Auxiliary Engines Research Articles

Emissions assessment of a tanker in a chilean port using bi-directional cold ironing integrated to LNG

Air pollution in coastal cities and nearby communities has become a health problem in the last decades because of the dispersion of pollutants produced by the various port activities. In this context, when a vessel at berth uses its auxiliary engines to generate the electric power to maintain its service, the operational profile is not continuous; the auxiliary engines work outside their fuel efficiency range, producing additional pollutant emissions.To reduce emissions while in port and at berth, two short-term options are considered: the first option is using alternative energy sources such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of current fuels. The second option is using cold ironing technology, which enables to turn-off the vessels auxiliary engines, by feeding the services using shore power supply. In a classical cold ironing configuration, energy only flows from shore to on board.This work presents an emissions assessment of a tanker vessel at berth, applying a novel bi-directional energy flow strategy associated to a cold ironing system, integrating LNG, and compared to current fuels used, focused on the environmental impact on Quintero’s Bay. This bay is one of the most important port areas of the Chilean coast deemed to be affected by emissions generated by intense port activities. Taking current fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine diesel oil (MDO) and ship’s arrivals/departures from port as a reference case, the results presented in this work, show a significant reduction in emissions when applying the bi-directional energy flow strategy.

Optimized Configuration of Diesel Engine-Fuel Cell-Battery Hybrid Power Systems in a Platform Supply Vessel to Reduce CO2 Emissions

The main objective of this paper is to select the optimal configuration of a ship’s power system, considering the use of fuel cells and batteries, that would achieve the lowest CO2 emissions also taking into consideration the number of battery cycles. The ship analyzed in this work is a Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) used to support oil and gas offshore platforms transporting goods, equipment, and personnel. The proposed scheme considers the ship’s retrofitting. The ship’s original main generators are maintained, and the fuel cell and batteries are installed as complementary sources. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is pursued on the ship’s demand curve. The simulations used to calculate the CO2 emissions for each of the new hybrid configurations were developed using HOMER software. The proposed solutions are auxiliary generators, three types of batteries, and a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with different sizes of hydrogen tanks. The PEMFC and batteries were sized as containerized solutions, and the sizing of the auxiliary engines was based on previous works. Each configuration consists of a combination of these solutions. The selection of the best configuration is one contribution of this paper. The new configurations are classified according to the reduction of CO2 emitted in comparison to the original system. For different demand levels, the results indicate that the configuration classification may vary. Another valuable contribution of this work is the sizing of the battery and hydrogen storage systems. They were installed in 20 ft containers, since the installation of batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen tanks in containers is widely used for ship retrofit. As a result, the most significant reduction of CO2 emissions is 10.69%. This is achieved when the configuration includes main generators, auxiliary generators, a 3,119 kW lithium nickel manganese cobalt (LNMC) battery, a 250 kW PEMFC, and 581 kg of stored hydrogen.

COVID-19 impact on maritime traffic and corresponding pollutant emissions. The case of the Port of Barcelona

The impact of the SARS-CoV pandemic has gone well beyond health concerns, reaching the maritime industry. The study on the environmental impact of shipping industry during COVID-19 pandemic can provide useful insights to propose new management policies regarding shipping operations, both in-port and on the route. We present a case study centred in the Port of Barcelona covering a 30 nautical miles range in the period March to July 2020, during which different levels of restrictions and stringent lockdown measures were enforced. In this paper, we assess the impact of COVID-19 on maritime traffic and its related emissions in port cities using real-time Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. Interestingly, results show that the decline in maritime traffic is not correlated with a decrease in maritime emissions due to changes in vessel operation. During lockdown (March to June 2020), we observed a 27.9% reduction in the number of port calls compared to the pre-lockdown scenario, whereas pollutant emissions show a moderate decrease (1.8% for CO2), no significant reduction (SO2 and PM) or a slight increase (1.3% for NOx). This can be directly assigned to changes in vessel operation mode, i.e. vessels switched from Underway to At Anchor or Moored status, during which auxiliary engines are used at higher loads.

