GOVERNORS

Why a governor 1s required

The speed and horsepower capability of any
internal combustion engine is regulated by the
volume of air that can be retained within the
engine cylinders and the volume of fuel that
can be delivered and consumed during the
engine power stroke. More than likely you
have a driver's license, so you are aware of the
fact that when you drive a car or truck
equipped with a gasoline engine, you
determine the rate of fuel supplied to the
engine by manipulation of the gas or throttle
pedal. Regardless of whether the engine is
carbureted or fuel injected, throttle movement
controls the flow of air into the engine
cylinders and thus the desired fuel flow.
Therefore, a mechanical or electronic
governor assembly is not necessary on a
gasoline engine. Nevertheless, some gasoline
engines in industrial and truck applications are
equipped with a governor to control the
maximum speed and power of the
engine/vehicle. In addition, some models of
passenger cars are equipped with an electronic
ignition cut-off system to control the
maximum speed of the vehicle. Remember
that a governor is not a "must" with a gasoline
engine as it is with a diesel engine.
Why then does a diesel engine require a
governor assembly? The main reason has to
do with the fact that the throttle pedal controlled by the operator does not regulate the airflow into the diesel engine but controls the
fuel flow. Current gasoline engines in passenger cars have electronic controls for both the ignition and fuel systems and are designed
to operate at air/fuel ratios that allow the engine to comply with existing exhaust emissions standards. Through the use of an exhaust
gas oxygen sensor, the air/fuel ratio is in closed loop operation (oxygen sensor returns a system operating condition signal back to the
ECM to complete the circuit). The oxygen sensor monitors the percentage of oxygen in the exhaust gases leaving the engine. The
ECM will either leans out or enriches the air/fuel mixture to try and
maintain a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, which is between 14.6 and 14.7
parts of air to one part of fuel (gasoline) by weight.
Due to the fact that there is no throttle to restrict the flow of air a diesel
engine at an idle speed runs very lean, with air/fuel ratios being between
90 and 120:1 depending on the specific model of engine in question.
Under full-load conditions with turbo-charged engines, this air/fuel ratio is
approximately 25 to 30:l.
Governors are needed in diesel engines because there is no fixed position
of the fuel control rod at which the engine will maintain its speed
accurately without a governor. During idling for example, the engine
speed without a governor would either drop to zero or would increase
continuously until the engine races, and runs completely out of control.
The latter possibility results from the fact that the diesel engine operates
with an excess of air at all times and effective throttling of the cylinder
charge does not take place as the speed increases as happens in gasoline
engines. If a cold engine is started, and it is permitted to continue idling
with a corresponding amount of fuel injected, the inherent friction in the
engine as well as the transmission resistance of parts driven by the engine
such as, the generator, air compressor, fuel injection pump etc. decrease
after a certain length of time. As a result, if the position of the control rod
were to remain unchanged without a governor the engine speed would
constantly increase and could rise to a level at which the engine would ultimately destroy itself.
For example, let's assume for instructional purposes that a given four-stroke-cycle diesel engine is designed to produce 400 bhp (298
kW) at 2100 rpm full load speed. To produce this power, the fuel system may be designed to deliver 185 cu mm of fuel from each
injector into each cylinder for every power stroke. The same engine at an idle, (no load), speed of 600 rpm, may require a fuel delivery
rate to each cylinder of only 18.5 cu mm per power stroke and the engine would produce approximately 40 bhp (30 kW).
If the engine/vehicle is stationary and the throttle is placed into a WOT (wide open throttle) position, the fuel control rod will
immediately, barring any throttle delay mechanisms, go to the full fuel position. The engine does not need to receive full fuel, (185 cu
mm), to accelerate to its maximum no-load speed. In fact the engine can be accelerated with very little additional fuel being supplied
to the cylinders, because with no load on the engine, it only has to overcome the resistance to motion of the engine internal
components, and other accessory driven items that need more horsepower to drive them at this higher speed, such as alternators,
compressors etc.. In addition, if the engine has very little additional load from what it had at an idle rpm, the faster rotating flywheel
will store enough inertia (centrifugal force generated at the higher speed) to keep the engine turning over smoothly at this higher no-
load speed. Once the engine obtains this higher no-load speed, in this example, say, 2250 rpm, the same amount of fuel (or slightly
more) that was supplied at idle will basically maintain this higher speed. However, on a diesel engine, remember that operation of the
throttle controls the fuel flow and not the airflow as happens on a gasoline engine. Therefore, by opening the throttle to a WOT
position in this engine, we actually deliver 185 cu mm of fuel to the engine cylinders. This is 10 times more than we did at idle speed;
but all we need to maintain this higher no-load rpm is basically the same volume of fuel that we used at idle (18.5 cu mm) at 600 rpm,
or slightly more. If we generated 40 bhp (30 kW) at 600 rpm, at WOT we might need to develop an additional 10 to 15 hp (7.5 to 11
kW) to handle the increased power requirements of the various accessory items such as a fan, air compressor, or generator. We
certainly do not require the 400 bhp (298 kW) rated power output of the engine under this operating condition.
Without a governor assembly, a WOT position grossly overfeeds the engine in this high-idle no-load example by about 10 times its
needs. Since we know from earlier discussions that the diesel engine always operates with an excess air supply, we have sufficient air
to burn this full-fuel delivery rate. The result will be that with 10 times more fuel than necessary, the engine rpm will continue to
climb in excess of a safe operating speed. Under such an ungoverned overfueled condition most diesels will quickly self-destruct as a
result of valves striking piston crowns and connecting rods punching through the engine block as well as possible crankshaft breakage.
When a load is applied to a diesel engine, more fuel delivery is obviously required to generate the extra heat energy to produce the
higher horsepower required. In our simplified example, this engine can produce 400 bhp (298 kW) at 2100 rpm WOT full-load
operating conditions. It is only under such a condition that this engine needs its 185 cu mm of fuel delivery to each cylinder.
A governor senses engine speed and limits fuelling to only what the engine requires to maintain a selected speed. This prevents the
diesel from over-revving and running away under all operating conditions. Without a governor the engine would rapidly accelerate,
faster than 1,000 rpm per second, to self-destruction.
Governor Classifications
Limiting speed (LS) (min-max, UK)
A limiting speed (LS) governor sets the engine idle speed, defines the high idle speed, and permits fuelling between those parameters
to be controlled by an operator (driver). Limiting speed governors are the most common in commercial vehicle applications and one of
their advantages is to make the diesel engine respond to accelerator input in much the same manner as the SI engine responds to
throttle control. A governor classified as limiting speed will in most cases provide excess start-up fuel, define a torque rise profile,
define droop curve and be capable of no-fuelling the engine for shutdown. A mechanical limiting speed governor is sometimes known
as an automotive governor.
Variable speed (VS) (all-speed, UK)
A variable speed (VS) governor sets engine idle speed, defines high idle and any speed in the intermediate range depending on
accelerator pedal position. A given amount of accelerator pedal travel will correspond to an engine rotational speed; as engine loading
either increases or decreases, the governor will manage fuelling to attempt to maintain that engine speed. Hydro-mechanical variable
speed governors were common in many Mack Trucks and Caterpillar applications and others where PTO (power takeoff; where
theengine is used to drive auxiliary equipment) management was a consideration. From the driver perspective, the VS governor takes
a little getting used to. Most of today's electronic management systems can be toggled to either LS or VS mode. A governor classified
as variable speed will usually provide excess start-up fuel, define a torque rise profile, define droop curve, and be capable of no-
fuelling the engine for shutdown.
Isochronous
Isochronous governing is only required when driving a generator in which application the engine must respond instantly to load
changes with zero droop (no rpm fluctuation when engine load changes) or the (electrical) frequency will alter. However, the term is
being used to describe an option in diesel engine electronic management systems. In this instance, isochronous governing mode would
be used to manage PTO fuelling while stationary and one OEM uses the term to describe engine fuelling at an electronically managed,
default (when critical input signals are lost) rpm.





