The General Electric Coal-Fueled Diesel Engine Program (1982–1993): A Technical Review

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Caton ◽  
B. D. Hsu

In the early 1980s, General Electric—Transportation Systems (GE-TS), a manufacturer of locomotive diesel engines, announced plans to develop a coal-fueled locomotive due to the availability and low cost of coal. In 1985 and 1988, the General Electric Company (GE) was awarded major contracts from the Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, to continue the research and development of a coal-fueled diesel engine. This paper is a review of the technical accomplishments and discoveries of the GE coal-fueled diesel engine research and development program during the years 1982–1993. The results of an economic assessment completed by GE-TS indicated the merits for the development of a coal fueled diesel engine for locomotive applications and therefore, GE-TS embarked on an ambitious program to develop and commercialize a coal-fueled diesel engine. Among the major accomplishments of this program were the development of specialized fuel injection equipment for coal–water slurries, diamond compact inserts for the nozzle tips for wear resistance, and an integrated emissions control system. Over 500 hours of engine operation was accumulated using coal fuel during the duration of this program. A major milestone was attained when, during November and December 1991, a coal-fueled diesel engine powered a locomotive on the General Electric test track.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Hsu

The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring a General Electric Company development program for using coal-water slurry (CWS) to power a diesel engine and to test it in a locomotive. The first locomotive system test was successfully completed in 1991 on GE/TS test track. The first-phase coal-fueled 12-cylinder diesel engine used in the locomotive test employed a modified positive displacement fuel injection system and developed 2500 hp in the engine laboratory. The final phase all electric controlled fuel injection equipment (FIE) diesel engine has completed individual component development phases. Combustion research evaluated a broad range of CWS fuels with different source coals, particle sizes, and ash contents. The electronic controlled FIE single cylinder test engine yielded 99.5 percent combustion efficiency. Envelop filters and copper oxide sorbent have been chosen to clean up the engine emissions after extensive evaluation of various hot gas cleaning methods. The projected removal rate of particulate is 99.5 percent and that of SO2 is 90 percent. Over ten diamond insert injector nozzles performed well on the test engines. A bench test of one nozzle has been run for over 500 engine equivalent hours without significant wear. Tungsten carbide (WC) coated piston rings and cylinder liners were identified to be effective in overcoming power assembly wear. A matrix of WC spray parameters were investigated, and the best process was used to apply coatings onto full scale rings and liners. These and other test parts are currently running in two coal fuel operated cylinders on a converted eight-cylinder endurance test engine. All of these developed technologies will be applied onto the second phase engine and be used in the final phase locomotive test. An economic analysis was also completed on a concept locomotive design. Additional equipment cost and the level of diesel fuel price to repay the investment were analyzed. Thus the economic environment for the commercialization of the modern coal fueled locomotive is defined.



1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Dibelius ◽  
R. J. Ketterer ◽  
G. B. Manning

This paper discusses the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and Noise Control Act as they affect stationary combustion turbines, including combustion turbines on coal-derived liquid and gaseous fuels. It also includes a discussion of regulations resulting from these acts insofar as they existed as of July, 1978. New regulations are being added periodically. This situation will continue and, therefore, requires that the most recent regulations be consulted for any given case. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Energy or General Electric Company.



2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.N. Basavarajappa ◽  
N. R. Banapurmath ◽  
S.V. Khandal ◽  
G. Manavendra

For economic and social development of any country energy is one of the most essential requirements. Continuously increasing price of crude petroleum fuels in the present days coupled with alarming emissions and stringent emission regulations has led to growing attention towards use of alternative fuels like vegetable oils, alcoholic and gaseous fuels for diesel engine applications. Use of such fuels can ease the burden on the economy by curtailing the fuel imports. Diesel engines are highly efficient and the main problems associated with them is their high smoke and NOx emissions.  Hence there is an urgent need to promote the use of alternative fuels in place of high speed diesel (HSD) as substitute. India has a large agriculture base that can be used as a feed stock to obtain newer fuel which is renewable and sustainable. Accordingly Uppage oil methyl ester (UOME) biodiesel was selected as an alternative fuel. Use of biodiesels in diesel engines fitted with mechanical fuel injection systems has limitation on the injector opening pressure (300 bar). CRDI system can overcome this drawback by injecting fuel at very high pressures (1500-2500 bar) and is most suitable for biodiesel fuels which are high viscous. This paper presents the performance and emission characteristics of a CRDI diesel engine fuelled with UOME biodiesel at different injection timings and injection pressures. From the experimental evidence it was revealed that UOME biodiesel yielded overall better performance with reduced emissions at retarded injection timing of -10° BTDC in CRDI mode of engine operation.



