ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all we would like to express our deep gratitude toward our advisor and
guide to our instructors of BTC/KGPW and who has always been a guiding force
behind this project work. His highly influential personality has provided us constant
encouragement to tackle any difficult task assigned. We are indebted to him for his
invaluable advice and fort propelling us further in every aspect of our academic life.
His depths of knowledge, crystal clear concepts have made our academic journey a
cake walk. We consider it our good fortune to have got an opportunity to work with
such a wonderful personality

Next, we want to express our sincere gratitude to

PRINCIPAL, STC : Sri A. K. Jaiswal

ADME, STC : Sri A. K. Nag

C.I, BTC : Sri N. C. Khamrui

For providing us necessary information about project work and helping us learn
various tough concepts. They have always been great sources of inspiration to us and
we would like to convey our deep regards to them. We are grateful to Sri Randeep Lall,
Instructor and all faculty members and staff of the KHARAGPUR RAILWAY
WORKSHOP for their generous help in various ways for the completion of this project.

We would like to thank all our friends and especially our classmates for all the
thought provoking discussion we had, which inspired us to think beyond the obvious.

We are especially indebted to our parents for their love, sacrifice and support.
They are our first teacher after we came to this world and have always been mile stones
to lead us a disciplined life.
 PREFACE

The objectives of the practical training are to learn something about industries
practically and to be familiar with the working style of a technical person to adjust
simply according to the industrial environment. It is rightly said practical life is far
away from theoretical one. As a part of academic syllabus of four year degree course in
Mechanical Engineering, every student is required to undergo a practical training. As a
Bachelor student of the Mechanical Engineering, this report is written on the basis of
practical knowledge acquired by me during the period of practical training taken at
Railway Workshop, Kharagpur.

This report is presented in very simple & understanding language on the basis of
Primary and Secondary data we were able to acquire on Air Compressor during our
training duration. The report is going to present an idea on how Air Compressor of
Diesel Locomotives work and are overhauled at the Diesel POH shop in Kharagpur
Railway Workshop.
 CONTENTS

1. Railway zones
2. Introduction to Diesel Locomotives
3. Four Stroke cycle
4. Motive Power
5. Layout of Motive Power
6. About WDM3A
7. Nomenclature
8. Main auxiliaries driven by the crank shaft
9. Air Compressor - Introduction to compressor
- Objective
- Concept of compression ratio
- Working of air compressor
- Cylinders, crank shaft and connecting rod
- Compressor pistons
- Inter cooler
- After cooler
- Suction unloaded valve
- Air compressor in the railway workshop
10. Conclusion
 RAILWAY ZONES

Name Abbr. Route Headquarters Divisions

Sl.
(km)
Central CR 3905 Mumbai Mumbai,Bhusawal,
1.
Pune, Solapur, Nagpur
East-Central EC 3628 Hajipur Danapur, Dhanbad,
2 Mughalsarai,
Samastipur, Sonapur
East-Coast ECoR 2677 Bhubaneswar KhurdaRd.,Sambalpur,
3
Vizag
Eastern ER 2414 Kolkata Howrah, Sealdah,
4
Asansol, Maldah
North Central NCR 3151 Allahabad Allahabad, Agra,
5
Jhansi
North Eastern NER 3667 Gorakhpur Izzatnagar, Lucknow,
6
Varanasi
North NWR 5459 Jaipur Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner,
7
Western Jodhpur
North East NFR 3907 Guwahati Alipurduar, Katihar,
8 Frontier Rangia, Lumding,
Tinsukia
Northern NR 6968 Delhi Delhi, Ambala,
9 Firozpur, Lucknow,
Moradabad
South Central SCR 5803 Secunderabad Vijaywada, Hyderabad,
10 Guntakal, Guntur,
Nanded, Secunderabad
South East SECR 2447 Bilaspur Bilaspur, Raipur,
11
Central Nagpur
South Eastern SER 2613 Kolkata Adra, Chakradharpur,
12
Kharagpur, Ranchi
South SWR 3177 Hubli Hubli, Bangalore,
13
Western Mysore
Southern SR 5098 Chennai Chennai, Trichy,
14 Madurai, Selem,
Palakad, Trivandrum
15 West Central WCR 2696 Jabalpur Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota
Western WR 6182 Mumbai Central, Ratlam,
16 Ahemdabad, Rajkot,
Bhavnagar, Vadodara
Metro MR 26 Kolkata _
17
Railway
18 South Coast SCoR Vishakhapattana Vijayawada
Railway m
 Production Units

