A gas engine means an engine running on a gas, such as coal gas, producer gas biogas, landfill gas, or natural

gas. In the UK, the term is unambiguous. In the US, due to the widespread use of "gas" as an abbreviation for gasoline, such an engine might also be called a gaseous fueled engine, spark ignited engine, or natural gas engine. Generally the term gas engine refers to a heavy-duty, slow-revving industrial engine capable of running continuously at full output for periods approaching a high fraction of 8,760 hours per year, for many years, with indefinite lifetime, unlike, say, a gasoline automobile engine, which is lightweight, high-revving and typically runs for no more than 4,000 hours in its entire life. Typical power ranges from 10 kW to 4,000 kW.

Typical applications
Typical applications are baseload or high-hour generation schemes, including combined heat and power, landfill gas, mines gas, well-head gas and biogas (where the waste heat from the engine may be used to warm the digesters). For typical biogas engine installation parameters see.[4] For parameters of a large gas engine CHP system, as fitted in a factory, see.[5] Gas engines are rarely used for standby applications, which remain largely the province of diesel engines. One exception to this is the small (<150 kW) emergency generator often installed by farms, museums, small businesses, and residences. Connected to either natural gas from the public utility or propane from on-site storage tanks, these generators can be arranged for automatic starting upon power failure. The natural gas engines (LNG) are getting more into the marine market, as the lean-burn gas engine can meet the new emission requirements whitout any extra fuel treatment or exhaust cleaning systems.

[edit] Use of methane or propane gases

Since natural gas (methane) has long been a clean, economical, and readily available fuel, many industrial engines are either designed or modified to use gas, as distinguished from gasoline. Although the carbon emission footprint does not differ significantly, their operation produces less complex-hydrocarbon pollution, and the engines have fewer internal problems. One example is the liquefied petroleum gas (propane) engine used in vast numbers of forklift trucks. Common usage of "gas" to mean "gasoline" requires the explicit identification of a natural gas engine. (There is also such a thing as "natural gasoline",[citation needed] but this term is very rarely observed outside the refining industry.)

[edit] Technical details

A gas engine differs from a petrol engine in the way the fuel and air are mixed. A petrol engine uses a carburetor or fuel injection but a gas engine often uses a venturi system to introduce gas into the air flow. Early gas engines used a three-valve system, with separate inlet valves for air and gas. The weak point of a gas engine compared to a diesel engine is the exhaust valves, since the gas engine exhaust gases are much hotter for a given output, and this limits the power output. Thus a diesel engine from a given manufacturer will usually have a higher maximum output than the same engine block size in the gas engine version. The diesel engine will generally have three different ratings - Standby, Prime, and Continuous, (UK, 1 hour rating, 12 hour rating and continuous rating) whereas the gas engine will generally only have a Continuous rating, which will be less than the Diesel Continuous rating

[edit] Electrical efficiency

Gas engines linked to generators that run on natural gas are typically between 35-45% electrically efficient.[6], the best products can achieve an electrical efficiency at more than 48% in their medium speed engines Bergen Engines Fuel energy arises at the output shaft, the remainder appears as waste heat.[5] Large engines are more efficient than small engines. Gas engines running on biogas typically have a slightly lower efficiency (~1-2%) and syngas reduces the efficiency further still. GE Jenbacher's recent J624 engine is the world's first 24 cylinder gas engine with a high efficiency running on methane.[7] When considering electrical efficiency one should consider whether this is at the lower heating value or higher heating value of the gas. Engine manufacturers will typically quote efficiencies at the lower heating value of the gas, i.e. the efficiency after energy has been taken to evaporate the intrinsic moisture within the gas itself. Gas distribution networks will typically charge based upon the higher heating value of the gas (i.e. total energy content).

Carburetor

The carburetor mixes air and gasoline in the proper proportion before it is injected into the cylinder as a mist.

Fuel Injector

Fuel injectors, which are electronically controlled valves, have fully replaced carburetors as the method of mixing gasoline and air. They use an electronic management system, injecting precise amounts of gas depending on sensor readings of engine speed and other conditions.

Piston

The ignition of the gasoline in the cylinder pushes a piston outward to crank the crankshaft. The piston oscillates back and forth within the cylinder.

Spark Plug

The spark plug ignites the gasoline, producing the explosion in the cylinder. Old spark plugs can impair ignition timing and, therefore, fuel efficiency.

