A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is also called a compression-ignition engine (or CI engine).
Diesel engine, any internal-combustion engine in which air is compressed to a sufficiently high temperature to ignite diesel fuel (distillates of heavy hydrocarbons) injected into the cylinder, where combustion and expansion actuate a piston.
Diesel engines are the power behind our biggest machines—trucks, trains, ships, and submarines. On the face of it, they're similar to ordinary gasoline (petrol) engines but they generate more power, more efficiently by working in a subtly different way. Let's take a closer look!
In theory, diesel engines and gasoline engines are quite similar. They are both internal combustion engines designed to convert the chemical energy available in fuel into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy moves pistons up and down inside cylinders.
In diesel engines, internal combustion results in expansion of high-temperature, high-pressure gases, which in turn move pistons, transforming chemical energy into mechanical energy.
Diesel engines, like gas engines, are internal diesel combustion engines that convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. This process moves pistons up and down inside cylinders, which then leads to the motion that turns the wheels of a vehicle.
The diesel engine is an internal combustion machine developed by inventor Rudolf Diesel in the 1890s. This power unit converts the chemical energy stored in fuel into mechanical work through controlled explosions inside metal cylinders.
What Is a Diesel Engine? A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses compression ignition to burn fuel. Unlike gasoline engines, which rely on spark plugs to ignite a fuel-air mixture, diesel engines compress air to extremely high pressures, which raises its temperature.