YEAR MAIN
NAME ABBR. LOCATION
ESTD. PRODUCTS

Golden Rock Locomotive Diesel-electric

GOC 1928 Trichy
Workshop Locomotives

Chittaranjan Locomotive Chittaranjan, Electric

CLW 1947
Workshop Asansol Locomotives

Diesel
Diesel Locomotive Works DLW 1961 Varanasi
Locomotives

Diesel-electric
Diesel-Loco Modernization Works DMW 1981 Patiala
Locomotives

Passenger
Integral Coach Factory ICF 1952 Chennai
coaches
Passenger
Rail Coach factory RCF 1986 Kapurthala
coaches

Passenger
Rail Spring Karkhana RSK 1988 Gwalior
coach springs

Railway wheels
Rail Wheel Factory RWF 1984 Bangalore
& axles

Rail Wheel Factory RWF 2012 Chhapra Railway wheels

Passenger
Rail Coach Factory RCF 2012 Raebareli
coaches
 Different Shops In Kharagpur Railway Workshop

SHOP NO. SHOP NAME

1 Closed
2 Closed
3 White metal section
4 Schedule section
5 Smiting Shop
6 Welding Shop
7 Machine Shop
8 Tool room
9 Brush Shop
10 Mill wright Shop
11 Fitting Shop
12 ERS-POH
13 Heat-treatment Shop
14 Plate Shop
15 Closed
16 Motor transport
17 Closed
18 BTC
19 Wheel Shop
20 Production control Shop
21 Diesel Shop
22 Closed
23 Saw mill Shop
24 Carriage window Shop
25 Body shape
26 Roof lifting Shop
27 Lifting Shop
28 Lifting Shop
29 Carriage smith Shop
30 Break, water-tank, passenger-immunities Shop
31 Paint Shop
32 Turning Shop
33 Corrosion repair Shop
34 Closed
35 Electric loco body
36-48 Wagon Shop
49 Closed
50 Power house
51 Train lighting Shop
52 Electric maintenance Shop
53 Heavy repair Shop, CETL, EMU, Motor coach
54 Diesel wagon
55 Air-conditioning maintenance
56 EMU Shop
 Introduction to Diesel Locomotives

Engine
An engine is a mechanical device, which converts chemical energy to mechanical
energy.
Types of engines:
1) External combustion engine
2) Internal combustion engine

1. External Combustion Engine

In this type of engine, the burning of fuel takes place and work done is done in another
place
EXAMPLE- Steam engine
2. Internal Combustion Engine
In this type of engine the burning of fuel and the use of energy takes place inside the
cylinder at one place only.
EXAMPLE- Diesel engine
Types of IC Engines
1) Spark ignition engine (SI)
2) Compression ignition engine (CI)
 Diesel Engine
It has internal combustion engine, single acting, turbo supercharger, four stroke engines
in WDM3A loco. It works on the principle of compression ignition. There are 16
cylinders in WDM3A loco. The cylinders are fitted in V-shaped position on both sides
of engine block. The piston with each cylinder in connected with crankpin of
crankshaft of the connected rod. There are 8 crankpins & 9 main bearings fitted on
WDM3A loco. The diesel engine is started with the help of external battery. The
armature of the main generator coupled with crankshaft starts rotating continuously. It
produces 700-750V DC and supplies this to traction motor. The armature of the
traction motor starts rotating; hence the pinion on the shaft also rotates and rotates the
axle and wheel of the locomotive.

• Speed of The Diesel Engine

Ideal speed of the diesel engine is 400 rpm, full speed is 1050 rpm and over speed is
1170-1200 rpm.

Working Principle of Diesel Locomotive/ Motive Power

The diesel engine is the prime mover which rotates the crankshaft which in turn drives
a generator to generate high current which is fitted on individual wheel axles causes
movement to the locomotives as the traction motor armature to rotate. The traction
motor consists of movable coils called field coils mounted on magnetic flux. Due to
like and unlike polarities causing attraction and repulsion between armature and
inductor poles. A pinion is there on the shaft which is meshed to drive the gear fitted on
the axle. So the armature rotates the wheels to cause movement to the locomotive.

