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‫‪Marine Diesel Engine‬‬

‫‪Starting Air System‬‬

‫ﻣﺼﻄﻔﻲ ﺟﻌﻔﺮزاده‬
Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

I- Intrroduction
n to Diessel Engin
ne Startiing Air System
S
Diesel engines are
a startedd by supplying com mpressed air
a into thhe cylindeers in thee
appropriaate sequennce for thhe requiredd direction. Air is compresssed about 30bar byy
two or thhree compressors annd stored ini air reseervoirs or 'bottles' reeady for im
mmediatee
use. The starting air
a system usually hash interloccks to preevent startting if eveerything iss
not in ordder.
1. Air reservoir
r
Accordinng to classsificationn sosietiess’ regulatiions, air reservoirss should meet thee
followingg requiremments.
- Vessels havinng internaal combusttion enginnes arrangged for airr starting are to bee
provvided withh at least two startting air reeservoirs of
o approximately equal size..
The total cap t startinng air reseervoirs is to be suffficient too provide,,
pacity of the
withhout rechaarging the reservoirss, at least the
t numbeer of conseecutive staarts statedd
in taable below
w.

- If otther comppressed aiir consum ming systeems, such as controol air, aree suppliedd
from
m the startting air reservoirs, the t aggreggate capaccity of thee reservoirrs is to bee
suffi
ficient for continuedd operationn of these systems after a the air
a necessaary for thee
requuired numb ber of starrts has beeen used.
- The usual fitttings requuired to a main sttarting airr receiverr are: safeety valve,,
presssure gaug ge connecction, draiin valve, filling vaalve, dischharge to eengine airr
startting main,, air to shipp's whistlee, auxiliarry systemss, pneumattic controll system.
2. Air Compres
C sors
There aare to be two
t or moore air com mpressors, at least oneo of wh hich is to be drivenn
independdently of thhe propulssion enginnes, and thhe total cap pacity of the
t air commpressorss
driven independenttly of the propulsioon enginess is to be not n less than 50% of the totall
required.
The totaal capacityy of air coompressorrs is to bee sufficient to supply, within one hour,,
the quanttity of air needed too satisfy thhe requireements off above tabble by chaarging thee
reservoirss from atm
mospheric pressure.
The tottal capacitty requireed is to be b approxximately equally
e diivided bettween thee
number ofo compresssors fittedd excludinng the emeergency aiir compresssor, if fittted.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

3. Com
mpressed air
a system
m for starrting main
n and auxxiliary eng
gines.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

4. Main Compoonents of Starting

S Air
A System m
The Com
mponents used in sttarting air system arre listed below
 A
Air receiveer or air boottle
 A
Air distribuutor
 A
Air start vaalve
 P
Pilot valve
 A
Automatic valve
 S
Start controol valve
 A
Air flow co ontrol valvve
 O
Other valvees

To be able to understand
u d the diaggrams it is necesssary to unnderstand how thee
pneumatiic symbolss "work".

Shown above, is a basic pnneumaticaally operatted, springg return 3/2 valve (3

( ports, 2
positions). Its norm
mal positiion is sho
own, whicch in this case, is with the air to thee
process sshut and the
t processs vented.. When thhe operatiing air siggnal is appplied, thee
whole vaalve is moved dow wnwards anda the air can floow througgh the porrts to thee
process.

Starting procedu ure:

The opeeration of starting diiagram (next page) is as follw wos:
The isollating valv
ve from thhe air receeiver is open. Air at 30 bar flo ows to thee utomaticc
valve ( 4)) which is closed. Air
A also floows to conntrol valvee (2) which is also closed.
c Ass
long as thhe turning gear is ouut, air can also flow
w to the staart control valve (1)..

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

When a start sign nal is appllied to thee control valve

v (1) an
a air signnal operatees controll
valve (2). The air can now flow f to thhe pilot vaalves, to control vallve (3) whhich ventss
the autommatic valv ve ( 4) whiich now openso allowwing air to
t flow to the air start valvess
mounted in the cy ylinder heead. Air willw also flow to the t goverrnor boostter servo,,
pulling thhe fuel puump control linkagee to the zeero positio on so thatt no fuel iis injectedd
whilst staart air is addmitted too the cylinders.
When tthe pilot valve
v m is in the correct position
cam p (i.e. as the piston coomes overr
TDC on tthe powerr stroke), air a flows through
t thhe pilot valve to the operatingg piston off
the air staart valve opening
o thhe valve an nd allowinng the com mpressed aira into thee cylinderr
forcing thhe piston down
d and turning th he crankshhaft.
Just beffore the exxhaust vallve opens, the pilot valve will vent, andd the air start s valvee
will closee. By thiss time anoother air starts valvee will be open,
o allowing the engine too
acceleratee to firingg speed, at which vaalve (1) wiill vent, co ontrol valvve (2) willl vent, thee
automaticc valve (44) will shuut and thee governoor will opeerate the fuel rackss to allow w
fuel to bee injected into
i the cyylinders. (figure
( bellow)
The em mergency stop s show
wn is indeependent of o the govvernor sto op signal. It can bee
operated by hand or o from thhe engine shut downn system ( overspeeed etc). Iff operated,,
an air siggnal openss a valve allowing
a compresse
c ed air to servo cylinnders at thhe back off
the fuel ppumps whiich zero thhe fuel raccks.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

