The Diesel Cycle



This is a picture of the Diesel Cycle assignment we were given to complete as homework. It also turned out to be the quiz we were given on Wednesday. The values obtained from the calculations seemed reasonable, and the efficiency of the engine turned out to be 63.7%. I believe the ideal efficiency of a diesel engine is somewhere around 60%, so I was satisfied with my answer.

These are the calculations that were performed during the diesel cycle quiz. I did not have very much trouble performing these calculations until I tried to calculate the work for the adiabatic expansion from point 3 to point 4. I was using an equation that we derived in class(I think), and it worked well enough for the adiabatic compression. However, it did not work so well for the adiabatic expansion. In fact, the engine would have an efficiency of 398% with that value. I do not fully understand why that equation works for compression and not for expansion, but I used the formula for work in an adiabatic process provided in Professor Mason's class notes, and the calculated value made much more sense.

     This Saturday was the STEM Presentation and Poster Competition! Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for the entire event, but I was there for the first few hours or so. It was a great experience.