Lambda Controller and Jet Assist System on Ships

The purpose with the lambda controller is to prevent injection of more fuel in the combustion
chamber of an auxiliary engine on the ship, than can be burned during a momentary load
increase. This is carried out by controlling the relation between the fuel index and the charge air
pressure. The Lambda controller is also used as stop cylinder.
Advantages of Lambda Controller
The lambda controller has the following advantages:
1.
Reduction of visible smoke in case of sudden momentary load increases on auxiliary
engines.
2.

Improved load ability.

3.

Less fouling of the engines exhaust gas ways.

4.

Limitation of fuel oil index during starting procedure.

Principle of Lambda Controller

Figure above illustrates the controllers operation mode. In case of a momentary

load increase, the regulating device will increase the index on the injection pumps
and hereby the regulator arm (1) is turned, the switch (2) will touch the piston arm
(3) and be pushedb downwards, whereby the electrical circuit will be closed.
Thus the solenoid valve (4) opens. This valve is supplied with compressed air and
the same is supplied to assist the turbocharger. When this jet system is activated,
the turbocharger accelerates and increases the charge air pressure, thereby
pressing the piston (3) backwards in the lambda cylinder (5). When the lambda ratio
is satisfactory, the jet system will be deactivated. At a 50% load change the system
will be activated for about 3-8 seconds.
If the system is activated more than 10 seconds, the solenoid valve will be shut off
and there will be a remote signal alarm for jet system failure.
Fuel Oil Limiting During Start Procedure
During the start procedure the lambda controller is used as an index limiter. Hereby
heavy smoke formation is prevented during start procedure and further the
regulating device cannot over-react. The jet system is blocked during the starting
procedure until the engine has reached about 110 RPM.
Ignition Delay and Ignition Quality
Ignition delay is the time between fuel injection and fuel ignition. During this time
the fuel get mixed with hot compressed air and vaporizes. After the ignition delay,
spontaneous ignition of the fuel occurs. The longer the ignition delay, more fuel will
be injected and vaporizes inside the combustion chamber. This results in a rapid
explosion or combustion causing shock waves and high surface temperatures. This
may lead to excessive loading of piston crown, breaking piston rings weakening of
the material due to erosion by hot gas flow, etc. the higher temperatures inside the
combustion space also cause an increased NOx emissions.
The ignition quality is a measure of the relative ease by which the fuel will ignite. It
is measured by the cetane number for distillate fuels. The higher the number, the
more easily will the fuel ignite inside the engine. For residual fuel, the ignition
quality is measured by the Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index (CCAI). It is an
empirical equation based on the density and viscosity of the fuel. CCAI is normally
in the range of 800-870. The higher the CCAI, the longer fuel takes before it starts
ignition in the engine. In other words, ignition delay for a fuel with low CCAI is
minimal.
Ignition Quality and Engine Performance
Changing to a fuel with a higher ignition quality or lower CCAI index means early
ignition of fuel, higher peak pressures, excessive load on the bearings (especially
cross head bearings) and loss of engine power. Similarly, using a fuel with higher
CCAI index or lower ignition quality will cause late ignition, causing after burning

which damage exhaust valve, fouling of turbocharger, burning of piston crown and
liner, and loss of engine power.
Two stroke slow speed engines and some medium speed engine on ships uses
variable injection timing (VIT) or fuel quality setting (FQS) levers to control the
starting of injection to take account of the ignition delay. These procedures to be
done as per makers instructions and calculating the CCAI index of the fuel to be
used.
Crankcase Oil for Trunk Piston Engine Marine Engineering
December 19, 2015 3:20 am | Leave a Comment | Frozee
Properties required of a crankcase oil which is to be used for a trunk piston main
engine are the following:
Detergency
This keeps the crankcase, bearings and piston rings area clean from sludge and
carbonaceous deposits. As the trunk piston engine suffers from a higher level of
contamination into the lube oil system than a slow speed engine, then higher levels
of detergency are important.
Dispersency
The dirt which is removed by the cleaning function is kept in suspension by the
dispersency additives. These prevent the build up of sludge in the cooler regions of
the engine.
Alkalinity
The level of this property is determined by the level of sulphur within the fuel oil.
The additive reduces the corrosive effects which result when the products of
combustion condense on the cooler surfaces.
Anti wear
This additive is provided to reduce the wear on the highly loaded areas of the
engine, such as the camshaft and gearing areas.
Anti-emulsion
This property allows the oil to be cleaned in a purifier and allow any water
contamination to be removed.
Stable Viscosity
This is ensured by the use of viscosity stabilisers or improvers which reduce the rate
of fall in oil viscosity when the oil temperature increases.

