Speed Governor

A speed governor is a device for automatically

controlling the speed of an engine by
regulating energy medium driving the engine.
Majorities of diesel engines are fitted with a
speed governor. A marine engine directly
coupled to a propeller can be run without a
speed governor by fixing up the fuel pump
quantity adjustment to any desired value. If
the engine speed starts to rise, the propeller
torque rises rapidly and so allows only a small
change in speed.
Definitions

Speed droop
A progressive drop in speed as load is picked up by the
prime mover from no load to full load without manually
changing the speed setting of the governor. It may be
expressed in percentage and is equal to no load rpm
minus full load rpm divided by full load rpm times 100.
Sensitivity
The smallest speed change that will induce the governor
to alter the fuel flow. A sensitive governor will give a
large movement of the control sleeve for only a small
change in the radius in which the flyweights are
revolving.
Stability
The ability of the governor to correct a speed
disturbance with a minimum of false motions. As the
governor becomes more sensitive it becomes less
stable.
Compensation: A mechanical and/or
hydraulic action that prevents over
correction of the fuel supply is called
compensation. Compensation in a
governor produces transient speed
droop i.e. a momentary speed droop
during a speed correction.
Dead band: A narrow band of speed
variation through which the governor
makes no correction of fuel supply.
Hunting: When the load on an engine changes the
governor tends to over-control or under-control. This
causes a fluctuation in rpm, which is called hunting.
For example, if load is removed from an engine, the
speed increases some amount above normal and the
governor comes into operation and reduces fuel
supply. Due to friction and time lag, the governor
causes the fuel reduction to be in excess of that
required and the fall in speed is too much. This
causes the governor to increase fuel and the engine
rpm goes slightly above normal. This swing in speed
above and below the mean operating rpm for that
load continues until equilibrium is reached and
hunting ceases. The more sensitive a governor is,
the greater will be the tendency to hunt.
Isochronous: Constant speed i.e. the same average
speed regardless of load.

Mechanical governor

It depends for its
operation upon the
fact that a force is
required to compel
a mass to follow a
circular path. This
force is proportional
to square of the
speed of rotation
and to the first
power of the
distance of the
mass from the axis
of rotation.
A pair of spherical flyweight at the end of two arms
pivoted near the axis of rotation in such a way that the
flyweights can move radially in a plane through the axis.
A spring forces the collar down (Hartnell type). Thus
when the weights move outwardly, the collar moves up.
The centrifugal force acts at right angles to axis of
rotation. It exerts a torque about its pivot equal to the
product of the force times the vertical distance of the ball
from the pivot. The torque of gravity opposes this torque,
which is equal to the weight of the ball times the
horizontal distance to the pivot plus the spring force if
any. The two will be balanced at equilibrium. Thus as
speed increases the centrifugal force increases and the
ball moves outward, decreasing the centrifugal force
torque arm and increasing the gravity torque arm and the
spring force until equilibrium is reached. This results in a
unique equilibrium position of flyweights and collar for
each speed of rotation.
The collar is connected to the fuel control mechanism so
as to close it as the flyweights move out ward. It should
be noted that the unique relationship between speed and
position of flyweight and collar no longer exists if friction
is added to the system. For this reason, as the speed
increases from an equilibrium condition, the centrifugal
force torque must reach a value equal to the gravity
torque plus spring force plus that due to friction before
movement of collar results. Similarly on decreasing
speed the centrifugal torque must go down to a value
equal to the gravity torque pus spring force minus that
due to friction before movement of collar results. The
result is dead-band or region in which the speed may
change without producing a corrective motion of the
collar. To reduce dead-band, the friction should to be
reduced, size of weights may be increased and the
speed of rotation of the flyweights may be increased.
With help of suitable gear ratio, the speed of rotation of
the flyweights is increased.
Sketch (a) shows the equilibrium value of
the governor at half load of the engine.
The flyweights are in vertical position with
equilibrium between the spring and the
flyweights. Assuming that the engine goes
from half load to full load and in doing so
slows down. The centrifugal force
decreases and the result is as shown in
figure (b). The fuel rack increases so that
engine can run at the higher load. When a
new equilibrium is achieved, the
flyweights will not be able to go back to
the original vertical position that it had
when running at half load. This is because
the fuel rack must be increased to allow
greater fuel flow for higher load. Now,
assuming the opposite, the engine goes
from half load to no load, the new position
of the governor can be seen in figure (c).
The engine rpm increases, causing the
flyweights to move further out and shifting
the fuel rack to close the fuel supply to the
engine. The engine will be running at a
higher rpm at no load condition than at
half load condition. Thus the mechanical
governor automatically has a speed
droop, a decrease in rpm from no load to
full load.
Mechanical-hydraulic (servo) governors

In its simplest form, the
flyweight and the pilot valve
control a spring-loaded power
piston. The flyweights are
driven at a speed proportional
to that of the engine, the power
piston is connected to the fuel
racks and a pump driven by
the engine supplies the oil
under pressure to move the
power piston. The simple
combination of flyweight and
directly connected pilot valve
has only one equilibrium
position: the position in which
valve is closed, neither
admitting oil to nor discharging
oil from the power piston.
For a given setting of the top end of the speeder spring,
the flyweight and the pilot valve will be in this position at
only one speed. In other words, such a speed-sensitive
device is inherently isochronous. But such a system is
also unstable. The engine speed does not instantly
assume a value proportional to the fuel rack position due
to inertia of the rotating mass. Therefore, if the engine
speed is below the governor speed setting, the pilot
valve is positioned to move the power piston to increase
the fuel. By the time the speed has increased to the set
value so that pilot valve is centred and the power piston
stopped, the fuel has already been increased too much
and engine runs at a higher speed. This opens the pilot
valve the other way and the power piston reduces fuel
rack. As before, when the speed of the engine gets to
the right value, the fuel control has traveled too far and
the engine underspeeds and the whole cycle continues
to repeat. Some means of stabilizing the such a system
must be added to get a satisfactory governor.
Mechanical-hydraulic (servo) governors with speed droop

