesel engine 173
258 before TDC, through to full combustion, which
continues some way down the power stroke. The three
phases of combustion shown in Fig. 15.8 are:
1. The first phase, from (a) to (b). This is known as the
delay period. In this period the fuel is sprayed into the
dense high-pressure and high-temperature air, and
a small period of time elapses during which the tiny
particles of fuel are being evaporated. The resultant
fuel vapour must then be brought into contact with
oxygen so that combustion can start. The length of the
delay period depends on several factors, such as:
 The ignition quality of the fuel (cetane rating).
 The relative velocity between the fuel and the air
in the cylinder (turbulence).
 The fineness of the atomization of the fuel.
 The airefuel ratio.
 The temperature and pressure of the air in the
cylinder.
 The presence of residual exhaust gas from the
previous cycle.
2. The second phase, from (b) to (c). This is the period
when combustion spreads rapidly through the
combustion space, leading to a rapid rise in pressure.
The rate at which pressure rises in this phase governs
Maximum gas pressure Max gas temperature
approx. 55 bar approx. 1850 K
c
b
-10 TDC 10 20 30 40 50 60
Crank angle (degrees)
174 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance
the extent of combustion knock, which is a feature of
compression ignition engines and is known as ‘diesel
knock’.
3. The third phase, from (c) to (d), is the period when
combustion is fully operational and the flame spreads
to encompass all of the fuel. In this phase the
pressure continues to rise at a more gradual rate until
injection ceases a few degrees later. After this the
expansive working effect of the gas drives the piston
down the remainder of the power stroke.
Diesel fuel and products of
combustion
Diesel fuel
Diesel fuel has a calorific value of approximately
45 MJ/kg and a specific gravity of about 0.8 g/cm3.
The ignition quality of diesel fuel is denoted by the
cetane number; a figure of 50 indicates good ignition
properties. Among other properties of diesel fuel that
affect normal operation are flash point, pour point,
and cloud point or cold filter plugging point.
Flash point
The flash point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at
which sufficient vapour is given off to cause temporary
burning when a flame is introduced near the surface. A
figure of 1258 F (528 C) minimum is quoted in some
specifications.
Pour point
The pour point of a fuel is the temperature at which the
fuel begins to thicken and congeal and can no longer be
poured from a container; a pour point of 2188 C is
considered suitable for some conditions.
Cloud point
The cloud point, which is sometimes known as the cold
filter plugging point (CFPP), is the temperature at which
the fuel begins to have a cloudy appearance and will no
longer flow freely through a filtering medium. The cloud
point is normally a few 8 C higher than the pour point.
Note
These figures for diesel fuel are approximate and are
presented here as a guide only. Readers who require
more detailed information are advised to contact
their fuel supplier.
Products of combustion
Exhaust gases are the products of combustion and under
ideal circumstances they would comprise carbon
dioxide, steam (water), and nitrogen. However, owing
to the large range of operating conditions that engines
experience, exhaust gas contains several other gases
and substances, such as:
 CO e carbon monoxide due to excess fuel and
incomplete combustion.
 NOx e oxides of nitrogen arising from extremely
high combustion temperature.
 HC e hydrocarbons arising largely from incomplete
combustion.
 PM e particulate material. The bulk of PM is soot,
which is incompletely burnt carbon. Other
particulates arise from lubricating oil on cylinder
walls and metallic substances from engine wear.
 SO2 e sulphur dioxide. Some diesel fuels contain
small amounts of sulphur, which combines with
oxygen during combustion to form SO2. This in turn
can combine with water to form sulphurous acid.
 CO2 e carbon dioxide is not treated as a harmful
emission but it is considered to be a major contributor
to the greenhouse effect and efforts are constantly
being made to reduce the amount that is produced. In
the UK the quantity of CO2 that a vehicle produces in
a standard test appears in the specification, and
vehicle taxation (road tax) is less for small CO2
emitters than it is for large ones.
Emissions limits
In the UK the emissions limits are set by the European
Union. The limits are the subject of constant review e
those shown in Table 15.1 are for the standards known
as Euro 4. The figures apply to vehicles as they leave
the manufacturer; once in service the standards set by
the UK Department for Transport apply and it is their
figures that are used in the annual tests that are known
as the MOT.
At the time of writing the test is conducted by passing
the exhaust gas through an approved apparatus such as
the Hartridge smoke meter, which measures the opacity
of the exhaust gas. Figure 15.9 shows how the opacity of
the exaust gas relates to the Hartridge and the Bosch
scales.
Emissions control on the CIE
The airefuel ratio in compression ignition engines
varies from very weak (probably 50:1) to slightly rich
(12:1), and combustion temperatures are high. The
three-way catalyst used with petrol engines is not suit-
able for use with compression ignition engines because
Table 15.1 Emissions limits (g/km)
CO HC HC 1 NOx NOx PM
Petrol 1.0 0.10 e 0.08 e
Diesel 0.50 e 0.30 0.25 0.025
 The compression ignition engine e diesel engine 175

