Diesel Engine Power Plant

UNIT 4 DIESEL ENGINE POWER PLANT

Structure
4.1 Introduction
Objectives

4.2 Essential Elements of Diesel Power Plant

4.3 Fuel Injection System
4.3.1 Basic Function
4.3.2 Functional Description

4.4 Various Injection Schemes

4.4.1 Throttle Body Injection Systems
4.4.2 Continuous Fuel Injection Systems
4.4.3 Central Port Injection (CPI)
4.4.4 Multi-point Fuel Injection
4.4.5 Direct Injection
4.4.6 Performance Testing of Diesel Engine Power Plant

4.5 Summary
4.6 Answers to SAQs

4.1 INTRODUCTION
A generating station in which diesel engine is used as the prime mover for the
generation of electrical energy is known as diesel power station.
In a diesel power station, diesel engine is used as the prime mover. The diesel burns
inside the engine and the products of this combustion act as the working fluid to produce
mechanical energy. The diesel engine drives alternator which converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy. As the generation cost is considerable due to high price of
diesel, therefore, such power stations are only used to produce small power.
Although steam power stations and hydro-electric plants are invariably used to generate
bulk power at cheaper costs, yet diesel power stations are finding favour at places where
demand of power is less, sufficient quantity of coal and water is not available and the
transportation facilities are inadequate. This plants are also standby sets for continuity of
supply to important points such as hospitals, radio stations, cinema houses and telephone
exchanges.
Advantages
(a) The design and layout of the plant are quite simple.
(b) It occupies less space as the number and size of the auxiliaries is small.
(c) It can be located at any place.
(d) It can be started quickly and it can pickup load in a short time.
(e) There are no standby losses.
(f) It requires less quantity of water for cooling.
(g) The overall cost is much less than that of steam power station of same
capacity.
(h) The thermal efficiency of the plant is higher than that of a steam power
station.
(i) It requires less operating staff. 119
 (a) The plant has high running charges as the fuel (diesel) used is costly.
(b) The plant doesn’t work satisfactorily under overload conditions for a longer
period.
(c) The plant can only generate small power.
(d) The cost of lubrication is generally high.
(e) The maintenances charges are generally high

Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to

 understand about diesel engine power plant,

 explain fuel injection system and its functions, and

 describe various injection schemes.

4.2 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF DIESEL

POWER PLANT
Fuel Supply System
It consists of storage tank, strainers, fuel transfer pump and all day fuel tank. The
fuel oil is supplied at the plant site by rail or road. The oil is stored in the storage
tank. From the storage tank, oil is pumped to smaller all day tank at daily or short
intervals. From this tank, fuel oil is passed through strainers to remove suspended
impurities. The clean oil is injected into the engine by fuel injection pump.
Air Intake System
This system supplies necessary air to the engine for fuel combustion. It consists of
pipes for the supply of fresh air to the engine manifold. Filters are provided to
remove dust particles from air which may act as abrasive in the engine cylinder.
Because a diesel engine requires close tolerances to achieve its compression ratio,
and because most diesel engines are either turbocharged or supercharged, the air
entering the engine must be clean, free of debris, and as cool as possible. Also, to
improve a turbocharged or supercharged engine’s efficiency, the compressed air
must be cooled after being compressed. The air intake system is designed to
perform these tasks. Air intake systems are usually one of two types, wet or dry. In
a wet filter intake system, as shown in the Figure 4.1, the air is sucked or bubbled
through a housing that holds a bath of oil such that the dirt in the air is removed by
the oil in the filter. The air then flows through a screen-type material to ensure any
entrained oil is removed from the air. In a dry filter system, paper, cloth, or a metal
screen material is used to catch and trap dirt before it enters the engine. In addition
to cleaning the air, the intake system is usually designed to intake fresh air from as
far away from the engine as practicable, usually just outside of the engine’s
building or enclosure. This provides the engine with a supply of air that has not
been heated by the engine’s own waste heat. The reason for ensuring that an
engine's air supply is as cool as possible is that cool air is denser than hot air. This
means that, per unit volume, cool air has more oxygen than hot air.

