Diesel Engine and Steam Boiler, Fuel Atomization and

Combustion

Diesel Engine Fuel Atomization
The essence of a diesel engine is the introduction of finely atomized fuel into
the air compressed in the cylinder during the pistons inward stroke in such a
condition that it burns quickly and cleanly. The heat generated by the
compression (425 550
o
C), which is normally nearly adiabatic, is crucial in
achieving ignition where the vapour of the fuel that burns not the fuel itself, so
the injection system's primary function is to vapourise the fuel in the cylinder,
and thus maximize the fuel/air mixing. To achieve good combustion inside the
cylinder there are essential factors that influences and they are follows:

Atomization
By breaking up the fuel into fine particles, the fuel will heat up and mix more
readily with the air, as the surface area interface has increased. This is achieved
by a fuel injector where by increasing the fuel pressure, and passing it through
small holes the fuels 'tears' or shears to form small spheres within the
combustion space (fig.1). Smaller diameter holes and/or increased fuel pressure
increases atomization.
Figure 1. Atomization of fuel.
Penetration
In order that the fuel doesn't burn in one area of the combustion chamber, and
hence cause local oxygen depletion, it must be spread out into the chamber
evenly. The fuel must spread to all parts and not impinge as liquid onto the
cylinder walls. The centrally placed injector gives a more uniform pattern.
Increasing the nozzle hole length or decreasing the cylinder air density gives
greater penetration.


Figure 2. Penetration and Turbulence

Turbulence
To achieve good air/fuel mixing, the air in the cylinder should be turbulent. This
is to allow the mobile air to reach all the fuel particles. Turbulence is achieved
by swirl (generated as the air enters the cylinder), and squish (generated as the
piston compresses the air charge). Swirl occurs in the 4 stroke engine by the air
flowing into the cylinder tripping over the inlet valves; and the 2 stroke by the
tangential entry slots cut into the cylinder liner (fig.3). Turbulence is normally
fixed by engine design rather than operational variables, although changes in
scavenge pressure will affect turbulence.




Figure 3. Tangential entry of scavenge air into the cylinder liner through ports

Ignition Delay
This is the time between injection of the fuel and its spontaneous ignition. This
delay can be around 15, so that fuel which starts injection at 18BTDC will not
start to bum until 3BTDC. The delay is mainly caused by the time required for
the fuel to heat up to its auto-ignition temperature (around 350
o
C); and as such
cylinder conditions and fuel structure are the main variables in determining the
actual delay time. As cylinder conditions are cooler at low loads, delay periods
are greater; also injecting the fuel earlier in the cycle also means cooler cylinder
conditions. A greater proportion of aromatics in the fuel make-up will increase
delay times. If the delay period is too great then the initial combustion of fuel
will be too severe, leading to high rates of pressure rise, and subsequent piston
ring and bearing damage. To reduce these effects we should always ensure
scavenge temperatures are sufficient, and avoid using fuels with high CCAI
ratings (Calculated Carbon Aromaticity (aromatics-benzene ring) Index-800
870). For measure of the ignition quality (delay) in distillate fuels are given as
Cetane number (Cetane very easily under compression, and assigned a number
of 100, while alpha-methyl naphthalene was assigned a cetane number of 15)
High number the better ignition quality; i.e. shorter time between injection and
ignition.

Figure 4. Typical Draw card diagram (crank angle based).

Further there are other factor that influences the combustion is the:
Viscosity is the resistance of a fluid to shear. To reduce pumping effort and
achieve correct injection, the fuel must be at the correct viscosity, and as
viscosity is dependent upon temperature, and is often used as a controlling
factor. Usual injection viscosity 10 - 15 cSt.

Density is the measure of the oils mass per unit volume and as a rough guide
the higher the density the lower the quality of oil supplied. This indirectly
influences the performance of the combustion as it is a vital component in the
centrifuge process. An upper limit of 0.991 g/ml is still valid for the operation
of many centrifuges; hence oils above this level will not be cleaned sufficiently
for motor powered vessels.

Conradson Carbon is a measure of the carbon residue from a fuel when burnt
without air. A high value indicates an increased fouling tendency of a fuel,
especially following ineffective combustion.

Asphaltenes are high mass hydrocarbon structures which contain a high carbon
to hydrogen ratio, and entrap water, ashes and other impurities. Due to their
complex chemical structure, asphaltenes are slow burning and hence need to be
in the combustion process for longer. High asphaltenes contribute towards
incompatibility of fuels.

