Experimental and numerical study on the combustion limiting characteristics and design margin of a marine diesel engine

In this paper, a working-process simulation model was established, and the characteristics regarding the diesel engine maximum output power were analyzed under different limiting parameters. The design margin of the marine diesel engine is obtained through numerical and experimental study. Then, the simulation model and single cylinder diesel engine test were used to investigate the theoretical determination method of limiting characteristic lines and design margin area. It can be found that using least-square method to fit the calculation results can achieve quantitative analysis of limiting characteristics, and then the design margin area can be confirmed. The analysis results show that the maximum output power of the diesel engine is limited by in-cylinder pressure, turbine speed and exhaust temperature. The limiting parameters of maximum output power are different at different speeds, and the trend with speed of maximum output power are also different under different limiting parameters. Furthermore, the analysis of the operating area shows that the margin of the marine diesel engine at rated speed is about 27%, and there is a large design margin when operating at high speed.