Minimum Energy Control of a Large Diesel Engine

The thermal efficiency of a large ship diesel engine is determined mainly by the design of the engine/propellor combination but small efficiency increments can be obtained through the careful design of automatic controllers for the system. A fuel saving regulator requires an accurate model for the internal states of the engine in order that its thermal efficiency can be maximized. Such a model has been recently obtained by one of the authors (E. Hendricks). This model has been shown to give accurate estimates of the thermal efficiency which can be expected under normal sea conditions.

Using the model as a basis an adaptive energy minimizing controller has been designed and tested. Depending upon sea conditions, simulations suggest that fuel savings on the order of 0.5% can be expected. Though small percent-wise, savings on this order could more than pay for the installation costs of the regulator during the first year of use. The project is carried out in cooperation with M.A.N.-Burmeister&Wain Diesel A/S, Copenhagen Denmark.