• Intake Stroke

During this stroke the inlet valve of the cylinder remains open and the exhaust valve
remains closed. Fresh filtered air enters inside the cylinder through inlet valves opening
due to suction. This stroke is called intake stroke or suction stroke or induction stroke.

• Compression Stroke

During this stroke the inlet and exhaust valve of the cylinder remains closed. The
piston inside the cylinder moved from BDC to TDC. The air which is trapped inside
the cylinder is compressed to 900-1000 psi and results in rise in temperature of the
inside air from 800 -1000 F approx. This is known as compression stroke.

• Power Stroke

Just before the end of compression stroke, the fuel is ejected into the cylinder in the
form of very fine spray through the fuel injection nozzles at the pressure of 3600-3800
psi. Due to very high temperature of the compressed air the fuel gets ignited inside the
cylinder. The pressure moves the piston down on the third stroke, which is working
stroke of the engine.

• Exhaust Stroke

Again on the fourth stroke the piston moves upward forcing the burnt gases out of the
cylinder through the exhaust valves, which are now opened. It is to be observed that in
a four stroke engine there is only one power stroke or working stroke.
 Specifications of Diesel Locos

Sl Specification WDM2 WDM3A WDG3A

no.
1 Types of Bogie Co-co Co-co Co-co
2 No of engine cylinder 16 16 16
3 Horse Power Generated 2600 3100 3100
4 Cylinder Bore 228.6mm 228.6mm 228.6mm
5 Fuel Oil Tank Capacity 5000ltr 5000ltr 6000ltr
6 Lube Oil Tank Capacity 910ltr 1150ltr 1450ltr
7 Cooling Water Capacity 1210ltr 1280ltr 1280ltr
8 Expresser oil capacity 22.8ltr - 21ltr
9 Governor oil capacity in wood word 1.75ltr 1.75ltr 1.75ltr
type
10 Governor oil capacity in electro 3.8ltr 3.8ltr 3.8ltr
hydraulic type
11 Gear case cardium compound 2.25kg - 5kg
12 Sand capacity(4 boxes) 14cu ft 4 cu m
13 Length 17120mm 17120mm 19150mm
14 Width 3016mm 3016mm 3016mm
15 Height 4185mm 4162mm 4162mm
16 Weight 112.8t 112.8t 123t
17 Axle Load 18.8t 18.8t 20.5t
18 Break Cylinders 8 8 8
19 Wheel Diameter 1092mm - -
20 Gear Ratio 18:65 18:65 18:74
21 Max permissible speed of loco 121kmph 121kmph 100kmph
22 i) engine speed-idle 400rpm 400rpm 400rpm
ii) engine speed-over 1000rpm 1050rpm 1050rpm
iii) engine speed-over 1100-1150rpm 1170-1200rpm 1170-1200rpm
23 Ideal speed fuel oil consumption 25ltr - -
24 No. of traction motors 6 6 6
25 Traction motor cable connection 24 24 24
26 No. of air ducts 6 6 6
27 No. of suspension bearings 12 12 12
28 Gear cases 6 6 6
29 Battery (8.8v each, total 70.4volt) 8 8 8
30 Horse power input to traction motor 2400 2750 2750
31 Services Mixed Mixed Goods
32 Lube oil for consumption 360ltr 600ltr 600ltr
33 Suspension bearing oil capacity 6.5ltr 8ltr 8ltr
34 Traction motor arrangement LLR/LRR LLR/LRR LLR/LRR
35 Transitions 3 1 1
36 Bogie cast Cast Fabricated
37 Cranking done by T/Gen. working Exciter & Aux. Exciter & Aux.
gas Gen Gen
38 Electric transmission type Dc/dc Ac/dc Ac/dc
39 Generator through Traction Alternator & Alternator &
generator rectifier rectifier
40 Tractive effort (max) 28050 kg 28050 kg 37884 kg
41 Brake system 28 LAVI & IRAB IRAB IRAB
42 Booster air fresher 1.05- 1.26 1.82-2.2 KG/CM 1.82-2.2
KG/CM CM CM KG/CMCM
43 Expansion tank capacity (each tank) 155 ltr - -
44 Fuel oil consumption during starting 12 ltr 12 12
45 Fuel oil consumption full load on 8th 7.5
notch
46 Turbo supercharger speed 18000-26000
47 Crank case exhauster motor speed 1720 rpm
48 Aux. and exciter alternator speed 2386 rpm
49 Water circulating speed pump 1725 rpm
50 Lube oil pump speed 1180 rpm
51 Grid motor blower speed 954-3600 rpm
52 T/M armature speed 2248 rpm
53 Radiator fan full speed 1200 rpm
54 Cylinder stroke length 226.7 mm 266.7 mm 266.7 mm
Layout of diesel locomotive
 Diesel Engine Components
This unit contains, in brief, the essential details in respect of design, construction,
working principle and maintenance procedure of the Diesel Engine components. The
discussion has been kept confined to standard locomotives of Indian Railways that is
WDM3A.

