If the diesel engine is to have a future, it must run far cleaner than it does today.
Eaton engineers are working on a possible solution: outfitting diesel engines with cylinder deactivation.
Eaton believes cylinder deactivation is the key to enabling diesels to reach operating temperatures faster and then run hotter and more efficiently. If a diesel engine runs too cold, its catalytic converter is ineffective. If it runs too hot, it emits too much nitrogen oxide, which has been linked to respiratory problems.
But by shutting down as many as half the cylinders and making the active pistons work harder and generate more heat, the temperature can stay in a sweet spot and deliver higher fuel economy and NOx reductions of about 35 percent, Eaton engineers are betting.
If Eaton's diesel cylinder deactivation technology is successful, it would be a first for the diesel. No cylinder deactivation systems are in use on automobiles or medium- or heavy-duty trucks.