Light absorption coefficient [m-1]

0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0

3.5

4.0

5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
Hartridge smoke units [HSU]

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90
Bosch number [BN]

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

6.5
7.0
7.5
Fig. 15.9 Smoke meter scales

it requires the airefuel ratio to be held near to 15:1 and
alternative methods of dealing with harmful emissions
are used. The two systems that are used on heavy vehi-
cles are:
1. Selective catalyst reduction (SCR) and a particulate
matter (PM) filter.
2. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR).
Particulate trap and selective
catalyst reduction
The three-way catalyst used on petrol engines requires
an airefuel ratio of about 15:1. Diesel engines operate
on mixture strengths that may be as low as 40:1, which
means that an alternative system is used to reduce NOx.
On light vehicles there is a tendency to rely on exhaust
gas recirculation to limit NOx and an oxidation catalyst
to control HC; in addition, a particulate filter may be
used to deal with soot and other particulates. This
system is shown in outline in Fig. 15.10.
There is some debate in the heavy vehicle field about
the most suitable system for exhaust gas after treatment,
and some large vehicles are equipped with an alternative
system of the type shown in Fig. 15.11.
The exhaust gas is first passed through the oxidation
catalyst and particulate filter. The high concentration of
oxygen in the fueleair mixture and the relatively high
temperature allow the oxidation catalyst to convert HC
and CO into CO2 and H2O. The gas then enters the partic-
ulate filter, where the soot and other materials are filtered
out. Any PM that is deposited in the filter can be removed
later by active regeneration, which is combustion with
oxygen at approximately 6008 C; this is achieved by
a temporary increase in the amount of fuel injected.
The regeneration process is performed by the engine
management system at intervals dictated by operating
conditions. After passing through the oxidation catalyst
and particulate filter, a solution of pure water and urea
is injected into the exhaust stream, where it reacts with
the catalyst to reduce the NOx to water vapour and
nitrogen. In Europe the solution of pure water and urea
is called AdBlue and is carried in a small tank that is
about 20% of the capacity of the main fuel tank, and it
is normally placed next to it, as shown in Fig. 15.12.

Oxidising catalyst Particulate filter

Oxygen sensor

CAT P.F.

Pressure differential
sensor

Fig. 15.10 Light diesel exhaust engine emission control

N0x – oxides of nitrogen

Hc – hydrocarbons – Urea injection
unburnt fuel Nitrogen
PM – soot etc. H2O – Water vapour
Plus normal exhaust Plus normal exhaust gas
gas
1 2 3

1. Particular filter
2. Oxidation catalyst
3. Selective reduction catalyst

Fig. 15.11 A heavy diesel engine selective catalyst reduction system

176 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance
Fig. 15.12 The AdBlue tank
Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are formed when combustion
temperatures are high, as they are in compression igni-
tion engines. Exhaust gas contains considerable
amounts of CO2 and H2O and small amounts added to
the incoming air charge reduce the combustion temper-
ature and the production of NOx. An electrically oper-
ated EGR valve of the type shown in Fig. 15.3 that
operates under the control of the engine management
computer is placed between the exhaust and air intake
systems. The engine computer is programmed to recir-
culate exhaust gas when operating conditions are suit-
able e in most cases a quantity of exhaust gas
equivalent to about 15% of the air intake is recirculated
Fig. 15.13 Exhaust gas recirculation
when the engine is running between idling speed and
full load.
Self-assessment questions
1. Why are diesel engines sometimes referred to as
compression ignition engines?
2. How is ignition of the fuel achieved in a diesel
engine?
3. How does the compression ratio of a diesel
compare with that of a petrol engine?
4. How does exhaust gas recirculation help to reduce
NOx emissions?
5. What is meant by the term ‘particulate matter’?
6. How does the airefuel ratio of a diesel engine vary
across the engine speed and power range?
7. Give an approximate value of the airefuel ratio for
a diesel engine at idling speed.
8. What effect on cold weather starting will low
compression pressure have on a diesel engine?
9. Why doesn’t a three-way catalyst work on diesel
exhaust?
10. Describe the procedure for conducting the MOT
exhaust gas test on a light vehicle equipped with
a turbocharged engine.
11. What is the approximate maximum temperature
reached in a diesel engine?