Designing diesel engines to produce their maximum power requires careful
matching of the combustion chamber geometry. A large number of successful
designs have been developed that involve very different approaches. Diesel
engines can be divided into direct injection (DI) engines and indirect injection
(IDI) engines. Direct injection engines have the fuel injected directly into the
main chamber above the piston (fig.5).


Figure 5. Direct injection Combustion system

The wide flat chambers are associated with high pressure injection systems and
the deeper bowls are used with high swirl. Direct injection engines depend
primarily on the kinetic energy of the fuel spray to mix the air and fuel. This
dependence increases the importance of the fuel injection system for optimizing
the combustion system in DI engines. Increased air swirl can enhance the fuel-
air mixing. Large bore engines use higher injection pressure and low swirl or
quiescent combustion chambers. Successful design of DI combustion systems
requires optimum matching of the number of holes, the air swirl level, and the
fuel injection pressure.

Indirect injection engines have the fuel injected into a separate chamber (fig.6)
that is connected to the main chamber by one or more small passageways.
Many different types of combustion chambers have been developed for IDI
engines but the most successful recent designs have used some variation of the
Ricardo Comet swirl chamber design (fig.6 (a)). During compression, air is
forced at high velocity, from the main chamber, through the narrow connecting
passage, and into the swirl chamber, or prechamber. As this air enters the
prechamber, the chamber shape turns the flow and induces a strong swirl in the
chamber. Fuel is injected into the swirling flow and ignited after a brief ignition
delay. The fuel-air ratio in the swirl chamber is relatively rich, because only
about half of the trapped air is present in the swirl chamber.

Figure 6. Cross-sections of IDI combustion system and a pintle nozzle

As the pressure in the swirl chamber rises because of combustion and the
pressure in the main chamber falls because of piston motion, the burning gases
expand into the main chamber where the CO and unburned hydrocarbons burn
with the remaining air. Indirect injection engines have been popular for light-
duty diesel applications because of their lower NOx emissions, wider speed
range, and quieter operation. However, the high flow velocities in the swirl
chamber and connecting passage produce greater heat transfer losses for IDI
engines than for DI engines. These engines generally require compression ratios
greater than 20:1 for reliable starting and acceptable fuel economy. Most IDI
engines still require some form of starting aid such as a glow plug located in the
swirl chamber. Because of the high swirl rates in the prechamber, IDI engines
can achieve the fuel/air mixing rates required for high-quality combustion with
low pressure fuel injection. Most IDI engines use relatively inexpensive
distributor-type fuel injection pumps and either single hole or pintle-type
injectors (Fig 6(c).

The injection pump, injectors, and the air induction system must be properly
matched to the chamber design.






Fuel Injectors.
The injectors function is to atomize the high pressure fuel oil, and act as a non-
return valve. In order to act as a non-return valve, a spring is incorporated to
close the injector needle when the fuel pump spills the high pressure fuel. But a
quick needle opening is required to avoid low fuel pressure at the injector
nozzle at the start of injection. The most common way of achieving these
conflicting requirements is the differential needle valve principle where the high
fuel pressure gives a quick snap opening to the injector.
































/4 (D
2
-d
2
) Effective area just before opening.

/4 D
2
Effective area just after opening.

Figure 7. Fuel injector diagram

The hydraulically operated fuel injector (fig.7) is fitted to inject the fuel in small
droplets in a diesel engine. The general design is similar for most engines and
consists of a spring loaded non-return needle valve operated hydraulically by a
fuel pressure wave from the fuel pump to discharge fuel at high pressure
through an atomizer nozzle. It consists of a valve body or nozzle holder to
which the nozzle or atomizer is secured by a retaining nut. The valve body
contains the spring and its compression nut, with an intermediate spindle if
required. Surfaces between the body and atomizer are ground and lapped to
form an oil pressure-tight seal. A dowel ensures alignment of the oil passages.
The needle valve is lapped into the bore of the atomizer and these must be kept
as a matched unit. There are two chambers in the nozzle, the upper one being
charged with fuel oil from the fuel pump and sealed by the needle valve when
closed. The lower chamber, or sac, is sealed by the mitre seat of the needle
valve and of small atomizer holes. Injector spring compression is adjusted under
test and a compression ring fitted. It is set to allow the needle valve to lift or
open at a predetermined fuel pressure. The intermediate spindle conveys the
spring compression to the needle valve and may be arranged to limit its lift. The
valve will open when the pressure from the fuel pump acting on the shoulder of
the needle valve overcomes the spring compression. As the needle valve lifts,
oil flows to the lower chamber allowing fuel at high pressure to pass through the
atomizer holes into the combustion chamber. When the fuel pump cuts off
pressure, the valve will close under spring compression. Since the full area of
the needle is now exposed to pressure, closing will occur at a pressure lower
than that at which it opened. The action of the needle valve must be rapid and
positive with no oil leakage. Valves should be primed if the engine has been out
of service or during preparation for commencement of a voyage.