The Diesel engines consists of following major components & assemblies: -

1.Engine base 2.Engine 3.Crank 4.Cam shaft
block shaft
5.Cylinder head 6. Liner 7.Piston, Piston rings and
and Valves Connecting rods.

A fully assembled DieselLocomotive Engine(V16)

ENGINE BASE

When diesel engines were of low speed and low horse power the engine base and
blocks were made of heavy cast iron casting. In older types engines one of the main
functions of the base was to take the crank shaft. In the modern engines the crank
Shaft is underhung from the engine block.

With the development in diesel engines and with the change in design, fabricated
engine blocks and bases are finding favour though in some small horse power engines
cast iron blocks are still in use. The engine base of ALCO Locos WDM3, WDM3A
are made from weldable quality steel to specification IS-2062 with 0.2% of carbon.

The engine bases of ALCO Locos have following functions.

It has to -
 a) Support the engine block
b) Serve as oil sump
c) Accommodate lube oil main header
d) Take lube oil pump and water pump at the free end
e) Allow openings for crank case inspection
f) Take fitment of crank case explosion cover
g) Foundation pads are provided for transmitting load to the chassis and also to take
lower blots of the main generator magnet frame.

A perforated screen is fitted to the base to prevent foreign matter like pieces of metal
etc. getting access to the sump. The top face of the base which takes the engine block
is machined smooth and a sealing compound is applied before fitting the block to
make the crank case air tight so that crank case vacuum can be maintained.

.
ENGINE BLOCK

The engine block is the most important and very highly stressed structure on which
are fitted a number of important fittings like crank shaft, cam shaft, cylinder heads,
cylinder liners, pistons, Con. Rods, fuel injection pumps and cross-head, turbo
support, governor etc to form a complete Power pack.

CRANK SHAFT

The engine crankshaft is probably the singular costliest item in the diesel engine. It is
the medium of transforming reciprocating motion to rotary motion. The crankshaft may
be assembled type or two pieces bolted type or may be single piece forging.
Balanceweights can be either bolted up or welded. The standard Locomotives of Indian
Railways are with single-piece crankshaft with welded counter weights. In case of
CLW/MAK engines the counter weights are bolted.
The ALCO crankshafts are manufactured from chrome-molybdenum steel equivalent to
SAE 4140. The process of forging is such that continuous grain is maintained.

Auxiliaries Driven by the Crank Shaft

1.Auxiliary Generator

2.Exciter

3.Front truck traction motor blower

4.Split Gear

5.Crank Pin

6.Right Cam Shaft

7.Left Cam Shaft

8.Lube oil Pump

9.Air Compressor and exhauster

10Intercooler fan

11.Rear truck traction motor

12.Universal Shaft

13.ECC (Eddy Current Clutch)

14.Water Circulating pump

15.Compressor

16.Right angle gear box

 CAMSHAFT

In diesel engine the cam shaft performs the vital role of opening and closing inlet and
exhaust valves and allowing timely injection of fuel inside the cylinder. Usual practice is
to provide 3 cams for each cylinder the two outer cams being for exhaust and inlet
valves and the central cam being for fuel injection.

CYLINDER HEAD

The cylinder head is held on to the cylinder liner by seven hold down studs or bolts provided
on the cylinder block. It is subjected to high shock stress and combustion temperature at the
lower face, which forms a part of combustion chamber.
 LINERS

Liner forms the wall of the combustion chamber as well as it also guides the movement
of piston inside it.Liners are mainly of two types i.e. (a) Dry liner (b) Wet liner.