Thus, cool air provides more oxygen per cylinder charge than less dense, hot air.
More oxygen means a more efficient fuel burn and more power.
 Diesel Engine Power Plant

Figure 4.1 : Air Intake System

After being filtered, the air is routed by the intake system into the engine's intake
manifold or air box. The manifold or air box is the component that directs the
fresh air to each of the engine’s intake valves or ports. If the engine is
turbocharged or supercharged, the fresh air will be compressed with a blower and
possibly cooled before entering the intake manifold or air box. The intake system
also serves to reduce the air flow noise.
Exhaust System
This system leads the engine exhaust gas outside the building and discharges it
into atmosphere. A silencer is usually incorporated in the system to reduce the
noise level.
The exhaust system of a diesel engine performs three functions. First, the exhaust
system routes the spent combustion gasses away from the engine, where they are
diluted by the atmosphere. This keeps the area around the engine habitable.
Second, the exhaust system confines and routes the gases to the turbocharger, if
used. Third, the exhaust system allows mufflers to be used to reduce the engine
noise.
Cooling System
The heat released by the burning of fuel in the engine cylinder is partially
converted into work. The remainder part of the heat passes through the cylinder
wall, piston, rings etc. and may cause damage to system. In order to keep the
temperature of the engine parts within the safe operating limits, cooling is
provided. The cooling system consists of a water source, pump and cooling
towers. The pump circulates water through cylinder and head jacket. The water
takes away heat form the engine and it becomes hot. The hot water is cooled by
cooling towers and re circulated for cooling.
Lubricating System
The system minimises the wear of rubbing surfaces of the engine. It comprises of
lubricating oil tank, pump, filter and oil cooler. The lubrication oil is drawn from
the lubricating oil tank by the pump and is passed through filter to remove
impurities .The clean lubrication oil is delivered to the points which require
lubrication. The oil coolers incorporated in the system keep the temperature of the
oil low.
Power
121 Plant Engineering An internal combustion engine would not run for even a few minutes if the

122
 moving parts were allowed to make metal-to-metal contact. The heat generated
due to the tremendous amounts of friction would melt the metals, leading to the
destruction of the engine. To prevent this, all moving parts ride on a thin film of
oil that is pumped between all the moving parts of the engine. The oil serves two
purposes. One purpose is to lubricate the bearing surfaces. The other purpose is to
cool the bearings by absorbing the friction- generated heat. The flow of oil to the
moving parts is accomplished by the engine's internal lubricating system.

Figure 4.2 : Lubricating System

Oil is accumulated and stored in the engine's oil pan where one or more oil pumps
take suction and pump the oil through one or more oil filters as shown in the
figure. The filters clean the oil and remove any metal that the oil has picked up
due to wear. The cleaned oil then flows up into the engine's oil galleries. A
pressure relief valve(s) maintains oil pressure in the galleries and returns oil to the
oil pan upon high pressure. The oil galleries distribute the oil to all the bearing
surfaces in the engine. Once the oil has cooled and lubricated the bearing surfaces,
it flows out of the bearing and gravity-flows back into the oil pan. In medium to
large diesel engines, the oil is also cooled before being distributed into the block.
This is accomplished by either internal or external oil cooler. The lubrication
system also supplies oil to the engine’s governor.
Engine Starting System
This is an arrangement to rotate the engine initially, while starting, until firing
starts and the unit runs with its own power. Small sets are started manually by
handles but for larger units, compressed air is used for starting. In the latter case,
air at high pressure is admitted to a few of the cylinders, making them to act as
reciprocating air motors to turn over the engine shaft. The fuel is admitted to the
remaining cylinders which makes the engine to start under its own power.
Starting Circuits
Diesel engines have as many different types of starting circuits as there are
types, sizes, and manufacturers of diesel engines. Commonly, they can be
started by air motors, electric motors, hydraulic motors, and manually. The
Power Plant Engineering  initial cost,
circuit. But in almost all cases the following events must occur for the
starting engine to start.
(a) The start signal is sent to the starting motor. The air, electric,
or hydraulic motor, will engage the engine’s flywheel.
(b) The starting motor will crank the engine. The starting motor
will spin the engine at a high enough rpm to allow the engine’s
compression to ignite the fuel and start the engine running.
(c) The engine will then accelerate to idle speed. When the starter
motor is overdriven by the running motor it will disengage the
flywheel.
Because a diesel engine relies on compression heat to ignite the fuel, a cold
engine can rob enough heat from the gasses that the compressed air falls
below the ignition temperature of the fuel. To help overcome this condition,
some engines (usually small to medium sized engines) have glow plugs.
Glow plugs are located in the cylinder head of the combustion chamber and
use electricity to heat up the electrode at the top of the glow plug. The heat
added by the glow plug is sufficient to help ignite the fuel in the cold
engine. Once the engine is running, the glow plugs are turned off and the
heat of combustion is sufficient to heat the block and keep the engine
running. Larger engines usually heat the block and/or have powerful starting
motors that are able to spin the engine long enough to allow the
compression heat to fire the engine. Some large engines use air start
manifolds that inject compressed air into the cylinders which rotates the
engine during the start sequence.

