The Chinese company Weichai marked a new world milestone in the development of engines internal combustion.
The Shandong-based company developed a diesel engine with a thermal efficiency of 53.09%which constitutes a world record in the matter.
Typically, four-stroke diesel engines achieve an average thermal efficiency of 43%.
The thermal efficiency It is a key indicator for evaluating the performance of an engine, as it indicates the proportion of the original fuel energy that is converted into mechanical work.
In other words, it is a measure of how well an engine can use the heat generated by fuel combustion to do work, rather than losing it as waste heat or friction.
Hence, at a higher level of thermal efficiency of the engine, the lower the fuel consumption required to perform a given job, with the consequent benefits in terms of operating costs and environmental impact.
Development
The new engine presented by Weichai required more than 3,000 days of work by a research team made up of Chinese and foreign professionals.
Indeed, the project was launched in 2015, with the collaboration of «the best universities and research institutes in the world and synergistic innovation with the global industrial supply chain»highlighted from the company.
The presentation of the new engine took place within the framework of the World Congress of Internal Combustion Enginesheld in the city of Tianjin (China).
Weichai had already set the world record in this matter in 2022, when it developed a diesel engine with a thermal efficiency of 52.28%.
