A governor regulates the speed of an engine by controlling fuel supply. Mechanical governors use weighted flyballs and linkages to directly control fuel racks, but have imprecise speed control. Hydraulic governors instead use flyballs to control a hydraulic valve regulating fuel racks, allowing higher precision and power. Modern ships primarily use hydraulic governors, sometimes with electronic control additions that provide even faster response times and integrated control functions.
A governor regulates the speed of an engine by controlling fuel supply. Mechanical governors use weighted flyballs and linkages to directly control fuel racks, but have imprecise speed control. Hydraulic governors instead use flyballs to control a hydraulic valve regulating fuel racks, allowing higher precision and power. Modern ships primarily use hydraulic governors, sometimes with electronic control additions that provide even faster response times and integrated control functions.
A governor regulates the speed of an engine by controlling fuel supply. Mechanical governors use weighted flyballs and linkages to directly control fuel racks, but have imprecise speed control. Hydraulic governors instead use flyballs to control a hydraulic valve regulating fuel racks, allowing higher precision and power. Modern ships primarily use hydraulic governors, sometimes with electronic control additions that provide even faster response times and integrated control functions.
● A governor is a system that is used to maintain the mean speed of an engine,
within certain limits, under fluctuating load conditions. It does this by regulating and controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the engine. The governor hence limits the speed of the engine when it is running at the no-load condition, i.e it governs the idle speed, and ensures that the engine speed does not exceed the maximum value as specified by the manufacturers. ● Governors are also fitted in auxiliary diesel engines or generators, and alternators on the ship.
MECHANICAL GOVERNORS
● These governors consist of weighted balls, or flyweights, that experience a
centrifugal force when rotated by the action of the engine crankshaft. This centrifugal force acts as the controlling force and is used to regulate the fuel supplied to the engine via a throttling mechanism connected directly to the injection racks. These weight assemblies are small and hence the force generated is not enough to control the injection pumps of large engines. They can be used where exact speed control is not required. They have a large deadband and have small power output.
ADVANTAGES OF MECHANICAL GOVERNORS
● They are cheap.
● They can be used when it is not necessary to maintain an exact speed depending on the load. ● They are simple in construction and have only a few parts.
HYDRAULIC GOVERNORS
● In hydraulic governors, the weighted assembly is connected to a control valve,
rather than the fuel control racks directly, as is the case in a mechanical governor. This valve is responsible for directing hydraulic fluid which controls the fuel racks and hence the power or speed of an engine. A greater force can be generated and these governors find application in medium to large size engines. These days most ships use hydraulic governors and are being retrofitted with electronic controls.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HYDRAULIC GOVERNORS
● They have a high power output,
● They have high accuracy and precision ● They have high efficiency ● Maintenance of hydraulic governors is easy
ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC GOVERNORS
● These kinds of governors have an actuator with two sections- a mechanical
hydraulic backup and an electric governor. In case of failure of the electric governor, the unit can be in manual control, on the mechanical-hydraulic backup governor. The mechanical governor is set at a speed which is higher than the rated speed, the speed and load of the entire system are controlled by the electric governor. The system has an electronic control valve that is connected to the armature in an electromagnetic field. ● An ECB (Electronic Control Box), sends a signal to the field which positions the armature, and hence the control valve that regulates fuel delivery. The electric control overrides the mechanical-hydraulic mode when the system is set on the electronic operation.
ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRONIC GOVERNORS
● Faster response to load changes ● Control functions can easily be built in the governors ● Presence of indicators and controls have implemented automation ● They can be mounted in positions remote from the engine and eliminate or reduce the need for governor drives