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Engine Room Performance has moved beyond the days of just measuring fuel consumed per nautical mile. Engine Room efficiency today involves so much more than just this: thermal optimization, less energy is used by pumps, maintenance downtime has been reduced, machinery integration with onboard automation has made significant strides. Crucially, underpinning the equation for the best possible engine room efficiency: the cooling system, with at its core, the Plate Heat Exchanger (PHE). A truly efficient PHE extracts heat effectively with the minimum of parasitic load and maximum of reliability and is capable of adapting to a number of operating regimes. SME Group’s two decades plus of experience in Marine Engineering with its extensive portfolio of products such as ICCP, MGPS, SED and PHE equipment, has enabled the team to develop the right principles in order to turn an efficient piece of equipment, like a PHE, into a real engine room performer.
1. Optimizing Thermal Design for Minimum Energy Consumption
The principal criterion of PHE performance is the thermal effectiveness, that is the actual heat transfer compared with the maximum theoretical possibility. The SME process involves a thermal design that precisely equates heat duties, thus we do not oversize and waste valuable plant area and create unnecessary pump work, nor do we undersize and leave our client struggling for cooling. The effective use of optimum chevron angles and plate corrugations results in a high turbulence at relatively low velocities giving high heat transfer coefficients and low pressure drop.
It is a fundamental design principle that contributes directly to energy efficiency. Every 1 kPa pressure drop across the PHE requires the pump to deliver extra power. In turn, this increases auxiliary engine load, leading to greater fuel burn. SME’s design process utilizes state-of-the-art CFD simulation of flow across the PHE plate pack. This determines an even velocity distribution through the plate pack, eliminating “dead spots” and minimizing the likelihood of fouling. The outcome is a PHE capable of achieving its designated task with the lowest achievable pressure penalty – savings that add up over the life of a vessel.
2. Reducing Fouling and Extending Cleaning Intervals
The unseen thief of PHE performance: fouling Fouling (biofilm, scale and particles deposition on heat transfer surfaces) enhances the thermal resistance of the plates, leading to higher pumping energy demand and higher engine working temperatures. SME’s solutions to combat the fouling: Our plates possess special optimized surface finishes which limit the adherence power of biological and mineral deposits. The design of chevron corrugated profile generates local shear forces at the plate inlet region which promote breaking of fouling.
Moreover, our SME designed PHE’s incorporate accessible cleaning ports and view windows for visual fouling checks, and comprehensive cleaning procedures with compatible chemical agents (respecting plate and gasket). Paired with our marine growth prevention system (MGPS), marine life no longer settles within the sea water intakes reducing the rate of fouling to a minimum. Thus resulting in longer cycles between cleaning, minimal downtime, reduced maintenance costs and superior thermal performance at every stage of the vessel’s life.
3. Modular Configurations for Load Adaptability
Contemporary ships do not operate at only one power level throughout the day. Main engine load increases significantly in maneuver, is decreased significantly when slow steaming and turned off in port. This leads to the overdesign of the PHE at partial load, meaning that pump energy consumption is excessive and the thermal stability is poor at reduced load. A PHE system with individual and/or modular plates, or "sections," can achieve flexibility. SME's system can then be connected so that either all sections are in service or some sections are isolated or bypassed based on the instantaneous thermal load, providing more cost-effective and energy efficient cooling solutions.
For example, a PHE supplying a central cooling system may have a duty and trim section. At low load only the trim section is engaged, to satisfy heat duty at a reduced seawater flow. When at full load both sections will be operating. This capability requires no physical change to the PHE, it is simply a matter of control logic and valve arrangements. The full documentation interface package SME supply for integrating into the vessels’ automation ensures that the system can be controlled and monitored from the remote position and fully auto loading. Along with SME SED’s to protect against stray current and ICCP for hull protection, we offer integrated engine room systems.
4. Seamless Integration with Automation and Asset Management
Today’s engine room is a “digital environment”. The PHE should not be a sleeping partner, it must contribute active data. SME designs our heat exchangers complete with pre-machined port openings, into which temperature transmitters, pressure sensors and differential pressure switches can be fitted in the factory. These devices report performance figures, such as heat transfer coefficient, approach temperatures and fouling factors, back to the ship’s automation system.
This method of a data driven service transforms a system from calendar-driven to condition-based maintenance. If for instance, the heat exchange efficiency deteriorates by 10%, the automation system can initiate a fully automated maintenance call with recommended service measures and spare parts. Collected over time, this collected data gives technical superintendents insights to develop trends and benchmark performances to define an ideal cleaning or chemical injection plan, or even an upgrade plan. SME facilitates the integration process with all of the most important open communication standards and can also provide full technical documentation. Having completed over 500 projects for retrofit and maintenance each year with a 100 strong team of technicians and engineers SME Group delivers PHE-solutions that cool your engines, but also help improve efficiency, reliability and digitally readiness of the vessel. With SMEs you will get to the next level, beyond the concern.