Nonlinear Droop Load Sharing to Minimize Gas Emissions and Fuel Consumption

Abstract

In this paper, load sharing curves are generated for marine systems with multiple gensets, where the goal is to reduce both gas emissions and fuel consumption. Initially, the average emissions and fuel consumption for each engine are calculated based on the specific emission and Specific Fuel Oil Consumption (SFOC) curves of each generator set (genset). An optimal nonlinear load sharing subject to gas emission and fuel consumption minimization is found for each engine. One result is that identical gensets should not have the same droop curve on the optimum condition, since it would lead to equal load sharing among them and a suboptimal configuration. Cases with two identical engines, two different engines, and multiple different engines were studied. The results show that by modifying the usually linear droop curve of engines, it is possible to reduce the fuel consumption and the gas emission, and it is also possible to fine tune the solution such that the fuel consumption or gas emissions are reduced.