Camshaft

The camshaft is the shaft with varying radii that pushes against the spring-loaded exhaust and intake valves to the cylinder in order to open them.

Crankshaft

Connecting rods attach the pistons to the crankshaft. The crankshaft, the main rotating shaft in the engine, converts the linear oscillations of the pistons into rotary motion.

01) Cylinder Block Function- In the bore of cylinder the fresh charge of air-fuel mixture is ignited,compressed by piston and expanded to give power to piston. 02) Cylinder Head Function-It carries inlet and exhaust valve.Fresh charge is admitted through inlet valve and burnt gases are exhausted from exhaust valve.In case of petrol engine,a spark plug and in case of diesel engine,a injector is also mounted on cylinder head. 03) Piston Function-During suction stroke,it sucks the fresh charge of air-fuel mixture through inlet valve and compresses during the compression stroke inside the cylinder.This way piston receives power from the expanding gases after ignition in cylinder.Also forces the burnt exhaust gases out of the cylinder through exhaust valve. 04) Piston Rings Function-It prevents the compressed charge of fuel-air mixture from leaking to the other side of the piston.Oil rings,is used for removing lubricating oil from the cylinder after lubrication.This ring prevents the excess oil to mix with charge. 05) Connecting Rod Function-It changes the reciprocating motion of piston into rotary motion at crankshaft.This way connecting rod transmits the power produced at piston to crankshaft. 06) Gudgeon Pin Function-Connects the piston with small end of connecting rod. 07) Crank Pin Function-hand over the power and motion to the crank shaft which come from piston through connecting rod. 08) Crank Shaft Function-Receives oscillating motion from connecting rod and gives a rotary motion to the main shaft.It also drives the camshaft which actuate the valves of the engine. 09) Cam Shaft Function-It takes driving force from crankshaft through gear train or chain and operates the inlet valve as well as exhaust valve with the help of cam followers,push rod and rocker arms.

10) Inlet Valve & Exhaust Valve Function-Inlet valve allow the fresh charge of air-fuel mixture to enter the cylinder bore.Exhaust valve permits the burnt gases to escape from the cylinder bore at proper timing. 11) Governor Function-It controls the speed of engine at a different load by regulating fuel supply in diesel engine.In petrol engine,supplying the mixture of air-petrol and controlling the speed at various load condition. 12) Carburettor Function-It converts petrol in fine spray and mixes with air in proper ratio as per requirement of the engine. 13) Fuel Pump Function-This device supply the petrol to the carburettor sucking from the fuel tank. 14) Spark Plug Function-This device is used in petrol engine only and ignite the charge of fuel for combustion. 15) Fuel Injector Function-This device is used in diesel engine only and delivers fuel in fine spray under pressure.

The diesel engine Diesel engines, like gasoline powered engines, have a crankshaft, pistons, camshaft, etc. In addition, four-stroke diesels require four piston strokes for the complete combustion cycle, exactly like a gasoline engine. The difference lies in how the fuel mixture is ignited. A diesel engine does not rely on a conventional spark ignition to ignite the fuel mixture. Instead, heat produced by compressed air in the combustion chamber ignites the fuel and produces a power stroke. This is known as a compression-ignition engine. No fuel enters the cylinder on the intake stroke, only air. Since only air is present on the intake stroke, only air is compressed on the compression stroke. At the end of the compression stroke, fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber and the mixture ignites. The fuel/air mixture ignites because of the very high temperatures generated by the high compression ratios used in diesel engines. Typically, the compression ratios used in automotive diesels run anywhere from 16:1-23:1. A typical spark-ignition engine has a ratio of about 8:1-10:1. This is why a spark-ignition engine, which continues to run after you have shut off the engine, is said to be "dieseling." It is running on combustion chamber heat alone. Designing an engine to ignite on its own combustion chamber heat poses certain problems. For instance, although a diesel engine has no need for a coil, spark plugs, or a distributor, it does need what are known as "glow plugs." These look like spark plugs, but are only used to warm the combustion chambers when the engine is cold. Without these plugs, cold starting would be impossible. Also, since fuel timing (rather than spark timing) is critical to a diesel's operation, all diesel engines are fuel-injected rather than carbureted, since the precise fuel metering necessary is not possible with a carburetor.
Figure 6 Cutaway view of an in-line overhead cam four-cylinder diesel engine. Note the similarity to the gasoline engine shown above.

