A New Perspective on Diesel Engine Evaluation Based on Second Law Analysis

A Second Law based analysis of the processes within a diesel engine is presented and compared with the traditional First Law analysis. The analysis technique is described and its assumptions outlined. Available energy additions, extractions, and destructions are examined and quantified for the various processes. Alternative approaches are presented for engine systems with or without secondary heat recovery devices to further quantify the relative importance of thermodynamic loss mechanisms.

The technique is applied to a turbocharged diesel engine and used to track available energy throughout the engine cycle.

The methods of analysis are applied to some simplified cases to demonstrate their usefulness in analyzing various engine processes.