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THE PRIME MOVERS/DRIVERS KNOWN AS “ENGINES”

The Process Technology and Operator Academy Posted on by

 


Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire

("Light My Fire," by The Doors, 1967)

 

QUICKIE RECAP OF PRIME MOVERS/DRIVERS

PTOA Readers and Students who are reading the PTOA Segments in the intended sequential order already learned about …

 

So there's absolutely no reason to remind any PTOA Reader or Student that:

    • Only thing the picture tells about the machine is that the rotational power that spins the Driver's shaft on the left is transferred via gears to the Driven Machine's shaft on the right.

      Prime Movers/Drivers are machines which convert energy into motive/mechanical power ... the power created by rotating around and around or by pulsating back and forth.

  • The power that is generated by a Prime Mover/Driver is thence transferred from the Driver's Shaft to the Shaft of the Driven Rotating Equipment.

 

  • The Shaft of the Driven Rotating Equipment thus spins the Load that performs the work that needs to be done.

 

Likewise ...

There must be no reason on Earth to review what the word "Load" or the phase "Work that needs to be done" mean.

However … in the event there were a reason to clarify what "Load" and "Work to be done" meant, here are some examples:

  • The Motor on the left is the Driver for the Pump on the right.

    A Centrifugal Pump (the Load which is connected to a Prime Mover/Driver) performs the work of increasing the PV Pressure in a liquid so that the pumped liquid can flow for an intended industrial purpose.

  • A Compressor (the Load connected to a Prime Mover/Driver) performs the work of increasing the PV Pressure in a gas so that the compressed gas can flow for an intended industrial purpose.

 

 

Nor must it be necessary to review that industrial Prime Movers/Drivers are categorized into Motors and Engines.

Ergo,

It is a totally not necessary at this juncture in the PTOA PV Pressure Rotating Equipment Focus Study to clarify that:

Motors:

  • Are powered by electric (or hydraulic) energy and convert that electrical energy into motion (aka motive power).
  • Have hardware called Rotors and Stators.

 

However …

Engines:

Convert the combusted product of hydrocarbon fuels or the internal energy of steam into motive/mechanical power.

 

The hardware that the most popular Engines use to complete the above objective include Pistons and Cylinders and Crankshafts/Connecting Rods.

 

 

Great! Since all of the above reviewed information was unnecessary ...

PTOA Readers and Students who have been reading the PTOA Segments in the intended sequential order can just move on and learn about the Prime Movers/Drivers known as Engines.

 

WHERE THE WORKING FLUID IS GENERATED DEFINES THE TYPE OF ENGINE 

"The Working Fluid" of an Engine is the fluid that is converted into motive/mechanical power.

 

Where "The Working Fluid" is created with respect to where the motive/mechanical power is produced defines the two Engine classifications.

 

Steam is an "Externally Produced" Working Fluid

The Working Fluid in the Newcomen Engine was Steam. The purpose of the machine was to remove water from mines.

The first Engines were Steam Engines and they were used as Prime Movers/Drivers to pump water out of mines.

Of course "The Working Fluid" in a Steam Engine is Steam. PTOA Readers and Students already know that Steam is generated in either a Package Boiler (PTOA Segment #24) or a Waste Heat Boiler (PTOA Segment #43) and afterward is distributed by a pipe header to all the Steam users in the processing plant.

 

The nifty animated graphic to the right depicts how the Newcomen Steam Engine worked to drive a water pump.

An example of a modern-day Prime Mover/Driver that uses Steam is a Steam Turbine.The very first water pump, old time railroad Steam Engines, and modern Steam Turbines are the same species:

The Steam Turbine on the Right is driving the Air Compressor (aka "Load) on the Left.

They are all examples of Prime Movers/Drivers which convert the internal heat energy of steam into motive/mechanical power.

The steam used in yesterday's Steam Engines or today's Steam Turbines is generated far away from and thence delivered to the Steam Engine and the Steam Turbine.

Otherwise stated …

 

The "Working Fluid" Steam is developed outside of and delivered to the "power producing unit" … which is the Steam Engine or Steam Turbine.

The nearby animated graphic shows a Steam Turbine driving a Load which is an electricity generator. Note that the Steam (which has been delivered from a Boiler) is directed onto the blades of the turbine through a nozzle.

Steam Turbines are featured very soon, in PTOA Segment #202.

 

 

Working Fluids That Are Made By Burning Hydrocarbons 

PTOA Readers and Students are intuitively more familiar with the Internal Combustion Engine … such as the common automobile Engine which transfers the motive/mechanical power that is produced to the vehicle's drivetrain.

View of the Engine and Transmission to the Drivetrain of the Vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

"The Working Fluid" in an Internal Combustion Engine is a combusted hydrocarbon fuel.

Otherwise stated:

"The Working Fluid" in an Internal Combustion Engine is the gaseous combustion products and water vapor which evolve from the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels.

Brilliant PTOA Readers and Students have already learned about The Combustion Reaction in PTOA Segment #69.

The Combustion Reaction is the same for any hydrocarbon fuel ...

be it natural gas or propane or gasoline or diesel or jet fuel … or a chunk of organic biomass!

