CONTENTS
Sr no Description Pg no
1 Abstract 3
2 Introduction to Common Rail 4
3 Structure of Common Rail Direct Injection System 5
4 Common Rail Injection System 13
5 Operating Principle 14
6 Advantages 17
7 An insight to Cdi Engine 18
8 Principle in VTEC Engines 20
9 Principle in VVTi Engines 21
10 Conclusion 22
MESA
ABSTRACT
Looking at the 3.6 million years since man has evolved the invention of
passenger cars seems only yesterday, but since the first cars produced by Sir Henry
Ford there have been tremendous achievements in the field of engine performance
and design. We now have engines running on countless kinds of fuels producing un-
imaginable power outputs.
Among the many factors responsible for improvement in the engine has been the fuel
injection system with the addition of cylinders and various other components. The
injector has been a step forward from the age-old carburetor, thereby improving the
performance of the engine.
One now has the choice of various fuel injection systems such as
1. Inline type
2. Distributor type
3. Common rail type
With the state-of-the-art common-rail direct fuel injection we have achieved an
ideal compromise between economy, torque, ride comfort and long life. Whereas
conventional direct-injection diesel engines must repeatedly generate fuel pressure for
each injection, in the Common rail injection engines the pressure is built up
independently of the injection sequence and remains permanently available in the fuel
[Link] for lower fuel consumption, reduced exhaust gas emissions, and quiet
engines are making greater demands on the engine and fuel injection system. These
demands can only be met by a fuel injection system that atomizes fuel at the nozzle
finely enough and at high injection pressure. At the same time the injected fuel
quantity must be very precisely metered, the rate of discharge curve must have an
exact shape, and pre-injection and secondary injection must be performable. A system
that meets these demands is the common rail fuel injection system. The common rail
upstream of the cylinders acts as an accumulator, distributing the fuel to the injectors
at a constant pressure of up to 1600 bar. Here high-speed solenoid valves, regulated
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by the electronic engine management, separately control the injection timing and the
amount of fuel injected for each cylinder as a function of the cylinder's actual need.
COMMON RAIL DIESEL INJECTION
INTRODUCTION
Diesels known for their power handling capabilities acquired the title workhorse
engines. Diesels may reside in heavy-duty trucks, buses, tractors, and trains, not to
mention large ships, bulldozers, cranes, and other construction equipment. Gasoline
engines might dwell in the typical passenger vehicle, lawn equipment and recreational
vehicles.
There are basically 2 types of popular engines used in the world today:
1. Petrol engines
2. Diesel engines
Petrol fuel is injected as an air/fuel mixture into the combustion chamber and
ignited by the spark from spark plugs.
Diesel fuel is pressurized and injected into the combustion chamber through a
fuel injector nozzle, just when the air in the chamber has been subjected to high
pressure that it is hot enough to ignite the fuel spontaneously.
Traditional fuel injection systems for diesel engines are designed with the
objective to secure acceptable fuel spray characteristics during the combustion
process at all load conditions. Incorrect injection causes reduced efficiency and
increased emission of harmful species.. Among the advantages claimed with respect
to the common rail concept are injection rate shaping, variable timing and duration of
the injection, in addition to variable injection pressure, enabling high injection pressure
even at low engine loads. Medium speed diesel engines are different from the
automotive diesel engines, especially in that the majority of them operate at
constant load and speed most of the time, and the advantages of the more
complicated common rail system may not be justified. The common rail injection
system is not capable of supplying all possible rate shapes, and rate shaping is mostly
restricted to delivering a pre injection prior to the main injection. When the rate of
injection is the key to an effective combustion process, it is vital to determine how the
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rate of injection from the common rail system compares to the rate of injection from a
traditional injection system.
STRUCTURE OF COMMON RAIL DIRECT INJECTION SYSTEM
The Common Rail Direct Diesel Injection system consists of the following parts:
Injection nozzle:
Injects fuel into the combustion chamber (for direct injection) or pre-combustion (for
indirect injection).
Fuel Supply Pump:
The fuel supply pump in low pressure stage is responsible for maintaining an
adequate supply of fuel to the high pressure components. This applies:
1. Irrespective of operating state.
2. With a minimum of noise.
3. at necessary pressure.