Figure 7 The four-stroke operating principal applied to a diesel engine.

Spark plug
The spark plug supplies the spark that ignites the air/fuel mixture so that combustion can occur. The spark must happen at just the right moment for things to work properly.

Valves
The intake and exhaust valves open at the proper time to let in air and fuel and to let out exhaust. Note that both valves are closed during compression and combustion so that the combustion chamber is sealed.

Piston
A piston is a cylindrical piece of metal that moves up and down inside the cylinder.

Piston rings
Piston rings provide a sliding seal between the outer edge of the piston and the inner edge of the cylinder. The rings serve two purposes:

They prevent the fuel/air mixture and exhaust in the combustion chamber from leaking into the sump during compression and combustion. They keep oil in the sump from leaking into the combustion area, where it would be burned and lost.

Most cars that "burn oil" and have to have a quart added every 1,000 miles are burning it because the engine is old and the rings no longer seal things properly.

Connecting rod
The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft. It can rotate at both ends so that its angle can change as the piston moves and the crankshaft rotates.

Crankshaft
The crankshaft turns the piston's up and down motion into circular motion just like a crank on a jack-in-the-box does.

Sump
The sump surrounds the crankshaft. It contains some amount of oil, which collects in the bottom of the sump (the oil pan).

What is a diesel engine ?

The diesel engine is a type of internal combustion engine, more specifically, a compression ignition engine, in which the fuel isignited by the high temperature of compressed gas, rather than a separate source of energy (such as a spark plug).

Engine Head
How diesel engines work

Engine Block & Timing

When gas is compressed its temperature rises. A diesel engine exploits this property in order to ignite the fuel. Air is drawn into the cylinder of a dieselengine, and compressed by the rising piston. This happens at a much higher compression rate than in a spark-ignition engine. At the top of the piston stroke diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at high pressure through an atomising nozzle. It mixes with the hot, pressurised air. The resulting mixture ignites and burns very rapidly. This contained explosion causes the gas in the chamber to expand, driving the piston down with considerable force, and creating power in a vertical direction. The connecting rod transmits this motion to the crankshaft which is forced to turn, delivering rotary power at the output end of the crankshaft. Scavenging - pushing the exhausted gascharge out of the cylinder and drawing in a fresh draught of air - is done through ports or valves.

A vital component of any diesel engine system is the governor, which limits the speed of the engine by controlling the rate of fuel delivery. Diesel engine working principles Suction stroke Compression stroke Power stroke Exhaust stroke

Fuel and fluid characteristics Diesel fuel is a product of crude oil, although other oils can be burned inside an adapted engine. Good quality diesel fuel can be synthesized from vegetable fat and alcohol. Diesel engines can work on thicker, heavier oil, or oil with higher viscosity, as long as it is heated in order to ease pumping and injection. These fuels are cheaper but dirtier than clean, refined diesel oil. Diesel fuel is more difficult to ignite than gasoline because of its higher flash point, but once burning, a diesel fire can be extremely fierce. The use of low-grade fuels can lead to serious maintenance problems.

3. Diesel engine supporting systems

A number of systems are in place for proper operation of an engine Intake and exhaust system Starting system Fuel system Cooling system Lubricating system 3.1 Intake system and exhaust system The function of this system is to allow the purified air to the cylinder Components : The system is composed of Air cleaner, Intake manifold, Intake valve, Super charger etc.

1. Wing nut 2. Washer 3. Air filter cover 4. Rubber Packing 5. Air filter cartridge 6. Rubber packing

7. Air filter body 8. Rubber packing 9. Air filter flange 10. Air filter sleeve 11. Intake pipe

Faults and remedies 1) Air cleaner jammed with dirt 2) Internal manifold cracked 3) Cage --- and bent stem of intake valve 4) Super charger not working properly

-Change -Change -Repair or change -Repair or change

Exhaust system The exhaust takes out burnt gas from the cylinder

Components : The system is composed of exhaust manifold Silencer pipe, Silencer box and Tail pipe Faults and remedies 1) Exhaust manifold broken/cracked 2) Silencer pipe cracked 3) Silencer box jammed due to burnt or leaked carbon 4) Tail pipe leaked or cracked

-Change -Repair or change -Repair or change -Repair or change

3.2 Starting system The system starts the engine by providing the initial rotations via : Hand-starting system Self-starting system Rope-starting system Pedal-starting system

3.2.1 Hand-starting system: Hand-starting system is generally used in one cylinder diesel engine. There is no fault in this system, one handle is used for starting.( Water, lubricant and fuel must be checked before starting) 3.3 Fuel system Engine fuel system is very important through which

the fuel is taken out of the fuel tank for combustion.

