ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY,

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,

DEPARTMEN OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AND

MARINE ENGINEERING

Fuel piping system

Submitted to:
Eng. Ahmed Balata
Prepared by:
Ahmed Yousry Mahmoud

Mohamed Atef Mohamed

Islam Abdelhamid

Ibrahim Hall

Abdelrahman mohamed Qino

Banseh Nowesar
Contents
The Basics of Fuel Oil Systems .................................................................................................................... 3
Fuel Oil Supply System .................................................................................................................................. 4
The fuel oil system for a diesel engine ............................................................................................................. 5
Each Components of fuel oil system of ship ................................................................................................. 6
1- Service Tank .......................................................................................................................................... 7
2- Change over switch ............................................................................................................................... 7
3- Quick closing valve ................................................................................................................................ 7
4- Filter ...................................................................................................................................................... 8
5- Pump ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
6- Regulating Valve ................................................................................................................................... 9
7- Auto back filter ................................................................................................................................... 10
8- Pump flow meter ................................................................................................................................ 10
9- Mixing column .................................................................................................................................... 11
10- Booster pump ................................................................................................................................... 11
11- Steam ................................................................................................................................................ 12
12- Filter .................................................................................................................................................. 12
13- Fuel oil inlet rail ................................................................................................................................ 12
14- The fuel return .................................................................................................................................. 12
15- Back pressure control valve .............................................................................................................. 13
Safety services fitted on fuel system on ship ........................................................................... 13
Pipes carrying fuel oil and flammable liquids ............................................................................................ 15
References .................................................................................................................................................. 16
The Basics of Fuel Oil Systems

Marine diesel engines are designed to burn heavy residual fuel. This is made up of
the residues after the lighter and more costly fuels and gases have been taken out of
the crude oil at the refinery.

The graphic below illustrates the process

Fuel Oil Supply System

The fuel from the service tank is delivered to the diesel engine via this
system.
This system consist of :-
1.Fuel oil storage tank (heavy fuel oil )
2.Transfer pump
3.settling tank
4.Circulating pump on separator
5.Preheater
6.Seperator
7.Tank for purified oil
8.Shut off valves
9.Tank for purified diesel oil
10.Shut off valve
11.3-way valve
12.Flow meter
13.Mixing tank
14.Vapour trap
15.Booster pump
16.preheater
17.Filter, heatable
18.Thermometer
19.Fuel pump feed pipe
20.Fuel injection pump
21.High – pressure fuel pipe
22.Fuel injector
23.Diesel Engine
24.Fuel return pipe
25.Pressure Gaye
26.Constant Pressure Valve
27.Prewarming by -pass
The fuel oil system for a diesel engine

The fuel oil system for a diesel engine can be considered in two parts:

• The fuel supply

• The fuel injection systems

Fuel supply deals with the provision of fuel oil suitable for use by the injection
system.

The diagram below shows a Fuel oil supply system for a large 2 stroke crosshead
engine.

However, the setup is typical of any fuel system for a marine diesel engine
operating on heavy residual fuel.
Each Components of fuel oil system of ship
1- Service Tank
Fuel is transferred to the service tank via a centrifuge from
service tank.

2- Change over switch

The switch in the engine control room or the hand wheel on top of
the valve can be used to operate the changeover valve
automatically.

It used to be common practice to switch to diesel fuel for

maneuvering purposes. Modern methods of fuel oil recirculation
to keep the fuel hot at the injectors have rendered this practice
obsolete.

3- Quick closing valve

Fuel is drawn from service tank through a quick closing valve.
These can be closed remotely in case of emergency (e.g. fire).
This can be done with simple pull wires, hydraulically, or by
compressed air.

The fuel then passes via the changeover valve through a set
of filters into the supply pumps.
4- Filter
A suction filter removes any particles that could cause damage before the
fuel enters the supply pumps. There are two filters, one for each of the two
pumps. They are made of fine metal gauze and can be cleaned and reused
as needed.

5- Pump
The pressure is raised to about 7 bar by the supply pumps. A pressure
regulating valve is used to keep the discharge pressure constant.
6- Regulating Valve
There is also a manual bypass which can be used should the regulating valve
develop a fault.
7- Auto back filter
The fuel is passed from the supply pumps to a series of back
flushing filters (25 micron). The filter elements are housed in the
pods. When the filters begin to clog, a differential pressure sensor
triggers a back flushing routine, which allows the filters to clean
themselves. Back flushing oil containing sediment from the filters
drains to the fuel oil drain tank, where it can be recovered and
purified.

When a mesh type filter is used, the filter can be removed from
service line for cleaning.

8- Pump flow meter

The fuel is pumped via a meter so that the quantity of fuel used
can be monitored and the specific fuel consumption of the engine
calculated.

In the case that the meter has to be bypassed, then the fuel is
led across a pressure retaining valve.
9- Mixing column
The fuel is then passes to a mixing column or buffer tank where it
mixes with returned fuel from the main engine.

The mixing column is fitted with a relief valve and an air release
(see in the fig) and the outlets from these are led via a sight
glass to the fuel oil drain tank.

