2. Introduction This report will include a brief telling of Rudolf Diesel’s upbringing, social circumstances and education; followed by his research, discoveries and problems he faced within his work. The report will also discuss how the diesel engine is used in the modern world and how the legacy of Rudolf Diesel helped to fuel a new age of automobiles, locomotives and industrial civilisation.
3. The Life and Discoveries of Rudolf Diesel Born to Bavarian immigrants in 1858, Rudolf Diesel began life in Paris, before being deported due to the commencement of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, at which time his family settled in London. Rudolf Diesel was sent by his father to Augsburg to live with his Aunt and Uncle, where the 12 year old …show more content…
Diesel felt he could create an engine that was four times more efficient than a standard engine. In 1892, Diesel was granted a patent for an engine which would burn powdered coal, the cheapest available fuel at the time. One year later, in 1893, he powered the first diesel engine; fuelled by peanut oil at the time, the engine used a compression ignition mechanism that meant it did not require a spark ignition system. According to the inventor himself, “It is the diesel’s higher compression ratio that leads to its greater fuel efficiency. Because the air is compressed, the combustion temperature is higher, and the gases will expand more after combustion, applying more pressure to the piston and crankshaft.” (Famous Scientists