Presented free with Issue 181 of Diesel Car DIESEL POWER

The ultimate guide to diesel motoring

GLOSSARY OF TERMS
We unwrap those techie terms that may otherwise have you quite flummoxed
Biodiesel Hydrocarbons (HC) Particulate trap
A diesel fuel made from vegetable Any chemical compound composed only A device in the exhaust system that
material, most often rape-seed oil. Burns of carbon and hydrogen. The principal collects particulates in order to avoid
particularly cleanly and is carbon constituent of petroleum, diesel and them being liberated into the
neutral. natural gas. Not good to release into the atmosphere, and occasionally burns
them off to prevent clogging of the
Common rail (CR) atmosphere as it can cause exhaust.
Popular, accurate and flexible computer- photochemical smog.
controlled diesel injection systems
favoured by many manufacturers. Indirect injection (IDI) Pilot injection
Currently limited to 1600 bar injection Old, less efficient combustion chamber Instead of a single injection of fuel,
pressure. modern diesel engines inject different
design for car diesels where fuel is quantities of fuel at different stages of
injected into a pre-combustion or swirl the combustion process in order to lower
CO2 (carbon dioxide) chamber before being fed into the emission and noise levels.
Principal greenhouse gas created by fuel cylinder.
combustion; the lower the fuel Power
consumption, the lower the CO2 The maximum amount of work an
emissions (measured in grammes of the Injector
The valve that allows diesel fuel at high engine can do - a function of torque
stuff per kilometre). multiplied by revs. It is measured in
pressure to be injected into the engine
brake horsepower (bhp) or kilowatts
DeNOx catalyst cylinder. On non-electronic injection (kW).
A forthcoming catalytic converter for use systems the valve is opened purely by the
in the diesel exhaust system to convert pressure of the fuel acting against a Pumpe-dse (PD)
harmful oxides of nitrogen to harmless spring, while with common rail and Unit injection system where injector and
nitrogen. Requires diesel fuel with a pumpe dse systems the injectors are high-pressure pump are integrated as
sulphur content no greater than 10ppm opened by solenoid. one unit per cylinder. Allows incredibly
(parts per million). high injection pressures (2050 bar) for
In-line injection pump higher torque and reduced emissions.
Diesel knock Favoured by Volkswagen.
The stray rattling sounds caused by the The original mechanical diesel injection
incorrect combustion of diesel fuel pump, driven from the engine, and Rotary distributor pump
usually because of faulty fuel injection or comprising a camshaft over the cams of The most ubiquitous car-diesel injection
bad injection timing. which are individual high-pressure pump, driven from the crankshaft, which
pumping elements, one serving each draws fuel from the tank, pressurises it to
Direct injection (DI) cylinder injector. 700-1200 bar, and injects it to each
Current, more efficient combustion cylinder injector in turn, at the correct
chamber design for diesel cars where fuel time.
is injected straight into the engines LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas)
cylinder rather than an antechamber. A gaseous natural by-product of the
refining process of petrol that makes a
Thermal efficiency
The amount of energy usefully derived
Dual-fuel particularly clean fuel for petrol engines from a fuel, compared with the fuel's
A petrol-powered vehicle that has been to combust. Also known as propane. energy content.
converted to run on gas or petrol.
Because the two fuels cannot be injected NOX (oxides of nitrogen) Torque
into a petrol engine at the same time, the Harmful gases produced by high In simple terms, pulling power, which is
vehicle runs one or the other, hence dual- combustion pressures and an excess of more relevant than absolute power to
fuel. everyday performance. Torque is
oxygen; can cause respiratory disorders
measured in pounds feet (lb ft) or Newton
Euro2, 3, 4 and acid rain. metres (Nm).
A set of emission standards agreed by the
European Union that all motor Particulates Turbo-intercooling
manufacturers must abide by. Diesels Solid carbon-based particles in exhaust An engine that is turbocharged and
currently need to meet Euro3, though gases, which come in an array of sizes, intercooled is more powerful, cleaner and
Euro4 standards will be imposed at the all microscopic. The larger particulates more thermally efficient than one that
start of 2005. produced by diesels (compared with isn't. The turbocharger, driven by heat
petrol engines) have for long been a energy in the exhaust gases, compresses
Glowplugs cause of concern for health reasons,
intake air to pack more oxygen into the
Tiny electrical elements that heat the engine cylinders. The intercooler takes
engines combustion chambers when although now the weight of scientific out much of the heat generated by
cold to aid initial ignition of fuel before evidence suggests that the even smaller compressing the air, so making the intake
the heat induced by compressing the particulates from petrol engines can be charge denser (so ultimately getting more
intake air can do this fully by itself. more harmful to health. oxygen into the cylinders).

G LO SS A R Y O F T E R M S 27