4. Throughout the vehicle’s service life.
The fuel supply pump draws fuel out of the fuel tank and conveys it
continuously in the required quantity to the high pressure fuel injection installation.
Many pumps bleed themselves automatically so that starting is possible even when
fuel tank has run dry.
There are three designs:
1. electric fuel pump
2. Mechanically driven gear pump
3. Tandem fuel pumps.
In axial-piston and radial-piston distributor pumps, a vane type supply pump is used as
pre-supply pump and is integrated directly in the fuel injection pump.
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Fuel Filter:
The service life design of the fuel injection system depends on a specific
minimum purity of the fuel. Functions of fuel filter are:
1. Particulate filtration:.
2. Water Separation:
Two filters can also be fitted in parallel, resulting in greater particulate storage
capacity. Connecting the filter in series produces a higher filtration efficiency. Pre-filter
is fitted on the suction or pressure side if requirements are particularly high with a filter
fineness matched to the main filter.
The Rail of Common Rail Injection System:
The common rail is a modular system,
and can therefore be easily adapted for
different engines.
Besides acting aas fuel accumulator,
the fuel rail also distributes fuel to the
injectors. The function of the high
pressure accumulator is to maintain the
fuel at high pressure. In so doing
accumulator volume has to dampen pressure fluctuations caused by fuel pulses
delivered by the fuel pump and the fuel injection cycles. This ensures that, when the
injector opens the injection pressure remains constant.
High-pressure Line:
In common rail systems, they serve as the connection between the high pressure
pump and the rail and from rail to the injector. The pipe is made of steel as it has to
withstand high pressures. The following types of fittings are used:
1. Sealing cone and union nut
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2. Heavy duty insert fittings
3. Perpendicular connection fittings.
The high pressure fuel lines must withstand the systems maximum pressure as well
as pressure variations that can attain very high fluctuations. The lines are seamless
precision made steel tubing in killed cast steel which has particularly consistent
microstructure.
Fuel injection pumps:
.
Diesel fuel injection pumps are
generally divided into two
categories:
1. Mechanically controlled fuel
injection pumps are available as:
1. In-line type
2. Distributor type
2. Electronically controlled fuel
injection pumps are available as:
1. In-line type
2. Distributor type
3. Common Rail type
Mechanically controlled fuel injection pumps:
In-line Fuel Injection pumps have the same number of plungers as cylinders in
the engine. They have been around the longest and include Camshaft-Less (PFR)
types.
Electronically controlled fuel injection pump:
An electronically controlled fuel injection pump utilizes a microcomputer to
control fuel injection quantity and injection timing according to running conditions of the
engine. Unlike conventional mechanical control, fuel injection quantity and injection
timing are controlled electronically, thereby resulting in fine and accurate control. It can
be referred to as Electronic Control Diesel or ECD.
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High-pressure stage of the radial-piston distributor injection pump:
Radial-piston high-pressure pumps produce higher injection pressures than
Axial-piston high-pressure pumps. Consequently, they also require more power to
drive them.
The radial-piston high-pressure pump is driven directly by the distributor-pump drive
shaft.
The main pump components are
• the cam ring
• the roller supports
• rollers
• the delivery plungers
• the drive plate
• the front section (head) of the distributor shaft
The drive shaft drives the drive plate by means of
radially positioned guide slots. The guide slots simultaneously
act as the locating slots for the roller supports. The roller
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supports and the rollers held by They run around the inner cam profile of the cam ring
that surrounds the drive shaft. The number of cams corresponds to the number of
cylinders in the engine. The drive plate drives the distributor shaft. The head of the
distributor shaft holds the delivery plungers which are aligned radially to the drive-shaft
axis (hence the name “radial-piston high-pressure pump”). The delivery plungers rest
against the roller supports. As the roller supports are forced outwards by centrifugal
force, the delivery plungers follow the profile of the cam ring and describe a cyclical-
reciprocating motion.