Clean burning
As the oil is used to lubricate the piston ring pack, the oil should burn without
leaving a residue.
Oil Sampling of Trunk Piston Engine
The engine should be running at normal load for at least one hour. The sampling
point should be at the main LO entry point into the engine. The sampling point
should be flushed through and when hot oil issues, a one litre container of oil should
be drawn. The oil should be decanted into the sampling container, which is then
sealed for analysis.
Shore Analysis Results of Lube Oil
Water in oil
Contamination source should be identified and cured. The water in the oil could be
reduced by purifier, if the sump charge is large enough for a continuous purifier
operation.
Falling alkalinity
Water contamination should be checked as when the water is removed then the
alkalinity reserve will also fall. If water is not present then a small addition into the
crankcase should be considered. The sulphur content of the fuel should be checked
to ensure that the right grade of oil is being used.
Viscosity has fallen
Fuel or water contamination should be suspected. If fuel oil is found within the oil,
heating the sample to smell the fuel contamination or testing for the flash point if
this is available on-board. Source of the fuel contamination should be identified and
cured. Note the diesel oil will reduce and fuel oil will increase the lube oil viscosity.
Carbon content has risen
This indicates that the carbon from the combustion process is contaminating the
lube oil. Over the short term, regular filter cleaning is the only course of action open
to the engineer, but over the long term the piston rings should be changed, and the
fuel injection equipment overhauled.
Checking Fuel Pump Timing and Quantity on Ships
December 18, 2015 9:16 pm | Leave a Comment | Frozee
Checking Fuel Pump Timing

The primary method of checking fuel pump timing would be using the
manufacturers instructions of setting the fuel pump with the engine stopped. For
the Bosch type fuel pumps, a small window is present at the base of the fuel pump.
Within this window an engraved line can be seen on the spring holder of the fuel
pump. When the cam follower is displaced by the cam, it pushes the spring holder
up. When the engraved line coincides with the line on the fuel pump body, then the
fuel pump plunger is at the position where it is just covering the spill ports.
Hence at this moment the fuel pump is starting to pressurize the trapped fuel
volume, and hence fuel delivery will commence. Thus the engine is rotated to the
point where the two lines coincide, and this indicates the commencement of fuel
delivery. The actual crank angle would be read off the flywheel.
Adjusting Fuel Pump Timing
Should the fuel pump timing be required to be changed, then the shims fitted
underneath the fuel pump would be changed. If shims are added the fuel pump will
inject later, and visa versa for removing the shims. The fuel pump is attached to the
fuel rack, and the fuel control lever set to the same readings as the other fuel
pumps. This should deliver the same fuel quantity. The fuel pump rack should
always read zero when the governor is in the no-fuel position, to ensure the engine
will stop when required.
To enable the actual fuel quantity delivered from each fuel pump to be measured,
indicator cards would be required. Indicator cards would be taken from each
cylinder and the power developed would be found, either directly from the software
for the electronic cylinder units, or using a planimeter to determine the area of the
power card for the mechanically taken indicator cards.
Checking and Adjusting Variable Injection Timing (VIT) Fuel Pump
A variable injection fuel pump can also be adjusted for fuel timing with the engine
running. Thus whilst the engine is running the fuel pump timing can be checked by
the draw card type of indicator card. On this type of card the position when the fuel
has ignited can be seen by either

The point at which the pressure-volume curve moves away from the normal
compression curve, or

The point on the pressure derivative curve on the electronic indicator when
the rate of pressure rise suddenly increases. The derivative curve makes the point
of fuel ignition much easier to determine.
Once the point of fuel timing is determined, then the fuel pump can be adjusted
either

Collectively for the whole engine by adjusting the sensor which determines
the quantity of fuel timing advancement by measuring the position of the fuel rack

position. Any adjustment of this sensor will advance or retard the fuel timing of all
fuel pumps at once.

