Operating Methodology

Figure 1: air starting system of a two-stroke diesel engine (Personnel 2009)

Air compressors feed compressed air into the receivers. The receiver has a capacity of twelve
times the starting air for reversible engines and six times for non-reversible engines. The air then
passes through a wide open pipe towards a remote operating non-return or automatic valve and
after to the cylinder air start valve. The air start valve regulates the amount of air entering the

cylinder. A pilot air system controls the above valves. This air is obtained from the large pipe
through the pilot air control valve regulated using the engine air start lever.
Actuation of the starting lever causes a section of the pilot air to pass to and open the remote
operating valve. Meanwhile, a different air section flows to the air distributor and helps in
providing suitable operation directions. The engine camshaft operates the distributor.
The distributor unit is composed of valves with rollers arranged radially in the casing around the
cam shaft. Since there are two camshafts (for ahead and for astern), the desired cam is aligned to
the distributor valves by changing the position of the engine reversing lever. Upon a highpressure air charge on the distributor valves, the rollers are forced down. One of the rollers
engages with the camshaft periphery dent. The result is the closure of vent and admission of the
pilot air to the control units of the cylinder air starting valve. The air is then distributed in the
most suitable order to achieve the desired operation direction. Before the pilot air, the air start
valves are held in place by springs. However, the pilot air controls the valves so that starting air
from the receiver to enters the engine cylinder. the cylinder valves open at about
after the TDC and close at a crank angle of

5 degrees

130 degrees . At this point, the roller disengages

from the dent, cuts off the pilot air in order for venting to occur. The piston pressure diminishes
therefore suddenly closing the starting air valve through spring action. The distributor valves are
arranged to operate their respective cylinder starting air valves in accordance with the firing
order of the engine (Compton 1997).
The remote operating valve has an inbuilt interlock to keep it closed when engine turning gear is
engaged. Once opened, this valve blocks the return of engine compressed air back to the starting
air system.
In normal operations, lubricating oils leak from the compressor to the air pipelines. Accidental
leakage of the cylinder air starting valve would admit hot gases from the engine and cause
ignition of the oils. If the starting air is fed to the engine, there would be bigger fires and
explosions. Proper maintenance of the cylinder starting valves and air pipelines, minimisation of
lubricating oil discharge as well as frequent air pipeline draining are possible solutions.

Measures taken to mitigate explosions in the system include the installation of isolating nonreturn valves, flame traps, relief valves, bursting caps and high-temperature alarms or fuses. An
additional cause of the explosion is inadequate compressor cooling water that causes an
overheated air charge which increases the possibility of an explosion.

Bibliography
Compton, P 1997, Troubleshooting Marine Diesel Engines, 4th edn, McGraw-Hill.
Personnel, USBON 2009, Fundamentals of Diesel Engines - U. S. Navy, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Michigan.