Pilot vaalve:

The sttart sequeence is underway.

u As the cam
c turns the exit from
f the
Pilot air
a flows through bores in pulse piipe is resttricted by the cam
the sh huttle vaalve plunnger and profile. The preessure un nder the
escapees through h the puulse pipe. shuttle valve
v plunnger increaases and
Due to the difference
d e in air due to the differrence in areas
a the
pressuure the shuuttle valvee plunger plungerr now lifts allowing pilot air
is in th
he lower osition annd the air to operaate the air start valvee.
start valve
v opeerating cyylinder is
ventedd.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

At thhe end of the opening angle for the air a start valve,
v the undersidee of the
shuttlle valve plunger
p iss vented through
t th
he pulse p
pipe and the valvee closes
allow
wing the aiir start valv ve pilot aiir to vent.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

Air starrt valve (MMAN B&W W type)

Air starrt valve insstalled in the
t cylindder head. Itt is openedd by the control
c air from the
starting aair distribuutor.
Main sttarting airr at 30bar enter in thet valve through circumfere
c ential portt of valvee
body. The air presssure will notn open thhe valve because
b a spring holld the valvve shut, att
the area of the baalance pistton is thee same as that of thhe valve lid so thee valve iss
pneumatiically balaanced.
When thhe valve is i requiredd to open, air at 30 bar from the air staart distnbuutor enterss
the the toop of the valve boddy and actts on a pisston. Thiss force ov vercomes thet springg
force hollding the valve
v shut, and thee valve oppens. Wheen the air signal froom the airr
start distnnbutor is vented. the t spring g closes thhe valve When thee start seqquence iss
finished the main air start pressure is ventedd through holes in the mainn start airr
manifold.

Air starrt valve (Suulzer typee)

The Sullzer air staart valve uses
u air on n both siddes of the operating
g piston too maintainn
positive cclosing. The
T piston is steppedd. The reaason for thhis is so thhe startingg air valvee
will not open wheen the gass pressuree in the cyylinder is higher thhan the sttarting airr
pressure; i.e. whenn the cylindder is firinng.
Once thhe valve starts to open thenn the opeening is accelerate
a ed when the t largerr
diameter piston haas the opeening air acting
a on it The steepped pistton also means
m thatt
closing oof the valvve is dampped as air gets trappped in thee annular space
s formmed whenn
the smalller diametter piston enters thee upper part of the cylinder. The air to t operatee

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

the valvee comes frrom the m

main air staart supplyy. The disttributor piilot air opperates thee
pneumatiic change over valvee.

Safety eequipmentts:
Lubricaating oil frrom the coompressorr will undder normall operation n pass along the airr
lines andd deposit on o them. In the eveent of a cylinder
c aiir startingg valve leaaking, hott
gases woould pass into the aair pipes and ignitee the lubrricating oiil. If startting air iss
supplied to the eng gine this would
w furtther feed the
t fire annd could leead to an explosionn
in the piipelines. In I order to t preventt such ann occurrennce, cylinder startinng valvess
should bbe properrly mainttained and the piipelines regularly r drained. Also oill
dischargeed from co ompressorrs should be b kept to a minimu um, by carreful mainttenance.
Where eengine staarting is byy direct innjection off air into engine
e cyliinders, and in orderr
to protectt starting air mains against explosions
e s arising from
fr impro oper functtioning off
starting vvalves, ann isolationn non-retuurn valve or o equivaalent is to be installled at thee
starting aair supply connectioon of eachh engine. Where
W enggine bore exceeds 230 2 mm, a
bursting disc or fllame arresster is to be fitted in way of o the starrting valve of eachh
cylinder ffor direct reversing engines having
h ammain startiing manifo old or at tthe supplyy
inlet to thhe startingg air maniffold for noon-reversinng engines.

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

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Marine Dieesel Enginee Starting Aiir System

Position of air sttart valve and fuel innjectors inn the cylinnder head

5. Satrrting Air Brake

B at Changingg Directioon
If the enngine is required
r too reverse whilst
w theere is still way on the
t ship, thhe enginee
will be drriven by th he propelller, and it may be a while beffore it com mes to a halt, and iss
thus ablee to start in the revverse direection. To speed upp the proccess, startting air iss
admitted whilst thee engine is still runnning ahead althoughh the startt air distribbutor willl
have beenn retimed to admit aair for reverse runnm mg.
Becausee of this, starting aira flows intoi the cylinder
c half
h way up u the com mpressionn
stroke. Towards thhe end of the t comprression strroke (no iggnition, fu uel injectioon cut offf
by the ruunning direection cutt-out), com mpressed aair, (at a pressure
p w
which has increasedd
above thaat of the starting
s airr), then floows throuugh the staarting air valve,
v whiich is stilll
being helld open, in nto the staarting air distributio
d on pipe. Iff the startin
ng air valve is thenn
closed, thhere will beb less air within thet cylindder than att the beginnning. In this way,,
consideraably less expansionn work is done thaan for com mpressionn, i.e. the engine iss
braked. The
T enginne will come to a standstill
s and then start to tuum in thee oppositee
direction,, since thee control eelements are
a set for this.
t

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