10 Components of Diesel Engines, How They Work and Their Functions

Speaking of vehicle engines, some use diesel engines and gasoline engines. Essentially, diesel engines are used in larger vehicles such as buses or trucks. However, currently, diesel engines are also used in SUV and MPV types of cars. Therefore, it is essential to know more about the components of diesel engines, along with their workings and functions. This knowledge can enhance your understanding when choosing between a diesel or gasoline engine car. To help you understand better, let’s take a look at the following review.

Components of Diesel Engines

Inside a diesel engine vehicle, there are various engine components. Here are the complete components.

1. Cylinder Block

This component is designed with high precision, made of sturdy iron, and is large in size. Thus, other engine components can be placed on the cylinder block.

Within this component, you can find other components such as water jackets and oil holes. The water jacket functions to cool the engine, while the oil hole serves to enhance the distribution of engine oil to all other engine components.

2. Cylinder Head

This component serves as the combustion chamber between the compressed air and fuel. In this cylinder head component, there are other components such as rocker arms, valve springs, camshafts, and combustion tanks.

3. Crankshaft

This component functions to convert the up-and-down motion of the piston into rotational motion. Therefore, it is often referred to as the crankshaft. Inside this component, there are other components such as weight balance, crank journals, and crank pins to support its mechanism.

4. Piston and Piston Rod

The piston functions to regulate the cylinder volume so that the engine can operate efficiently. Meanwhile, the piston rod serves as the transmitter of the up-and-down motion of the piston to be delivered to the flywheel.

5. Flywheel

The flywheel component functions as a torque storage and starts the engine by moving the gears on the outer part of the flywheel. This way, the engine rotation becomes balanced.

6. Timing Chain

This component serves as a link between the crankshaft and the camshaft.

7. Glow Plug

This component functions like a spark plug in gasoline engine vehicles. It can convert air temperature into heat so that diesel can be ignited and produce power.

8. Oil Pan

This component serves as an oil reservoir and distributor of oil to the cylinder block.

9. Valve

This component serves as the entrance and exit for gases from the combustion process.

10. Timing Gear

This component functions to control the rhythm of the valves when opening and closing, as well as controlling the rhythm of fuel injection combustion.

Function of Diesel Engines

The main function of the components in a diesel engine is to start the engine so that the car can move. It is quite similar to the function of the heart in humans.

How Diesel Engines Work

The operation of a diesel engine is divided into several phases. Here are the complete phases.

1. Intake Phase

In the intake phase, the intake valve opens so that air can enter the combustion chamber through the intake manifold. This occurs because the piston moves from TDC (Top Dead Center) to BDC (Bottom Dead Center), causing the combustion chamber to expand.

2. Compression Phase

Next, the piston moves from BDC to TDC, causing the intake and exhaust valves to close. The piston ratio will change to 15 to 1 and 22 to 1, generating a pressure of forty bars. Thus, the air temperature will increase to 550 degrees Celsius.

3. Combustion Phase

Next, the piston will perform the power stroke. The increased temperature will cause the diesel to ignite.

4. Exhaust Phase

This phase is the final phase because when the piston is about to rise to the TDC position, the exhaust valve opens. Thus, the gases from the combustion residue will be expelled through the exhaust.

How is it? Now you have a better understanding of the components of diesel engines, right? I hope the information above is useful!

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