Injector:
A fuel injector is nothing but an electronically controlled valve. It is supplied with
pressurized fuel by the fuel pump in your car, and it is capable of opening and closing
many times per second. Different
types of injectors are
Solenoid Valve Injector:
When the injector is energized, an
electromagnet moves a plunger that
opens the valve, allowing the
pressurized fuel to squirt out through a
tiny nozzle. The nozzle is designed to
atomize the fuel to make as fine a
mist as possible so that it can burn easily.
Piezo-Inline Injector:
The nozzle needle on piezo-inline injector is controlled indirectly by servo valve. The
required injected fuel quantity is then controlled by the valve triggering period. The
nozzle is kept closed by the rail
pressure exerted in the control
chamber. When the piezo actuator is
triggered, the serve valve opens and
closes the bypass passage.
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The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is determined by the amount of time the fuel
injector stays open. This is called the pulse width, and it is controlled by the ECU.
Electronic Control Unit:
An Engine Control Unit (ECU), also known as
Engine Management System (EMS) is an electronic
device, fundamentally a computer, that is part of an
internal combustion engine, which reads several
sensors in the engine and uses the information to
control the ignition systems of the engine. This
approach allows an engine's operation to be controlled in great detail, allowing greater
fuel efficiency, better power and responsiveness, and much lower pollution levels than
earlier generations of engines. Because the ECU is dealing with actual measured
engine performance from millisecond to millisecond, it can compensate for many
variables that traditional systems cannot, such as ambient temperature, humidity,
altitude (air density), fuel octane rating, as well as the demands made on it by the
driver. In addition, it is able to a large degree to compensate for the gradual wearing of
the engine as it ages, which in practice allows it to extend engine life to two or three
times that of engines of twenty years ago.
An electronic control unit contains the hardware and software (firmware). The
hardware consists of electronic components on a printed circuit board (PCB). The
main component on this circuit board is a microcontroller chip (CPU). The software is
stored in the microcontroller or other chips on the PCB, typically in EPROMs or flash
memory so the CPU can be re-programmed by uploading updated code. This is also
referred to as an (electronic) Engine Management System (EMS). Sophisticated
engine management systems also may communicate with transmission control units
or directly interface electronically-controlled automatic transmissions, traction control
systems, and the like.
There are two main types of control for multi-port systems
• The fuel injectors can all open at the same time,
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• Each one can open just before the intake valve for its cylinder opens (this is
called sequential multi-port fuel injection).
The advantage of sequential fuel injection is that if the driver makes a sudden
change, the system can respond more quickly because from the time the change is
made, it only has to wait only until the next intake valve opens, instead of for the next
complete revolution of the engine.
The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is determined by the amount of time the fuel
injector stays open. This is called the pulse width, and it is controlled by the ECU.
The range of tasks performed by the engine control unit includes the following
functions:
• Common-rail injection
• Delivery control of the high-pressure pump
• Engine speed limitation
• Deceleration fuel cut-off
• Fuel pump
• Air supply
• Drive control
• Diagnosis
A separate data network links the engine management system with the
generator and the glow control unit, which lies at the heart of an innovative quick-start
glow system. This shortens the preheating time for the engine to just a moment, so
that the diesel is now also the equal of a petrol engine in this respect.
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Engine Sensors:
In order to provide the right amount of fuel, the engine control unit is equipped
with a whole lot of sensors. Let's take a look at some of them.
In order to provide the correct amount of fuel for every operating condition, the engine
control unit (ECU) has to monitor a huge number of input sensors. Here are just a few:
• Mass airflow sensor - Tells the ECU the mass of air entering the engine
• Oxygen Sensor - Monitors the amount of oxygen in the exhaust so the ECU
can determine how rich or lean the fuel mixture is and make adjustments
accordingly
• Throttle position sensor - Monitors the throttle valve position (which determines
how much air goes into the engine) so the ECU can respond quickly to
changes, increasing or decreasing the fuel rate as necessary
• Coolant temperature sensor - Allows the ECU to determine when the engine
has reached its proper operating temperature
• Voltage sensor - Monitors the system voltage in the car so the ECU can raise
the idle speed if voltage is dropping (which would indicate a high electrical load)
• Manifold absolute pressure sensor - Monitors the pressure of the air in the
intake manifold. The amount of air being drawn into the engine is a good
indication of how much power it is producing; and the more air that goes into
the engine, the lower the manifold pressure, so this reading is used to gauge
how much power is being produced.