1981 ◽  
Vol 1981 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-181
Author(s):  
W. M. Pistruzak

ABSTRACT Canadian Marine Drilling (Canmar), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dome Petroleum Ltd., is conducting exploratory drilling in the Beaufort Sea with the objective of on-stream production by the mid-1980s. If a major oil well blow-out should occur, and the probability of such an occurrence is very small, (Bercha, 1977), oil would be released to the surface of the sea until a relief well could be drilled or the well sealed itself. The relief well could be drilled during the same drill season, or, in the worst case, it might not be completed until the following year. Therefore, Dome could be faced with the problem of cleaning up an oil spill during open-water, freeze-up, and winter or spring break-up conditions. To this end, Dome has developed a contingency plan, based on, and updated according to, its ongoing research and development programs to deal with an oil spill during each of the above-mentioned periods of time. To date, Dome has invested approximately $10 million in its research and development programs. This paper deals with Dome's research and development in oil spill countermeasures for its present ongoing exploration activities and its future production and transportation systems.



2015 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 113-118
Author(s):  
Marcin Kluczyk ◽  
Andrzej Grządziela

The paper presents a model of dynamics of six-cylinder inline diesel engine executed in the Matlab software. The basic equations necessary to describe the forces acting during the engine operation was presented. Application of some simplifications allowed to present proposal of a mathematical model of the engine, which allows analysis of changes of forces in the crank-piston system, depending on the technical condition of the fuel system elements. Operational experience indicate that one of the most common cause of failure of the fuel system is reduced fuel charge supplied by a defective fuel injection pump. Calculations of gas forces had been replaced by the implementation into the model indication charts recorded from tests on a engine test stand. Simulation results were presented as a result of FFT spectra of modeled tangential forces.



1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Urban ◽  
H. E. Mecredy ◽  
T. W. Ryan ◽  
M. N. Ingalls ◽  
B. T. Jett

The U.S. Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center has assumed a leadership role in the development of coal-burning diesel engines. The motivation for this work is obvious when one considers the magnitude of the domestic reserves of coal and the widespread use of diesel engines. The work reported in this paper represents the preliminary engine experiments leading to the development of a coal-burning, medium-speed diesel engine. The basis of this development effort is a two-stroke, 900 rpm, 216-mm (8.5-in.) bore engine manufactured by Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation. The engine, in a minimally modified form, has been operated for several hours on a slurry of 50 percent (by mass) coal in water. Engine operation was achieved in this configuration using a pilot injection of diesel fuel to ignite the main charge of slurry. A standard unit injector, slightly modified by increasing diametric clearances in the injector pump and nozzle tip, was used to inject the slurry. Under the engine operating conditions evaluated, the combustion efficiency of the coal and the NOx emissions were lower than, and the particulate emissions were higher than, corresponding diesel fuel results. These initial results, achieved without optimizing the system on the coal slurry, demonstrate the potential for utilizing coal slurry fuels.



Author(s):  
Paul F. Norton ◽  
Gary A. Frey ◽  
Hamid Bagheri ◽  
Aaron Flerstein ◽  
Chris Twardochleb ◽  
...  

A program is being performed under the sponsorship of the United States Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technology, to improve the performance of stationary gas turbines in cogeneration through the selective replacement of hot section components with ceramic parts. It is envisioned that the successful demonstration of ceramic gas turbine technology, and the systematic incorporation of ceramics in existing and future gas turbines will enable more efficient engine operation, resulting in significant fuel savings, increased output power, and reduced emissions. The engine selected for the program, the Centaur 50 (formerly named Centaur ‘H’) will be retrofitted with first stage ceramic blades, first stage ceramic nozzles, and a ceramic combustor liner. The engine hot section is being redesigned to adapt the ceramic parts to the existing metallic support structure. The program currently in Phase II focuses on detailed engine and component design, ceramic component fabrication, ceramic component testing, establishment of a long term materials property database, and the development and application of supporting technologies in the areas of life prediction and non-destructive evaluation. This paper outlines the design activities associated with the introduction of a ceramic first stage nozzle and two configurations of ceramic first stage turbine blade. In addition, probabilistic life assessment of the ceramic parts for major failure modes (fast fracture, slow crack growth and where relevant, creep and oxidation) will be discussed.