Speed droop in the above
governor can be provided
by mechanical
interconnection between
the power piston and
governor speed setting
such that as fuel is
increased, the speed
setting is decreased. The
engine now runs with
increased fuel on
increased load but at a
reduced speed. This
provides stability but the
engine cannot run at the
same speed for all loads
i.e. it is not isochronous.
Such a device may consist of a lever of suitable ratio
between power piston and speeder spring. Since the
application of feedback reduces output, it is considered
negative. Negative feed back is a method employed to
reduce sensitivity to the governor. As compared to an
arrangement without mechanical feedback, the rack
movement is arrested earlier in this case. This
introduces stability but brings in a permanent speed
droop. Speed droop occurs since there is a reduction in
speeder spring tension following load increase. The
equilibrium relationship between speed setting and
power piston position for such a system may be
represented by a line sloping or drooping downward to
indicate decreased speed setting with movement of the
power piston in the increase fuel direction.
Mechanical-hydraulic (servo) governors with isochronous speed

It is sometimes desirable to have an isolated
diesel engine run isochronously (speed constant
regardless of load within the capacity of the
engine). Mechanical feed back introduces
stability but also brings in a speed droop. To
eliminate this droop without sacrificing on
stability, compensation is applied.
Compensation introduces a transient speed
droop and helps in achieving isochronous
operation. A temporary readjustment of speed
setting with power piston to produce the
stabilizing speed droop characteristic followed
by a relatively slow return of the speed to its
original value.
Woodward PG Type Governor
In this direct application of
pressure to the pilot valve
plunger, adding or subtracting
from the speeder spring force
in order to effect a change in
speed setting. The pressure oil
actuating power piston is
required to deflect a buffer
piston against a centring
spring load which produces a
pressure differential across a
receiving piston attached to the
pilot valve.
A needle valve permits equalizing of pressure across the
pilot valve receiving piston to restore the initial speed
setting. In operation as oil flows to the power piston, the
buffer piston is moved against the force of the centring
spring, resulting in higher pressure on the lower side of
the receiving piston of the pilot valve which produces an
upward force on the pilot valve. This in effect decreases
the force, which the flyweights must balance, resulting in
centring of the pilot valve at a lower speed, thus
providing speed droop. As the displaced oil is permitted
to leak through the needle valve, the buffer piston
returns to its equilibrium position, the differential
pressure disappears and the speed setting reverts to its
original value.
Woodward UG Type Governor

The mechanism for giving
compensation action consists
of two hydraulic cylinders and
pistons, one being
considerably larger than the
other. The bottoms of the
cylinders are connected with
each other. An adjustable
needle valve has an opening
has an opening into the
connection between the
cylinders and allows oil to
bleed into or out of the
cylinders from or to the oil
sump formed by governor
casing.
Consider a load increase occurring. The rpm will drop,
the flyweights will move in, the floating lever, with the
right side as fulcrum point will pivot and push the control
valve down. This will allow pressure oil to flow to the
power piston, thereby move the rack towards higher fuel.
In the second stage, the rack moves up toward increase
in fuel, the transmitting piston comes down, the receiving
piston goes up. When the receiving piston goes up, the
compensating spring gets compressed and also the
floating lever will pivot about the left end and lift the
control valve and close the flow of pressure oil to the
power piston. In the third stage, due to increase in
fuel to the engine, the rpm increases and the flyweights
regain their previous position. But this happens at the
same at which the compensating spring recovers its
original position. The floating lever just pivots about the
point where the control valve plunger is connected
The piston in larger cylinder is referred to as transmitting piston
while that in the smaller cylinder is called the receiver piston. The
receiver piston is spring loaded in such a manner that it acts in
opposition to the governor sleeve spring.
The compensation mechanism is connected to the governor in the
following manner: the larger piston is connected to the power piston
through a lever. The lever is pivoted in the middle and has a fixed
point and the larger piston and power piston are connected to the
opposite ends of the lever. The smaller piston, control valve and
governor sleeve are connected through a three-point floating lever.
The control valve is connected to the mid point of the lever. The
springs on the governor sleeve and the smaller piston, which act in
opposition to one another, always hunt back to the same equilibrium
position at any constant load and the engine speed remains exactly
the same for any load. Except for the transient speed reduction,
which must occur when load changes, the governor is isochronous.
The compensating lever
The compensating lever adjusts the fulcrum point of the
compensating link. When this lever is at the minimum, the fulcrum
point is towards the transmitting piston. In this case only a small
fraction of the power piston movement is fed to the receiving piston.
Compensation is minimum and a large correction of fuel rack will
occur following a given rpm change.
The compensating needle
The needle valve controls the rate of oil flow in or out of the
compensating system. With more opening of the needle valve, the
compensation spring will release itself to normal state quickly. The
needle valve is adjusted in such a way that rate at which the
flyweights return to normal matches the rate of release of the
compensating ring.
Isochronous operation
Isochronous operation is confirmed by the fact that finally at
stability, the arrangement of floating lever resets to the position
before the disturbance occurred.