Mixture Formation and Combustion in the Dl Diesel Engine

The diesel engine is the most efficient user of fossil fuels for vehicle propulsion and seems to best fulfill the requirements of the future. It is for this reason that Volkswagen has initiated a very broad research programme for diesels.

The purpose of this paper is to build a bridge between fundamental research and technical developments which could allow evaluation of the prospects of direct- injection diesels as powerplants of choice for passenger cars in the turn of the century.

The current knowledge on mixture formation, combustion and pollutant formation in diesel engines is presented and discussed with special emphasis given to the concept of the direct-injection diesel engine.