• Engine speed sensor - Monitors engine speed, which is one of the factors used
to calculate the pulse width.
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COMMON RAIL INJECTION SYSTEM
Nothing ‘COMMON’ About It.
More Torque, Less Emission and Less Noise.
While the Japanese are leading in petrol direct injection technology, Germany's
Bosch, working in conjunction with several European car makers, pioneered Common-
Rail Direct Injection for diesel engines.
Compare with petrol, diesel is the lower quality ingredient of petroleum family.
Diesel particles are
larger and heavier
than petrol, thus more
difficult to pulverise.
Imperfect pulverisation
leads to more unburnt
particles, hence more
pollutant, lower fuel
efficiency and less
power. Common-rail
technology is intended
to improve the pulverisation process.
The rail assembly used in CRDi is as shown in figure.
The main components on the rail assembly are:
1. Common pressure accumulator (the “rail”)
2. High pressure regulator (option)
3. Inlet metered high-pressure supply pump with
integrated lift pump
4. Injectors
5. Electronic control unit (ECU)
6. Filter unit
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To improve pulverisation, the fuel must be injected at a very high pressure, so
high that normal fuel injectors cannot achieve. In common-rail system, the fuel
pressure is implemented by a strong pump instead of fuel injectors. The high-pressure
fuel is fed to individual fuel injectors via a common rigid pipe (hence the name of
"common-rail"). In the current first generation design, the pipe withstand the pressure
as high as 1,350 bar or 20,000 psi. Fuel always remains under such pressure even in
stand-by state. Therefore whenever the injector (which acts as a valve rather than a
pressure generator) opens, the high-pressure fuel can be injected into combustion
chamber quickly. As a result, not only pulverisation is improved by the higher fuel
pressure, but the duration of fuel injection can be shortened and the timing can be
precisely controlled.
Benefited by the precise timing, common-rail injection system can introduce a
"post-combustion", which injects small amount of fuel during the expansion phase thus
create a small scale combustion before the normal combustion takes place.
What’s the purpose ?
This further eliminate the unburnt particles, also increase the exhaust flow
temperature thus reduce the pre-heat time of the catalytic converter. In short, "post-
combustion" cuts pollutants.
How effective is it?
According to PSA's press release, its new common-rail engine (in addition to
other improvement) cuts fuel consumption by 20%, doubles torque at low engine
speeds and increases power by 25%. It also brings a significant reduction in the noise
and vibrations of conventional diesel engines. In emission, greenhouse gases (CO2) is
reduced by 20%. At a constant level of NOx, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are
reduced by 40%, unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) by 50%, and particle emissions by 60%.
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OPERATING PRINCIPLE
A feed pump delivers the fuel through a filter unit to the high pressure pump
through feed pipe.
The high-pressure pump delivers fuel to the high-pressure accumulator (the
rail). The electronically controlled injectors inject fuel into the combustion chamber
when the solenoid valve is actuated. Because the injection pressure is independent of
engine speed and load, the actual start of injection, the injection pressure, and the
duration of injection can be freely chosen from a wide range.
The introduction of pilot injection, which is adjusted depending on engine
needs, results in significant engine noise reduction, together with a reduction in NOx
emissions.
The pressure in the system is controlled by the actuator.
The figure shows all the components in a common rail system for a fully equipped, 4
cylinder, passenger car diesel engine. Depending on the type of vehicle and its
application, some of the components may not be fitted.
The sensors and setpoint generators are not depicted in their real installation
position to simplify presentation. Exceptions are the exhaust-gas treatment sensors
and the rail pressure sensor as their installation positions are required to understand
the system. Data exchange between the various sections takes place via the CAN bus
in the interfaces suction:
• Starter Motor
• Alternator
• Electronic Immobilizer
• Transmission control
• Traction Control System
• Electronic Stability Program
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System Diagram For Passenger Cars
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ADVANTAGES
Compact Design:
The compact design of the injector outline enables the common rail system to
be used on two or four valve per cylinder engines.
