GOVERNOR

● 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