Diesel power plant

A generating station in which diesel engine is used as
the prime mover for the generation of electrical energy
is known as Diesel power station or Diesel power plant

The diesel burns inside the engine and the products of
this combustion act as the “working fluid” to produce
mechanical energy. The diesel engine drives the generator
which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
The generation cost is considerable due to high price
of diesel, therefore, such power stations are only used to
produce small power.
These plants are used as standby sets for continuity of
supply to important points such as hospitals, radio stations,
cinema houses and telephone exchanges.

Fig : Schematic arrangement of Diesel Power Plant

The plant has the following auxiliaries
 Fuel supply system
 Air intake system
 Exhaust system
 Cooling system
 Lubricating system
 Engine starting system

Fuel supply system
It consists of storage tank , strainers, fuel transfer
pump and all day fuel tank. The oil is stored in
the storage tank. From the storage tank, oil is
pumped to smaller all day tank at daily or short
intervals. From this tank, fuel oil is passed
through strainers to remove suspended
impurities. The clean oil is injected into the
engine by injection pump.

Air intake system
This system supplies necessary air to the
engine for fuel combustion. It consists of
pipes for the supply of fresh air to the
engine manifold. Filters are provided to
remove dust particles from air which may
act as abrasive in the engine cylinder.

Exhaust system
The system leads the engine exhaust gas
outside the building and discharges it
into atmosphere. A silencer is usually
incorporated in the system to reduce the
noise level.

Cooling system
The cooling system consists of a water
source , pump and cooling towers. The
pump circulates water through cylinder
and head jacket. The water takes away
from the engine and itself becomes
hot. The hot water is cooled by cooling
towers and is recirculated for cooling.

Lubricating system
The system minimises the wear of rubbing
surfaces of the engine. It comprises of
lubricating oil tank , pump , filter and oil
cooler. The lubricating oil is drawn from the
lubricating oil tank by the pump and is
passed through filters to remove impurities.
The clean lubricating oil is delivered to the
points which require lubrication.

Engine starting system
This is an arrangement to rotate the
engine initially , while starting, until
firing starts and the unit runs with
its own power. Compressed air is
used for starting.

Advantages
 The design and layout of the plant are quiet simple.
 It occupies less space as the number and size of the
auxiliaries is small.
 It can be located at any place.
 It can be started quickly and can pick up load in a short time.
 There are no standby losses.
 It requires less quantity of water for cooling.
 The overall cost is much less than that of steam power station
of the same capacity.
 The thermal efficiency of the plant is higher than that of a
steam power station.
 It requires less operating staff

Disadvantages
 The plant has high running charges as the fuel (i.e., diesel)
used is costly.
 The plant does not work satisfactorily under overload
conditions for a longer period.
 The plant can only generate small power.
 The cost of lubrication is generally high.
 The maintenance charges are generally high.

Use full for solving problems
Overall efficiency =
Electrical output in heat units
Heat of combustion
Engine efficiency =
Overall efficiency
Alternator efficiency

Diesel power plant

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Diesel power plant