Individually by adjusting the linkage from the individual fuel timing servo to
the fuel pump. This adjustment will adjust the fuel timing of an individual fuel pump.
The fuel pumps would need to be adjusted collectively, when the fuel combustion
quality reduces. Hence if combustion was slower than normal, possibility due to a
high level of Conradson Carbon or Ashalptenes, then the fuel timing could be
advanced. This will allow more time for combustion, and should reduce exhaust
temperatures and smoke levels. When fuel timing is advanced it is important that
the cylinder maximum pressures are measured to ensure that they are not
excessive.
Should the ignition quality of the fuel be lower than normal, then the initial raise in
cylinder pressure when combustion occurs will be higher than normal, and may
even lead to bearing damage. In these cases the fuel timing would be retarded to
depress the rate of pressure rise.
Individual fuel pump timing adjustment would be required when the fuel pump is
internally worn. This will cause a lower amount of fuel to be injected, but also later
in the engine cycle. Hence the performance of the pump could be regained by
increasing the quantity delivered at the fuel rack, and advancing the individual fuel
pump timing.
Category Archives: Diesel Engines
Main Engine Exhaust Valve Failures Marine Engineering
December 16, 2015 5:18 am | Leave a Comment | Frozee
Causes of Exhaust Valve Failures
Exhaust valve is prone to

Vanadium induced metal loss at the base of the valve

Cold corrosion of the valve stem due to sulphurous effects

Impact damage at the valve sealing face causing eventual valve burn out

Hot corrosion induced metal loss at the sealing face causing valve burn out

Stellite is used as the seating material of exhaust valves to resist the corrosion
effects of vanadium and sodium. At high temperatures these elements form highly
corrosive compounds that attack the metal oxide layer, causing metal loss and
eventual valve sealing loss. This can lead to reduced compression pressure, and
eventually total loss of engine power on that cylinder. Stellite will reduce these
corrosive effects by 50% over conventional steel valves.

How to Prevent Exhaust Valve Failures

The corrosive areas must be identified if any during exhaust valve overhaul since
these could indicate a possible cause of failure. To investigate the corrosion, change
in operational factors of the engine such as speed and load, operational parameters
such as turbocharger speeds, boost air pressure, or cylinder exhaust gas
temperatures to be analyzed. Fuel oil samples should be forwarded to the Fuel
Testing Lab asking for a full analysis, especially the fuel vanadium and sodium
levels. Others possible factors such as incorrect valve clearances and valve carbon
build up to be checked while periodic overhauling. If the level of contaminants in the
fuel is higher, overhaul period of the valves to be maintained at the low level.
The corrosive effects on the exhaust valve are accelerated at higher operating
temperatures. To reduce corrosion and hence the possibility of valve burn out,
contact temperatures must be controlled. This is achieved by localised cooling of
the valve seat (using cooling passages within the seat on the larger valves, and
cooling of the cylinder head on the smaller valves). The valve is cooled by the seat
when valve is closed.
Category Archives: Diesel Engines
Crack on Diesel Engine Bedplate Transverse Girder
December 12, 2015 5:24 am | Leave a Comment | Frozee
Initiation of Cracks
Possible reasons for appearing a crack on diesel engine bedplate transverse girder
would be:
1.
Excess load on the transverse girder from high combustion loads due to
excessive power output from that cylinder or misalignment of the bedplate.
2.

Incorrect tension of the tie bolts for a slow speed engine

3.

Manufacturing defect

Limiting Crack Growth

Due to the position of the crack in a highly stressed area of the engine structure,
investigation into the extent of the damage caused by the crack on diesel engine
bedplate would be required and prevention measures implemented to limit crack
growth. Checks would be made of the crankshaft deflections and tie rod tension to
ensure that these are correct/acceptable.
To investigate the crack, the area around it would be exposed, which could include
light grinding to remove the protective paint covering. The best non destructive test
(NDT) method on-board would be used to find the extent of the crack, and methods
such as dye penetrant or magnetic particle investigation (MPI) could be used.

Once the extent of the crack is established, then advise would be sought from the
engine makers to ensure that the engine is safe to operate. To reduce the loads
present in the bedplate, the engine power for those cylinders would be removed by
lifting the two fuel pumps. This would be a prudent course of action until the extent
of the crack had been fully identified. Class would be informed, especially if repairs
are to be performed, to ensure that any proposed method of repair would be
acceptable to them.

Preventing Crack Formation

Future incidents of crack on diesel engine bedplate would be minimised by
preventing the causes stated before.

Regular checks would be made on the cylinder powers developed by taking

indicator cards, and on the crankshaft alignment by taking deflections.

Tie bolt tension would be checked every 12 months.

Also crankcase inspections would ensure that visual inspections beneath the
bedplate are carried out at every inspection.