Local energy production scenarios for emissions reduction of pollutants in small-medium ports

Environmental impact produced by ships in ports is a relevant problem, especially when they are located close to urban areas. This paper, taking Ancona (Italy) as a case study, analyzes the CO2 (and other chemical species) emissions produced by the auxiliary engines of ferry ships at berth. Three different configurations have been investigated, one grid-connected and two with local power plants. Cogenerative and photovoltaic scenarios have been considered varying the power size and the presence of a storage system. A computational model, based on maritime traffic and meteorological data over a one-year period, returns the percentages of the energy covered by the plant, the grid and the storage system. Environmental analysis shows that the grid-connected cold ironing scenario reduces the CO2 emissions by 34.5% compared to on-board diesel generators emissions. Cogeneration systems reduce CO2 emissions by 60–62%, while photovoltaic ones around 39%. All scenarios prove to be economically feasible.

How can we consider variable RBE and LETd prediction during clinical practice? A pediatric case report at the Normandy Proton Therapy Centre using an independent dose engine

BackgroundTo develop an auxiliary GPU-accelerated proton therapy (PT) dose and LETd engine for the IBA Proteus®ONE PT system. A pediatric low-grade glioma case study is reported using FRoG during clinical practice, highlighting potential treatment planning insights using variable RBE dose (DvRBE) and LETd as indicators for clinical decision making in PT.MethodsThe physics engine for FRoG has been modified for compatibility with Proteus®ONE PT centers. Subsequently, FRoG was installed and commissioned at NPTC. Dosimetric validation was performed against measurements and the clinical TPS, RayStation (RS-MC). A head patient cohort previously treated at NPTC was collected and FRoG forward calculations were compared against RS-MC for evaluation of 3D-Γ analysis and dose volume histogram (DVH) results. Currently, treatment design at NPTC is supported with fast variable RBE and LETd calculation and is reported in a representative case for pediatric low-grade glioma.ResultsSimple dosimetric tests against measurements of iso-energy layers and spread-out Bragg Peaks in water verified accuracy of FRoG and RS-MC. Among the patient cohort, average 3D-Γ applying 2%/2 mm, 3%/1.5 mm and 5%/1 mm were > 97%. DVH metrics for targets and OARs between FRoG and RayStation were in good agreement, with ∆D50,CTV and ∆D2,OAR both ⪅1%. The pediatric case report demonstrated implications of different beam arrangements on DvRBE and LETd distributions. From initial planning in RayStation sharing identical optimization constraints, FRoG analysis led to plan selection of the most conservative approach, i.e., minimized DvRBE,max and LETd,max in OARs, to avoid optical system toxicity effects (i.e., vision loss).ConclusionAn auxiliary dose calculation system was successfully integrated into the clinical workflow at a Proteus®ONE IBA facility, in excellent agreement with measurements and RS-MC. FRoG may lead to further insight on DvRBE and LETd implications to help clinical decision making, better understand unexpected toxicities and establish novel clinical procedures with metrics currently absent from the standard clinical TPS.

Risk assessment of the crushed rock structure embankments of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway under a warming climate

On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, transportation infrastructure has been greatly affected by permafrost degradation owing to the increasing air temperature caused by climate change. This study presents a risk assessment model for evaluating the viability of the crushed rock embankment under the scenario of climate warming. The results demonstrate that the service life of an embankment is determined by the time it spends at the lowest or low levels of failure risk. At the failure probability threshold of 0.1, the service lives of open crushed rock-based and U-shaped crushed rock embankments are longer than 100 years, those of closed crushed rock-based embankments are about 66 years, and those of crushed rock revetments are less than 40 years. In essence, the longer an embankment has been in service, the stronger its ability to resist climate warming. Based on these results, U-shaped crushed rock and crushed rock-based embankments are the most capable of offsetting the effects of climate warming on permafrost and should account for a higher proportion of independent embankment structures. The same cannot be said for crushed rock revetments, which should only be used as auxiliary engineering measures. Despite this recommendation, regular maintenance should be conducted on the open system crushed rock embankments because the high winds on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau fill the embankments with sand, which has a negative effect on the long-term stability of the embankments.