4.3 FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

Fuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an internal combustion engine. A
fuel injection system is designed and calibrated specifically for the type of fuel it will
handle. Most fuel injection systems are for diesel applications. With the advent of
electronic fuel injection (EFI), the diesel gasoline hardware has become similar. EFI’s
programmable firmware has permitted common hardware to be used with different fuels.
Carburetors were the predominant method used to meter fuel before the widespread use
of fuel injection. A variety of injection systems have existed since the earliest usage of
the internal combustion engine.
The primary difference between carburetors and fuel injection is that fuel injection
atomizes the fuel by forcibly pumping it through a small nozzle under high pressure,
while a carburetor relies on low pressure created by intake air rushing through it to add
the fuel to the air stream.
The fuel injector is only a nozzle and a valve: the power to inject the fuel comes from a
pump or a pressure container farther back in the fuel supply.
Objectives
The functional objectives for fuel injection systems can vary. All share the central
task of supplying fuel to the combustion process, but it is a design decision how a
particular system will be optimized. There are several competing objectives such
as :
 power output,
 fuel efficiency,
 emissions performance,
 reliability,

124
  maintenance cost,
 diagnostic capability, and
 range of environmental operation.
Certain combinations of these goals are conflicting, and it is impractical for a
single engine control system to fully optimize all criteria simultaneously. In
practice, automotive engineers strive to best satisfy a customer's needs
competitively. The modern digital electronic fuel injection system is far more
capable at optimizing these competing objectives consistently than a carburetor.
Carburetors have the potential to atomize fuel better.
Benefits
Operational benefits include smoother and more dependable engine response
during quick throttle transitions, easier and more dependable engine starting,
better operation at extremely high or low ambient temperatures, increased
maintenance intervals, and increased fuel efficiency. On a more basic level, fuel
injection does away with the choke which on carburetor-equipped systems must be
operated when starting the engine from cold and then adjusted as the engine
warms up.
An engine’s air/fuel ratio must be precisely controlled under all operating
conditions to achieve the desired engine performance, emissions, and fuel
economy. Modern electronic fuel-injection systems meter fuel very accurately,
and use closed loop fuel-injection quantity-control based on a variety of feedback
signals from an oxygen sensor, a mass airflow (MAF) or manifold absolute
pressure (MAP) sensor, a throttle position (TPS), and at least one sensor on the
crankshaft and camshaft to monitor the engine's rotational position. Fuel injection
systems can react rapidly to changing inputs and control the amount of fuel
injected to match the engine's dynamic needs across a wide range of operating
conditions such as engine load, ambient air temperature, engine temperature, fuel
octane level, and atmospheric pressure.
A multipoint fuel injection system generally delivers a more accurate and equal
mass of fuel to each cylinder, thus improving the cylinder-to-cylinder distribution.
Exhaust emissions are cleaner because the more precise and accurate fuel
metering reduces the concentration of toxic combustion byproducts leaving the
engine, and because exhaust cleanup devices such as the catalytic converter can be
optimized to operate more efficiently since the exhaust is of consistent and
predictable composition.
Fuel injection generally increases engine fuel efficiency. With the improved
cylinder-to-cylinder fuel distribution, less fuel is needed for the same power
output. When cylinder-to-cylinder distribution is less than ideal, as is always the
case to some degree with a carburetor or throttle body fuel injection, some
cylinders receive excess fuel as a side effect of ensuring that all cylinders receive
sufficient fuel. Power output is asymmetrical with respect to air/fuel ratio; burning
extra fuel in the rich cylinders does not reduce power nearly as quickly as burning
too little fuel in the lean cylinders. However, rich-running cylinders are
undesirable from the standpoint of exhaust emissions, fuel efficiency, engine
wear, and engine oil contamination. Deviations from perfect air/fuel distribution,
however subtle, affect the emissions, by not letting the combustion events at the
