Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Marine Engineering Tokyo, October 24th to 28th, 2005

T-MAS, the Detector of Scuffing before Excessive Wear

Yuji WAKATSUKI*, Kei WATANABE**, Tetsuya YAMAMOTO**

ABSTRACT The Temperature Monitoring and Alarming System (T-MAS) is a unique system which can detect scuffing on the running surface of cylinder liner of large two-stroke diesel engine before the occurring of excessive wear. An excessive wear of cylinder liner is a very high impact on the vessel schedule and operating cost. T-MAS detects the symptom of scuffing on the surface of cylinder liner by monitoring temperature. Normally, there is enough cylinder lubricating oil on the surface of cylinder liner. When the scuffing is started on the very small local part, cylinder lubricating oil has gone by the metal-to-metal contact and combustion gas with high temperature blows on this part. At that time, the temperature behavior of this surface is unique. Therefore, ship operators can avoid the excessive wear by taking a properly countermeasure when T-MAS detects such phenomenon.

Key Words: Diesel Engine, Cylinder Liner, Temperature Monitoring, Scuffing, Alarming

1. INTRODUCTION Since long-long ago, ship operators, and also engine manufacturers, have been worried about scuffing problem on the cylinder liner inner surface of main two-stroke large diesel engines. The causes of damage were able to consider many things; water invention, lubricating oil degradation, fuel oil characteristics, torque rich operation, rough sea condition, poor engine maintenance, poor material, etc. However, every time, the scuffing coming suddenly and shipowner spends much money in order to repair the damage as soon as possible. An engine manufacturer completed the system which detected scuffing before excessive cylinder liner wear occurred.

2. CIRCUMSTANCES Recently, the marine diesel engines are becoming to larger size, higher speed and higher power. Additionally, maintenance interval is longer and quality of maintenance is lower. On the other hand, the schedule of vessel is very busy condition, then, the vessel cannot stop any longer. In such circumstances, ship operators inquire reliability first. One of the most important parts of marine diesel engine is a cylinder liner. Excessive wear of a cylinder liner is one of the most unfavourite things of ship operators. Stopping of the vessel bones high additional cost and loses their credit with their customer. Furthermore, recently, fuel oil quality is also decreased and opportunity of excessive wear of cylinder liner is increased. * Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Diesel Engine Department, Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, 1-1-1 Wadasaki-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe 652-8585, JAPAN FAX: +81-78-672-5985, E-mail: yuji_wakatsuki@mhi.co.jp ** Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Especially, scuffing, adhesive wear in other ward, occur with large wear amount and it is often necessary to renew a cylinder liner. Renewing of a cylinder liner is together with dismantling a cylinder cover and a piston. Complete work of renewing one cylinder liner on board is necessary about fifteen hours with eight men. Cost of new cylinder liner is not cheep, too. Considering with such cost, damage of a cylinder liner means a very expensive thing. Therefore, fuel quality is one of an important thing for reliability. For recent ten years, a lot of marine fuel oil has come from a fluid catalyst cracking (FCC) refinery plant with a desulphurization process. The feature of this fuel oil is high density, high micro carbon residue and low sulphur. These fuel oil often occur the excessive wear of cylinder liner. Real reason of the excessive wear is still not clear, however, such low sulphur heavy fuel oil is not suitable for marine diesel engines in recent common sense. May of this year (2005), Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78 Protocol 97 of IMO was come into effect. In this protocol, in order to prevent SOx emission, sulphur content of bunker fuel is regulated. In the special area called SECA, sulphur content of bunker fuel must be under 1.5% mass. The special area will start at the Baltic Sea in 2006 and expand to the North Sea and the English Channel in 2007. Many merchant vessels calling at northern Europe area will be regulated by this legislation. These vessels will have to use low sulphur fuel oil in this area. It will be worry about the excessive wear of cylinder liners of main diesel engines on these vessels. It is considered that the low sulphur fuel oil have problems with combustion characteristics, lubrication ability and running-in performance. Furthermore, with cat fine, used lubricant oil or other foreign contamination, this problem comes out easier. The vessel operators know how to avoid excessive wear when scuffing occur; decreasing load, increasing cylinder lubricating oil feed rate, etc. However, they cannot find when scuffing occur.

