In petrol engines, can we use diesel as fuel?
So, let’s see what will happen if I let diesel sneak into the petrol engine (Based on the results of the experiment I performed in I.C. Engine Lab):
The results found were as follows:
- The exhaust charge was comparatively at a higher temperature than that of ambient fuel, with the smell of diesel or in more refined ways: Un-burnt Diesel Droplets.
- Also, there was a bit of black smoke (or soot) carried by the unburnt charge.
The possible reasons for the expected results are:
- Diesel is not as good as petrol fuel in terms of volatility. This leads to improper air-fuel (air-diesel) ratio, as in the case, which when comes in contact with the spark, leads to local combustion. The combustion flames also don’t propagate further due to the same air-fuel ratio. Hence, there is only a bit of local combustion for fewer seconds, till the time the spark is on.
- The very small ignition duration leads to partial combustion of a few of the diesel droplets, which exit the combustion chamber in the form of ‘Soot’.
- Diesel is a more viscous fluid than petrol which lwhich, which is also a significant fact that ch restricts diesel droplets from forming homogeneous charges.
Considering all the above aspects, one can justify the observed experimental results.
I hope I’ve managed to explain the cause in clear words.