Diesel Power Plant

By Er. Kabita Ojha

Diesel Power Plant
⚫ A generating station in which diesel engine is used as
prime mover for generation of electrical energy is
known as diesel power plant.
⚫ In diesel power plant, the diesel burns inside the engine
and the products of this combustion act as the working
fluid to produce mechanical energy.
⚫ The diesel engine drives the alternator which converts
mechanical energy into electrical energy.
⚫ As generation cost is considerable due to a high price of
diesel, therefore such power stations are only used to
produce small power.
⚫ Diesel power plant are installed at places where the
demand for power is less, sufficient quantity of coal
and water is not available and the transformation
facilities are inadequate.
⚫ These plants are also used as standby sets for
continuity of supply to important points such as
hospitals, radio stations, cimena houses etc.
Diesel Power Plant Line Diagram
Schematic Diagram
Parts of Diesel Power Plant
1) Fuel Supply System
⚫ It consists of a storage tank, strainers, fuel transfer pump
and fuel tank.
⚫ The fuel oil is supplied at the plant site by rail or road
and stored in the storage tank.
⚫ Oil is pumped from the storage tank to the all day tank
at short interval.
⚫ From this tank, fuel oil is passed through strainers to
remove suspended impurities.
⚫ Then, the clean oil is injected into the engine by fuel
injection pump.
2)Air Intake System:
⚫ This system supplied necessary air to the engine for
fuel combustion.
⚫ It consists of pipes for the supply of fresh air to the
engine manifold.
⚫ Filters are provided to remove dust particles from the
air which may act as abrasive in the engine cylinder.
3) Exhaust System:
⚫ This system leads the engine exhaust gas outside the
building and discharges it into the atmosphere.
⚫ A silencer is usually incorporated in the system to
reduce the noise level.
4) Cooling System:
⚫ The heat released by burning of the fuel in the engine
cylinder is partially converted into work.
⚫ The remaining part of the heat passes through the cylinder
walls, piston, rings etc. and may cause damage to the system.
⚫ In order to keep the temperature of the engine parts within
the safe operating limits, cooling is necessary.
⚫ The cooling system consists of a water source, pump and
cooling towers.
⚫ The pump circulates water through a cylinder and head
jacket.
⚫ The water takes heat away from the engine and itself
become hot and hot water is cooling by cooling towers and
recirculated for cooling.
5) Lubricating System:
⚫ This system minimizes the wear of rubbing surfaces of
the engine.
⚫ It consists of lubricating oil, pump, filter and oil
cooler.
⚫ The lubricating oil is drawn from the lubricating oil
tank by the pump and is passed through filtres to
remove impurities.
⚫ The clean lubricating oil is delivered to the points
which require lubrication.
⚫ The oil coolers incorporated in the system keep the
temperature of the oil low.
6) Engine Starting System:
⚫ This system is an arrangement to rotate the engine
initially while starting until firing starts and the unit
runs with its own power.
⚫ Small sets are started manually by handles but for
larger units, compressed air is used for starting.
⚫ Air at high pressure is admitted to a few of the
cylinders, making them act as reciprocating air motors
to turn over the engine shaft.
⚫ The fuel is admitted to the remaining cylinders which
make the engine to start under its own power.
Advantages
⚫ The construction of diesel power plant is simple.
⚫ The diesel power plant can be easily installed at any
place where the demand for power is very less.
⚫ Time required to start and stop this power plant is very
minimum as compare to time take by other plants to
start and stop.
⚫ It starts quickly and easily picks up the load variations.
⚫ The maintenance cost is minimal as compared to the
thermal and steam power plants.
⚫ It requires minimum quantity of water which is
essential for cooling purpose.
⚫ For the installation of the power plant, sufficient area
that is required is very less.
⚫ This plant does not require more labours or workers
under operation conditions.
⚫ The diesel power plant has more thermal efficiency as
compared to the steam power plant.
⚫ It is widely used as a standby set in compact areas (like
as hospitals, cinema houses, industrial machineries,
etc.) that can provide a continuous power supply to the
load.
