Cylinder Liner Lubrication of Marine Two Stroke Crosshead

Diesel Engines - Part 1

Cylinder liner lubrication was difficult under in whatever way, these days the problem has increased
markedly by the use of lower quality, high sulphur content, viscous, and residual fuel rather than
distillate and semi-distillate fuels. This article discusses the task of cylinder liner lubrication today.

Low speed two stroke crosshead diesel engines are likely to be used as prime movers on ships and
are also employed for electricity generation on shore based power plants. The term low speed is
applied to engines using a rotational speed all the way to 300 rpm and output per cylinder between
400 Kilowatts to 6000 Kilowatts generally. In these varieties of engines the piston just isn't attached
to the crankshaft directly with the connecting rod but an additional member referred to as the
crosshead is provided. The piston has a long piston rod which sits about the crosshead. The
crosshead converts the linear motion from the piston in to the rotational motion in the crankshaft
with all the help in the connecting rod. The piston rod reciprocates along through the stuffing box
which seals the crankcase from the under-piston space. The function of the crosshead is that it
absorbs the transverse thrust from the engine. The isolation with the crankcase allows cheaper
residual fuels to become burnt devoid of the concern with any fuel contamination from the
lubricating oil from the crankcase.
The piston rings for the liner surface mostly operate under boundary or thin film lubrication
conditions. The high operating temperature, pressure, and also the presence of your corrosive
environment result in the working condition very harsh. The two stroke crosshead form of marine
diesel engines burning residual fuel supply the largest area of propulsive power for ships globally.
Over eighty percent of total lubricant consumption is on cylinder oil alone and yes it represents a
significant expense within the daily operation in the engine. Also through the years, engine
developments geared towards giving higher output per cylinder and adapting the engine to burn
ever deteriorating fuel grades have worsened the challenge read more of cylinder liner lubrication.
The liner average surface temperature has risen from 200 degrees C to 275 degrees C through the
1970s for the 2000s, thus making lubrication harder. Similarly the absolute maximum pressure and
mean effective pressure have increased drastically. Please refer towards the diagrams for that
details.
Low quality Fuel

The usage of low quality high sulphur content, viscous and residual fuel to reduce running cost has
either created newer and more effective problems or aggravated the prevailing ones.
Apart from aggravating lubrication problems, these fuels can damage injectors and corrode
turbocharger nozzles and moving blades. In addition to this, you will find there's wide variation in
marine residual fuel quality based on their crude origin and amount of refining which will make
difficult the position of choosing proper cylinder lubricant.
Boundary lubrication conditions
From the mechanical standpoint, the working conditions are about the worst possible for your
establishment of hydrodynamic lubrication. The piston slows to relax before reversing direction
around the return stroke. Thus at top dead center in which the temperature is at maximum plus the
radial pressure from the rings about the walls is highest, the piston slows. Under such extreme
conditions it's impossible for hydrodynamic conditions to exist except perhaps about mid-stroke.
High operating temperature
Gas temperature exceeding 1667 degrees Celsius are encountered at the beginning from the firing
stroke as well as the local temperature might be appreciably higher when the combustion is poor
resulting in flame impingement on cylinder walls. The temperature of water cooled liner surface is
different from 230 degrees C to 120 degrees C based on the design. Engine developments in the
1960s towards the 2000s have triggered higher average temperatures of liners within the upper
zone (about 270 degrees C), which has also made lubrication difficult.
Two strokes and crosshead operation of marine engines
All modern marine engines are of two stroke type. So there is no non-working stroke when the oil
film about the wall might be reformed at moderate temperature and pressure. Again, all modern
engines are fitted with diaphragm plates and piston rod glands, which effectively separate the
cylinder from your crankcase. There is therefore no cooling effect of crankcase oil around the piston,
cylinder lubrication being entirely established by the oil supply by mechanical lubricators. This
makes cylinder lubrication critical, as well as any deficiency inside can lead to failure from the
engine.
Engine development to lessen price of running
Engine development is simply aimed towards reducing cost of running, i.e. increasing the thermal
efficiency, lowering the specific fuel oil combustion, and lowering the weight and size. This triggered
higher engine pressure, thinner oil film formation, high liner temperature, and increased corrosion.
So cylinder liner lubricant needs to be competent enough to address against these aggravated
conditions.
In spite of the difficulties, the cylinder lubricants ought to perform their duties. It must be
remembered that this cylinder lubricants are widely-used only as a once-through oil. That means
that they have to accomplish their are employed in one go, after which they're discharged. Thus for
that reason they are heavily loaded and they are extremely expensive.
The essential properties which a good cylinder lubricant have to have are as follows:

At first glance apparently no lubricant, neither mineral nor synthetic, could withstand all above
difficulties to meet the above requirements, but significant developments inside lubricating oil field
have made it possible.
Formation of Sulphuric Acid
This is cared for by lubricating oil of high TBN values (60-80 TBN). Further it's ensured that this
cylinder liner temperature doesnt go below the dew point temperature of sulphuric acid inside
the upper zone and therefore the corrosion is reduced down value.
Abrasive wear
Additives to enhance dispersancy and detergency have been developed to minimize abrasive wear
and ring zone deposits.
Boundary Lubrication Conditions
Multilevel lubrication systems have raised oil film thickness considerably. The inclusion of additives
for example polymethacrylates and ethylene-propylene co-polymers (OCP) to improve the oiliness
works well for maintaining the requisite oil film thickness due to its molecular bending with porous
cylinder liner.
Two stroke crosshead operation of marine engine
There isn't non working stroke during which the oil film on the wall might be reformed but this
concern been specifically solved by improvement in timely oil injection system. A few engine
manufacturers have recently developed a timely oil injection system similar towards the fuel
injection.
Formation of Sulphuric acid
A typical large engine developing 20000 Bhp using a daily fuel utilization of 76103 Kg burning a
3000 second Redwood No 1 fuel at 100 F and a sulphur content of 4%, the whole weight of sulphur
burnt would be 3048 Kg or 3 tons. If this were all become SO3 and then into sulphuric acid, this
would produce 10 plenty of highly corrosive acid. But reliable analysis suggests that only 10 or 15 %
is transformed into sulphuric acid, and that comes down to 450 Kg of sulphuric acid daily which may
lead to highly corrosive wear.
Low spreadability of cylinder lubricating oil
Cylinder lubricating oil is very viscous, which hampers its spreadibility thereby causing uneven wear
for the cylinder liner. It will ultimately bring about blow down which further aggravates lubrication
problems.
In the subsequent article "Cylinder Liner Lubrication of Marine Two Stroke Crosshead Diesel
Engines Part 2," we discuss lubricants and the selection in the lubricants for various kinds of fuel
oils. We discuss the emulsion type cylinder lubricants, the dispersion type cylinder lubricants, and
the single phase cylinder lubricants. We also discuss the running in from the rings and the liners in
context for the cylinder lubricant. Furthermore, we discuss the trouble-shooting associated with
cylinder lubrication by 50 percent stroke crosshead marine engines.