Design and Experiment of Low-Pressure Gas Supply System for Dual Fuel Engine

Abstract A low-pressure gas supply system for dual fuel engines was designed to transport liquid natural gas from a storage tank to a dual fuel engine and gasify it during transportation. The heat exchange area and pressure drop in the spiral- wound heat exchanger, the volume of the buffer tank and the pressure drop in the pipeline of the gas supply system were calculated by programming using Python. Experiments were carried out during the process of starting and running the dual fuel engine using this gas supply system. Experimental data show that the gas supply system can supply gas stably during the process and ensure the stable operation of the dual fuel engine. The effects of the parameters of natural gas and ethylene glycol solution on the heat exchange area of the spiral-wound heat exchanger and the volume of the buffer tank in the gas supply system were studied. The results show that the heat exchange area calculated according to pure methane can adapt to the case of non-pure methane. The temperature difference between natural gas and ethylene glycol solution should be increased in order to reduce the heat exchange area. The heat exchange area selected according to the high pressure of natural gas can adapt to the low pressure of natural gas. The volume of the buffer tank should be selected according to the situation of the minimum methane content to adapt to the situation of high methane content. The main influencing factor in selecting the volume of the buffer tank is the natural gas flow. The results can provide guidance for the design of the gas supply system for dual fuel engines.