Fuel Flow Rates 1

[dfgray44]

Does anyone have good info on fuel flow rates on heavy-duty diesel engines?

 

[Lou Scannon]

180-200 g/kW-hr will put you in the ballpark. The exact value is highly dependent on the engine and where it is in its operating range.

 

[dfgray44]

Hemi--
Are you referring to diesel generators? I was asking about mobile sources such as on a Freightliner with a Detroit Diesel engine, etc.

 

[Lou Scannon]

As I said, it depends. What model year of engine, what speed & load, or what duty cycle?

 

[crysta1c1ear]

Example
Let's say the fuel has energy density 44,558,176 Joules per kilogram. (I've taken that figure from a simple enthalpy calculation on dodecane.)

Just take the reciprocal and fuel use would be 1/44,558,176 kilograms per Joule for a perfect engine. Measuring energy in kilowatt hours instead of Joules - a simple change of units - and using grams instead of kilograms, gives 80.79 grams per kilowatt hour. That's still just the same energy density of the fuel, restated in other units.

If we assume 40% efficiency ....

80.79 / 0.40 = 201.98 g/kW-hr

So, you need to know
1. your fuel energy density,
2. your engine power (being generated), and
3. its efficiency.