Basic mechanical governor operation
The mechanical governor assembly uses two
main components: a set of engine-driven
flyweights and a spring. The force of the spring
is designed to move the fuel control linkage to
an increased setting under all operating
conditions. The centrifugal force generated by
the engine-driven flyweights is designed to
decrease the fuel control linkage setting under all
operating conditions. When the engine is
stopped, the force of the governor spring is
therefore attempting to place the fuel control
rack/s into a full-fuel position. On some engines,
the governor is arranged so as to provide excess
fuel for start-up purposes, whereas on some
turbo-charged engine models, a mechanical
adjustment device limits start up fuel to half-
throttle to minimize exhaust smoke.
The diesel engine draws only air in during the
suction stroke. During the compression stroke this
air is heated to such a high temperature that the diesel fuel injected into the engine toward the end of the compression stroke ignites of
its own accord. The fuel is metered by the fuel injection pump and is injected under high pressure through the injection nozzle into the
combustion chamber.
Fuel injection must take place:
in an accurately metered quantity corresponding to the engine load,
at the correct instant in time in terms of engine rotational position,
for a precisely determined period of time, and
in a manner suited to the particular combustion process concerned.
Maintenance of these conditions is the function of the fuel injection pump and the governor. The quantity of fuel injected into the
engine during each plunger lift is approximately proportional to the torque of the engine. This fuel delivery is adjusted by turning of
the pump plungers, each of which has an inclined helix machined into it. As the plungers are turned their effective stroke is varied.
The plungers are turned by means of the control rod acting through either a set of gear teeth or some other transmission linkage. In a
motor vehicle the control rod is connected to the accelerator pedal through the governor and a linkage. When the accelerator pedal is
pressed down, the pedal travel is converted to corresponding control-rod travel.
The governor operates dependent on the rotational speed of the engine, (mechanical governor), or on the intake manifold pressure
(pneumatic governor). In both cases, the governor varies the amount of fuel injected into the engine and thereby regulates the engine
speed.