chemically ideal (stoichiometric) air/fuel ratio. Grosser distribution problems
eventually begin to reduce efficiency, and the grossest distribution issues finally
affect power. Increasingly poorer air/fuel distribution affects emissions,
efficiency, and power, in that order. By optimizing the homogeneity of
cylinder-to-cylinder mixture distribution, all the cylinders approach their
maximum power potential and the engine's overall power output improves.
Power Plant Engineering  ECM – Engine Control Module; includes a digital computer and circuitry to
engine. Fuel injection alone does not necessarily increase an engine's maximum
potential output. Increased airflow is needed to burn more fuel, which in turn
releases more energy and produces more power. The combustion process converts
the fuel's chemical energy into heat energy, whether the fuel is supplied by fuel
injectors or a carburetor. However, airflow is often improved with fuel injection,
the components of which allow more design freedom to improve the air’s path into
the engine. In contrast, a carburetor's mounting options are limited because it is
larger, it must be carefully oriented with respect to gravity, and it must be
equidistant from each of the engine's cylinders to the maximum practicable degree.
These design constraints generally compromise airflow into the engine.
Furthermore, a carburetor relies on a restrictive venturi to create a local air
pressure difference, which forces the fuel into the air stream. The flow loss caused
by the venturi, however, is small compared to other flow losses in the induction
system. In a well-designed carburetor induction system, the venturi is not a
significant airflow restriction.
4.3.1 Basic Function
The process of determining the necessary amount of fuel, and its delivery into the
engine, are known as fuel metering. Early injection systems used mechanical methods to
meter fuel (non electronic or mechanical fuel injection). Modern systems are nearly all
electronic, and use an electronic solenoid (the injector) to inject the fuel. An electronic
engine control unit calculates the mass of fuel to inject.
Modern fuel injection schemes follow much the same setup. There is a mass airflow
sensor or manifold absolute pressure sensor at the intake, typically mounted either in the
air tube feeding from the air filter box to the throttle body, or mounted directly to the
throttle body itself. The mass airflow sensor does exactly what its name implies; it
senses the mass of the air that flows past it, giving the computer an accurate idea of how
much air is entering the engine. The next component in line is the Throttle Body. The
throttle body has a throttle position sensor mounted onto it, typically on the butterfly
valve of the throttle body. The throttle position sensor (TPS) reports to the computer the
position of the throttle butterfly valve, which is used to calculate the load upon the
engine. The fuel system consists of a fuel pump (typically mounted in-tank), a fuel
pressure regulator, fuel lines (composed of either high strength plastic, metal, or
reinforced rubber), a fuel rail that the injectors connect to, and the fuel injector(s). There
is a coolant temperature sensor that reports the engine temperature, which the engine
uses to calculate the proper fuel ratio required. In sequential fuel injection systems there
is a camshaft position sensor to determine which fuel injector to fire.
The fuel injector acts as the fuel-dispensing nozzle. It injects liquid fuel directly into the
engine's air stream. In almost all cases this requires an external pump. The pump and
injector are only two of several components in a complete fuel injection system.
An EFI system requires several peripheral components in addition to the injector(s), in
order to duplicate all the functions of a carburetor. A point worth noting during times of
fuel metering repair is that early EFI systems are prone to diagnostic ambiguity. A single
carburetor replacement can accomplish what might require numerous repair attempts to
identify which one of the several EFI system components is malfunctioning. Newer EFI
systems can be very easy to diagnose due to the increased ability to monitor the realtime
data streams from the individual sensors.
Typical EFI Components
 Animated cut through diagram of a typical fuel injector
 Injectors
 Fuel Pump

126
 communicate with sensors and control outputs
 Wiring Harness
 Various Sensors (Some of the sensors required are listed here)
 Crank/Cam Position (Hall effect sensor)
 Airflow (MAF sensor)
 Exhaust Gas Oxygen (Oxygen sensor, EGO sensor, UEGO sensor).

