Optimising ventilation-system design for a container-housed engine

Résumé

Containerised cogeneration sets, CCSs, are an efficient answer for remote developing regions which do not have alternative energy sources and for those applications requiring mobility and the quick installation of energy plants. Nevertheless, CCSs can present over-heating problems as a result of inefficient ventilation. The heat dissipated by each of the 28 elements under consideration in the engine compartment was assessed, together with the mass flow rate of air supplied to the cab and the air temperature at the inlet and outlet. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been developed that allows for simulation of the parameters of velocity, temperature and pressure and for calculating the heat flows in a CCS with a reciprocating diesel engine, with an alternator power of 903 kW. Predictions from this model have been contrasted with the experimental data obtained in a series of measurements. The CFD model has been used to analyse possible alternatives for improving the ventilation system. Besides the use of insulation to reduce the heat dissipated, other alternatives have been studied: e.g., improving the airflow by fitting a metal sheet as a deflector, or using a third fan. Of the three alternatives analysed, the company has decided to incorporate the simplest and cheapest, consisting in fitting a metal sheet around the alternator. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.