R&D report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

R&D report - Research Paper Example Internal combustion engines have also been designed to operate on natural gas since it is cheaper than crude oil derivatives. Although natural gas engines provide for cheaper operating costs, there is a constant need for maintenance on the valve assemblies. The relatively earlier failure of valves, especially exhaust valves, leads to increased maintenance costs as well as lowered machine reliability and availability. This is truer still for smaller gas engines that are employed in domestic backup power applications. This research employs a lubricator in order to improve the lubricity of natural gas so as to improve valve life and hence engine availability and reliability. Keywords: natural gas engine, lubricity, valve failure, exhaust valve, head assembly Table of Contents Statement of the Problem 11 Rationale 11 Assumptions 12 Limitations 12 Nomenclature 13 Terms. 13 Abbreviations. 13 Intellectual Property Issues 14 Patent. 14 Copyright. 14 Fair use. 14 Budget Overview 14 Analysis 1 6 Problem Analysis 16 Existing scenario. 16 Ideal scenario. 16 Gap analysis. 16 Performance Criteria 16 Focusing of the Task Objective 17 Limitations and delimitations of the project. 17 Governing propositions. 17 Assumptions. 17 Statement of the R&D objective. 18 Hypothesis 19 Solution Proposal Method 19 Mechanisms of the Task 19 RCA. 19 Observations and expert opinions. 19 Development Procedures 19 Computer aided engineering (CAE) techniques. 20 Machining. 20 Fabrication. 20 Fitting. 21 Governing Propositions 21 Performance Measures 21 Synthesis 21 Implementation 21 Testing 22 Equipment. 22 Methods. 23 Measurement. 24 Instrumentation. 24 Experimental Results and Data Analysis 25 Validation 26 Status of Task Objective 26 Sustainability 26 Transferability 26 Implications 27 Recommendations 27 References 28 Appendix A – Lubricator Design 29 3D CAD Models 29 Appendix B – Proposed Air Plenum 32 3D CAD Models 32 Index 34 List of Figures Figure 1 - Exhaust valve burn with t he burned area visible on the right side. Continued operation of this valve could have led to catastrophic failure of the engine. 10 Figure 2 - Arrangement of inlet valve and exhaust valve in a single cylinder engine configuration 22 Figure 3 - The gas genset used for the current research sourced from (Green Power, 2013) 23 Figure 4 - MTBF against lubrication feed rate 25 Figure 5 - Lubricator body with bracket welded on 29 Figure 6 - Lubricator graduation cylinder 30 Figure 7 - Lubricator end tail for insertion into air plenum 30 Figure 8 - Complete lubricator assembly including lubrication adjustment screw (shown on the left bottom corner) 31 Figure 9 - Proposed air plenum base 32 Figure 10 - Proposed air plenum top cover 33 List of Tables Table 1 - Budget for the current research. 14 Table 2 - Lubrication feed rate used for experimentation 23 Table 3 - Lubrication feed rates and the corresponding MTBF 25 Proposal to Research and Develop Lubricator for Gas Generators Natural gas s erves as a cheap fuel alternative to the more expensive diesel, gasoline, kerosene, light fuel oil (LFO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO). There has been a growing trend to utilise natural gas in power generation applications in the form of both turbines and internal combustion engines. The lubrication process in a turbine relies on an externally supplied lubricating agent only. However, internal combusti