Cylinder Liner Lubrication of Marine Two Stroke Crosshead

Diesel Engines - Part 1

Cylinder liner lubrication was difficult under any way,

however the problem has risen markedly by way 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
generally 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 developing a rotational speed all the way to 300 rpm and output per cylinder between 400
Kilowatts to 6000 Kilowatts generally. In these types of engines the piston is just not coupled to the
crankshaft directly using the connecting rod but yet another member referred to as the crosshead is
provided. The piston has a long piston rod which sits on the crosshead. The crosshead converts the
linear motion with the piston to the rotational motion of the crankshaft with all the help with the
connecting rod. The piston rod reciprocates up and down 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 of the engine. The isolation from the crankcase allows less expensive residual fuels
to become burnt with no anxiety about any fuel contamination of the lubricating oil of the crankcase.
The piston rings about the liner surface mostly operate under boundary or thin film lubrication
conditions. The high operating temperature, pressure, and also the presence of the corrosive
environment make the working condition very harsh. The two stroke crosshead kind 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 it represents an important
expense inside daily operation of the engine. Also in the past, engine developments geared towards
giving higher output per cylinder and adapting the engine burning ever deteriorating fuel grades
have worsened the issue of cylinder liner lubrication. The liner average surface temperature has
increased from 200 degrees C to 275 degrees C from the 1970s to the 2000s, thus making
lubrication harder. Similarly the utmost pressure and mean effective pressure also have increased
drastically. Please refer towards the diagrams for that details.
Low quality Fuel
The usage of substandard quality high sulphur content, viscous and residual fuel to minimize
running cost has either created result-oriented problems or aggravated the existing ones.
Apart from aggravating lubrication problems, these fuels can damage injectors and corrode
turbocharger nozzles and moving blades. In addition to this, there is a wide variation in marine
residual fuel quality as outlined by their crude origin and amount of refining which will make
difficult the position of deciding on proper cylinder lubricant.
Boundary lubrication conditions
From the mechanical viewpoint, the working conditions are regarding the worst possible to the

establishment of hydrodynamic lubrication. The piston slows chill out before reversing direction
about the return stroke. Thus at top dead center the place that the temperature is at maximum along
with the radial pressure with the rings about the walls is highest, the piston slows. Under such
opposites it can be 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 in the firing
stroke and the local temperature may be appreciably higher if the combustion is poor causing flame
impingement on cylinder walls. The temperature of water cooled liner surface differs from 230
degrees C to 120 degrees C dependant on the look. Engine developments in the 1960s for the 2000s
have resulted in higher average temperatures of liners within the upper zone (about 270 degrees C),
which includes also made lubrication difficult.
Two strokes and crosshead operation of marine engines
All modern marine engines are of two stroke type. So there isn't any non-working stroke through
which the oil film on the wall could 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 in the crankcase. There is therefore no cooling effect of crankcase oil for the piston,
cylinder lubrication being entirely based mostly on the oil supply by mechanical lubricators. This
makes cylinder lubrication critical, and then any deficiency within it can lead to failure in the engine.

Engine development to cut back tariff of running

Engine development is essentially aimed towards
reducing north Jersey moving services cost of
running, i.e. improving the thermal efficiency,
decreasing the specific fuel oil combustion, and
decreasing the size. This led to higher engine
pressure, thinner oil film formation, high liner
temperature, and increased corrosion. So cylinder
liner lubricant needs to get competent enough to
address against these aggravated conditions.
In spite of these difficulties, the cylinder lubricants need to perform their duties. It must be
remembered how the cylinder lubricants are utilized only as being a once-through oil. That means
that they have to accomplish their be employed in one go, and then these are discharged. Thus for
this reason these are heavily loaded and they are very costly.
The essential properties which a good cylinder lubricant should have are highlighted below:

At first glance it seems that no lubricant,

neither mineral nor synthetic, could withstand
all above difficulties to meet the aforementioned
requirements, but significant developments
within the lubricating oil field are making it

possible.
Formation of Sulphuric Acid
This is taken care of by lubricating oil of high TBN values (60-80 TBN). Further it is ensured that the
cylinder liner temperature doesnt go below the dew point temperature of sulphuric acid in the
upper zone and thus the corrosion is reduced low value.
Abrasive wear
Additives to improve dispersancy and detergency are actually developed to minimize abrasive wear
and ring zone deposits.
Boundary Lubrication Conditions
Multilevel lubrication systems have increased oil film thickness considerably. The inclusion of
additives such as polymethacrylates and ethylene-propylene co-polymers (OCP) to boost the oiliness
helps in maintaining the requisite oil film thickness due to the molecular bending with porous
cylinder liner.
Two stroke crosshead operation of marine engine
There isn't any non working stroke when the oil film around the wall may be reformed but this issue
has additionally been solved by improvement in timely oil injection system. A few engine
manufacturers have recently created a timely oil injection system similar for the fuel injection.
Formation of Sulphuric acid
A typical large engine developing 20000 Bhp having a daily fuel use 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 converted into SO3 and then into sulphuric acid, this
might produce 10 a lot of highly corrosive acid. But reliable analysis points too only 10-15 % is
changed into sulphuric acid, and that depends upon 450 Kg of sulphuric acid daily which can result
in highly corrosive wear.
Low spreadability of cylinder lubricating oil
Cylinder lubricating oil is highly viscous, which hampers its spreadibility thereby resulting in uneven
wear for the cylinder liner. It will ultimately lead to blow down which further aggravates lubrication
problems.
In another article "Cylinder Liner Lubrication of Marine Two Stroke Crosshead Diesel Engines Part
2," we discuss lubricants and the selection with the lubricants for various forms 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 in the rings and the liners in context
towards the cylinder lubricant. Furthermore, we discuss the trouble-shooting related to cylinder
lubrication by 50 percent stroke crosshead marine engines.