Lets re-cap.
Diesel engines produce more torque because of
- higher compression ratios
- slower burning fuel
- longer stroke means larger crank throw, which means longer lever arm, which means more torque.
Torque is a measure of a force, measured in Nm. 1 Nm is the force exerted if a mass of ±0.1kg (thanks for the correction, Gerrit) is hung on a 1m lever. Time is not part of torque, in other words, even if the weight hangs there statically, it exerts a force of 1Nm (torque).
kW is a measure of work. Time comes into play. 1 kW is the work done at a rate of 1 joule per second.
If that weight now moves through 1m in 1 second, 1 watt of work has been done.
An example:
See the hand pump (used to pump water from a well or bore hole
It consists of
- a handle / lever
- a sleeve
- a rod with a piston on the end, which fits into the sleeve and has a one-way valve in it (water can only flow upwards through it)
- another (static) one-way valve, at the bottom of the sleeve
To pump water from the well, the water is lifted by the piston and will flow out through the spout.
The flow of water pumped per (say) a minute, (the output) can be seen as work (kW). The flow is dictated by two things:
- the flow per stroke
- the number of strokes per minute
The flow per stroke is determined by
- the diameter of the sleeve
- the length of the stroke
Now lets look at ways of improving the output
- 1. Increase the diameter of the sleeve
- 2. Increase the length of the stroke
- 3. Increase the number of strokes per minute
1. Increase the diameter of the sleeve.
This will work but let's say we increase the diameter to 6meters!
This will surely increase the output, but a very large force (Nm) will be required to lift the now massive column of water.
This can be achieved by using a stronger operator eg King Kong. A child will not be able to use the pump
..... except if we increase the length of the lever. This will multiply the child's effort and is equivalent to adding a transmission / gearbox (torque multiplier). The length of the lever will however limit the speed at which the piston will move
2. Increase the length of the stroke
This will increase the volume per stroke but decrease the number of strokes possible in the minute.
3. Increase the number of strokes per minute
This will obviously work, but the number of strokes per minute is surely determined by the force necessary to move the column of water and the length of the rod.
Conclusion:
For the
same output, we can thus use either of
- King Kong with a large diameter piston, at a leisurely pace
- a child, with a small diameter piston, but at a frantic pace
Put differently, for an engine to output the same kW, you can use either of
- diesel (King Kong). Lots of torque, but at low rpm
- petrol (child). Less power, but at higher rpm
If your requirement is to have lots of water per stroke, you can either use more volume per stroke (high torque) or more strokes per minute (high rpm).