10- Booster pump

Fuel oil circulating pumps from the buffer tank pressurize the fuel
to about 8 bar before it is passed to the heaters and engine.
11- Steam
Steam is used to heat the oil (although thermal oil or electric
heaters are used on other systems). A viscosity measuring device
regulates the temperature of the oil. The viscosity must be kept
at the proper level for injection. It is set to 16 centistokes on this
particular system.

12- Filter

After passing through the heater and before reaching the main
engine inlet rail, the fuel is filtered once more to ensure that it is
free of abrasive contaminants that could damage the fuel pumps,
injectors, and cylinder liner.

13- Fuel oil inlet rail

Fuel enters each fuel pump from the main engine inlet rail (one
per cylinder). The fuel pump delivers high-pressure fuel (250bar
or higher) to the fuel injector (s).

14- The fuel return

is the lower connection on the fuel pump. More fuel than is
required is delivered to the pump. The surplus is returned to the
buffer (mixing) tank.

The atomized fuel is delivered to the cylinder by the fuel

injectors. When no fuel is being injected, the injectors recirculate
back to the fuel return.
15- Back pressure control valve
A backpressure control valve is installed on the return line to
keep the fuel oil pressure at the required level (on this system,
about 8 bars).

Safety services fitted on fuel system on ship

The system includes several safety devices, including low-level

alarms and remotely operated tank outlet valves that can be
closed in the event of a fire

1. Quick closing valves on settling/service tanks

2.relief valves on 2 pumps/heaters
3.quick closing valve on mixing/vent tank
4.pipes lagged/save-alls under pumps and heaters
5.low fuel oil pressure alarm
6.high fuel oil pressure alarm
7.low fuel oil temperature alarm
8.high fuel oil temperature alarm
9.emergency remote stops for pumps
10.high pressure pipes between fuel injection pump and injector
are double skinned.
1 Fuel oil high pressure alarm

1 Relief valves

2 Quick closing valve

Pipes carrying fuel oil and flammable liquids

There are two principal types of pipes that carry fuel, and they are categorised by the pressure
the pipe is designed to withstand. Low-pressure pipes are primarily used to move fuel from a
storage tank to a service tank and via feed pump on to injection pumps. High-pressure pipes are
used to deliver fuel from an injection pump to an engine combustion chamber.

Ship’s fuel is usually stored in double-bottom tanks, deep tanks, side bunker tanks, settling
tanks or service tanks. Piping between a service tank and a fuel transfer or booster pump is
rated as low pressure. However, between each pumping stage, pressure increases. It is a
mistake to assume that even if a pipe’s pressure is relatively low, fuel will not spray from a
crack or small hole.

A small pin hole in a fuel pipe can atomise leaking fuel even at low pressure, creating a highly
volatile mixture of air and fuel.

Low-pressure fuel pipes, particularly on diesel engines, should be regularly checked for signs of
leakage in way of connections and fretting against other piping or objects. Pipe clamp security
should be checked closely. Pipes from fuel tanks can pass through ballast tanks, and pipes
serving ballast tanks can pass through fuel tanks.

Because of pollution risks, classification societies have stringent rules restricting the length of
any oil pipe passing through a ballast tank; it must be short, have increased wall thickness and
stronger flanges, and be subjected to more frequent inspections and testing during survey.
SOLAS includes requirements for fire safety in engine rooms.

In particular, special double-skinned pipes must be used to deliver fuel to engine combustion
chambers. These are made of low-carbon steel alloys and operate at high pressures between
150 and 900 bar. Double skins are necessary because pipe fracture will cause fuel to spray in a
fine aerosol. Fuel will ignite on contact with a hot surface, such as a turbocharger casing or
exhaust pipe.
The second skin is to guard against direct spraying. The pipe is designed so that fuel will be
contained in the annular space between the outer skin and the main pipe, and will drain into a
collecting tank fitted with a high-level fuel leakage alarm. Low-pressure lubricating and fuel oil
pipes passing close to a hot surface must be secured against the possibility of oil spraying from
a flange.

To prevent this danger, the flange is usually taped. In addition, and whenever possible, the
pipes are routed clear of hot surfaces. Similarly, to prevent leaking oil falling onto a hot surface,
such pipes should never be allowed to run above a hot surface. Regular thermo graphic surveys
of hot surfaces will identify risk areas that are hot enough to ignite spraying or leaking fuel.

Fuel oil transfer pipes are usually made of mild steel and may corrode. The calculation for
minimum wall thickness includes a small allowance for corrosion. As a pipe ages and corrodes,
leakage can occur. Inspection programmers should concentrate on identifying worn or
corroded pipes.

References

1. Eric Murdoch BSc, MSc, CEng, MRINA, MI MarEST

2. Chris Spencer, former Director of Loss Prevention at Standard Club
3. Dott.Ing Francesco Sciacca, Deputy Head of Machinery Section, Marine Division, RINA SpA
4. Young-Kwang KIM, Head of Korea Plan Approval Centre, RINA