Modular System:
With one electronically driven injector per engine cylinder, the system is
modular and can be used on three-, four-, five-, and six-cylinder engines.
Responsiveness at low revs:
The Common Rail system maintains the fuel injection under high pressure even
at low turnover. This allows the engine to develop high torque at low revs and across a
wide power range. The result is an engine which is smooth, responsive and which
offers excellent pick-up for safe and easy overtaking. In addition, fuel economy is
maintained even at low revs.
Independent Injection Pressure:
The injection pressure is independent of
the engine speed and load, enabling high
injection pressures at low speed if required.
Lower NOx Emissions:
Injection sequences, which include periods
both pre and post the main injection, can be
utilized to reduce emissions, particularly NOx,
enabling the system to meet the stringent emissions levels required by EURO-3 and
US-98 legislation and beyond.
Full Electronic Control:
Common rail offers all the benefits of full electronic control fuel metering and
timing, as well as the option to interface with other vehicle functions
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AN INSIGHT INTO THE CDI ENGINE
Pilot Injection Feature:
The high combustion pressure of up to 145 bar (2130 psi) in the CDI engine,
and the rate at which this pressure rises during the combustion process normally
produce higher noise levels in direct injection engines than in their pre-chamber
(indirect injection) counterparts.
However, the trail-blazing CDI system employs a piece of technical wizardry
known as pilot injection' to overcome this problem a few seconds before the main fuel
injection, a small amount of diesel is injected into the cylinder and ignites, thereby
establishing the combustion process and setting the ideal conditions for the main
combustion process. Consequently, the fuel ignites faster with the result that the rise in
pressure and temperature is less sudden.
If the pilot is injected very close
to the main injection, (Figure 4c) the
effect is similar to initial rate control,
which some call a “boot-shaped”
injection diagram. When injected very
close to the main, the pilot has little
time to mix before the main injection,
so the noise reduction is less that that
at optimum timing for noise but less
soot is formed in the diffusion burn.
The end effect, however, is not only a reduction in combustion noise but also a
reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions thanks to pilot injection and the lower
cylinder temperature.
The total effect of these measures is a CDI engine with noise levels below those of
comparable pre-chamber engines.
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VVT-i
. In 1998, "Dual" VVT-i (adjusts both intake and exhaust camshafts) was first
introduced in the RS200 Altezza's 3S-GE engine. Dual VVT-i is also found in
Toyota's new generation V6 engine, the 3.5L 2GR-FE V6,found in the Avalon, RAV4,
and Camry in the US, the Aurion in Australia, and various models in Japan, including
the Estima. Other Dual VVT-i engines include the upcoming 1.8L 2ZR-FE I4, which
will see implementation in Toyota's next generation of compact vehicles. By
adjusting the valve timing, engine start and stop occur virtually unnoticeable at
minimum compression, and fast heating of the catalytic converter to its light-off tem.
VVT-i, or Variable Valve Timing with intelligence, is an automobile variable valve
timing technology developed by Toyota. The Toyota VVT-i system replaces the
Toyota VVT offered starting in 1991 on the 4A-GE 20-Valve engine. The VVT system
is a 2-stage hydraulically controlled cam phasing [Link]-i, introduced in 1996,
varies the timing of the intake valves by adjusting the relationship between the
camshaft drive (belt, scissor-gear or chain) and intake camshaft. Engine oil pressure
is applied to an actuator to adjust the camshaft perature is possible, thereby
reducing HC emissions considerably..