Functions of the Governor
The basic function of every governor is to limit the high idle speed, i.e.,
it must ensure that the speed of the diesel engine does not exceed the
maximum value specified by the manufacturer. Depending on the type
of governor, further functions can be the maintenance of certain
specified speeds, e.g. the idle speed, or speeds within a particular
rotational speed range or the entire range between low idle speed and
high idle speed.
1. Maximum-speed regulation.
When an engine operating at maximum full-load speed has the load
removed from it the governor must not permit the engine speed to rise
higher than the maximum no load speed set by the manufacturer. The
governor accomplishes this by drawing back the control rod in the
shutoff direction. The range between maximum full load and maximum
no load is designated as the maximum-speed regulation. The greater the
speed droop, the greater is the increase in speed from max full load to
max no load.
2. Intermediate-speed regulation. If required by the intended
application of the governor (for example, in vehicles with an auxiliary
drive), the governor can also maintain constant, within certain limits,
various speeds between the idle and maximum speeds.
Depending on the load therefore, the speed would only fluctuate between any full load speed and the corresponding no load speed
based on the governor droop at the selected speed within the performance range of the engine.


3. Low-speed regulation. The governor in highway applications must also be capable of regulating low idle speed to keep the engine
from stalling while cutting back on fuelling as the engine warms up.
Mechanical governors are the oldest and most universally used diesel engine governor. This governor relies on centrifugal force and a
control spring to regulate the movement of the fuel control mechanism.
The governor is mounted at the rear of the injection pump housing. The flyweight assembly is mounted on the injection pump
camshaft and turns whenever the camshaft turns. The governor is completely enclosed to permit splash lubrication of the working
parts, using oil from the injection pump. An operating lever shuts off fuel delivery to the engine by moving the Control rack to the
stop position. Although mechanical governors use flyweights to sense engine speed and to move the control rack, all governors
operate on the same basic principle. They all have a means of sensing engine speed and controlling the fuel rack movement.
Mechanical governor linkage movement under various engine speeds is described in more detail in the following paragraphs

Starting the Engine
With the engine stopped, the speed control
lever is moved into the low idle position
and then advanced slightly. The starting
spring will then pull the control rack to the
excess fuel position. At the same time the
tensioning lever will move up against the
full-load stop, which moves the guide lever,
knuckle, and thrust sleeve forward. The
flyweights then come to rest against the
thrust sleeve (innermost position).
While the starter is cranking the engine, the
injection pump begins supplying excess
fuel to the engine. Once the engine starts,
the centrifugal force produced by the
whirling flyweights overcomes the starting
spring tension (even before idle speed is
reached). Engine speed increases until the
flyweight centrifugal force and the governor
main spring are balanced.
Engine Idling
When the engine is idling, the governor
functions automatically. At this speed the
governor main spring is almost free of
tension, and has only a slight effect on the
governor linkage. This means that even at
low speeds, the flyweights can swing
outward with very little resistance. As the
control lever and guide lever move, the fuel
control rack also moves, increasing
governor main spring tension. Since
centrifugal force and spring tension are
relatively low at idle speed, the torque capsule in the tensioning lever is only slightly compressed. Because the gap between the
knuckle and the tensioning lever is greater at low speeds, the tensioning lever will contact the supplementary idling spring and will
result in the desired speed regulation.
Engine at Medium Speed
Moving the speed lever above the idle position causes the control rack to move to the maximum fuel delivery position, and the tension
lever to move to full-load stop. The injection pump delivers more fuel to the engines resulting in increased speed. As soon as the
centrifugal force exceeds the governor main spring force (as determined by the speed control lever position), the governor linkage
moves the control rack to a position where the centrifugal force is just equal to the spring force. In this way, the governor maintains a
lower fuel delivery rate, which results in a steady engine speed
Engine at Maximum Speed
Governor operation at maximum speed is similar to medium speed operation, except that the tension lever stretches the governor main
spring to its maximum length. The fully stretched main spring causes the tension lever to move against the full-load stop with greater
force, and the control rack to move into the maximum fuel delivery position The torque lever is now compressed and will remain this
way until engine speed is reduced enough to slow the flyweight centrifugal force. This moves the fuel control rack into a position
where it will provide adequate torque reserve. Once full-load maximum speed id reached, governor response will regulate fuel
delivery between full-load and high idle to handle any load as long as there is no overload.
Activating the engine shut-off lever moves the stop device, which then moves the control rack to shut off the fuel supply to the engine.
This movement takes place independently of the flyweight and speed control lever positions. The stop device has a supporting lever
that is Coupled to the shaft and shut-off lever by pressure springs. This lever continues to pivot until the control rack is in the stop or
no fuel delivery position. At this point, the supporting lever stops moving, the pressure springs become tensioned, and the shut-off
lever reaches the limit of its travel.
Governor Speed Droop
Every engine has a torque
characteristic curve corresponding to
its maximum loading capacity. A
certain maximum torque is associated
with every speed. If the load on an
engine is removed with no change in
the position of the control lever, the
engine speed may increase within the
control range by only a certain
permissible amount as determined by
the engine manufacturer. The increase
in speed is proportional to the change
in load, i.e., the greater the reduction
in load, the greater the increase in
speed. Conversely of course, when the
engine is idling and a load is applied, the
speed will decrease somewhat, hence the
designation of this characteristic as "speed
droop. The speed droop of the governor is
generally related to the maximum full-load
speed and is related as a percentage of full
load speed, it is typically 5 to 10% in
mechanically controlled on-highway truck
engines. Generally more stable behaviour of
the entire control circuit (governor, engine,
and driven machine or vehicle) can be
attained by a fairly large speed droop.
With the nominal speed set to a constant
value, the actual speed varies within the
speed-droop range as the load on the engine
is changed (resulting, for example, from a
change in the slope of the road).
Hydraulic Governors
Hydraulic governors are used on many
marine, industrial, and power generator
applications.
Hydraulic governors regulate the fuel supply
indirectly through oil pressure.
Pressurized oil from the engine's lubricating system is
supplied to an auxiliary pump in the governor. The auxiliary
pump then develops the oil pressure needed to actuate the
governor mechanism. The oil pressure is maintained in the
annular Space between the undercut portion of the pilot valve
plunger and the bore in the ball head. At any given throttle
setting, the force of the governor spring is opposed by the
centrifugal force created by the revolving flyweights. When the
two forces are equal, the land on the pilot valve plunger covers
the lower opening in the ball head, producing a constant speed
condition. If engine load increases and engine speed decreases, the
weights are forced inward by the spring, allowing the pilot valve plunger
to uncover the lower port in the ball head. Pressurized oil now enters the
cavity at the lower end of the power piston and forces the piston and the
floating lever upward this movement is transferred through the terminal
lever to the fuel rod, and ultimately to the injectors.

