Detection of fuel overconsumption by marine diesel genset

• Main Authors: Sergey E. Kuznetsov, Nikolay A. Alekseev, Andrey Aleksandrovich Vinogradov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Krylov State Research Centre 2019-08-01
• Series: Труды Крыловского государственного научного центра
• Subjects: marine diesel genset; fuel overconsumption; power; load coefficient; specific fuel consumption; calculation procedure
• Online Access: https://transactions-ksrc.ru/eng/archive/Detection-of-fuel-overconsumption-by-marine-diesel-genset/
• ISSN: 2542-2324; 2618-8244

Object and purpose of research. This paper studies diesel gensets with medium-speed diesels and three-phase synchronous brushless generators. The purpose of the study was to obtain calculation formula for possible fuel overconsumption in specific operational conditions of ship power plant. Materials and methods. The study relied on factory test data given in technical certificates of specific diesel gensets, namely consumption and specific consumption of fuel at different electric loads and power coefficient cosφ = 1. Main results. This study yielded the formula for fuel consumption depending on electric load and power coefficient cosφ - Q (PГ, cosφ) for an operational diesel genset running on its intended diesel fuel. This expression, Q (PГ, cosφ), is used to calculate fuel consumption for specific values of power and cosφ, i.e. for any scenario of ship operation. Possible overconsumption of fuel is determined through comparison of actual fuel consumption (as measured by standard flow meter aboard the ship) at given electric load versus the consumption obtained as per Q (PГ, cosφ) expression for the same values of load and cosφ. Significant overconsumption of fuel might imply that diesel genset is not in good order or that its current fuel is not optimal. Conclusion. Once significant overconsumption of fuel is detected, the crew must take appropriate measures to fix this problem. The procedure described in this paper enables technical monitoring of marine diesel gensets and optimal selection of their respective fuels.