VVTL-i
In 1998, Toyota started offering a new technology, VVTL-i, which can alter valve lift
(and duration) as well as valve timing. In the case of the 16 valve 2ZZ-GE, the
engine has 2 camshafts, one operating intake valves and one operating exhaust
valves. Each camshaft has two lobes per cylinder, one low rpm lobe and one high
rpm, high lift, long duration lobe. Each cylinder has two intake valves and two
exhaust valves. Each set of two valves are controlled by one rocker arm, which is
operated by the camshaft. Each rocker arm has a slipper follower mounted to the
rocker arm with a spring, allowing the slipper follower to move up and down with the
high lobe with out affecting the rocker arm. When the engine is operating below 6000
rpm, the low lobe is operating the rocker arm and thus the valves. When the engine
is operating above 6000 rpm, the ECU activates an oil pressure switch which pushes
a sliding pin under the slipper follower on each rocker arm. This in effect, switches to
the high lobe causing high lift and longer duration.
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VTEC
Honda’s 2008 Accord
Engine and Transmission:
Honda has upgraded both the engines for the new accord - the new 2.4-liter engine
now makes 177 horsepower at 6300rpm (7% in horsepower compared to its
predecessor) and 218Nm of torque at 4300rpm. Accord’s new engine also features
superior technolgies like iVTEC(Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control)
and VTC (Variable Timing Control). Because of the the use of new fuel injector, new
dual probe spark plugs, near-zero evaporative emissions equipment and the special
i-VTEC system that leaves one exhaust valve closed in each cylinder at low rpm the
retuned engine is expected to offer superior mileage/fuel efficiency.
Accord’s new v6 engine displaces 16% more than the current 3.0-liter Accord V-6.
The increase in displacement leads to a 10% increase in horsepower and a
substantial 18% boost in torque as compared to the previous V-6. 2008 Honda
Accord’s 3.5L engine develops 268bhp at 6200 rpm and 336Nm of torque at 5000
rpm. Accord’s new engine is not just VTEC, It features a new generation of Honda’s
advanced Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) - the variable displacement
technology with a special SOHC i-VTEC valvetrain that allows the engine to operate
in three different modes. (During startup, acceleration or when climbing hills - any
time high power output is required - the engine operates on all six cylinders. During
moderate speed cruising and at low engine loads, the system operates just one bank
of three cylinders. For moderate acceleration, higher-speed cruising and mild hills,
the engine operates on four cylinders) Depending on driving conditions, the engine
operates on three, four or all six cylinders to help boost fuel economy or power as
needed. Honda claims improved mileage for both the engines. To absorb the
inevitable vibrations while the engine was running on three or four cylinders, Honda
uses active engine mounts and active noise control system. The same 5 speed
automatic/manual may be offered.
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CONCLUSION
In India the scenario is quite dismal. While on one hand the high petrol prices
have prompted car manufacturers to get in technologies that are efficient, the
subsidies on diesel have let the diesel engine technology languish at abysmal depths.
Because diesel engine technology in India is from a prehistoric era, people's
perception of diesel engines is also very bad.
It is only now because of the emission control norms that diesel engine
makers are being forced to upgrade technologies. The simplest and cheapest way of
doing that is to turbo-charge the engine. Turbocharging is welcome because it
makes the engine more efficient. Telco, the largest manufacturer of diesels now has
turbocharged engines for its commercial vehicle range. Next is the step forward to
direct injection. For DI engines to be acceptable on passenger cars, the
manufacturers will have to adopt some of the latest technologies like common rail or
unit injector systems because the current crop of DI engines in the country do not
suit applications where emission considerations are paramount.
But do not be disappointed. There are already some great hi-tech engines
have made there way into the country, albeit in some of the higher end cars. The first
to arrive on the scene was the common rail diesel on the Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI.
The inline four cylinder 16-valve engine is a delight as is the C200 CDI one. Then
there is the 2.0-litre Duratorq DI 16-valve turbodiesel on the Ford Mondeo. Lower
down the affordability stakes is another excellent 1.9-litre common rail electronic
direct injection engine that will do duty on the Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI. The CRDi
diesel engine, which is supposed to combine the performance and handling of a
petrol engine with the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine, has been developed by
Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea, in association with Detroit Diesel, U.S. for its
Accent CRDi.
REFERENCES:
“ Internal Combustion Engines” by V Ganeshan, McGraw Hill .
“ Internal Combustion Engines” by Mathur, Sharma, Dhanpat Rai and Sons
“ A Course in CI Engines” by V M Domkundwar, Dhanpat Rai and Sons
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