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Diesel power plants
The
diesel engine has filled an important need as
a prime mover for power generation. It has enabled
small power plants to be set up at locations
far away from major grids.
Operation and maintenance
The diesel
engine is connected to a generator which produces
power when turned. The diesel engine, like any
other internal combustion engine used in automobiles,
requires good operating and maintenance practices.
The following four systems must function at
maximum efficiency:
- Air
- Fuel
- Cooling
- Lubrication
Air
Sufficient
clean air must be provided to the engine to
have combustion with fuel. Adequate sized filters
are required for the system. Dg sets working
near highly polluted industries like cement
plants, mines etc. Are exposed to dusts which
may cause rapid wear of cylinder liners and
other moving parts.
Turbo charged engines especially require clean
air in order to avoid turbine blade fouling.
Fuel system
DG sets
may operate on a wide variety of fuels, ranging
from light fuel like HSD to heavy residual fuel
like LSHS. Proper fuel systems including pumps,
heaters and fine filters are incorporated into
the system to inject fuel though close tolerance
injectors. Many contaminants are likely to harm
the system and must be carefully removed. Water,
solids and other debris are likely to find their
way into storage tanks.
Cooling
system
Cooling
system removes the heat of combustion through
cooling water/air / engine oil and subsequently
dissipated through radiators or intercoolers.
Cooling system must be fed with clean treated
water in order to avoid corrosion, deposits
on the heat transfer surfaces etc.
Lubrication
system
The
principal functions of the engine oil are to
lubricate, cool and keep moving parts of the
engine clean. The oil must be clean of any solid
contaminants since it has to move through close
tolerances.
Filters and centrifuges
are part of the lubrication system to take care
of contamination. Common contaminants are
- Abrasive airborne
dust,
- Fuel soot from combustion,
- Carbon deposits from
partially burnt oil,
- Acidic material from
combustion chamber.
Selection
of engine lubricant
Newer
types of engine oils developed recently make
it possible for power plants to work with lower
grade fuel without fear of engine deposits,
liner wear and port plugging.
The new
lubricants can be classified as 'high alkaline
type' heavy-duty oils, which in addition to
usual qualities of lubricity, detergency and
dispersancy, incorporate a high degree of alkalinity.
This characteristic enables them to react with
and neutralise acidic fuel decomposition products
and greatly reduce engine wear, lacquer formation
and engine deposits. |
excavation purposes. The common ones are bulldozers,
dumpers, loaders ,scrapers, shovels, graders,
draglines and trucks.
recommendation. But the major lubricants used
are as follows:
