LOAD BOX TESTING,HP,SFC OF

DIESEL LOCO.

Lecturer(D)/IRIMEE
 Horse Power of Diesel Engine
 There are four different horsepower ratings on a
Diesel electric locomotive-
 Brake Horse Power/Rated Horse Power
 Gross Engine Power/Gross HP

 Input to Traction

 Traction Output

 Rail Horsepower

 Draw bar HP
 Brake Horse Power
 Brake horsepower is measured at the engine
crankshaft and is a measure of the TOTAL
horsepower available for conversion to electrical
energy at the main generator plus the power
required for driving accessory loads.
 Gross Horse Power
 It is the engine BHP at standard conditions obtained
after making corrections to the site engine out put
for temperature ,altitude and specific gravity of
fuel.
 GHP=BHPX Correction factor(As per site condition
on basis of Ambient Temp, Altitude & Fuel
sp.gravity.)
 Input to Traction
 It is the mechanical power input to Traction
Alternator
 Input to Traction = Gross Horse Power - Accessory
loads/Auxiliary HP(AHP)
 Traction output
 Traction output = Input to Traction x Generator
Efficiency
 Incase of WDM2 locomotive, Approx 0.94 is
considered as efficiency of the Main Generator.
 Rail Horsepower
 Rail horsepower, the power delivered by the
locomotive wheels at the rails,can be expressed by
 Rail Horsepower = Traction out put x Transmission
Efficiency
 Traction efficiency depends on
 Traction Motor
 Pinion & Axle Gears.
 Load Box Testing-Introduction
 Load box examination is carried out on diesel
locomotives to determine the Generator/ Alternator
output and gross engine power by simulating the
actual working condition of the locomotive at rated
output in static condition.
 WHY, WHEN AND WHERE
 Why
 To
Check engine output.
 Whether all systems functioning properly or not.

 When
 After new manufacturing
 Before and after major repairs
 Before and after major schedule.
 To diagnose any specific problem

 Where
 In
the shed or in the POH workshop.
 Within the loco itself.
 TYPES OF LOAD BOX
 Grid Resistance Load Box.
 Water Resistance Load Box.
Water load Box Vs Grid load Box

Water load box testing Grid load box testing

 Load resistance can be  Load Resistance can be

varied at infinite stages. changed only at limited
 Load resistance can be stages.
changed during loaded  load resistance can be
condition. change only after stepped
down to lower notch.
 It can be conducted for  Can not be conducted for
a longer duration. longer duration.
 it can not be shifted  Can be shifted with lesser
easily. effort
 Procedure of Load Box Test
 Preparation for starting loco.
 Pre-inspection
 Cranking, Starting & Checking
 Notch –up
 Pre-Load Test
 Preparation for Load box testing.
 Load box testing and Parameters
 1.Preparation for starting loco.
 Water filling .
 Fuel filling .
 Supplement the engine with required supplements.
 Pre-lubrication
 2.Pre-Inspection
 All 4 systems- Fuel Oil, Lube Oil, water Cooling &
Air Systems.
 All auxiliaries and fittings driven by engine
crankshaft.
 Recording of following parameter-
 Fuel Orifice Test,Limit Drop: 0.8 to 1kg/cm2
 Fuel Pump Vacuum,at load:35-50 cm, at No-Load: 65-
80 cm
 Fuel Oil Pump delivery: 14-15 liters/min.
 3.Cranking,Starting & Checking
 Run the engine for a minute or two. During running
observe un-usual sound or leakage.
 If OK, run the engine for 5 minutes, stop and measure
the following parameter -
 Lube Oil Pressure 3.5-5 Kg/cm2
 Fuel Oil Pressure 3.8-4.0 Kg/cm2
 All M/B Temperature and water temperature.
 IfOk,run the engine and measure Water temp,M/B
temp after interval of 15min,30min,60min,2hrs,4hrs.
 After 4 hr take Compression and Firing pressure for all
cylinders at idle.
 4.Notch –Up
 Run the engine on idle at least for 4 hour or 6 to 8
hr, then start notching up to 8th .
 At every notch ,run the engine for 15 min & record
the following data as given below-
 Engine RPM,FOP,LOP,
 At 3rd ,6th & 8th notch, measure Cooling Water
temp and all M/B temp.
 5. Pre-Load Tests
 Record the following parameters before & after
starting the engine .
 OST: 1120-1160 RPM
 TRD: At 65°C of water temp,TRD: 95 to 120 sec.

 OPS(Picking and Dropping) –

 2.1 Kg/cm2 1.8 Kg/cm2 PG Governor
 2.8 Kg/cm2 1.3 Kg/cm2
 R/Fan RPM: 1200-1250 RPM
 Cooling down time : Less than 6 Min.
 6.Preparation & Load Box Testing
 Mechanical preparation
 FitAdopter,Pressure gauges ,Temp gauges ,Manometer
etc in appropriate location for measuring of various
mechanical parameters.
 Electrical preparation
 Connect various cables, Tachometer, DC Ammeter, DC voltmeter
etc in different location for measuring of various electrical
parameters and toward execution of Load box testing.
 7.Load Box Testing & Parameters
 Exhaust gas Temperature
 Compression pressure
 Booster air pressure
 Firing pressure
 Fuel rack travel
 Lube oil pressure
 Crank case vacuum
 TSC speed
 Exhaust gas appearance
 Exhaust gas temp
 It causes excessive thermal loading of TSC
components, Exhaust manifold, Pistons, Cylinder
heads etc.
 In case of WDM2 with high efficient turbo , Exh.gas
temp at Turbine inlet(Max)- 620‟c and EGT is 490-
510‟c with 720 A turbo.
 High exhaust gas temperature is caused by –
 Incomplete combustion of fuel/After burning of fuel.
 Higher inlet air temperature.
 Compression pressure
 Compression pressure is the pressure developed in
the combustion chamber when the piston reaches at
the Top dead center while moving the engine
manually. Low compression pressure leads low HP.
 Low compression pressure is caused –
 Ifexcessive leakage either through piston rings or
valves or from both. Range: 400-440 PSI at idle in
WDM2.
 Booster air pressure
 Causes of low booster pressure-
 choking of intake filter,
 defective TSC and

 inefficient After cooler.

 High Booster pressure will lead to higher peak

firing pressure in cylinder ie increase mechanical
loading. it would also result in surging and damage
the TSC.
 In case of WDM3A, Range -1.6 to 2.0 kg/cm2
 Firing pressure
 Low firing pressure may be due to defective fuel
injection system, improper valve timing and low
booster air.
 High firing pressure may be caused due to higher
booster pressure with high fuel oil supply. It leads to
high Exh.gas temp resulting in excessive thermal and
mechanical stresses on piston ,Cyl.heads and other
components.
 Fuel rack travel
 The function of the fuel rack is to control the supply
of fuel to the engine in accordance to the throttle
handle position and generator /alternator demand
 If the rack opening reading is less ,but sufficient
horse power is developed ,it implies incorrect initial
adjustment of the fuel rack linkage or fuel injection
pump having higher delivery than specified. Fuel
rack at full load on 8th notch: 30+1/-2 mm
 Lube oil pressure
 Causes of lube oil pressure drop- Malfunctioning of
Lube oil P/P,Low lub oil in sump tank, dirty lube oil
strainer, leakage in the system, low viscosity of oil,
wrong setting of Relief V/v or regulating V/V.
 Range of Lube oil pressure –
 At header (at full speed ): 5.3 to 6.0 Kg/cm2
 At header (at idling speed -350 rpm & 80‟c water
temp):2.0 kg/cm2 (min)
 Crank case vacuum
 Low crank case vacuum causes high lube oil
consumption. In extreme cases, an explosion in the
crank case my occur due to high positive pressure.
 Range: min crank case vacuum in inch of H2O-
O.5 inch
 TSC Speed
 Measurement of TSC speed is extremely important.
 Higher turbo RPM indicates lesser service margin
and higher pressure ratios leading to the low
reliability as such.
 Range of the speed
 ABB-VTC-304-VG15 -24600RPM (Max)
 Napier-NA-295IR -27000RPM „‟
 GE 7S1716 -20000RPM „‟
 Exhaust gas appearance
 Black smoke : This may be due to-
 Defective fuel injection equipment.
 Insufficient availability of air to the cylinder.
 Defective power assembly(Excessive Blow bye)

 White smoke: it may be due to-

 Water in the cylinder during combustion.
 Insufficient fuel or misfiring IN cylinders.
 White smoke can also appear during starter.

 Grayish blue smoke: this is due to burning of lube

oil.
READINGS TAKEN IN ALL NOTCHES
Notch Lube oil Pressure Fuel oil Booster Engine Rack LCR Excitation
Pressure Air Speed RPM Position in position current
Eng Com/
Exp pressure mm (Hy.Gov) (16V-64V)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Idle
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

READINGS TAKEN IN 1ST & 8TH NOTCH

Notch Auxiliary Reference AC Voltage Load Load Horse Corrected Water
Voltage Voltage between 3 Current Voltage Power HP Temp
(35v-135V)related
(72V) (24.5v) to Tacho.Gen.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Idle (related to I V V.I/ 700 Cal HP/
to Gov. (700= a.b.c
8th &Excitor) 746 x (a,b,c are
notch Gen η) correction
factors )

Notch Colour of Current Specific Fuel Efficiency Crank case vacuum Remarks
smoke limit Consumption Engine Expr./
( gms / bhp.hr) Comp
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Idle to 8th
notch
READINGS TAKEN IN 8TH NOTCH
Cyl. No Compression Firing Exhaust Gas Cyl. No Compression Firing Exhaust Gas
Pressure Pressure Temp Pressure Pressure Temp
1R 1L
2R 2L
3R 3L
4R 4L
5R 5L
6R 6L
7R 7L
8R 8L

•Turbo Supercharger
Take exhaust gas temp before and after TSC
•Lube Oil Cooler
Take Lube Oil Temp Before and after lube Oil Cooler
Take water inlet temperature
•After Cooler
Take charge air temp before and after After Cooler
Take water inlet temperature into A/ Cooler
• L/Oil Filter Tank
Check Lube oil pressure before and after filter tank
•Cooling Water pressure
Check pressure at pump outlet
Check pressure at the headers also
Loco No.16401/WDM2/PTRU/POH/RUNNING
Cranking Date 22/06/07
Load Box Date 25/06/07
Dispatch Date 26/06/07
Main Bearing Temperature After 5th Notch
Water Temperature M/B Temperature
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
65°C 70 71 70 71 71 72 72 70 69

Load Box Parameters

Notch Rack FOP LOP CCV BAP RPM TG (V) TG (A) LCR
1st 10 3.7 4.3 1.5 0 400 112 360 5:30
2nd 11 3.7 4.6 1.4 0 490 196 618 5:30
3rd 13 3.7 4.9 1.2 0 590 281 883 5:30
4th 15 3.6 5.0 1 0 690 362 1140 5:30
5th 19 3.5 5.1 .9 0.1 740 460 1420 5:30
6th 24 3.4 5.2 .8 0.4 800 586 1780 5:30
7th 27 3.3 5.3 .3 0.8 900 688 2050 5:30
8th 30.5 3.3 5.3 .7 1.4 1000 730 2160 3:00
 Compression & firing pressure