Present two-stroke engine injectors are of uncooled type unlike the previous
type of injectors where it was cooled by water. This eliminates the problem of
oil contaminating the cooling water. Each injector is also fitted with a spring-
loaded circulating valve (fig.8) which permits hot fuel at the circulating pump
pressure to pass through passages in the valve body before returning to a buffer
tank in the oil system. This maintains the valve at the correct temperature at all
times, allowing the engine to be manoeuvred on heavy fuel. The high pressure
(around 15 bar) wave of the engine fuel pump immediately depresses the spring,
ensuring that the circulating passages are sealed off before the high pressure
lifts the needle valve and injects fuel into the cylinder. The ideal position for a
fuel injector is in the centre of the cylinder cover, allowing a symmetrical,
conical spray pattern in the combustion chamber. This is achieved, in most four-
stroke engines. In large engines with a centrally placed exhaust valve, the
injectors are placed symmetrically around the cover.

With the injector's position in a high temperature region of the cylinder cover, it
can be prone to fault. Once the injector becomes faulty, this quickly reduces
engine efficiency as the fuel is not achieving the optimum atomization and
penetration.





Fuel Pumps.
The engine driven fuel pumps have three functions:-
1) Produce the high pressure required for injection, normally over 700
bar, with higher pressures for lower grade fuels.
2) Inject the fuel at, the correct cycle position, the most common
sequence is for fixed start and variable finish, but variable start is
more commonly in use for greater efficiency.
3) Control the quantity of fuel delivered, and hence vary the engine
power. The pumps must also be able to cease delivery whilst the
engine is running i.e. for emergency stop requirements.

The most common type of pump is the jerk pump and the main variants are port
controlled or valve controlled.

Port Controlled:-
Commonly used by medium speed engines and by some slow speed engines.
Helical springs are fitted to return the plunger on its down stroke and to
maintain contact of follower on the cam. The plunger has a characteristic helix
machined on it (Fig.9).Normally the start of injection is fixed, and occurs when
the top of the plunger covers the spill ports. At this point is moving at the
correct velocity to give a rapid raise in fuel pressure. The variable end of
injection is dependent upon the effective length of the helix (effective stroke)
which is altered by rotating the plunger and when the curved surface of the helix
uncovers the suction port and allows fuel pressure above the plunger to fall to
the suction pressure through a vertical slot or hole. A rack is fitted to the pump
to engage with a pinion machined on the outside of a sleeve. The sleeve fits
over the plunger and has slots engaging with keys. In this way the plunger may
be rotated by movements of the rack. Oil supply to the pump suction is by
means of a continuously operating supply or surcharge pump which causes
flooding of the fuel pump chamber as soon as the suction port is uncovered by
the plunger. In some pumps, a non-return spring-loaded discharge valve is
fitted. This is arranged to reduce pressure on its discharge side as it closes,
ensuring positive seating of the fuel injector needle and reducing cavitation
within the pump. These surfaces are a close fit, the small clearance allowing
some leakage to lubricate the plunger. Larger clearances are necessary for the
higher temperatures when burning heavy fuel.



Figure 9. Port Controlled fuel pump and timing control

Valve Controlled:-
This pump is commonly used on the Sulzer engines, and consists of blind
plunger with fuel delivery controlled by means of two valves. The valves are
operated by push rods and controlled by rotating the eccentrics (fig.9). The
suction valve controls the start of delivery in that upward movement of the
plunger closes the so that the pressure starts to rise and the injection begins. The
eccentric on suction valve is operated by the variable injection timing control.
The spill valve controls the point at which delivery end, and this is activated by
the upward motion of the plunger. The eccentric of the spill valve is operated by
the governor, and by which fuel regulated.



