Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel: Biography & Inventor

Rudolf Diesel was born on March 18, 1858 in Paris.  On September 4, 1870 Rudolf’s family moved to England.  In late November they decided it would be better for Rudolf to continue his schooling in Germany so he moved there on his own and stayed with a young professor.  The problems Rudolf was trying to solve were the noise, size and unreliability of the steam engine.  He wanted to create something that superheated ammonia gas could take the place of steam in a steam engine.

He wanted to enable much higher compression pressures to be used than was able with conventional steam engines.  In this way he could make greater use of heat energy.  Rudolf was 32 when he finally accomplished his goal of creating the first ever Diesel Engine. To create the Diesel engine which made Rudolf famous he had to take the original steam engine and give it exhaust valves water cooling for the cylinder head and barrel and a compressed air fuel-injection system to ensure that the liquid fuel was forced into the combustion space with sufficient pressure to overcome the air in the cylinder.  This basic idea of how to go about creating the engine was modified and improved many times before finally prefected in 1896.  To do this Rudolf had to have a great understanding of Thermodynamics.  He had to know basic principles of engines and how they work.

Rudolf got help from many people.  Some of the people that helped him are Machine-fabric Augsburg, Gasmotoren-Fabric Deutz and Mannesmann-Werke.  It took them six years to finish the Diesel Engine. It was important because it gave a new and easier way of using engines.  It gave a way for large vehicles to transport goods safely.  It is easier to make than the steam engine.  All we did was benefit from the invention.  If Rudolf had not invented the diesel engine my life would be quite different, for example there would not big trucks for delivering mass amounts of goods.  It would be more complicated for stores and other companies to get goods. It also supplies jobs for many people