Disadvantages
⚫ The running cost of diesel power plant is high because
diesel fuel is more expensive.
⚫ It is not much comfortable under the overload
condition and long duartion.
⚫ This plant has limited power generation and storages
capacity than thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
⚫ The lubrication cost for this plant is very high
⚫ This diesel power plant produces limited amount of
electricity (approximately 50MW).
⚫ The life span of the diesel energy is relatively short.
Maintenance of Diesel Power Plant
Points to be considered during maintenance:
⚫ To maintain the operating condition of a diesel engine
at every half hour.
⚫ To maintain the correct record of the instrument
reading in the log sheet.
⚫ To maintain the record of instrument temperature,
pressure, electrical load, flow etc.
⚫ Filtered the fuel and remove unwanted impurities.
⚫ Check the level of fuel oil periodically.
⚫ Clean the fuel tank at regular interval.
Applications of Diesel Power Plant
⚫ It is used where small power generation is a
requirement.
⚫ It produces AC as well as DC voltages.
⚫ It is used to restart the boilers.
⚫ In case of any emergency diesel engines are used.
⚫ It is used in remote places.
⚫ It is also used for peak load during a small period of
time.
⚫ It can be used in areas having low load factor.
 Hydropower Plant
⚫ Hydropower or hydroelectricity is a renewable source of
energy that utilizes the energy of fast-flowing water to
generate electricity.
⚫ The use of hydropower for various purposes is not a
modern concept; its application can be seen even a
thousand years ago.
⚫ The hydroelectric power plants generate electricity from
the potential and kinetic energy of the water.
⚫ When water flows down, its potential energy is first
converted to kinetic energy and then mechanical energy
with the help of turbines. With the use of a generator, the
mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy.
Hydropower Plant
Components of Hydroelectric Power
Plant
1) Reservoir:
⚫ A reservoir is the most essential part of the
hydropower plant. It stores the water and supplied it
down to the hydro turbine for electricity generation.
⚫ The reservoir can be natural lakes in the hilly areas, or
it can be made artificially by establishing a dam across
the water bodies.
⚫ The reservoirs of the hydropower plants are also used
for flood control, irrigation purposes, industrial, and
aquaculture.
2) Forebay:
⚫ A Forebay is an area to temporarily store the water
before flowing it down to the turbine.
⚫ It stores the excess water in the case of rainy seasons
and supplies it during the dry seasons, i.e., it
maintains the amount of water to be needed as per the
requirement at the load area.
⚫ The forebay is constructed when the hydroelectric
plants are situated far from the reservoir, else the
reservoir itself acts as the forebay when it is located
near the plant.
3) Dam:
⚫ A dam is the most expensive element of the
hydroelectric power plant.
⚫ It is a barrier constructed across the water bodies to
restrict the flow of the naturally flowing water and to
raise the water level in the reservoirs.
⚫ They are usually made of concrete, rocks, earth, or
stonemasonry.
⚫ The type of material to be used for their construction
depends upon the geography of the area, transportation
availability, and the chances of occurrence of any natural
disasters such as earthquakes or floods in that particular
area.
4) Spillways:
⚫ In case of heavy rainfall or flood situations, the water
level in the reservoir may rise beyond its storage capacity
that may affect the proper functioning of the hydropower
plant.
⚫ To prevent this situation, a hydraulic structure called a
spillway is built at the site of the dam.
⚫ The spillway safely diverts the extra water from the
reservoir to a downstream area.
⚫ Spillways are constructed either as a part of the dam or
just beyond them.
⚫ They are usually made of concrete, and they consist of
metal control gates to stop or discharge the water from
the reservoir.
5) Tailrace:
⚫ The water left at the hydroelectric plant after being
generated electricity by the hydro turbine is carried
away from that area through a channel called
tailrace.
⚫ The tailrace is present behind the dams at a lower
level than that of the reservoir.
⚫ As the potential energy of the water due to the
elevated reservoir is being used up by the hydro
turbine, the water through the tailrace flows at the
natural speed of the water and joins the same or
another water stream.