Estimation of Dynamic Characteristics of Vibration Protection Systems of a New Type for Water Transport Vessels

The use of traditional means of vibration isolation of ship power plants does not always give the desired effect, which predetermines the need to search for and use fundamentally new devices to improve the efficiency of vibration isolation of a ship engine. This can be achieved by installing active-passive vibration isolators in the elastic mounts of the engine, such as electromagnetic hydraulic vibration isolators (EHVO) for auxiliary engines and other marine equipment. Despite the seeming simplicity of the design and principle of operation, the calculation of EHVO is a rather complex problem, the solution of which is associated with a number of difficulties due to the specific features of electromagnetic devices, since their calculation is associated with a large number of factors and limitations. The known functions of time obtained by solving the equations were used to calculate the dynamic parameters of the EHVO: vibration energy, periodicity, overheating of the coils and efficiency

Review of Top-Down Method to Determine Atmospheric Emissions in Port. Case of Study: Port of Veracruz, Mexico

Indicators of environmental policies in force in Mexico, fossil fuels will continue to be used in industrial sectors, especially marine fuels, such as marine diesel oil, in port systems for some time. Considering this, we have evaluated several methods corresponding to a top-down system for determining fuel consumption and sulfur dioxide atmospheric emissions for the port of Veracruz in 2020 by type of ship on a daily resolution, considering a sulfur content of 0.5% mass by mass in marine fuel. After analyzing seven methods for determining sulfur dioxide atmospheric emission levels, Goldsworthy’s method was found to be the best option to characterize this port. The port system has two maritime zones, one of which is in expansion, which represented 55.66% of fuel consumption and 23.05% of atmospheric emissions according to the typology of vessels. We found that higher fuel consumption corresponded to container vessels, and tanker vessels represented higher atmospheric emission levels in the berthing position. The main differences that we found in the analysis of the seven methods of the top-down system corresponded to the load factor parameter, main and auxiliary engine power, and estimation of fuel consumption by type of vessel.

Performance Simulation Analysis of Modular Heat Dissipation Unit

In this paper, GT suite software is used to model the cooling system of military special vehicles with multiple power sources. The power drive system is composed of main engine, auxiliary engine and four hub motors. By constructing modular cooling unit, the volume of radiator and the layout of cooling unit are changed. While the total volume of radiator is unchanged, the cooling capacity of cooling system is improved. Firstly, the problem is simplified and modeled by high-temperature and low-temperature double circuit. The main engine with power of 600kW and auxiliary engine with power of 200kW are combined into a high-temperature circuit. The water temperature of the circuit is higher, about 90 ºC; Four hub motors with power of 440kw and their electrical components are combined into a low temperature circuit. The water temperature of this circuit is about 60 ºC. By modifying the volume, layout and number of radiators, the temperature of the dual circuit is analyzed, and it is found that when the total radiator volume remains the same, the cooling effect of the multi-radiator layout is better.

Challenges of integrating hydrogen energy storage systems into nearly zero-energy ports

Sustainable development is the primary global goal for port authorities to maintain and improve their commercial activity and attractiveness. The need to diminish their environmental impact ought to be accomplished by reckoning economic and social euphoria sectors. This research aims to convert a traditional port to a sustainable one while eliminating its carbon footprint emissions. The incorporation of cold ironing technology is investigated to reduce the emissions caused by the operation of berthing vessels' auxiliary engines and to set the ground for future legislation. After studying and evaluating the current strategies, and technologies, thirteen scenarios were conceptualised, simulated, and evaluated using the HOMER PRO software. For each scenario, the port's autonomy is ensured by generating renewable energy and storing excess energy in a hydrogen storage system. The optimal solutions were chosen, utilising the actual area's data. In particular, zero carbon footprint emissions for the port's operation were achieved, and the Levelised Cost of Energy was reduced by 51.8% and 41.2%, respectively, by incorporating or not the cold-ironing technique. Also, the port is capable of operating autonomously for a whole day. Finally, this study proves that small-sized ports can implement cold-ironing technology and enhance their energy efficiency via a renewable hydrogen system.