Figure 10. Valve Controlled fuel pump

VARIABLE INJECTION TIMING (VIT):-
Changing the start of fuel injection to an earlier or advanced angle will reduce
fuel consumption. This is because earlier injection will raise the cylinder
pressures and temperatures which increase cycle frequency. This advancing of
the fuel timing would be carried out on the valve controlled units by rotating the
eccentric controlling the suction valve on the Sulzer series, and by vertically
moving the barrel (fig.11) on the M.A.N B&W MC series engine or by
configuration of the plunger control helix (fig.12) enables ignition pressure to
be maintained over a fairly wide load range, thus achieving a favourable fuel
consumption, not only on full load but also in the range of maximum use, i.e., at
85 per cent output. The amount that the fuel timing can be advanced is limited
by:

1) Max. pressure in the cylinder. At the high loads putting the fuel into
early would mean excessive max.pressures.
2) Combustion pressure rise. Similar to above and high pressure rises are
detrimental to piston rings and bearing loading.
3) Uneven running. This would occur at low loads if the fuel is injected too
early, combustion becomes explosive rather than gradual, and the engine
becomes noisy and hard to start/idle.


Figure 11. MAN B&W VIT fuel injection pump.


Figure 12. Plunger configured for variable start of injection.
Injector Faults.
1) Mechanical defects such as broken spring (fatigue corrosion) will allow
injector to open early, but delivered fuel is not correctly atomized. The fuel
will also dribble into cylinder late in the cycle increasing smoke and
afterburning.

2) Leaking needle valve, caused by poor fuel filtration repeated shock loading
of needle onto seat. This also gives fuel dribble which leads to carbon
trumpets and distorted spray pattern. Again smoke will be seen in the exhaust
plume.

3) Poor fuel valve cooling also produces carbon trumpets. Check cooling system
on that cylinder for defects, or fuel injector/ cylinder head seating faces; if
separate fuel valve cooling then this would be the main cause.

4) Leaking at internal mating faces. This would produce leakage from the spill
port and reduce the quantity of fuel delivered.

So how do we know an injector is faulty in service. Assuming we have an
engine with the facility to measure all parameters.
A) Cylinder exhaust temperatures varies from average.
B) Check on cylinder pressure shows it is lower than average.
C) Exhaust gases become more smoky, indicating unburnt fuel.

Pump Overhaul would be Carried out:-
1) Renewal of pump seals, thus external leakage occurs, or camshaft crankcase
oil becomes contaminated.
2) Sticking plunger rotation. This must be free to operate otherwise the fuel
cut-out function may not stop the engine.
3) High internal plunger leakage. This would affect the rate of pressure rise,
limit the maximum pressure delivered, and reduce the quantity of fuel
delivered. Thus fuel would be slower burning and injection later.
4) Delivery valves defects. Broken spring or worn valve will affect the quantity
of fuel delivered, and thus would influence cylinder imbalance.









Steam Boiler Fuel Atomization and Combustion
Combustion in a boiler is the controlled generation of useful heat by the rapid
chemical combination of oxygen with the combustible elements of a fuel. In a
boiler, ignition is provided as the fuel and air are brought together so that there
is a progressive burning of fuel and a flow of combustion products to the
chimney. The mixing of air & fuel is carried out by the burner unit in a boiler.
Furnace Explosions result from the ignition of unburnt fuel and oxygen after
they have accumulated in the boiler and not in the burner itself as could be
expected. Before the accumulation can explode, air & fuel must be present in
certain ratios. When the ratio of the explosion has been reached an ignition
source is necessary, e.g. hot metal, hot refractory, hot gases trying to fire the
boiler without proper purging. Explosion is the uncontrolled, extremely rapid,
chemical combination of a fuel with oxygen. It results in a rapid expansion of
combustion gases which leads to a rapid increase of furnace pressure causing
blow back of combustion outside the air register or bursting the air register or
the weakest section in the boiler furnace.

The burner unit or air register (fig.13) consists of an atomizer assembly, ignition
rods for initiating a fire by providing an electric arc between the rods, baffles
and swirler or diffuser vanes to swirl the air to give good mixing of the air and
fuel with a damper to control the air flow. An inspection port to observe the
flame visually and a flame detecting device (flame eye) to prevent fuel being
sprayed into the furnace by cutting off the fuel supply to the burner unit in the
event of failure of the fuel not burning in the furnace.