(a) Dry liners are those, which does not come in direct contact with coolant but fits in as
a sleeve inside an already complete cylinder. The temperature of the inside surface of
dry liner is higher than corresponding wet liner. Dry liners are in use in only very small
engines.
(b) Wet liners are those, which not only form the cylinder wall, but also form a part of
the water jacket. ALCO Locomotives are fitted with wet liners, which have slight
interference fit on upper and lower decks. In addition to this, synthetic rubber seals of
suitable qualities are to be used, one on the upper deck groove and two on middledeck.

PISTON

The piston is the most important component in the diesel engine as it takes direct part in
transmission of power.
(a) It compresses the air to required pressure & temperature.
(b) It receives the thrust of expanding gases and transmits the force through connecting
rod (for rotating crankshaft).
(c) It forms the crosshead through which side thrust due to angularity of connecting rod
is transmitted to the cylinder wall.
(d) With the help of piston rings it prevents leakage of gas from combustion chamber to
crank case.
 PISTON RINGS

The main functions of piston rings are: -

a) Sealing of combustion chamber and thus prevents blow by of air and high
temperature combustion gasses from getting access to crank case.
b) Scraps down excess lube oil from walls of cylinder liner and thus prevents reaching
lube oil into combustion chamber.

Piston rings are used in combination to perform the above functions. They are either 5
ring combination or 6 ring combinations. Now a days 5 ring combinations are in use.
Compression Rings: Oil scrapper Rings:
In the latest fuel efficient engines barrel faced piston rings are used in place of square
faced compression rings and both the oil scrapper rings are conformable rings.

CONNECTING ROD

Connecting rod is a member connecting piston and crankshaft and is a medium for
converting the reciprocating motion to rotary motion. In four stroke engines during the
compression and power stroke the connecting rod is subject to high compressive load. In
suction stroke it undergoes high tensile stresses. In case of two-cycle engine the
connecting rod is only subject to compressive load. Connecting rod length is usually
about 4 to 5 times of the crank radius.
 AIR COMPRESSOR

An air compressor is a device that converts power into potential energy stored in
pressurized air . By one of several methods , and air compressor forces more and more
air into a storage tank, increasing the pressure . when the tank pressure reaches its
upper limit the air compressor shuts off. The compressed air than is held in the tank
until called into use .The energy contained in the compressed air can be used for a
variety of application , utilizing the kinetic energy of the air at it is released and the
tank depressurized. When the tank reaches its lower limit, the air compressor turns on
again and re pressuirizes the tank.
An air compressor is as a mechanical device that increases the pressure of air by
reducing volume.
Air is compressible, the compressor reduce the volume of air and induces pressure in
the air .
The compressed air is stored in the air receiver and can be used for cleaning under
pressure, generating torque and develop force using actuators.
The source is free of cost, safe, flexible and convenient.
Air compressor has very few parts hence maintenance is very low.
 OBJECTIVES

• Explain the function of air compressor

• List type of air compressors
• Working of air compressore.
• Discuss the concept of compression ratio.
• List the component parts of reciprocating air compressor.

FUNCTION OF AIR COMPRESSOR

An air compressor is a device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel, or
gasoline engine etc) into potential energy stored in pressurized air. By one of several
methods, an air compressor forces more and more air into a storage tank, increasing
the pressure. When tank pressure reaches its upper limit the air compressore shuts off.
The compressed air, then is held in the tank until called into use. The energy contained
in the compressed air can be used for a variety of applications, utilizing the kinetic
energy of the air as it is released and the compressor de pressurizes. When the tank
pressure reaches its lower limit, the air compressor turns on again and re pressurized
the tank.
 COMPONENTS PARTS OF RECIPROCATING AIR COMPRESSORS

1. Cylinders
2. Crank shaft
3. Connecting Rod
4. Compressor Pistons
5. Inter cooler
6. After Cooler
7. Suction Unloaded Valve

WORKING OF AIR COMPRESSOR

In a reciprocating compressor, gas is compressed by mechanical variation of the of

space inside the cylinder, by reciprocating motion of the piston. For a cycle of
operation, there are two stokes such as –
1. Suction Stoke
2. Compression Stroke

As the piston moves down, air is sucked from atmosphere to the cylinder through
suction valve (a non return valve). As piston moves up, air is compressed and at the
end of compression stroke, air is delivered through delivery valve (which is also a non
return valve). Top most portion the piston can travel inside the cylinder is called Top
Dead Center (TDC), and bottom most portion the piston can reached inside the
cylinder is called Bottom Dead Center (BDC).

