Hardware Modeling of Diesel Engine Fuel System Failure Modes and Coupled Shipboard Dynamics

Recent interest in autonomous vessels has pushed machinery reliability into the forefront. A significant amount of research has been accomplished in solving the safe navigation problem, however relatively little work has been done in solving the machinery reliability problems which are a key enabler for autonomous vessels. This paper considers one aspect of machinery reliability, namely engine fuel systems. Fuel system failures are one of the most common engine failure mechanisms for shipboard internal combustion engines. This paper looks at the most common failure modes, namely clogging of filters and fuel system leaks. Both of these failure modes have been modeled to understand their effect on an engine's ability to continue operating. The software simulations have been validated in hardware.