Experimental analysis of the actual behaviour of a natural gas fueled engine Caterpillar (CAT)-3516

In this work, first results are presented of the analysis of the behaviour, in actual, non-new operational conditions, of a lean burning, natural gas (NG) fueled, 1 MWe Caterpillar (CAT)-3516 engine, installed at the Engineer ing Faculty of Perugia University for the cogeneration of electrical and th ermal energy. Data collected daily by the plant manager operators along 24 months of engine operation, which refer to power, electrical efficiency, NG flowrate, availability, and charge temperature, were analysed in connectio n with the recorded events of breakdown/defects and of maintenance/repair. An acquisition system for the continuous monitoring of several engine and p lant quantities is described in detail. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.