PTOA Readers and Students who are reading the PTOA Segments in the intended sequential order already know that The Combustion Reaction just requires that a specific amount of oxygen from air be combined with hydrocarbons at the required ignition temperature to generate a gaseous mixture of water, carbon dioxide, incomplete combustion products (like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides), and heat. 

This Combustion Reaction graphic shows complete combustion of Propane. No by products like Carbon Monoxide or Nitrous Oxides are created. The ratio of Propane and Oxygen and burning conditions must be ideal for this outcome to occur.

 

The PTOA Department of Redundancy Department states once more that:

The gaseous vapor of combustion products which evolve from The Combustion Reaction become "The Working Fluid" of the Internal Combustion Engine and are thence converted into mechanical/motive power.

Which brilliant PTOA Readers and Students noticed that "The Working Fluid" of combusted hydrocarbons was created within the Internal Combustion Engine?

Otherwise stated:

The Working Fluid of an Internal Combustion Engine is generated inside of the "power producing unit" … aka the Engine.

 

Hence the name "Internal Combustion Engine."

The upcoming PTOA Segment #201 features Internal Combustion Engines.

To be boring and accurate the vast majority of the next PTOA Segment #201 features Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines …

Engines that use Cylinders and Pistons to combust hydrocarbon fuels and have Connecting Rods and Crankshafts which convert the back-and-forth sliding motion into rotary motion.

The Rotary Internal Combustion Engine (aka The Wankel Engine) does not need a Connecting Rod or Crankshaft because the combusted hydrocarbon (aka "The Working Fluid") is directly converted into a rotary motion. The Wankel Engine is explored toward the end of PTOA Segment #201.

A nearby gif illustrates the rotary motion of The Wankel Engine.

 

 

The most popular example of the Rotary Internal Combustion Engine technology is the Mazda automobile Engine.

 

The Mazda RX-3 Coupe.

 

 

THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IS BAD FOR AIR BREATHERS

All Internal Combustion Engines emit combusted products … some of which are only partially combusted … into the air that all living things breathe.

These vehicle emissions contribute to global warming and cause city smog.

Downtown Los Angeles covered in a layer of smog.

The catalytic converter and diesel emission hardware and software are examples of technology which have been added to motorized vehicles for the purpose or reducing the emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxides into the air and should never be dismantled or overridden.

 

ENGINES USED AS PRIME MOVERS/DRIVERS IN THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES

This Caterpillar Diesel Engine drives a back up Emergency Electricity Generator for a hospital.

The need for a steady supply of hydrocarbon fuel limits the use of Internal Combustion Engines in processing plants.

Motors are typically the much less expensive alternative to continuously drive an industrial Load.

Therefore the role of Engines in the modern processing plant is limited to intermittent yet critical services such as being a source of back up electrical power.

A diesel Engine used as the Prime Mover/Driver to spin an electricity generator can be purchased and installed as a Genset.

This back up generator made by Cummins is "greener and cleaner" than a regular diesel engine-generator genset because it uses natural gas ... not diesel.

The Genset will be wired to kick on in the event of a power outage so that electricity can flow to the Emergency/Essential Power Bus which feeds electricity to the most critical users in the plant.

Outside Process Operators typically interface with Gensets by insuring that their condition and fuel supply is ever ready for an emergency.

 

 

TAKE HOME MESSAGES: Engines are Prime Movers/Drivers that convert the energy of a "Working Fluid" into motive/mechanical power.

"The Working Fluid" for a Steam Engine or Steam Turbine is logically, steam. The steam is produced in a Boiler that is situated far away from the "power producing unit" ... aka the Steam Engine or Steam Turbine.

"The Working Fluid" for an Internal Combustion Engine is the combusted products that form when a hydrocarbon fuel is burned under controlled conditions with oxygen from air. The fact that "The Working Fluid" of combusted hydrocarbon fuel evolves within this type of Engine is why they are known as "Internal Combustion Engines."

Hardware associated with Internal Combustion Engines includes Cylinders and Pistons to combust the fuel and Crankshafts/Connecting Rods to convert the energy of the Working Fluid into motive/mechanical power.

Internal Combustion Engines are a source of emissions that contribute to global warming and cause city smog. The additional technology that has been added to complete combustion and thus mitigate the emissions from Internal Combustion Engines should never be removed or bypassed.

The most familiar use of "Internal Combustion Engines" is the Engine that powers the common automobile or truck. Gasoline or diesel is combusted and the combustion products which evolve become "The Working Fluid" that is converted into motive/mechanical power .

The most universal use of the Internal Combustion Engine at a processing plant will be a diesel generator that drives a backup electricity generator. The Outside Process Operator must be always make certain the "Genset" is ready to work when the normal supply of electricity is interrupted.

 

©2018 PTOA Segment 0191

PTOA Process Variable Pressure Focus Study Area
PTOA PV Pressure Rotating Equipment Focus Study
PTOA PV Pressure Prime Mover/Driver of Rotating Equipment Extension Study

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