DUEL FUEL ENGINES

There are two fuel supply systems: one for pilot fuel when the engine is running on gas, the other for back up operation on diesel fuel. The pilot fuel is supplied at 900 bar from a common rail supplied by an engine driven variable delivery radial piston type pump. The timing and duration of the pilot injection is electronically controlled. For operation on diesel fuel, standard type cam driven fuel injection pumps are used injecting through standard design spring loaded fuel injectors. The injectors are twin needle valve units. The smaller needle is used for the electronically controlled pilot injection, and the larger needle for when running on diesel fuel.

The gas supply is filtered and then goes through a pressure regulator, the output of which is dependent on engine load and energy content of the gas, but is a maximum of 4 bar. The system also incorporates necessary shut of and venting valves for safety purposes. The gas is then piped to the engine by a large diameter double wall common rail system with each cylinder having an individual feed to a gas admission valve.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION The engine runs on the lean burn principle. This means that the air to fuel ratio is high (about 2.1:1). An advantage is that the engine will produce low NOx emissions (<1g/kWh) because the heat energy released by the burning fuel is use to heat this extra air, limiting combustion temperatures. It is important that the air fuel ratio is kept within a relatively small window: Too rich (below 1.9:1) and knocking will occur; too weak (above2.2:1 and there is a danger of misfiring. The engine is started using diesel fuel using both pilot and main injection. When combustion is stable, the engine is changed to gas supply. This takes about one minute, during which the fuel oil is gradually substituted by gas.

Maintaining the correct air fuel ratio over the operating range of the engine is essential to prevent knocking and misfiring and to keep emissions low. This is achieved by an engine controlled waste gate which by-passes some of the exhaust gas around the turbocharger.

The safety considerations are similar to those for an LNG steamship. A leak of methane into the machinery space could cause a devastating explosion. To prevent this, the gas is led through a double skinned pipe fitted with a flame arrestor at the inlet to the supply manifold, an extraction system and gas detector. There must be sufficient flexibility in the pipes to prevent fatigue failure due to oscilliation of the engine. An extraction fan from a hood above the engine is also fitted with a gas detection system. Leakage of gas will trip the gas master valve (the engine will automatically change over to diesel operation) and the BOG will be diverted to and burnt in the Thermal Oxidiser. The gas pipe system will also be fitted with a nitrogen inerting system which will operate to purge through if gas is detected. IACS require that the following safety requirements must be met: Only oil fuel is to be used when starting the engine. Only oil fuel is, in principle, to be used when the operation of an engine is unstable, and/or during manoeuvring and port operations. In case of shut-off of the gas fuel supply, the engines are to be capable of continuous operation by oil fuel only. Crankcase relief valves are to be fitted in way of each crankthrow. The construction and operating pressure of the relief valves are to be determined considering explosions due to gas leaks. Explosion relief valves or other appropriate protection system against explosion are to be provided in the exhaust, scavenge and air inlet manifolds. The exhaust gas pipes from Dual Fuel engines are not to be connected to the exhaust pipes of other engines or systems. Starting air branch pipes to each cylinder are to be provided with effective flame arresters. Flame arresters are to be provided at the inlet to the gas supply manifold for the engine. Arrangements are to be made so that the gas supply to the engine can be shut-off manually from the starting platform or any other control position.

If a trunk piston type engine is used as as Dual Fuel engine, the crankcase is to be protected by the following measures: Ventilation is to be provided to prevent the accumulation of leaked gas, the outlet for which is to be led to a safe location in the open through flame arrester. Gas detecting or equivalent equipment. (It is recommended that means for automatic injection of inert gas are to be provided). Oil mist detector. The engine must be designed to stop before the gas concentration detected by the gas detectors specified reaches 60% of lower flammable limit. If a cross-head type engine is used as a Dual Fuel engine: The crankcase is to be protected by oil mist detector or bearing temperature detector. Gas detecting or equivalent equipment is to be provided for piston underside space of cross-head type engine. The engine must be designed to stop before the gas concentration detected by the gas detectors specified reaches 60% of lower flammable limit.

With the two stroke engine the gas cannot be mixed with the inlet air as it would turn the scavenge space into an enormous bomb! There are two possible methods of introducing the gas into the cylinder: The first method introduces low pressure gas through a gas admission valve in the cylinder head when the exhaust valve has closed and pressure in the cylinder is low. The gas is compressed and mixed with the air and ignited by pilot injection of fuel oil.

The disadvantage of this system although simple, is that combustion is subject to knock and the efficiency is low The second method is to compress the gas to a high pressure (250 - 300 bar) and inject it into the cylinder through special gas injectors at the same time as the fuel oil. This is the method which has been developed by MAN B&W in their ME GI engine which is basically the electronic camshaftless engine fitted with the extra equipment to inject the gas into the engine. The engine is fitted with gas injection valves in addition to the fuel valves and because it is computer controlled can burn any ratio of gas and fuel with a preset minimum amount of fuel.

