Additional information
by Vincent Archer (Author)
Finding appropriate documents on diesel engine general operation, calibration and bench activities is a very difficult task. This book is trying to close that gap, providing a manual of activities and procedures, and a general overview of the technology, for anyone starting from zero. If you are an expert on diesel engines, with a lot of experience and years working in calibration environments, you will possibly find the content of these pages quite obvious, or you might even -why not?- disagree with some of my arguments and suggestions. If you are an engineer who's new to this world, you have been contracted by an automotive company and will work on diesel engines, or you are simply an engineer working in the automotive industry, and you would like to increase this specific knowledge area -diesel engine calibration and operation- this is a book that will definitely help you. It is structured to give you insight into the engine, the bench, and the combustion process, to then focus on some of the standard calibration activities performed at a test bench, with hints on the main points, possible problems, and expected results. It is all mixed together with a bit of theory and some formulas, but these are limited to the minimum necessary. There are plenty of highly theoretical articles available to deepen into mathematics and physics around diesel combustion, but that is not the purpose here. The vision is that this book may be found, someday, in the technical libraries of diesel engine departments and in the libraries of diesel engine engineers, and of course in the hands of anyone who's willing to improve his or her knowledge on calibration procedures or simply to get to better understand how a diesel engine works and how bench technical personnel work with them. To improve the learning curve and the academic value, you will find plenty of real examples (all with false numbers and without an indication of the origin of the data, of course), and many images, some of which can be found online without much effort. Finally, people nowadays say that the remaining life of the diesel engine is short. Nonetheless, their advantages in terms of efficiency and utilization cost are so superior to their gasoline or hybrid counterparts as to suggest many miles still await them in their current form or in other, more exotic shapes.
Author Biography
Vincent Archer is a young industrial engineer who is passionate about everything regarding engines -but that's not all-. In his short but intense professional experience, he's been able to share the work environment and absorb all the good (and bad) working methods of some of the most prestigious calibration technical centers around the world. From some of these experiences, he's gathered the technical and practical skills to launch himself into believing he might be prepared to share with you what you'll find in these pages. Not only has he performed bench activities for diesel engines in these places, but he's also played a role in the development process of a couple of motorbikes for a very prestigious Italian brand, and thanks to having studied and obtained a master's degree in competition engineering, he has been track assistant in the motorbike racing area, where he's taken care of the electronics side. But not only engines shape the needs and desires of the author. He's as poor a violin student as he is a writer; he has loved piloting ASK-21 gliders in Scotland and in Spain; he enjoys rides on his bike through the Italian Apennines and, from time to time, on the track; and he has obtained a master's degree in business administration so that he can, someday, create something that grows and brings happiness to more than just himself. Yes, there is an entrepreneur and a philanthropist in him, as he hopes there is in you too -yes, you who are reading these lines- because by reading this book you certainly show a desire to improve and to grow, and this is the best proof that a good life awaits you.