Figure 13. Air register.
The burner unit operates automatically, and a simple automatic combustion
system (Fig.14) suitable for many auxiliary boilers. The burner has a spring
loaded valve which closes off the fuel to the atomizer when the fuel pressure is
low, and when the pressure is high the valve opens and combustion is re-
established. The solenoid valves are two way so that fuel can be delivered
through either of the two outlets. The spill valves are spring loaded and when
one is in operation it provides the only path for the fuel to return to the suction
side of the pump. The pressure in the system will be forced to build up to the
spill valve setting. Combustion air is supplied by a constant speed fan and a
damper arrangement controls the air flow. The system operates as follows:
First the fuel is heated by an electrical heater where its thermostatically. At
this point the fuel pump and forced draught fan automatically start up and air
from the fan purges the furnace free from any oil vapour which may be present
while the oil circulates through the system through the circulating solenoid
valve until the oil temperature in the system attains the desired working
temperature. When the oil in the system reaches the wording temperature, The
oil circulating solenoid valve changes position and the oil now flows through
the low flame spill valve the ignition arc comes on and the oil pressure in burner
builds up and opens the piston valve. The atomized fuel is ignited and once the
flame is established, control of the oil valve and fan damper depends upon the
steam pressure. With low steam pressure the oil valve is actuated to deliver oil
through the high flame spill valve and when the steam pressure rises, the fuel is
switched back to the low flame spill valve. The fan damper is operated
simultaneously to adjust the air flow to suit the high or low flame conditions.
The solenoids are controlled by a pressure switch operated by the steam
pressure.

One type of burner atomizer nozzle is the pressure jet nozzle (fig.14) which is
extensively used on most auxiliary boilers. The fuel is supplied to the burner at
high pressure (10 bar), where it emerges through tangential slots, which gives a
swirl to the oil before exiting the burner tip via the nozzle hole, here the heated
oil is passed through the atomizer orifice where it is atomized; this process
breaks it up into a fine spray of droplets, so presenting a very large surface area
of oil to the combustion processes and mixes with the swirling air. To adjust the
quantity of fuel admitted, the fuel pressure is altered. But low fuel pressure also
causes poorer atomization, and this limits fuel pressure variation obtainable.
The nozzle has to be maintained by opening and cleaning the filters and
checking the inner passages and the orifice for on restrictions. The orifice
become oversize after prolonged operation , and if this is not changed will cause
the oil droplet form to be bigger thereby give rise to poor combustion and
impinging and burning on the refractory causing failure of the material.

The combustion stage itself commence, and in a boiler furnace a type of
combustion often referred to as a suspended flame' is used. For this a stream of
oil particles and air enters the combustion zone at the same rate at which the
products of combustion leave it. The actual flame front therefore remains
stationary, while the particles pass through it, undergoing the combustion
process as they do so. The combustion zone itself can be subdivided into two
main stages; these are referred to as the primary and secondary flames (fig.15).


Figure 13. Elementary automatic combustion system


Figure 14. Pressure Jet Nozzle.


Primary Flame
For the oil to bum, it must be raised lo its ignition temperature, where
continuous vaporization of the oil required for its combustion takes place. Note
this temperature should not be confused with the flash point temperature of the
oil, where only the vapour formed above the oil in storage tanks, etc. will burn.
The ignition or burning temperature should normally be at least some 20C
above this value. This ignition temperature cannot be obtained in the fuel oil
heaters, and therefore the heat radiated from the flame itself is utilized so that,
as the cone of atomized oil leaves the burner, the lighter hydrocarbons are
rapidly raised to the required temperature by the heat from the furnace flame;
they then vaporize and burn to form the primary flame. The heat from this
primary flame is now used to heat the heavier constituents of the fuel to their
ignition temperature as they, together with the incoming secondary combustion
air, pass through the flame. The stability of the combustion process in the
furnace largely depends upon maintaining a stable primary flame and, to ensure
it is not overcooled, a refractory quarl is usually placed around it so as to radiate
heat back to the flame. The primary flame should just fill the quarl. If there is
too much clearance excessive amounts of relatively cool secondary air enter the
furnace too little and the heavier oil droplets impinge on the quarl and form
carbon deposit s. Another important factor for the formation of the primary
flame is that it must be supplied with primary air in the correct proportion and at
the right velocity. In the case of air registers using high velocity air streams this
is done by fitting a tip plate which spills the primary air over into a series of
vortices. This ensures good mixing of the air and fuel and, by reducing the
forward speeds involved, helps to maintain the primary flame within the
refractory quarl.


Figure 15. Combustion in a boiler furnace

Secondary Flame
The larger oil droplets, heated in their passage through the primary flame zone,
then vaporize and begin to burn. This, although a rapid process, is not
instantaneous, and so it is essential that oxygen is supplied steadily and
arranged to mix thoroughly with the burning particles of oil. An essential
feature for the stability of this suspended secondary flame is that the forward
velocity of the air and oil particles must not exceed the speed of flame
propagation. If it does the flame front moves further out into the furnace and the
primary flame will now bum outside the quarl with resulting instability due to
overcooling. The careful design of the swirl vanes in the air register can be used
to create the required flow patterns in the secondary air stream. The secondary
flame gives heat to the surrounding furnace for the generation of steam.