INJECTION CONTROL

The gas is pressurised by reciprocating compressors to 250 - 300 bar. It is then cooled and led to the valve blocks on each cylinder. Each valve block incorporates an accumulator which has a volume corresponding to about 20 times the amount of gas injected at full load operation. The purpose of the accumulator is to minimise any pressure drop during gas injection, and to monitor that small pressure drop as it forms an important part of the engines safety system. The engine can run in various modes depending on circumstances. 1. Normal dual fuel whereby the pilot fuel injected is about 6% of the load. If the gas supply is limited, then extra fuel oil will be injected to maintain power. 2. If a limited, but constant gas supply is available, the engine can be run in what is known as specified gas mode. When in this mode, the same amount of gas is injected each time, with the amount of fuel oil varying, depending on engine load. 3. Fuel only mode, for manoeuvring or when no gas is available. The gas supply pipes are double walled with an air seal being supplied between the two pipes. Pressurised air, supplied by fans is then monitored for gas leakage. Because a failure of the inner gas pipe, could lead to very low temperatures as the high pressure gas expands as it leaks out, the outer pipes are made of a stainless steel able to withstand these low temperatures. The flow of air through the air seal is also monitored. Lack of flow would lead to shut down of the gas supply and purging of the lines with inert gas

To prevent leakage of gas at the injectors and to lubricate the moving parts, the gas injectors are supplied with sealing oil which is pressurised to 25 - 50 bar above the gas injection pressure. The small amount of oil which leaks through to the gas is then burnt in the engine. Consumption is low (about 0.13g/kWh). The sealing oil system comprises of two pumps for redundancy purposes and a spring loaded accumulator to maintain the pressure if a pump fails, whilst the standby pump comes up to pressure. Should a gas injector jam open then a pressure drop will occur in the accumulator in the valve block and the system will shut down, and the gas lines will be purged with inert gas. Should the pressure drop not be detected, the excess gas entering the cylinder will continue to burn as it leaves leading to a high exhaust temperature on that cylinder, leading to slow down, again shutting off the gas supply. In the unlikely event of late ignition of the gas occurring in the exhaust manifold, leading to a rapid pressure rise, the receiver is designed to withstand a pressure of 15 bar. Any failure of injection of pilot fuel leading to non combustion of the injected gas will lead to the gas supply being shut off and the gas lines purged with inert gas.

Wrtsil has introduced to the market its new low-speed, 2-stroke, dual-fuel gas engine technology. The relevance of this introduction is significant since, by applying its experience and know-how in low pressure, dual-fuel power to low-speed engines, Wrtsil now extends the benefits of its dual-fuel technology to the broader marine market. Wrtsil will introduce a complete new range of engines based on its established and wellproven low pressure technology. The first low-speed dual-fuel engine to be launched will be the Wrtsil RT-flex50DF, which will be available for delivery in fall 2014. Other engines from the companys Generation X series will follow, and will be available for delivery during 2015 and 2016. The new Wrtsil technology is likely to be particularly welcomed in the Asian markets, where todays shipbuilding is centred, since the move to LNG fuel is well advanced there. Wrtsil envisages that by 2020, more than a quarter of all vessels ordered could be designed to be fuelled by gas. Wrtsil has pioneered the development and use of dual-fuel (DF) engine technology with its first low pressure 2-stroke installation dating back to 1973 onboard the LNGC Venator, built in Norway. The companys development work in 4 -stroke dual-fuel gas engines began in 1987, first as gas-diesel engines with high pressure injection, and later in the early 1990s with the introduction of spark-ignited fuel gas engines, utilising low-pressure gas. The real breakthrough for marine applications happened in 1995, however, when the third generation of Wrtsils 4-stroke DF engines was introduced. These engines combine fuel flexibility, environmental benefits and high efficiency and reliability with low capital cost. Thus far more than 1000 Wrtsil DF engines have been delivered for both marine and landbased applications, accumulating more than 7 million running hours. Wrtsils low pressure LNG concept is a lean burning Otto -cycle gas engine that has additional liquid fuel back-up capability, thereby enabling vessels to operate 100 per cent on LNG. This is in contrast to other systems utilising a high-pressure concept, which is merely a conventional diesel engine able to burn gas under certain conditions.