Torque control.









The charts above depict various torque control strategies for diesel engines. Engines have a normal fuel requirement throughout
their operating range. As the non turbo-charged engine accelerates past the point where it can ingest sufficient quantity of air to burn
the injected fuel the governor must cut back fuelling or the engine will smoke. (Chart 12). Without torque control the engine would be
over-fuelled. Positive torque control is shown in chart 13 as the control rod is drawn back slightly towards no fuel as the engine
accelerates past 1500 rpm. The use of torque control allows us to take advantage of the diesels natural lugging ability as is shown in
chart 14. Without torque control, in order to reach the appropriate fuelling level at rated speed, fuelling would have to be diminished
through the torque curve of the engine to prevent smoking at rpms higher than peak torque rpm. With a turbo charged diesel engine
the fuel requirement changes, see chart 15. The dotted line represents the fuel requirement of the engine. Because of manifold boost
the fuel requirement to take advantage of the engines torque capabilities is much greater, (the apex of lines c1 and c2). Therefore the
turbo-charged diesel must have negative torque control, (additional fuelling), to peak torque and then positive torque control, (reduced
fuelling), from peak torque to rated speed. The de-accelerating, (because of applied load), diesel then has gradually increasing fuelling
as it lugs down to peak torque. This is the torque rise profile of the engine and is controlled by the design of the governors weights
and springs. As you can see from chart 15 the engine receives more fuel per cycle at peak torque. This occurs because at peak torque
there is sufficient real time for combustion of this amount of fuel to be completed.
At rated speed this time window is reduced therefore fuelling must be reduced or incomplete combustion would be the result. The
engine horsepower, (work X time), however, continues to climb from peak torque to rated speed, this is because of the increasing
number of power strokes per second. Consequently the diesel engine produces its peak torque or turning effort, (pressure on the
crank-shaft to turn), at a relatively low rpm because there is sufficient real time to burn this fuel load. It produces peak horsepower,
(its ability to perform work), at rated speed because although the fuel load per cycle is less there are more cycles per second. The
diesel turbocharger also plays a role in this. The turbocharger is set up to deliver an almost constant flow of air between peak torque
and rated speed, therefore the amount of air charge ingested at peak torque is naturally larger because the valves are open for a longer
real time window than at rated.



Pneumatic governors
Pneumatic governors cannot be used on turbo-charged engines
and therefore will not be found on any modern highway trucks.
They use a modified air intake system, which uses a throttle
plate to sense the amount of air being drawn into the diesel
engine. This plate creates a venturi effect and creates a vacuum
source, which is then used to control the movement of the fuel
control rack or rod. The movement of the rack controls the
rotational position of the pump plungers in their barrels and
regulates the fuel delivery.














Common governor terms
Deadband: term used to describe the sensitivity of a governor. It
is the speed window around set speed where no fuelling
correction is made by the governor.
Droop: transient (of short duration) speed variation from set
speed when engine load changes.
Droop curve: expressed as a percentage of high idle speed, the
droop curve is the difference between high idle speed under
load (rated speed) and high idle without a load.
Governor cutoff: speed at which governor cuts off fuelling.
High idle: (WOT or top engine limit). The maximum no-load speed of an engine.
Hunting: rhythmic change in engine speed often caused by unbalanced fuel delivery in multi-cylinder engines.
Hydro-mechanical governing: refers to engines that are governed without the use of computers (ECMs).
Idle: any no-load running speed of an engine but usually refers to low idle, the lowest speed the engine is designed to run at, usually
with no input from the speed control mechanism.
Overrun: the inability of a governor to keep the engine speed below the high idle speed when it is rapidly accelerated.
Over-speed: any speed above high idle.
Peak torque: rpm at which the engine develops peak torque, often located at the base of the torque rise profile.
Rated speed: the rpm at which peak power is achieved from a diesel engine.
Road speed governing; any governor system in which engine fuelling is moderated by a predetermined road speed value.
Sensitivity: ability to respond to maintain a set rpm without rpm fluctuation as load changes.
Speed drift: where engine speed rises above or below set speed often in surges. Differentiated from hunting by the fact it is not
rhythmic.
Stability: ability to maintain set rpm.