ESTABLISHMENT OF NOx MEASUREMENT AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR SMALL SHIPS

Measurement of NOx emissions from small ship diesel engines is technically quite complex and at most times it is very difficult or impossible to perform on board. Hence, there is need to build and model an applicable measurement and certification system compliant with NOx measurement rules of NOx Technical Code. The system needs to perform efficiently, economically and also need to have adequate elasticity for ships that cannot meet NOx criteria in order to fulfil the requirements of the Code. The aim of this study is the formation of a technical and legislative infrastructure about safe and efficient measurement and certification of NOx emissions of main and auxiliary engine in the Merchant ships, in accordance with Regulation 13 and NOx Technical Code related to the control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and which takes place in Annex VI appendix about prevention of air pollution caused by ships in MARPOL 73/78 Convention.

Rates the Ships Must Pay to Deliver the Oil Sludge as an Incentive to Improve Port Waste Green Logistics

Vessels of the shipping industry produce sludge during the operation of the main engine, various types of auxiliary engines, and the handling of fuel oil on board ships. The sludge can be stored in special tanks and disposed of ashore or burned on board. In the European Union, according to the Port Reception Facilities Directive (EU) 2019/883, ships have to pay a port waste fee for the delivery of ship waste, which is calculated according to the size of the ship. Such an approach does not take into account the capacity of port green waste logistics. In this paper, the case of delivery of ship sludge to ports that are similar in terms of waste logistics capacity is analysed. It is presented as a mathematical game between ships and ports to improve green waste logistics and match the amount of oil sludge that can be discharged from ships to the capacity of ports. The goal of the game is to discourage free-riders, which can occur on both sides, between suppliers and ports. The waste rate can be used as a regulator and incentive that discourages sludge dumping when recycling is not feasible. A model evaluation is proposed using a numerical example.

A Communication-Less Multimode Control Approach for Adaptive Power Sharing in Ship-Based Seaport Microgrid

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector together with the continued depletion of fossil fuels in general has encouraged an increase in the use of energy storage systems and renewable energy sources at seaports and also on short route yachts and ferries. At present, most seaports, particularly smaller ones, are not provided with cold-ironing facilities—shore-based power facilities, which provide electric power to ships from the national grid. Because of the lack of cold-ironing facilities at most ports, auxiliary diesel engines and diesel generators on ships must be kept operating and online while at berth to supply auxiliary loads of ship. To address these requirements, one possible solution would be to provide cold-ironing facilities at all ports. However, in many circumstances, this is not cost-efficient as a port might be far from the national grid. To overcome these limitations, a seaport microgrid can be formed through the integration of multiple shipboard microgrids (SMGs) with decentralized control together with a charging infrastructure that is located on-shore. This integration of multiple SMGs and port-based charging stations is termed a ship-based seaport microgrid. Typically, power is shared among different microgrids using data communication techniques, which adds to the cost and the complexity of the overall system. This article proposes a communication-less approach based on multimode, decentralized droop control that enables power sharing among several SMGs in both charging and discharging modes based on the state of charge of battery banks—electric power is either supplied or consumed. The proposed approach would be potentially useful for future autonomous ships and also for islands where port electrification is either not technically feasible or an economically viable solution. A simulation and hardware-in-the-loop results are provided to verify the control robustness of the proposed control strategy.

