In the 1890s, Rudolf Diesel developed the efficient, compression-ignition, internal combustion engine that bears his name. Early diesel engines were large and operated at low speeds due to the limitations of their compressed air-assisted fuel injection systems. In its early years, the diesel engine competed with another heavy fuel oil engine concept - the hot bulb engine invented by Akroyd-Stuart. High-speed diesel engines were introduced in the 1920s for commercial vehicle applications and in the 1930s for passenger cars.
Rudolf Diesel's invention
Rudolf Diesel, best known for inventing the engine that bears his name, was born in Paris, France in 1858. His invention occurred while the steam engine was the dominant power source for large industries.
Figure 1. Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913)
In 1885, Diesel opened his first shop in Paris to develop a compression ignition engine. The research process will last for 13 years. In the 1890s, he obtained a number of patents for the invention of an efficient, slow-burning, compression-ignition, internal combustion engine [Diesel 1895] [Diesel 1898] [Diesel 1892] [Diesel 1895a]. From 1893 to 1897, Diesel further developed his ideas at Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg AG (later Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nürnberg or MAN). In addition to MAN, Switzerland's Sulzer Brothers took an early interest in Diesel's work, purchasing certain rights to Diesel's inventions in 1893.
