1. Field of the Art
The invention relates to apparatuses for the generation of power which comprise at least a Diesel engine having a plurality of sequentially operating cylinders which are supercharged by a plurality of alternating air compressor cylinders which deliver scavenging air to the engine.
2. Prior Art
Most existing Diesel engines which are supercharged by an alternating compressor having a plurality of cylinders which operate sequentially include a manifold which feeds all engine cylinders. All compressor cylinders open into that collector. As a consequence, the engine cylinders are scavenged under an inlet pressure which is approximately constant. A thermo-dynamic study of scavenging indicates that the work consumed for compression and air transfer is directly related to the difference between the mean inlet pressure of the scavenging air and the outlet pressure. As a consequence, the transfer work is determined by the mean pressure in the collector rather than by the outlet pressure of a particular compressor cylinder. However, if the apparatus has a single motor cylinder fed by a single compressor cylinder (as described for instance in French Pat. No. 1,238,426), the situation is completely different since there is no manifold which feeds a plurality of motor cylinders.