A ship emission modeling system with scenario capabilities

A bottom-up modular ship emission modeling system (MoSES) is presented that calculates highly spatiotemporally resolved ship exhaust emissions, based on ship position data recorded from the automatic identification system. MoSES is built in a modularized architecture, which guarantees good expandability. Several ship-type specific methods have been developed for estimating missing ship characteristics that are important for ship emission modeling, such as the gross tonnage, main or auxiliary engine power, engine rating or the service speed, since these characteristics are often not available in present data. Additionally, most recent emission factors for sulfate and black carbon were derived from literature that cover formerly neglected low-sulfur fuels. MoSES is demonstrated by the creation of an emissions inventory for the North and Baltic Sea region, but it may readily be applied to other regions as well. The results were evaluated and compared to ship emission data calculated with the established Ship Traffic Assessment Model (STEAM 3). A good agreement with the daily shipping activity and CO 2 emissions was found, although fewer emissions were calculated with MoSES for SO 2 , SO 4 and NO X due to differences in the method for calculating the power consumption, the assumed fuel sulfur content, and applied emission factors. Furthermore, the impact of different emissions factors and uncertainties due to missing ship characteristics has been investigated. Additionally, extensive functionalities for scenario generation were implemented that allow the modification of a ship fleet in a model run. A filtering algorithm was developed to support scenario generation by the creation of sub-emission inventories. These contain only emissions of ships moving between two specific harbors or points of interest. This feature is demonstrated for the ship traffic between the five busiest harbors in the North Sea among each other, and between the English Channel. The scenario capability of the model is exemplified on a case based on sub-emission inventories, that investigates a decreased trade volume between representative ports of mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. • This new ship emission model has a particular versatility for scenario generation. • Several Ship-type specific methods for estimating ship characteristics were developed. • Most recent ship emission factors for sulfate and mineral ash were derived. • In a comparison with the established Ship Traffic Assessment Model (STEAM), a good agreement between both models was found.

Evaluation of Energy Losses in Auxiliary Systems and Mechanisms Subject to Friction in a Stationary Diesel Engine

This research has developed a methodology to estimate energy losses associated with auxiliary systems and mechanisms subject to friction in a stationary diesel engine. The study methodology is based on mathematical models used to calculate engine friction forces and power losses. The analysis involves the cooling, the lubrication, the fuel injection system, and the engine's valve train, bearings, and piston mechanism. A stationary diesel engine with four load conditions and three rotational speed conditions has been taken as a reference for the study. The analysis of the results has showed that fuel injection is the auxiliary system with the highest energy consumption. In general, the cooling system, the lubrication, and the injection represent loss energy equivalent to 0.3%, 0.5%, and 0.9% of the chemical energy of the fuel. The interaction between the cylinder liner and the piston skirt is the main source of energy loss associated with friction processes. For valve train mechanisms, bearings and pistons it has been evidenced that these represent 1.25%, 1.91%, and 5.26% of the chemical energy of the fuel. In general, the methodology proposed in this research is a tool that allows diagnosing energy losses in auxiliary systems and engine mechanisms, which is useful for evaluating future strategies focused on energy improvement.

Динамика судовых дизелей при использовании моторных масел с различными структурными характеристиками

Annotation – The influence of the structural characteristics of engine lube oil on the dynamics of a marine diesel engine is considered. It is indicated that micron layers of marine engine lube oils separating the contact surfaces of marine diesel engines acquire the properties of liquid crystals and are characterized by an ordered molecular structure. The qualitative indicator of this structure is the degree of ordering of the molecules, and the quantitative indicator is the thickness of the ordered (boundary) lubricating layer. It is proposed to determine the structural characteristics of marine engine lube oils (the degree of ordering of the molecules of the boundary layer and its thickness) using the optical method of absorption dichroism. A diagram of an experimental setup is presented that allows such studies to be carried out. It has been experimentally established that for Shell Rimula X15 and Castrol TPL 123 engine lube oils (used in the oil system of the Caterpillar CatC18 marine diesel engine), the thickness of the ordered (boundary) lubricating layer is 14.3 ... 14.7 microns and 16.4 ... 16.6 microns, respectively. The degree of ordering of molecules in the boundary layer for Shell Rimula X15 engine lube oil is in the range of 0.56 ... 0.58, for Castrol TPL 123 engine lube oil – in the range of 0.63 ... 0.64. The results of studies of the dynamics of the CatC18 marine diesel engine by Caterpillar, carried out in the starting mode, as well as at various increases and decreases in load, are presented. As indicators, which were used to assess the dynamics of the diesel engine, the overshoot of the rotational speed and the time to reach a new steady state mode were taken. Experiments have confirmed that Castrol TPL 123 engine lube oil, which has a higher molecular structure in the boundary layer compared to Shell Rimula X15 lube oil, ensures the transient processes of the Caterpillar CatC18 marine diesel engine with less overspeed and less time to reach a new state work. The proposed technology for determining the structural characteristics of engine lube oils can be used for any type and grade of oil (mineral or synthetic, high and low viscosity, used both in circulating and cylinder lubrication systems). The proposed method for assessing the dynamic characteristics of marine diesel engines (by overshoot of the speed and the time to reach a steady state of operation in the event of a change in load) can be used for any types of internal combustion engines (low-, medium- and high-speed; as well as performing the functions of both main and auxiliary engines).

