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Top 5 Innovative Achievements in Diesel Technology

Diesel technology is a huge part of the entire ground transportation infrastructure and we see it every day as huge commercial trucks roll by here in  Springfield .  VA . Diesel engines have changed little in the past decade, because the majority of all its changes took place between 1897 to 1933. During this innovative period in diesel technology, diesel engines became prevalent in cars, ships, submarines and trains.

Offered by  Metro Collision Center , a shop that works on diesel cars on an ongoing basis is our list of top 5 innovative achievements in diesel technology:

1.)  First True Diesel Engine (1897)

German automotive genius Rudolf Diesel was exposed to Akryod-Stuart’s "hot bulb" engine concept and thought he could improve the design. Diesel’s idea was to super-heat oxygen under pressure and then introduce petroleum-based fuel into the system for ignition. From 1892 and 1895, Diesel patented his "slow-combustion" engine design in five European countries as well as the U.S. In 1893, he had his initial groundbreaking prototype fully operational. In 1896, he began manufacturing a model that ran at 75% efficiency, compared to just 10% for all of the steam engines in production. Three years later, Rudolf Diesel was a multi-millionaire, and the world of transportation was changed forever.

2.) First Diesel-Powered Ship (1903)

The first commercial ship that utilized diesel power was a French canal barge, called the Petit Pierre. Using a diesel engine with a single horizontal cylinder featuring two opposed pistons, the very first ocean-going diesel ship was the Dutch tanker, Vulcanus that went into regular use in 1910. The next foremost commercial ship to use diesel fuel was the Danish Selandia, a merchant freighter that was initially launched in 1911. When it went into use, the Selandia was lauded as being the best ship in existence.

3.) First Diesel Submarine (1904)

The French were groundbreakers when it come to diesel, and the first to substitute internal combustion engines with diesel engines on submarines. The French submarine Aigrette was the very first sub to utilize this emerging technology. Since diesel engines emit toxic exhaust fumes, they could only be used when the submarine was on the surface.

4.) First Diesel Locomotive (1912)

The world's first diesel locomotive was put into use by Switzerland’s Winterthur-Romanshorn Railway right before the beginning of World War I. It was essentially a test-bed prototype and a commercial failure. The locomotive weighed 95 tons and had a maximum speed of 63 mph (100 km/h), but it also had a wide range of other issues until the technology was refined.

5.) First Diesel Automobile (1933)

France’s Citroen Rosalie Familale station wagon was the initial production automobile to feature an optional diesel engine. In 1936, the Mercedes-Benz 260D and the Hanomag Rekord also contained diesel engines. Although they were generally well-received, diesel-powered vehicles didn’t become commonplace until the 1980s, when major advancements made them increasingly competitive with conventional internal combustion engines.

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Sources: Wikipedia, Drive and Science News