34. In all diesel engines, including those used in offshore oil spill response vessels, at what point in the combustion cycle does ignition actually begin?

Ignition in diesel engines occurs near the end of the compression stroke, when the compressed air reaches sufficient temperature to ignite injected fuel. Diesel engines utilize compression ignition, and peak temperature and pressure are achieved as the piston nears top dead center during compression. Fuel injection is timed to coincide with this point, initiating combustion just before the power stroke begins.