Gas piston power plant: the principle of operation. Operation and maintenance of gas piston power plants

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Gas piston power plant is used as a main or backup source of energy. The device requires access to any type of combustible gas to operate. Many GPES models can additionally generate heat for heating and cold for ventilation systems, warehouses, industrial facilities.

Gas reciprocating power plants: principle of operation

The main elements of the GPES are a motor-generator and a gas piston engine. The combustible gas in the GPA chamber is ignited by means of a spark plug and produces energy used to rotate the working shaft of the generator.

Automated power plants and electrical units with reciprocating gas engines, in addition to electric power, can generate heat energy in a waste heat boiler or water-to-water heater. Less common are models that generate cold.

Device

Gas piston power plant consists of:

• gasengine and alternator connected by an elastic pin coupling;
• radiator;
• fan driven from the front end of the crankshaft through a V-belt drive;
• air purification filters and other auxiliary devices mounted on a common frame of the unit.

The generator has a separate complete device with control and distribution panels.

Motor

Operation of a gas piston power plant is impossible without GPA. It operates on natural, associated petroleum and industrial gases. The engine has cast aluminum block heads that are mounted and attached to two cylinder blocks. The combustion chamber (usually open type) is located in the cylinder between the flat bottom of the block head and the piston bottom with an annular recess.

Based on the conditions for ensuring knock-free combustion of the gas-air mixture and limiting the maximum combustion pressures, a small compression ratio of 10.5 (for natural gas) is used in a gas engine instead of 1415 in a diesel engine. This is achieved by installing thicker aluminum ring gaskets under the block heads than those of a diesel engine (separate for each cylinder).

Ignition system

The engine uses a battery ignition system, consisting of:

• electric candles;
• breaker-distributor ignition coil;
• power supply;
• electric wires.

To ignite the working mixture in the cylinderselectric candles are used (one candle for each cylinder). They are installed in the block head in threaded sockets and outlet pipes, which are provided in those places where the nozzles are located in the diesel engine. The central location of the electric spark plug relative to the combustion chamber provides optimal conditions for the combustion of the mixture due to the minimum path of the flame front in the cylinder and the normal cooling of the spark plug by water circulating in the block head.

Operation of gas-powered power plants

Different types of gases are used as fuel in gas engines:

• natural (both trunk and liquefied);
• associated (oil);
• propane-butane;
• biogas;
• industrial gas (sewage, mine, coke, pyrolysis);
• other combustible gases.

The reliability of power plants with gas piston engines has been confirmed by their long-term operation in Western Siberia, Yakutia, the Far East and other regions of the Russian Federation. First of all, they are exploited at enterprises, oil and gas, coal deposits. The abundance of associated gas makes their operation very profitable.

Maintenance

Before buying a GPES, the composition of the gas used as fuel and its parameters are agreed with the manufacturer. Adjustment and commissioning of units in agreement with the consumer is also carried out by the manufacturer.

Depending onthe complexity of the equipment, maintenance of the gas piston power plant is carried out either by the supplier or by trained and knowledge-tested personnel. Maintenance or repair of gas equipment, as well as other engine components and assemblies, should be carried out only after gas has been produced from the gas line and power system.

The air must not contain corrosive and explosive gases. In the engine room where the gas engine is installed, the working air should not have a dust content of more than 0.002 g/m3. In case of higher dust content, an additional cleaning system must be installed at the motor inlet.

Benefits

A gas piston power plant can operate autonomously and in parallel with other identical power plants with a power ratio of 3:1 to 1:3 or an industrial network for a long time and stably.

Gas piston engine, generator, cooling system radiator mounted on a common frame. The engine and generator are interconnected by flanges, eliminating the need for shaft alignment. The unit can be supplied in a stationary version on a frame and a mobile version in an insulated body.

During the operation of power plants, automatic monitoring is carried out for:

• stability of output electrical parameters;
• coolant overheating;
• oil overheating;
• oil pressure drop in the engine lubrication system;
• lower insulation resistance;
• appearance of a dangerous potential on the case.

GPES can be securedautomatic or remote control of starting, running and stopping the engine.

Specifications

Main technical data on the example of the Russian model AD200S-T400-R:

• Rated power: 200 kW.
• Voltage: 400 V.
• Current frequency: 50 Hz.
• Type of current: three-phase, variable.
• Rated speed: 1500 rpm.
• Engine start: starter.
• Gas consumption: no more than 50 kg/h.
• Overall dimensions of the unit: 2950x1320x1610 mm.
• Machine dry weight: 2960 kg.
• Engine service life before overhaul: 15000 hours

An unloaded gas-piston power plant ensures the start of a squirrel-cage asynchronous electric motor with a power of up to 125 kW with a starting current ratio of up to 7. The GPES is equipped with heating means that ensure starting at a temperature below +5Cᵒ and devices for heating the air inside the room (body).