Benefits of low pressure technology Having developed, tested, and sold both high and low pressure DF technologies for 4-stroke engines, Wrtsil is convinced that the optimal solution for marine applications is low pressure DF technology. Among other benefits, it offers simplicity, reliability, and the most economic gas supply system with the least number of components. An important advantage of the Wrtsil low pressure DF technology is that it allows stable operation on gas across the entire load range. This means that at low loads (below 15 per cent), there is no need to switch to diesel fuel as is the case with other technologies. The engine uses a low pressure gas handling system with a maximum 10 bar pressure. LNG and air are mixed in the cylinder prior to compression and, therefore, no additional external engine compressors are needed and additional parasitic load is avoided. Moreover, the consumption of pilot fuel is approximately just one per cent of the total energy at full load, and therefore much lower than with alternative technologies. For example, at low engine loads the pilot fuel of high pressure DF engines may need to provide 100 per cent of the energy required, with resulting increases in costs and emissions. The modern technology offers both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX) benefits. Most importantly, no investment is needed for exhaust gas cleaning systems in order to comply with the IMOs Tier III environmental regulations. Compared to other technologies, studies show that Wrtsils low pressure DF engines offer capital expenditure reductions of 15-20 per cent. On the OPEX side, the ability of low pressure DF engines to operate on gas at all loads, including idling and manoeuvring, substantially reduces costs. Thanks to the universal low-pressure gas supply system from the bunker to the injectors, all risk mitigation and safety requirements are achieved with less complex equipment, less capital expenditure, and with low operational expenditures. The low pressure gas supply technology is already in use and has been well proven ove r many years with Wrtsils medium-speed DF engines. The low-pressure gas engine and its associated systems deliver the smallest ecological footprint, with less consumption of energy and resources, and the least production of emissions. The ability to meet the IMOs Tier III NOx limits without additional exhaust emission techniques is a positive advantage. Furthermore, the total emissions of greenhouse gases from gas engines are some 20 to 30 per cent less than from diesel engines. The low pressure DF engine is developed to be a gas engine with additional liquid fuel backup. The high pressure gas diesel engine is a conventional diesel engine operable on liquid fuel and that can burn gas under certain conditions. Low gas pressure technology (<10bar) is the standard for all 4-stroke engine makers today, therefore proving the merit of this concept. The net efficiency calculation is considering parasitic loads from all ancillary gas supply system components. The net efficiency is the same or better for the low pressure DF engine. The amount of pilot fuel required for low pressure engines is much lower compared to high pressure engines which need more pilot fuel, especially in part load. The high pressure DF engine is at a disadvantage below 15 to 20% engine load because it must switch to 100% liquid fuel operation consequently increasing emissions

The low pressure DF engine in back-up mode is less efficient than the high pressure DF engine. Because the engine is designed to be a gas engine and is optimised in the Otto cycle. The application of LNG as a fuel is driven by the huge environmental and economic benefits of LNG compared to liquid fuels such as HFO or MDO. Therefore vessels applying LNG fuel will aim to operate up to 100% on gas. DF provides redundancy in case of emergency operation. If regular operation in Liquid Fuel is required then other technology options are probably more appropriate, e.g. SCR Scrubber, EGR. Alternatively, for longer planned periods of operation on liquid fuel, the DF engine can be modified by changing compression ratio and Turbo charger specification to restore the efficiency to a standard diesel engine. As gas fuel is entering the combustion space and mixing with the combustion air (pre-mix concept) there is a risk for uncontrolled combustion called knocking or pre-ignition. With the developments to control and avoid knocking for the 2-stroke low pressure DF engines, the maximum output of the low pressure 2-stroke DF engine is kept lower than the comparable diesel engine to control knocking. The low pressure DF engine is developed, designed and optimized to be a gas engine in Otto cycle. The amount of pilot fuel is very small (about 1% of the total energy at full load) and constant over the whole operation range. The high pressure DF engine is a Diesel cycle engine and the amount of pilot fuel required is substantially higher. Under manoeuvring and idling speeds (15%-20% and below) the amount of pilot fuel may need to provide 100% of the energy required and consequently delivers the same emission as any other diesel engine. The LNG storage system is basically the same for low and high pressure engines as different tank designs can be applied depending on endurance, available space and operating conditions. However, the fuel gas handling and safety system need to be designed either for a low pressure (<10 bar) or a high pressure (up to 300 bar) system which leads to significant differences in space and safety requirements. Higher CAPEX and OPEX for the high pressure system are to be expected. Green House Gas (GHG) emissions for engines is calculated as CO2+ CH4 =GHG. Because Methane has 21-25 times more global warming potential than Carbon Dioxide it is often debated. However the percentage of atmospheric Methane from all global gas distribution systems is insignificant <0.3%, compared to natural sources 45% and industrial agriculture 19%. A gas engines total GHG emission is reduced by 20 to 30% compared to liquid fuel. Consequently methane slip has not been an issue and not restricted the adoption of 4-stroke low pressure DF engines over the past 20 years. Nevertheless we continue to develop and improve the total ecological footprint of our system. The Ecological Footprint is the sum of the resources/energy consumed and waste (byproducts) produced. The low pressure gas engine and its associated system deliver the lowest ecological footprint. It consumes less energy, less resources, and produces the least byproducts (emissions including water treatment waste). The ability to meet Tier III NOx limits without additional exhaust emission techniques is very positive. The conversion of existing engines for DF operation will require modifications on the engine and could be completed during class dockings. The engine conversion will be in the magnitude of 20 to 25% of the engine cost. The gas supply system is the significant cost barrier to retrofitting any gas engine, as is the tank which is substantially bigger than the equivalent LFO bunker tank. (Reference from the Wrtsil article, 15 November 2013, marinediesels.co.uk)