That was when Rudolf Diesel hit on the idea of establishing an effective engine efficiency which could exceed 10-12%, then is an indicator of steam engines. With the construction and working principle of the future diesel engine are relatively fast: it is an internal combustion engine with the ignition of fuel from the heat of compressed gas. However, in the process of creating a working copy of difficulty: high pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber drive motor to get burned pistons, engine parts breakdowns, and sometimes even an explosion. In the end, to refine and giving aggregate sufficient reliability took a few years. But the 1897 goal was finally reached: the enormous five-ton engine, developed by 20ls 173ob/min and had a 26% efficiency.
Even promising Otto engine with forced ignition from only 20%! Why do diesel engines have turned out so economical? It has two fundamental reasons. The first is a high-compression diesel engines: 13 to 25 to 12 in the best representatives of the gasoline. These figures should not be underestimated, because on them depends the efficiency of motor: higher than they are, the more extended hot exhaust gases, and, accordingly, the more their thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy. Therefore, if we compare the modern diesel and gasoline engines, the first able to absorb 38-50% of heat released during combustion of fuel, and the second – only 25-38%. A reasonable question: what prevents raise the compression ratio of gasoline engines? Prevents detonation, ie, spontaneous ignition of the fuel-air mixture from the intense heat at too high compression.