The Question
Pam Says:
March 28th, 2005 at 10:13 am
At what temperature does diesel fuel burn??
The Answer
Since it is obvious that Pam is an intelligent woman, I feel that I am fully able to answer this question in Kelvin degrees.
Firstly, there are 3 types of diesel fuel, each with a different ignition point (the temperature where the diesel fuel will burst into flame). These types are known (creatively enough) as Diesel Fuel #1, Diesel Fuel #2, and Diesel Fuel #4. These are often simplified to D1, D2, and D4. I am contractually forbidden to reveal what happened to Diesel Fuel #3.
Diesel fuel engines do not employ sparking devices such as spark plugs to ignite – instead they compress air, heat it to the proper temperature, and spray in the fuel, which ignites. Here’s the chart:
Diesel Fuel #1: Between 450K and 602K.
Diesel Fuel #2: Between 527K to 558K
[nothing of note here]
Diesel Fuel #4: 536K. Nothing else. That’s it.
And for those of us who went to liberal arts colleges and aren’t familiar with Kelvins, could you provide a Fahrenheit conversion?
You know, upon writing that comment, I realized that I just might be the only person who reads this site who went to a liberal arts college.
Can’t say no to Jill.
Diesel Fuel #1: Between 350.33F and 623.93F.
Diesel Fuel #2: Between 488.93F to 544.73F.
[still nothing of note here]
Diesel Fuel #4: 505.13F.
Hot stuff!
so are those the temperatures it burns at? and would it be reasonable to make an aluminum engine burning deisel fuel, or would it just melt?
There is a diesel made mostly of aluminum, but it has steel sleeves around the pistions. Titianium is also being looked at.
Nope. I went to one.