The THIESEL Conference on ‘Thermo-and Fluid Dynamic Processes in Diesel Engines’ has achieved a remarkable position as a meeting point between industry, research institutions and academia involved in the Diesel automotive sector. The international attendance has grown steadily since its first edition in 2000, thus indicating that there is a real need for such a gathering.

Even though considerable efforts are being devoted to the development of new solutions, based on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, it is likely that the internal combustion engine will remain the main propulsion system for vehicles in the next 20 to 30 years and beyond.

Therefore, research oriented at reducing pollutant emissions from internal combustion engines, and especially from Diesel engines, is necessary if compliance with the strict current and future regulations regarding emission levels is to be achieved. A combination of new technology and new fuels is needed to reach the near zero emission level targets aimed at. New generation engines will have to consume less, and be significantly more efficient and silent. The development of advanced control strategies should provide the flexibility required to make the most of modern multiple injection systems, so that the combustion process may be optimised. In addition, the application of the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) concept should represent a step towards significant reduction of NO_x  emissions in the part load range.

To further reduce emissions and fuel consumption, variable control systems for the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and the turbo-charging will have to be developed. Considerable effort is being put in understanding the combustion noise, so that it may be reduced especially at critical operating conditions. The research in these areas benefits from the most recent advances in experimental diagnosis tools and electronic control units, as well as from the continuing effort to improve CFD predictions. The clean and silent Diesel engine technology has real potential. However, it can only succeed if the academic researchers become more conscious of the automotive industrial needs and if the automotive industry is willing to invest in basic research leading to long-term solutions. THIESEL 2010, the sixth edition of this two-yearly conference, aims at gathering good quality papers describing the most recent developments and latest innovations relative to thermo-and fluid dynamic processes in Diesel engines. And, just as important is its philosophy to bring together ideas from both Industry and Academia, because the success of a clean and silent Diesel engine clearly depends on the close co-operation between the automotive industry and its University partners.