The Experiment Practical Design of Marine Auxiliary Engine Monitoring and Control System

Maintaining the quality of transportation services and reducing operational costs are some of the problems in shipping companies. This problem can be solved by several solutions. One of them is a reliable machine alarm monitoring and operation system. This study aims to provide a practical design of the ship's auxiliary engine start-stop control system and alarm system. This study uses an experimental method with a descriptive explanation of the observations. The test results show that this system is able to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient engine alarm system design to develop this technology for shipping companies. The PLC used is suitable for controlling this system because of its fast response. In addition, the utilized HMI can communicate efficiently with the monitoring system showing the machine parameter interface directly. Direct application of the system has been created provides technology development solutions for monitoring and controlling systems auxiliary machines for shipping companies to reduce operational cost

The Experiment Practical Design of Marine Auxiliary Engine Monitoring and Control System

Maintaining the quality of transportation services and reducing operational costs are some of the problems in shipping companies. This problem can be solved by several solutions. One of them is a reliable machine alarm monitoring and operation system. This study aims to provide a practical design of the ship's auxiliary engine start-stop control system and alarm system. This study uses an experimental method with a descriptive explanation of the observations. The test results show that this system is able to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient engine alarm system design to develop this technology for shipping companies. The PLC used is suitable for controlling this system because of its fast response. In addition, the utilized HMI can communicate efficiently with the monitoring system showing the machine parameter interface directly. Direct application of the system has been created provides technology development solutions for monitoring and controlling systems auxiliary machines for shipping companies to reduce operational cost

Effect of different seat angles on human subject while travelling by bus on Indian road conditions

Passenger seats are the most commonly used seats in the buses to provide comfort to the passengers during traveling from one place to another. During traveling by the road, the human body is subjected to vibrations that can be generated from so many sources such as wheel unbalances, road profiles, transmission, and auxiliary systems, aerodynamic loads and engines, etc. The generated vibrations are further transmitted to humans through the seat base and floor of the bus and cause discomfort. In this work, a FEM study was performed to investigate the effect of different seat backrest angles on the human subject during traveling on the passenger seats in the bus on Indian road conditions. A 3D CAD model of the human subject developed for the current study and also passenger seat with headrest has been modeled using reverse engineering with cushion material as synthetic rubber foam for seat pan and backrest. The current simulation study concludes that the minimum effect of transmissibility has been observed at 21° seat backrest angle.

Parametric modelling and finite elements study for the boom of a truck crane

Parametric modelling and finite elements study for the crane boom was done in Catia V5R20 software. 3D modelling was done considering the load diagram. This is the basic feature for this study because it gives us information between the main elements (lifting capacity, outreach, boom length lifting height) which define crane operation possibilities. The truck crane is installed on the standard undercarriage of a truck or specially built undercarriages, the engine that drives the undercarriage serving either just for equipment travel or also for driving the crane mechanism. When the engine on undercarriage is only for travel, the truck crane is provided with an additional auxiliary engine, exclusively intended for crane mechanisms operation. The studied boom belongs to Liebherr crane. For parametric modelling measurements on an existing model were needed. Finite elements study was done on the basis of virtual model using a specialized soft. We did a static study by which we determined the static parameters of the structure (stresses, deformations, safety coefficient), for all own rates within interest range. The next aim, using the parameters, is to build the static model of reaction. Any static deformation of a structure can be represented as a weighted sum of structure’s own modes, each knot can be represented as a system with only one degree of freedom. This kind of study allows us to find which is the maximum deformation, the stresses and value of safety coefficient borne by a technical system or machinery under movement or static condition.