Engine Room Ventilation System of Ship, ANSYS Fluent CFD Training

Description

This simulation is about the engine room ventilation system of a ship via ANSYS Fluent software.

On ships, the power needed to start compressors, pumps, fans, etc., is all supplied by electric motors. The engine room occupies the largest part of the space allocated to the various parts inside the ship.

Due to the accumulation of all these machines in this space, it is necessary to study how heat is transferred in this space.

The Optimal design of the air conditioning system to supply combustion air inside the equipment and regulate temperature and humidity inside this space is one of the most important points in the design of engine rooms and shipbuilding.

Engineers and researchers have always tried to optimize the design of the air conditioning system for ships by presenting new methods. Simulation and analysis of the ventilation system related to the ship’s engine room can help explore new and innovative methods better.

In this project, the room consists of an air inlet (mass-flow type, 35 Kg/s) and two pressure outlets. The diesel engines and motors generate heat (12500 and 8333.333 W/m3, respectively) while working.

The injected air (300 K) is responsible for cooling the engine room and lowering the temperature of engines and motors.

The geometry of the present model is drawn by Design Modeler software. The model is then meshed by ANSYS Meshing software. The model mesh is unstructured, and 706053 cells have been created.

Engine Room Methodology

In this simulation, the energy model is activated because the main goal of this project is heat transfer. A distinct volume is considered in the modeling to define the heat generated by motors and diesel engines. It is assumed that each volume produces a specific amount of heat.

A heat source must be defined in cell zone conditions to determine the amount of heat; That is, a certain amount of energy is produced per unit volume.

Engine Room Conclusion

After simulation, the contours of temperature, velocity, and pressure are obtained. Also, streamline and velocity vectors are obtained. Streamlines indicate that the cooling air of the ventilation system enters the room and is well distributed in the space.

The temperature contour also shows that the motors and diesel engines have a high temperature, and cold air goes to the surface of the motors and engines to cool them.