page offers brief explanations of some diesel terms for the benefit of those who are

unfamiliar with diesel engineering and its terminology. Perhaps it can also serve as a
novice's guide to some basic elements of diesel technology. Written by a non-expert for
non-experts, suggestions for additions, amendments and improvements will be welcome.
Air-Blast Injection: Form of injection generally used on the larger early compression
ignition engines. he charge of fuel was injected into the cylinder by compressed air
which necessitated a compressor run by a second engine or by the engine itself. he
technology was superseded by solid ! mechanical injection, as generally used today.
Akroyd Stuart, Herbert (1864-19!": "lthough the invention of the compression
ignition engine is commonly attributed to #r $udolph #iesel, the principles of this type
of engine were first described in "%royd &tuart's patent of '()*, two years before #iesel's
patent. +y '(), "%royd &tuart's engines were being built by $ichard -ornsby . &ons
/td of 0rantham and mar%eted as -ornsby-"%royds. -ad the course of history run
differently, we might now tal% about "%royds or "%royd &tuarts rather than diesels1
Bank: /ine 2row3 of cylinders on each side of a vee form or twin ban% engine. hose on
one side are referred to as " ban%, and on the other side as + ban%. 4ylinders in each
ban% are individually numbered and identified as "', ",, "5, 6 , +', +,, +5, 6 , etc.
Paxman's long-standing practice was to view its engines from the free end, calling the left
ban% '"' and the nearest cylinder "'. -owever, not all engine manufacturers followed
this convention and the official 7&8 notation starts from the flywheel end 2normally the
drive end3 with " ban% on the left, and cylinder "' nearest the flywheel.
b#$ - brake #orse$o%er: 9easure of an engine's power output after ma%ing allowances
for friction and other energy losses within the engine. oday power output of larger
engines is generally :uoted in %Wb 2%iloWatt bra%e3. 8ne bhp ; <=>.< Watts 2*.<=><
%Wb3, although a conversion factor of <=? is generally used.
Block $u&$: ype of fuel pump embodying a number of plungers 2e:ual to the number
of engine cylinders3 within a single unit or bloc%. he plungers are operated by a
camshaft also contained within the bloc%. @ach plunger acts as a pump, feeding fuel oil
under high pressure to an injector. 4ontrast individual fuel pumps, as used on some large
diesels li%e the Paxman Aalenta, where the pump for each injector is a separate stand
alone unit, and unit pump injectors where the pump and injector are incorporated in a
single unit as on the Paxman AP'(>.
b&e$ - brake &ean e''ecti(e $ressure: 9easure of engine rating. 7t cannot be measured
directly and is calculated from bhp. he bmep of an engine is that part of its i&e$
2indicated mean effective pressure3 considered to contribute to the bhp, after ta%ing
account of the imep used to overcome friction.
Boost ) Boost *ressure: Pressure under which air for combustion is fed into the cylinders
of an engine with turbocharging or supercharging.
Brake or +ater Brake: #evice for putting an engine under load, typically when it is on
test. &ee also #ynamometer.
Brid,e $iece: &mall metal component which bears down on the stems of two inlet or two
exhaust valves. 8ne roc%er lever acting on the bridge piece can thus be used to operate
two valves simultaneously, halving the number of roc%er levers re:uired in an engine
with two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder.
B-c#i, .r Al'red: 4hief @ngineer of &ulBer +rothers $esearch #epartment in
&witBerland, who developed the first exhaust driven turbocharger between ')*) and
')',, based on an idea he patented in ')*>.
/a& 'ollo%er: 4omponent fitted between the end of a push rod or valve stem and the
camshaft lobe which operates it. "lso %nown as a tappet, its purpose is to reduce wear,
particularly on the camshaft, and achieve smooth operation of the valve gear. &ome cam
followers incorporate a roller which is held in contact with the camshaft lobe and follows
its profile.
/a&s#a't: &haft with cams or lobes, used to operate valve gear and!or fuel pumps.
#riven from the cran%shaft by gears or a chain, in a four stro%e engine it rotates at half
the speed of the cran%shaft.
/etane 0atin,: 9easure of :uality of diesel fuel with reference to its 'ignition :uality' or
ability to ignite and its speed of combustion. he scale runs from * to '**, with most
commercially available fuels having a rating of about => to >*. 4etane ratings only apply
to distillate fuels. he :uality of residual fuels 2residues of fractional distillation at oil
refineries3, also called heavy fuel oils, is rated by reference to the 44"7 24alculated
4arbon "romaticity 7ndex3. -eavy fuel oils generally need to be heated before they will
flow satisfactorily and are used, for example, in very large two stro%e marine diesels.
/#ar,e or /o&bustion Air: "ir for combustion fed into a cylinder before compression
and the injection of fuel. he :uantity of air available for combustion is critical as it
limits the amount of fuel which can be fully burned and converted to useful energy.
/#ar,e Air *ressure: see +oost Pressure and Caturally "spirated.
/#ar,e coolin,: see intercooling.