6) Penstocks
⚫ Penstocks are the channels or large pipes at the hydroelectric
station that carries the water down to the turbines at the
power station from the reservoir.
⚫ The penstocks are generally made of steel or reinforced cement
concrete (RCC).
⚫ The material to be used for constructing penstocks depends
upon the water-head of the dam.
⚫ The steel penstocks can be used for any head or working
pressure of water, whereas the RCC penstocks are used for the
low water heads, usually less than 30 meters.
⚫ As a large amount of water flows through the penstocks, hence
the abrupt opening and closing of the gates at the ends of the
penstock can cause a water hammer effect (pressure surges).
7) Water Intakes:
⚫ The water intake includes the structures that collect the
water stored in the reservoir or forebay and direct it
towards the turbines through the penstocks.
⚫ Water intakes consist of several gates, screens, filters,
booms, sluices, and trash racks that control the amount of
water that reaches the turbines and also block any kind of
debris such as trunks, waste products, or branches from
entering the channel by diverting it to the bypass chute.
⚫ The screens and trash racks are installed at the entrance of
the penstock to forbid the debris from entering inside as
debris can cause damage to the various important
hydraulic parts such as turbine blades, nozzles, and
turbine runners.
8) Sluice:
⚫ Sluices are also part of water intake structures.
⚫ The flow of water through the penstocks is controlled
by the sluice; the sluice is the gate that is installed at the
ends of the penstocks, which can be raised or lowered
according to the requirement of the water at the
turbine.
⚫ The water freely flows through the penstocks when the
sluice is open completely, but less water flows through
the penstock when the sluice is partially closed.
⚫ They are generally kept open in the dry seasons to allow
water to pass through the penstocks, but in rainy
seasons they are slightly kept closed to avoid flooding.
9) Surge Tank:
⚫ The sudden water surges due to the changes in the water
flow may result in variations in the pressure that can damage
the components of the hydropower plant.
⚫ To control the pressure changes, small cylindrical water
storage tanks called surge tanks are used.
⚫ Surge tanks are open from their top to reduce or neutralize
the pressure changes in the reservoir and are used to
regulate the turbines.
⚫ They protect the conduit (channel) from excess internal
pressure and are also capable of storing water to raise the
internal pressure in case of pressure drop.
⚫ Surge tanks are usually located at the centre of the penstock
(steep-sloped) before the water turbine
10) Power House:
⚫ A powerhouse is a separate room or building at the
hydroelectric power stations, which consist of
various electrical and hydraulic components.
⚫ The powerhouse is responsible for controlling the
various inlet and outlet gates and stopping the flow
of water in the equipment areas in case of repairing
or changing various pieces of equipment.
⚫ Hydroelectric power plants also consists of general
auxiliaries like control panels, service area, testing
rooms, generators, and transformers.
 Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following is not part of diesel engine
power plant?
a) Cooling Tower
b) Penstock
c) Oil Pump
d) Strainer
b) Penstock
 2. The diesel plants are mainly used ________
a) As peak load pants
b) As base load plants
c) As standby power plants
d) Both peak and stand by plants
d) Both peak and stand by plants
3. The speed of the diesel engine may vary from
a) 0-100 rpm
b) 200-1000 rpm
c) 500-5000 rpm
d) 1000-3000 rpm
d) 1000-3000 rpm
 4. What is the ranging capacity of the diesel plant?
a) 50-750 kW
b) 100-1175 kW
c) 75-3750 kW
d) 150-4575 kW
c) 75-3750 kW
5. What is requirement of cooling system in diesel
plants?
a) Eliminate hotness of air entering into the filter
b) To act as filter for main fuel tank
c) Eliminate heat coming out of engine
d) To cool down lubrication system
c) Eliminate heat coming out of engine
 6. Small service storage tanks in a fuel system of diesel plant
are known as
a) Temporary fuel tank
b) Engine day tank
c) Reserve
d) Main fuel tank
b) Engine day tank
7. Following are the advantages of diesel power engines,
except
a) High operating efficiency
b) Low noise
c) Easier handling of fuel
d) No standby loss
b) Low noise
Thank You !!!