Figure 4.2 : Typical EFI Components

4.3.2 Functional Description

Central to an EFI system is a computer called the Engine Control Unit (ECU), which
monitors engine operating parameters via various sensors. The ECU interprets these
parameters in order to calculate the appropriate amount of fuel to be injected, among
other tasks, and controls engine operation by manipulating fuel and/or air flow as well as
other variables. The optimum amount of injected fuel depends on conditions such as
engine and ambient temperatures, engine speed and workload, and exhaust gas
composition.
The electronic fuel injector is normally closed, and opens to inject pressurized fuel as
long as electricity is applied to the injector’s solenoid coil. The duration of this
operation, called the pulse width, is proportional to the amount of fuel desired. The
electric pulse may be applied in closely-controlled sequence with the valve events on
each individual cylinder (in a sequential fuel injection system), or in groups of less than
the total number of injectors (in a batch fire system).
Since the nature of fuel injection dispenses fuel in discrete amounts, and since the nature
of the 4-stroke-cycle engine has discrete induction (air-intake) events, the ECU
calculates fuel in discrete amounts. In a sequential system, the injected fuel mass is
tailored for each individual induction event. Every induction event, of every cylinder, of
the entire engine, is a separate fuel mass calculation, and each injector receives a unique
pulse width based on that cylinder’s fuel requirements.
It is necessary to know the mass of air the engine “breathes” during each induction event.
This is proportional to the intake manifold's air pressure/temperature, which is
proportional to throttle position. The amount of air inducted in each intake event is
known as “air-charge”, and this can be determined using several methods.
The three elemental ingredients for combustion are fuel, air and ignition. However,
complete combustion can only occur if the air and fuel is present in the exact
stoichiometric ratio, which allows all the carbon and hydrogen from the fuel to combine
Power Plant Engineering 4.4.2 Continuous Fuel Injection Systems
monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust, and the ECU uses this information to
adjust the air-to-fuel ratio in real-time.
To achieve stoichiometry, the air mass flow into the engine is measured and multiplied
by the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. The required fuel mass that must be injected into the
engine is then translated to the required pulse width for the fuel injector.
Deviations from stoichiometry are required during non-standard operating conditions
such as heavy load, or cold operation. In early fuel injection systems this was
accomplished with a thermotime switch.
Pulse width is inversely related to pressure difference across the injector inlet and outlet.
For example, if the fuel line pressure increases (injector inlet), or the manifold pressure
decreases (injector outlet), a smaller pulse width will admit the same fuel. Fuel injectors
are available in various sizes and spray characteristics as well. Compensation for these
and many other factors are programmed into the ECU’s software.

4.4 VARIOUS INJECTION SCHEMES

4.4.1 Throttle Body Injection Systems
Throttle body injection is a form of continuous injection-one or two injectors delivering
fuel to the engine from one central point in the intake manifold. Though throttle body
injection does not provide the precise fuel distribution of the direct port injection, it is
cheaper to produce and to provide a degree of precision fuel metering. The throttle body
injection unit is usually an integral one and contains all of the major system components.
The unit mounts on the intake manifold in the same manner as a carburetor. Airflow
sensors and electronic computers usually are mounted in the air cleaner body.

Figure 4.3 : Throttle Body Injection Unit

127
128 or single point fuel injection. MPFI (or just MPI) systems can be sequential, in which
Continuous fuel injection systems provide a continuous spray of fuel from each injector
at a point before the intake valve. Timed injection systems, though a necessity on diesel
engines, cost more than continuous systems. They are used on gasoline engines only
when more precise fuel metering is desired.
In the continuous system, fuel is delivered to the mixture control unit by the fuel pump.

Figure 4.5 : Continuous Injection

The fuel pressure regulator maintains fuel line pressure by sending excess fuel back to
the gas tank. The mixture control unit regulates the amount of fuel that is sent to the
injectors, based on the amount of airflow through the intake and the engine temperature.
The mixture control unit on mechanical systems is operated by the airflow sensing plate
and the warm-up regulator. This information on an electronic system is fed into a
computer that regulates the fuel injection rate. The accelerator pedal regulates the rate of
airflow through the intake by opening and closing the throttle valve. A cold-start injector
is installed in the intake to provide a richer mixture during engine start-up and warm-up.
It is actuated by electric current from the thermal sensor whenever the temperature of the
coolant is below a certain level. The cold-start injector works in conjunction with the
auxiliary air valve. Its function is to speed up the engine idle during warm-up. It is also
actuated by the thermal sensor.
4.4.3 Central Port Injection (CPI)
It uses tubes with poppet valves from a central injector to spray fuel at each intake port
rather than the central throttle-body. The 2 variants were CPFI from 1992 to 1995 and
CSFI from 1996 and on. CPFI is a batch-fire system, in which fuel is injected to all ports
simultaneously. The 1996 and later CSFI system sprays fuel sequentially.
4.4.4 Multi-point Fuel Injection
Multi-point fuel injection injects fuel into the intake port just upstream of the cylinder’s
intake valve, rather than at a central point within an intake manifold, referred to as SPFI,
Power Plant Engineering 4.4.5 Direct Injection
injected to the cylinders in groups, without precise synchronization to any particular
cylinder’s intake stroke, or simultaneous, in which fuel is injected at the same time to all
the cylinders.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

