Slow Steaming http://www.marinediesels.co.uk/2_stroke_engine_parts/Other_info/slow_...

Operational Information
Slow Steaming

Other Pages The Basics The 2 Stroke Engine The 4 Stroke Engine Operation Members

Slow steaming has become more of a normal operating procedure due to the following factors:

The worldwide downturn in the global economy leading to reduced demand for manufactured goods. This has led
to reduced capacity demand. Shipowners are reluctant to lay up vessels and there are also a large number of new
ships being delivered.
Increase in fuel and other operating costs such as lubricating oil and maintenance
Falling freight rates

The simplest way to reduce operating costs is to reduce the fuel bill. Most vessels are propelled by a slow speed two
stroke engine directly coupled to a fixed pitch propeller. If the speed of the engine is reduced, then although the vessel
will slow down, the amount of fuel required to travel each nautical mile is reduced. This is because the correlation
between speed and shaft power is not linear, but cubic. (PaV3D2/3)

For example, reducing the ship speed by about 20% will reduce the engine power to 45% of its nominal output. This will
result in a reduction in the fuel burnt per hour by about 60%. Reduce the speed by 33% and the fuel saving could be 75%
. Of course the voyage will take longer and so the actual fuel saving will be up to about 60%

A two stroke engine operates at its optimum overall efficiency at about 80% load. When the engine is designed, the
auxiliary and ancillary systems are optimised for the engine running at between 70 -85% load. If the load drops below
60% then other problems will begin to show which will interfere with engine performance and operation: These are
outlined below.

Fouling of exhaust systems and turbochargers due to poor fuel injection,

atomisation and combustion. This is more relevant to the camshaft
engines where the fuel pump is driven by a cam. The slower the engine
runs, the slower the fuel pump plunger moves to deliver fuel to the
injector. Electronic engines with various forms of camshaftless fuel
injection are better at coping with this, and engines fitted with slide
injection valves reduce the quantity the unburnt fuel from the sac of the
injector nozzle from entering the cylinder and causing fouling and poor
emissions. Decreasing the viscosity of the fuel to about 13cSt at the
nozzles will also improve combustion at low loads.

MAN Injector Slide Valve

Turbochargers operating outside their designed range produce less air flow. This causes a reduction in scavenge air
pressure which results in improper combustion leading to more deposits. This can be combated by some degree on
engines fitted with more than one turbocharger by sequential turbocharging. Both MAN and Sulzer have introduced

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"Kits" which can be fitted to allow turbochargers to be cut out at low load operation.

Cold corrosion caused by condensation of sulphuric acid on the liner surface and in the exhaust gas heat exchangers. This
can be combated to some degree by raising the cooling water temperature to give an outlet of around 90C and
maintaining the Air cooler inlet temperature at about 35C to keep scavenge temperatures at an optimum. Sulzer maintain
that exhaust temperatures must be kept above 250C to prevent cold corrosion in the uptakes and in the exhaust gas
economiser.

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Excess cylinder oil fouling and gumming up ring grooves leading to

sticking piston rings. Also fouling of the turbocharger nozzle ring
and turbine blades. Unburnt cylinder oil can build up in the exhaust
manifold leading to a danger of an exhaust manifold fire and
uncontrolled overspeed and subsequent failure of the turbocharger. It
is recommended that when slow steaming, the engine load is
increased to full power for at least 30 minutes daily, or at a minimum
of 1hour twice weekly to help burn off these deposits. Engines fitted
with either the MAN Alpha lubrication system or the Sulzer pulse
lubrication system which both use computers and crank angle sensors
to deliver the oil between the ring pack are better at providing
adequate lubrication for low load running.

Excessive liner wear due to slower piston speeds. This is partly linked to the cylinder lubrication. If this is reduced by too
much to combat the effects described above, then the rings will not build up an oil film between ring and liner. But overall
lower piston speeds will reduce the effective hydrodynamic film that build up between ring and liner.

Scuffed Liner

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