Location Compression Firing Location Compression Firing

1R 1050 1450 1L 900 1300

2R 1050 1250 2L 950 1250

3R 1050 1250 3L 1375

4R 1050 1550 4L 950 1400

5R 1000 1400 5L 1000 1450

6R 1050 1400 6L 1000 1450

7R 1050 1400 7L 1050 1475

8R 950 1350 8L 1000 1350

 Calculations
 In put to Traction or Observed HP =
= (V x I)/746*Alt.effeciency
= (730 x2160)/746*0.94 = 2248.5
 BHP(2600)=
= (Input to traction)/X.Y.Z +AHP
(Here X,Y,Z are Correction factor (ie 0.98) for Altitude ,Fuel gravity
& Temperature for standard condition)
= 2248/0.98 +186
= 2294+186=2480 HP
(Note: this data record are not standard. These are taken only for calculation & explanation)
Correction factor
Performance test report of WDM2
36 30 December 2019
37 30 December 2019
SFC
 Introduction
 In IR, Fuel Consumption of a diesel locomotive is
expressed in two defined way –
 SFC in term of gm/Hp.hr.
 SFC in term of litre/1000GTKM.
 SFC in term of gm /Hp.hr
 Fuel consumption is measured in term of gm/(HP.hr)
and calculated during Load box testing of loco.
 It is defined as the amount of fuel required to
generate unit horse power per hour.
 It is calculated by using the given formula-
 SFC= (Cons. of fuel in gmX3600)/BHP x time (sec)
Process of measurement in gm/HP.hr
 The Weight sensor fuel SFC recorder
tank collect fuel.
 SFC fuel pump suck fuel
from loco fuel tank and
fill into Weight sensor
fuel tank.
 Loco Booster Pump
sucks fuel from Weight
sensor fuel tank.
 The fuel consumed(10
kg) and respective time
taken is recorded in
seconds.
 SFC Calculation in
gm/HP.Hr(WDM2/2600HP loco)
 Generator voltage : 568V volts
 Generator current : 2901 Amp
 Generator efficiency : 0.935(assumed 93.5%)
 Traction out put= (568 x 2901)/746 =2208.80HP

 Input to Traction=Traction output/Tr. efficiency

=2208.80/0.935=2362.35HP
 BHP= Input to traction/xyz +AHP
= 2362.35/0.98+186 = 2596HP.
 In WDM2,AHP=Power consumed by the Auxiliaries=186 HP
 SFC= (10000 gms x 3600 )/(88x 2596) = 157.58 gms/HP/Hr
 SFC in term of Litre/1000GTKM
 It is measured in term of Ltrs/1000GTKM when loco
is doing service and hauling the train.
 SFC is the ratio between the fuel consumed and
load hauled.
 It is calculated by using the given formula-
SFC= (Fuel oil Consumption in Litres x1000)/(Load
in tonnage xKM earned)
 SFC CALCULATIONS in Litre
/1000GTKM
 Thismethod for calculation of SFC is adopted, when
loco is in service and working in train.
 SFC= (Fuel oil Consumption in Litres x1000)/(Load in
tonnage x KM earned)
 Example:
 From “TRIP CARD”,the following deta are collected .(This deta is
for passenger train hauled by WDM2/2600HP loco)
 KM earned : 232 KM (BGP to DNR)
 Fuel oil consumption : 1050 Ltrs
 Load on train(15 coaches) : 60x15+113=1013 tons
 SFC= (1050x1000)/(1013x232)=4.46
ltrs/1000GTKM.( Note:This value is not standard)
 As a loco maintainer how can reduce
excess fuel consumption?
 Ensure perfection of loco wheel profile.
 Avoid Brake binding in train .
 Set temperature for operation of R/fan.
 Compression pressure and Firing pressure must be
check.
 Ensure SFC calculated during load box testing is within
range.
 Ensure that Dynamic brake on loco is functioning
properly.
 Use Dynamic brake to control the train .
 Cont…………
 Blow bye testing must be conducted in schedule .
 After cooler must be cleaned and tested in
schedule.
 Properly overhauled and tested FI & FIP are only to
be fitted.
 Pipes to be properly clamped to ensure no
leakages.
 Ensure required booster pressure at different notch.
 How to reduce excess fuel oil
consumption?
 No of stoppage of train should be bare minimum (Commercial
dept).
 Reduce number of caution order to minimum(Civil engg).
 Curved line impose speed restriction resultant in excess fuel oil
consumption.(Civil engg)
 Avoid Signal failure and Poor visibility of signal.(Sig.& Tel dept).
 Minimize detention of train in yard.(commercial dept).
 Try to run the train on constant speed as possible as per
instructions.(C&W).
 Try to avoid deceleration and acceleration of the train.(C&W)
 Idle running of engine and idle movement of loco must be
avoided(Commercial)
Thanking You