Two stage compression is soon below –

Here first stage compresses gas from atmospheric pressure to 3 bar and then gas is
cooled isobarically (at constant pressure, refer diagram above). Now gas is again
compressed to 10 bar. Now we can see that the work of compression corresponding to
the shaded area in the diagram is saved by incorporating an inter cooling between two
stages. Hence when comparing with a single stage compressor work can be reduced by
inter cooling in an multistage compressor.

Work can be reduced further by increasing number of stage and inter cooling, but as
the number of stages increases design becomes complex, constructional cost increases,
maintenance cost also increases, which may nullify the effect of work saved during
operation. This is the limiting factor for more number of stages.

CYLINDERS

The compressor has two 196.875 mm diameters low pressor cylinders and one 139.7
mm diameter high pressure cylinders. Cylinders are made grey iron casting with
hexagonal fins for better cooling.

CRANK SHAFT AND CONNECTING ROD

Crank shaft is made of special alloy forged steel, so that deflection is minimized and
the water is reduced. A fan is mounted on the one end. The dive to the crank shaft is
taken from the engine through a coupling. Rotational motion of the crank shaft is
converted to reciprocating motion by slider crank mechanism.

Low pressure and high pressure stage connecting rod are interchangeable and are made
of forged steel fitted with bimetal bearing on crank pin and needle roller bearing on
wrist pin end. However the lower portion and upper portion of the connecting rod must
be kept as matched set with orientation marks on the same side. The connecting rods
are mounted over the crank pin adjacent to one another.

COMPRESSOR PISTONS

The low pressure piton are made of aluminium and elliptically ground on the outside
diameter. The high pressure piston is cast iron.
Both low pressure and high pressure pistons have to bevelled oil control rings, one
nose scraper ring and one taper faced compression ring on the top. Piston reciprocates
taking the power from the connecting rod.
 INTER COOLER FAN

The inter cooler reduces the temperature of the compressed air leaving the first
stage prior to entering the second stage in order to improve the overall thermodynamic
efficiency of the system. The air in atmosphere is forced to flow through the exterior
fin of the inter cooler in the cross flow configuration to reduce the temperature of the
compressed air.
A safety valve is provided at the manifold of the inter-cooler assembly, which
opens at 50 psi.

AFTER COOLER

The after cooler assembly reduce the outlet temperature. The after cooler made
with external finned copper pipes. A safety valve is provided at the manifold of the
after cooler assembly which has an opening pressure of 200 psi. Both inter cooler and
after cooler has a drain valve at the bottom to drain the condensate.
 SUCTION UNLOADER VALVE

The unloader assemblies are a part of compression system located over the
suction valve. It is pneumatically operated when the system pressure reaches 140 psi.
The unloader valve, spring and unloader. This keeps the suction valve open during the
suction and compression stroke. The air escapes through the suction valve, keeping the
compressor without compression. This acts like a control system for the main reservoir
pressure between the cut in and cut out pressure as set by the end user by means for a
solenoid pressure switch or other equipment not supplied by the original equipment
manufacturer.
 LOADING & UNLOADING OF COMPRESSOR

Like most of the compressors to avoid the compressor running hot & also to
avoid wastage of engine horse power used up by the compressor arrangements are
provided to unload the compressor when a particular presser is reached. In other
words, the compressor cylinder are not revered to compressor the air any further when
the main air reservoir presser goes to 10 kg/ sq. cm. Due to normal wastage of
compressed air, the main air reservoir presser naturally comes down, when the M.R.
presser comes down to 8 kg./sq.cm. The compressor starts functioning again.

