DIESEL POWEP PLANT

CNSC College of Engineering

Diesel Power Plant

- a fossil fuel plant since diesel is a fossil fuel.
are installed where supply of coal and water is not available
insufficient quantity
produces power in the range of 2 to 50 MW
used as standby sets for continuity of supply such as
hospitals, telephone exchanges, radio stations, cinema
theatres and industries.
suitable for mobile power generation and widely used in
railways and ships.
reliable compared to other plants.

The essential components of Diesel Power plant are:

Diesel engine
Air filter and super charger
Engine starting system
Fuel system
Lubrication system
Cooling system
Governing system
Exhaust system

Diesel engine:
-main component of a diesel power plant. The engines are
classified as two stroke engine and four stroke engines.
Engines are generally directly coupled to the generator
for developing power. In diesel engines, air admitted into
the cylinder is compressed. At the end of compression
stroke, fuel is injected.
The fuel is burned and the burning gases expand and do
work on the piston. The shaft of the engine is directly
coupled to the generator. After the combustion, the
burned gases are exhausted to the atmosphere.

Air filter and supercharger

The air filter is used to remove the dust from
the air which is taken by the engine.
Air filters may be of dry type, which is made up
of felt, wool or cloth.
In oil bath type of filters, the air is swept over a
bath of oil so that dust particles get coated.
The function of the supercharger is to increase
the pressure of the air supplied to the engine and
thereby the power of the engine is increased.

Engine starting system

Diesel engine used in diesel power plants
is not self starting.
Engine starting system includes air
compressor and starting air tank. This is
used to start the engine in cold conditions
by supplying the air.

Fuel system
It includes the storage tank, fuel pump, fuel
transfer pump, strainers and heaters.
Pump draws diesel from the storage tank and
supplies it to the small day tank through the
filter.
Day tank supplies the daily fuel need for the
engine. The day tank is usually placed high so
that diesel flows to engine under gravity.
Diesel is again filtered before being injected into
the engine by the fuel injection pump.

The fuel injection system performs the following functions.

Filter the fuel
Meter the correct quantity of the fuel to be injected
Time the injection process
Regulate the fuel supply
Secure fine atomization of fuel oil
Distribute the atomized fuel properly in the combustion;
chamber.
The fuel is supplied to the engine according to the load
on the plant.

Lubrication system
includes oil pumps, oil tanks, coolers and pipes.
used to reduce the friction of moving parts and reduce wear
and tear of the engine parts such as cylinder walls and piston.
Lubrication oil which gets heated due to the friction of the
moving parts is cooled before recirculation.
In the lubrication system the oil is pumped from the lubricating oil
tank through the oil cooler where the oil is cooled by the cold
water entering the engine.
The hot oil after cooling the moving parts return to the lubricating
oil tank.

Fig. Diesel Power plant

Cooling system

The temperature of the burning fuel inside the engine

cylinder is in the order of 1,5000C to 2,000 0C.

In order to lower this temperature, water is circulated around

the engine.
The water envelopes (water jacket) the engine, the heat from
the cylinder, piston, combustion chamber etc, is carried by the
circulating water.
The hot water leaving the jacket is passed through the heat
exchanger.
The heat from the heat exchanger is carried away by the raw
water circulated through the heat exchanger and is cooled in
the cooling tower.

Governing system
It is used to regulate the speed of the
engine. This is done by varying the fuel
supply according to the engine load.
Exhaust system
The exhaust gases coming out of the
engine is very noisy. In order to reduce the
noise a silencer (muffler) is used.

Working of Diesel Power Plant

The air and fuel mixture act as a working medium in diesel

engine power plant.

The atmosphere air enters inside the combustion chamber

during the suction stroke and the fuel is injected through the
injection pump.
The air and fuel is mixed inside the engine and the charge is
ignited due to high compression inside the engine cylinder.
The basic principle in diesel engine is that, the thermal
energy is converted into mechanical energy and this
mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy to
produce the power by using generator or alternator.