Essential components: fuel tank fuel line fuel filter low-pressure feed pump high-pressure fuel pump and injector / atomizer Faults and remedies 1) Fuel tank leaked/cracked -Repair or change 2) Fuel line leaked/cracked -Change 3) Filter jammed due to dirt -Change 4) Low pressure/feed pump faulty -Repair or change after checking 5) High pressure fuel pump faulty -Repair or change after checking 6) Injector faulty -Repair or change after checking

3.4 Cooling system

Engine cooling system enables the engine to maintain a constant operating temperature.

There are two types:

Water cooling system

Air cooling system

3.5 Lubrication system Using lubricant, the lubrication system prevents wear and tear of moving components and enables components to move faster and more efficiently. The lubrication system serves three functions : Cooling Sealing Cleaning

Components: Strainer Oil pump Oil filter Oil pressure gauge Oil passage etc

Different Parts of Lubrication Systems

1. Copper Washer 2. Pipe Connection Bolt 3. Oil Pipe 4. Cylindrical Pin 5. Lubricating Oil Pump Body 6. Locating Pin 7. Lubricating Oil Pump Packing 8. Outer Rotor 9. Inner Rotor 10. Oil Shaft 11. Oil Pump Cover 12. Copper Washer 13. Pipe Connection Bolt 14. Oil Strainer Body Section with Pipe 15. Oil Strainer Screen 16. Circlip

Faults and remedies 1) Strainer may be damaged -Change 2) Pump may not work -Repair or change 3) Oil filter jammed due to dirt -Change 4) Oil pressure gauge faulty -Repair or change (after checking) 5) Oil passage jammed -Clean

4. Faults during engine operation

Five common faults are faced during engine operation : 1 Over-heating 2 Excessive engine vibrations 3 Excessive fuel consumption 4 Excessive lubrication consumption 5 Excessive noise during operation

What is the function of the fuel injection pump?

Fuel injection pump sprays higher pressure diesel in the cylinder

6. How does fuel enter the fuel pump?

Fuel enters fuel pump via two methods: By gravity feed By pressure feed

7. Different parts of the in-line, high-pressure pump of a one-cylinder engine :

Cam roller

8. Possible explanations for less fuel in the fuel pump :

Less fuel in fuel tank Filter jammed by dirt Less oil delivery by fuel transfer pump Air lock in fuel line

9. What is located above the plunger ?

Vertical channel or slot Helical channel grove Annular grove

10. Types of non-return valve :

Suction non-return valve Delivery non-return valve

11. How does a leak in the non-return valve affect fuel pump delivery ?
A large leak will cause a drop in pressure, and the injector will not spray properly. A small leak will not affect the pump pressure; however less fuel will be sprayed through the injector. A small leak will slow the pump, and the fuel spray will be delayed.

12. Fuel pump pressure :

Fuel pump delivers 240-700 Kg/cm2 (4000-10,000 Psi)

13. Wearable and breakable parts of a fuel pump :

Wear of plunger Wear of plunger bush Plunger retaining spring can lose tension Plunger-retaining spring can break Wear of bush and ball bearing Wear above tappet and bottom of plunger Wear of roller and fan

14. Nozzle Injector Holder

In the case of a fault in the injector, large amounts of black smoke will be emitted from the exhaust pipe.

15. Nozzle Servicing

Open faulty nozzle and clean away soot (carbon); then check whether nozzle moves freely. Check delicate parts. Check nozzle valve and body. Immerse nozzle valve and body in clear diesel oil in order to remove carbon. Use copper wire brush - not a steel brush to clean off soot (carbon). Fuel bore should be cleaned with a fine drill.

16. Air bleeding a diesel fuel system

The correct method of air bleeding the fuel system : Fill up the fuel tank with new diesel oil. Open valve of the tank. Loosen bleeding plug of the fuel filter and pump till fuel flow is continuous. Tighten the plug. Loosen injection line nut and crank the engine till fuel is flowing without foam. Close the injection line and check for leaks.