Author(s):  
Oscar Jimenez ◽  
John McClain ◽  
Bryan Edwards ◽  
Vijay Parthasarathy ◽  
Hamid Bagheri ◽  
...  

The goal of the Ceramic Stationary Gas Turbine (CSGT) Development Program, under the sponsorship of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT), is to improve the performance (fuel efficiency, output power, and exhaust emissions) of stationary gas turbines in cogeneration through the selective replacement of hot section components with ceramic parts. This program, which is headed by Solar Turbines Incorporated and supported by various suppliers, and national research institutes, includes detailed engine and component design, procurement, and field testing. A major challenge in the successful introduction of ceramic parts into a gas turbine is the design of the interface between the ceramic parts and metallic hardware. A turbine blade, which incorporated a dovetail root, was designed with such considerations. A relatively thin compliant layer between the ceramic-metallic loading surface was considered for equalizing pressure face load distributions. Five monolithic siliocn nitride ceramic materials were considered: AS800 and GN10, AlliedSignal Ceramic Components; NT164, Norton Advanced Ceramics; SN281 and SN253, Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation. The probability of survival using NASA/CARES for 30,000 hours of engine operation was calculated for each material. The blade frequencies, stresses, and temperatures were predicted. The influence of the dovetail angle was also analyzed to determine the most optimum configuration. Prior to engine installation all blades underwent extensive nondestructive evaluation and spin proof testing. This paper will review the design, life prediction, and testing of the first stage ceramic turbine blade for the Solar Turbines Centaur 5OS engine.



1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. McMillian ◽  
H. A. Webb

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has sponsored research in the area of coal-fueled diesel engines since the late 1970s. The program began as an exploratory effort and has grown into a proof-of-concept program that includes several major medium-speed diesel engine manufacturers. Those manufacturers have identified the utility, industrial cogeneration, and transportation markets as areas in which expensive clean distillate fuel may be displaced by low-cost, domestically abundant coal. The development of a coal-fueled diesel engine system will require the parallel development of coal fuels, engine components, wear and emission control system, and a support infrastructure. Because of notable success in earlier projects of the coal-fueled diesel program, the DOE’s Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) recently expanded the program with the award of contracts for two 5-year, proof-of-concept project. These major projects will build on the results of past work to complete development of technology for the commercialization of coal-fueled diesel engines. This paper summarizes progress in the DOE program and planned research to overcome technical and economic barriers to that commercialization.



Author(s):  
Leonard J. Hamilton ◽  
Jim S. Cowart ◽  
Dianne Luning-Prak ◽  
Patrick A. Caton

The molecular composition of new hydrotreated renewable fuels consists of both straight chain and branched alkanes. These new fuels do not contain aromatic or cyclo-paraffinic hydro-carbon compounds which are regularly seen in conventional petroleum fuels. Both experimental and modeling work has shown that straight chain alkanes have shorter ignition delays (e.g. higher cetane number) as compared to branched alkanes. In order to better understand the effects of branched and straight chain alkanes fuels in diesel engines, an experimental study was pursued using binary blends of iso-dodecane (iC12H26 with abbreviation: iC12) and normal-hexadecane (nC16H34 with abbreviation nC16) in a military diesel engine (AM General HMMWV ‘Humvee’ engine). Mixtures of 50% iC12 with 50% nC16 as well as 25% iC12 with 75% nC16 were compared to 100% nC16 (cetane) fueled engine operation across the entire speed-load range. Higher nC16 fuel content operation resulted in modestly earlier fuel injection events and combustion phasing that delievered slightly worse engine brake performance (torque and fuel consumption). Interestingly, ignition delay and overall burn durations were relatively insensitive to the binary blends tested. The significantly different physical properties of iC12 relative to nC16 are believed to affect the fuel injection event leading to later fuel injection with increasing iC12 content. Later injection into a hotter chamber mitigates the lower cetane number of the higher iC12 content fuel blends.



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