The diesel electric power plants are chiefly used in

the following field.
(a) Peak load plant:
Diesel plants can be used in combination with
thermal or hydro-plants as peak load units. They
can be easily started or stopped at a short notice
to meet the peak demand.
(b) Mobile plant:
Diesel plants mounted on trailers can be used for
temporary or emergency purposes such as for
supplying power to large civil engineering works.

(c) Standby unit:

If the main unit fails or cannot cope up with the
demand, a diesel plant can supply the necessary
power. For example, if water available in a hydroplant is not adequately available due to less
rainfall, the diesel station can operate in parallel
to generate the short fall in power.
(d) Emergency plant:
During power interruption in a vital unit like a key
industrial plant or a hospital, a diesel electric
plant can be used to generate the needed power.

(e) Nursery station:

In the absence of main grid, a diesel plant can be
installed to supply power in a small town. In course of
time, when electricity from the main grid becomes
available in the town, the diesel unit can be shifted to
some other area which needs power on a small scale.
Such a diesel plant is called a "nursery station".
(f) Starting stations:
Diesel units can be used to run the auxiliaries (likeFD
and ID fans, BFP, etc.) for starting a large steam power
plant.

(g) Central stations

Diesel electric plants can be used as central station
where the capacity required is small.

Advantages and disadvantages of diesel power plant

Following are the advantages of diesel electric stations.
1.It is easy to design and install these electric stations.
2.They are easily available in standard capacities.
3.They can respond to load changes without much difficulty.
4. There are less standby losses.
5.They occupy less space.
6.They can be started and stopped quickly.
7.They require less cooling water.

Advantages and disadvantages of diesel power plant (cont. )

8.Capital cost is less.
9.Less operating and supervising staff required.
10.High efficiency of energy conversion from fuel to electricity.
11. Efficiency at part loads is also higher.
12. Less of civil engineering work is required.
13. They can be located near the load centre.
14. There is no ash handling problem.
15. Easier lubrication system.

Disadvantages in installing diesel units for power generation.

1.High operating cost.
2. High maintenance and lubrication cost.
3. Capacity is restricted. Cannot be of very big size.4.Noise
problem.
5. Cannot supply overload.
6. Unhygienic emissions.
7. The life of the diesel power plant is less (7 to 10 years) as
compared to that of a steam power plant which has a life span
of 25 to 45 years. The efficiency of the diesel plant decreases
to less than 10% after its life period.

 End of Lecture

Actual Engine Performance

1.

Energy Chargeable ( Ec ) Heat Energy

being charge to the engine from the
combustion of fuel
Where;

= Energy Chargeable
= mass flowrate
= Heating Value of the fuel

Variants:

Variants:

For Solid Fuels ( Use Doulongs Formula)

Qh=33,820 C + 144,212( ) 9,304 S
KJ/kg

Finding for

Qh: by ASME Formula

Qh=41,130 + 139.6 (

KJ/kg

Qh= 17,680 + 60 (

BTU/lb

Bureau of Standard Formula

Qh= 51,716 8,783.8

Kj/kg

If Fuel is not standard: or not equal to

60)
Use correction factor:

2. Power- Rate of Doing Work

a. Indicated Power- Power Measured in the cylinder

IP= Pmi
Pmi= indicated mean effective pressure kpa, ksi
Volume displacement of Engine
To solve for Pmi, indicated diagram data is given

To solve for
=volume displacement
L= length of Stroke , mm
A= Area of the cylinder ( crossection )
D= diameter of the cylinder or bore

N= working shaft, speed, rpm, rps

N=n
n= n/2

two stroke
4 stroke

C= nos. of cycle

Brake
Power- The power measured in the shaft of the engine ( Dynamometer or
prony brake )

BP= 2

BP= Brake power

T = torque N-M, KN-m, lb.-ft.
n=engine speed