Basically in this compressors unloading is effected by the unloaded plungers

prongs pressing down the inlet valve of both L.P. cylinder & high pressure cylinder,
thus keeping them in open position as soon as 10 kg/sq. cm pressure is reached in main
air reservoir & continues to do so till the pressure comes down to 8 kg/sq. cm. Thus
the compressors remind unloaded or relieved in the range from 10 kg/sq. cm to 8
kg/sq.cm M.R. pressure. In case of low pressure cylinder the air down in through air
intake strainer is pushed out in the same direction & in case of H.P. cylinder the inlet
air is pushed back to inter cooler & low pressure discharge manifold. This is achieve
by the unload plunger in conjunction with the air governor.
 AIR GOVERNOR

The function of the air governor is to transmit main air reservoir pressure to the
top of unloader plunger as soon as the pressure reaches 10 kg/cm.sq. Supply of
compressed air to unloader is discontinued and also the existing air pressure from the
top of unloader plunger is vented to exhaust as soon as the M.R. pressure comes down
to 8 kg/sq.cm. or 110 PSI.
Air governor consist of two pieces bronze casting governor body & the pipe
backer with a no. of air passages. It incorporates

Wire mesh filter

 Cut out valve
 Cut out valve adjusting system
 Cut out valve spring
 Cut out valve spring adjusting nut
 Cut in tail valve
 Cut in valve
 Cut in valve adjusting system
 Cut in valve steam adjusting nut
 UNLOADING PHENOMENA

The M.R. pressure when gets access in to the air governor through pipe a passes
through filter (J) to passage B and bifurcates in the pipe bracket. A part of this air goes
through passage c to the bottom of cot of valve. The other portion of the air passage
through passage D and working on the cut in tail valve .

Once the M.R pressure reaches 10kg/sq.cm. The pressure acting at the bottom of cut
out valve spring tension and lifts the valve to get access to passage E. The air pressure
acting on cut in tail valve lefts the cut invalve there by opening the passage of air from
E to F which leads to the top of unloader plunger. At the same time the exhaust passage
C of the casting is blocked by upper lips of cut in valve.

Once the M.R pressure goes below 10kg/sq.cm but remain above 8kg the cut out valve
spring forces the cut out valve to be seated at a passage from C to E is blocked.

But the cut in valve is still kept up with the of pressure between 10 to 8 kg/sq.cm and
the amount of air passing through cut in tail valve on supplying air to the unloader
valve top.

As soon as the M.R. Air pressure comes to 8kg or below the cut in valve spring makes
the valve to be seated and there by blocking passage to F and no further air is supplied
to the top of unloader. Further the air whatever is there in the pipe line gets exhaust as
soon as the cut in tail valve upper lip move down opening the connecting passage 6 to
the exhaust port.
 AIR COMPRESSOR IN THE RAILWAY WORKSHOP

(ELGI-RR80101)

RR 80101

RR ------- RAILWAY RECIPROCATING

80 ------ POWER (HP)

10 ------ OUTLET PRESSURE (KG/SQ.CM.)

1 ------ ENGINE DRIVEN

 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Parameter Specifications
Model Reciprocating 'w' type , forced fan air –
cooled
Normal working pressure 10 kg /cm2
rated speed 1000 rpm
Compression stage 2 – stages
Low pressure cylinder Number 2
Low pressure cylinder diameter 196.85mm
High pressure cylinder number 01
High pressure cylinder diameter 139.7mm
Shaft horse power, 1000 rpm and 140 psig 60 kw
Grade of oil Servo 150 RR
Oil fill capacity Minimum level - 14 ltrs
Maximum level - 21 ltrs

Safety valve set pressure

For inter cooler 50 psi
For after cooler 200 psi
Overall dimension (L*B*H) 1315mm*1374mm*1015mm
Net weight 730 kg
 CONCLUSION

Air compressor is a very versatile tool placed in the engine system that
compresses the atmospheric air to a higher pressure. The model used in WDM3A is
Elgi RR80101 which as positive locking arrangement for counter weight in crank shaft.
This is air cooled air compressors. Recent modification are brought bin to use where
cooling systems uses water, as water has a very high specific heat capacity as compare
to air.
Air compressor can be regarded as the heart of a diesel engine system and
coupled with the main shaft although small in size compared to the diesel locomotive it
provides the required high pressure for various needs of the locomotive. Various valves
are used to ensure safety of the air compressor during its working. Moreover there is a
needle valve to check the amount of lube oil present in the air compressor.
A pneumatic governor present ensures the safe loading and unloading of the
compressor. The compressor remains continuously powered. However, when the
demands of compressed air is satisfied or reduce, instead of disconnecting power to the
compressor, a device known as suction unloaded valve is activated by the governor.
Hence the air compressor is very dynamic system present in the locomotive.