Rudolf Diesel, a German inventor, patented his internal combustion engine, which

was efficient, slow-burning, and had a compression ignition system. Rudolf

Diesel's first cycle was a constant-temperature cycle. Diesel eventually understood
that his initial cycle would not work, so he switched to the Diesel cycle, which is a
continuous pressure cycle.
The diesel cycle, which describes the operation of a typical compression ignition
piston engine, is one of the most common thermodynamic cycles found in
automobile engines. The operation of a diesel engine is like that of a gasoline
engine. The most significant distinction is that:
 At the start of the compression stroke, there is no gasoline in the cylinder.
As a result, diesel engines do not have the capacity to directly.
 The diesel engine uses compression ignition instead of spark ignition.
 The gasoline automatically ignites as it is delivered due to the high
temperature that develops during adiabatic compression. As a result, no
engine parts are used.
 The injectors start injecting gasoline combustion chambers before the power
stroke begins. As a result, the first section of the power stroke is almost
always at a constant pressure.
 Higher compression ratios can be achieved in Diesel engines than in Otto
engines.
The Diesel cycle, unlike the Otto cycle, does not add isochoric heat to the air. Two
isentropic (reversible adiabatic) processes are alternated with one isochoric and
one isobaric process in an ideal Diesel cycle, and the system performing the cycle
through a series of four processes.
Diesel Cycle – Processes
In an ideal Diesel cycle, the cycle’s system
undergoes a series of four processes: two
isentropic (reversible adiabatic) processes
alternated with one isochoric process and
one isobaric process.

Isentropic Process
is a thermodynamic process in which the entropy of the fluid or gas remains
constant. It means the isentropic process is a special case of an adiabatic process in
which there is no transfer of heat or matter. It is a reversible adiabatic process. The
assumption of no heat transfer is very important since we can use the adiabatic
approximation only in very rapid processes.
Isochoric Process
is a thermodynamic process in which the volume of the closed system remains
constant (V = const). It describes the behavior of gas inside the container that
cannot be deformed. Since the volume remains constant, the heat transfer into or
out of the system does not the p∆V work but only changes the system’s internal
energy (the temperature).
Isobaric Process
is a thermodynamic process in which the system’s pressure remains constant (p =
const). The heat transfer into or out of the system does work and changes the
system’s internal energy.
Since there are changes in internal energy (dU) and changes in system volume
(∆V), engineers often use the enthalpy of the system, which is defined as:
H = U + pV

 Isentropic compression (compression stroke)- As the piston moves from

bottom dead center to top dead center, the air is compressed adiabatically
from state 1 to state 2. The gas is manipulated by its surroundings, which
increases its internal energy (temperature) and compresses it. The entropy,
on the other hand, has not changed. The compression ratio is the ratio of
changes in volume and its ratio (V1 / V2).
 Isobaric expansion (ignition phase)- While the piston is advancing toward
the V3, there is a constant pressure (idealized model) heat transfer to the air
from an external source (combustion of injected fuel) throughout this phase
(between states 2 and 3). Energy enters the system as heat Qadd during the
constant pressure process, and moving pistons accomplish some of the work.
 Isentropic expansion (power stroke)- As the piston advances from V3 to
the bottom dead center, the gas expands adiabatically from state 3 to state 4.
The gas exerts its influence on the environment (piston) and expends an
 amount of internal energy equal to the amount of energy it expends. The
entropy remains the same as before. The isentropic expansion ratio (V4 /
V3) is the ratio of volume to volume.
 Isochoric decompression (exhaust stroke)- The cycle is completed in this
phase by a constant-volume process in which the piston is at the bottom
dead center and heat is rejected from the air. From point 4 to point 1, the
working gas pressure immediately reduces. At point 4, the exhaust valve
opens. This decompression is immediately followed by the exhaust stroke.
The gaseous mixture is evacuated to the atmosphere when the piston
advances from the bottom dead center (point 1) to the top dead center (point
0) with the exhaust valve open, and the process begins all over again.

Isentropic Process and the First Law

For a closed system, we can write the first law of thermodynamics in terms of
enthalpy:
dH = dQ + Vdp or dH = TdS + Vdp
Isentropic process (dQ = 0):
dH = Vdp → W = H2 – H1 → H2 – H1 =
Cp (T2 – T1) (for ideal gas)
Isentropic Process of the Ideal Gas
The isentropic process (a special case of the
adiabatic process) can be expressed with the ideal
gas law as:
pVκ = constant or p1V1κ = p2V2κ
in which κ = cp/cv is the ratio of the specific heats
(or heat capacities) for the gas. One for constant
pressure (cp) and one for constant volume (cv). Note
that, this ratio κ = cp/cv is a factor in determining
the speed of sound in a gas and other adiabatic
processes.
Isochoric Process and the First Law
The classical form of the first law of thermodynamics is the following equation:
dU = dQ – dW
In this equation, dW is equal to dW = pdV and is
known as the boundary work. Then:
dU = dQ – pdV
An isochoric process and the ideal gas, all the
heat added to the system, will increase the
internal energy.
Isochoric process (pdV = 0):
dU = dQ (for ideal gas)
dU = 0 = Q – W → W = Q (for ideal gas)
Isochoric Process of the Ideal Gas
The isochoric process can be expressed with the
ideal gas law as:

or
On a p-V diagram, the process occurs along a horizontal line with the equation V =
constant.

Isobaric Process and the First Law

The classical form of the first law of thermodynamics is the following equation:
dU = dQ – dW
In this equation, dW is equal to dW = pdV and is known as the boundary work. In
an isobaric process and the ideal gas, part of the heat added to the system will be
used to do work, and part of the heat added will increase the internal energy
(increase the temperature). Therefore, it is convenient to use enthalpy instead of
internal energy.
Isobaric process (Vdp = 0):
dH = dQ → Q = H2– H1
At constant entropy, i.e., in the isentropic process,
the enthalpy change equals the flow process work
done on or by the system.
Isobaric Process of the Ideal Gas
The isobaric process can be expressed with the
ideal gas law as:

or

On a p-V diagram, the process occurs along a

horizontal line (called an isobar) with the equation
p = constant.

Diesel Cycle – pV, Ts diagram

Diesel cycles are often plotted on a pressure-volume diagram (pV diagram) and a
temperature-entropy diagram (Ts diagram).

When plotted on a pressure-volume diagram, the

isobaric process follows the isobar line for the gas
(the horizontal lines), the isochoric process follows
the isochoric line for the gas (the vertical line),
adiabatic processes move between these lines and
the area bounded by the complete cycle path
represents the total work that can be done during
one cycle.
The temperature-entropy diagram (Ts diagram) in which the thermodynamic state
is specified by a point on a graph with specific entropy (s) as the horizontal axis
and absolute temperature (T) as the vertical axis. Ts diagrams are a useful and
common tool, particularly because it helps to visualize the heat transfer during a
process. For reversible (ideal) processes, the area under the T-s curve of a process
is the heat transferred to the system during that process.