129
Stage 4
Power Plant Engineering 4.4.5 Direct Injection
Many diesel engines feature direct injection (DI). The injection nozzle is placed inside
the combustion chamber and the piston incorporates a depression (often toroidal) where
initial combustion takes place. Direct injection diesel engines are generally more
efficient and cleaner than indirect injection engines. By virtue of better dispersion and
homogeneity of the directly injected fuel, the cylinder and piston are cooled, thereby
permitting higher compression ratios and more aggressive ignition timing, with resultant
enhanced output. More precise management of the fuel injection event also enables
better control of emissions. Finally, the homogeneity of the fuel mixture allows for
leaner air/fuel ratios, which together with more precise ignition timing can improve fuel
economy. Along with this, the engine can operate with stratified mixtures and hence
avoid throttling losses at low and part load. Some direct-injection systems incorporate
piezo electronic injectors. With their extremely fast response time, multiple injection
events can occur during each power stroke of the engine.
Direct fuel injection costs more than indirect injection systems; the injectors are exposed
to more heat and pressure, so more costly materials and higher-precision electronic
management systems are required.

4.4.6 Performance Testing of Diesel Engine Power Plant

The performance of the diesel engine focuses on the power and efficiency. The engine
varies with parameters of the engine like piston speed, air-fuel ratio, compression ratio
inlet air-pressure and temperature. The two usual conditions under which I.C. engines
are operated are :
(a) constant speed with variable load, and
(b) variable speed with variable load.
The first situation is found in a.c. generator drives and the second one in automobiles,
railway engines and tractors etc. A series of tests are carried out on the engine to
determine its performance characteristics, such as : indicated power (I.P.), Brake power
(B.P.), Frictional Power (F.P.), Mechanical efficiency (η m), thermal efficiency, fuel
consumption and also specific fuel consumption etc. The measurement of these
quantities is discussed below.
Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMRP)
In order to determine the power developed by the engine, the indicator diagram of
engine should be available. From the area of indicator diagram it is possible to
find an average gas pressure which, while acting on piston throughout one stroke,
would account for the network done. This pressure is called indicated mean
effective pressure (IMEP).
Indicated Horse Power (IHP)
The indicated horse power (IHP) of the engine can be calculated as follows :

Pm LANn
IHP  4500 k

Pm = IMEP, kg/cm2,
L = Length of stroke, metres,
A = Piston areas, cm2,
N = Speed, RPM,
n = Number of cylinders, and
k = 1 for two stroke engine

130 = 2 for four stroke engine.

 Brake horse power is defined as the net power available at the crankshaft. It is
found by measuring the output torque with a dynamometer.

2 NT
BHP  4500

T = Torque, kg.m.
Frictional Horse Power (FHP)
The difference of IHP and BHP is called FHP. It is utilized in overcoming
frictional resistance of rotating and sliding parts of the engine.
FHP = IHP – BHP
Indicated Thermal Efficiency (ηi)
It is defined as the ratio of indicated work to thermal input.

i 
IHP  4500
(W  Cv  J )
W = Weight of fuel supplied, kg per minute,
Cv = Calorific value of fuel oil, kcal/kg, and
J = Joules equivalent = 427.
Brake Thermal Efficiency (Overall Efficiency)
It is defined as the ratio of brake output to thermal input.

b 
BHP  4500
(W  Cv  J )
Mechanical Efficiency (ηm)
It is defined as the ratio of BHP to IHP. Therefore,
BHP
i  IHP

SAQ 1
(a) What are the advantages and disadvantages of diesel engine power plants?
(b) State the applications of diesel power plant.
(c) Describe the essential components of the diesel power plant.
(d) Name and explain briefly various types of fuel injection systems.

4.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have learnt the functioning of diesel power plant. The diesel engine
drives alternator, which converts mechanical energy in to electrical energy. In this unit,
we have also studied the concept of fuel injection system and its functioning. The unit,
also elaborated on various types of injection schemes. The diesel engine plants are
mainly utilised to generate small power output. Which are mostly utilised as standby
modes, when power not takes place? Its cost is high. 131
Power Plant Engineering
4.6 ANSWERS TO SAQs
Refer the preceding text for all the Answers to SAQs.

132