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In this paper, it is not described about the causes of scuffing on cylinder liner surface. It is mentioned that how to detect the scuffing before cylinder liner are worn out excessively.

3. CYLINDER LINER MONITORING There were some trying items to detect the scuffing of cylinder liner of marine diesel engine. For example, the measuring of oil film thickness on the surface of cylinder liner, the measuring of iron particles in the piston underside drain oil by ferrography, the analysis of bunker fuel oil, the rough measurement of cylinder liner temperature (Fig.1 3), etc. However, all of them have presented unclear result after occurring of the scuffing like a certificate of death.

Scuffing, in other words, adhesive wear is a phenomenon of breaking oil film on a surface of cylinder liner. After breaking oil film, a cylinder liner with piston rings occurs metal-tometal contact. This means metal surface of one side adhere with metal surface of another side. The temperature of cylinder liner is increased at that time, with energy of peeling off of metal construction, like friction heat.

Fig. 4. Surface condition of the scuffed piston rings However, why the temperature is decreased after some period? It is considered that, on a very initial stage of phenomenon of scuffing, enough cylinder lubricating oil is still exited on a surface of cylinder liner and lubricating oil film is recovered at local oil film breakage area and then temperature is decreased. However, this area is under condition which is easy to break an oil film on a surface of cylinder liner. Therefore, this oil film is broken again soon if the condition of an engine is not changed. On the initial stage of scuffing, this phenomenon is repeated and made zigzag temperature behavior on a surface of cylinder liner. Then, it is considered that the avoiding of scuffing would be possible by the detection of this phenomenon.

Fig. 1. Cylinder liner temperatures trend data (1)

Fig. 2. Cylinder liner temperatures trend data (2)

Fig. 3. Cylinder liner temperatures trend data (3) Sometimes in our detailed measurement systems of cylinder liner temperature, it was found that the phenomenon which zigzag temperature behaviors were existed before increasing temperature as a phenomenon of scuffing. After finding of this zigzag signal, some countermeasures, increasing of cylinder oil feed rate, decreasing of engine load, etc., were carried out, then, these vessel could avoid the scuffing of cylinder liners and the temperature of cylinder liner would decrease. After receiving the reports for these similar experiences, it was understood that this phenomenon with fluctuated temperature is a symptom of scuffing of cylinder liner.

1Hr. Paper feeding Fig. 5. Field data of cylinder liner temperature measurement Zigzag temperature phenomenon is not regularly. Interval of wave peak, amplitude and mean temperature are also not fixed. Furthermore, when the gap of piston ring comes to the

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measuring position, the temperature measured is also increased. And it is decreased after the gap passes. Accordingly, the phenomenon mentioned is not able to analyze functionally. The chief engineer always minds the wave behavior of cylinder liner temperature. Finally, he could not leave in front of temperature recorder in all day and he could not sleep. Sometime, the monitoring system makes new job for ship staffs like that. Therefore, it is considered that the alarming system must be necessary on this monitoring system. Then, it is restarted to investigate how to separate zigzag signal from cylinder liner temperature data. The zigzag temperature phenomenon is recognized by the inclination and amplitude of the temperature data curve. Depending on the number of peaks in the limited period, the system indicates and calls an alarm signal. This system also has a high temperature alarm and a high deviation alarm. Normally, the temperature will increase gradually when zigzag phenomenon appears. Therefore, these high temperature alarms are secondary signals of scuffing.

approximately 10 mm from surface. Two sensors are fixed on the pump side and the exhaust side with 180 degrees pitch. A hybrid recorder and thermocouples are connected by compensation wires through a junction box on an engine.

Fig. 7. Temperature sensor on the cylinder liner 4. OUTLINE OF T-MAS T-MAS constructed by temperature sensors, cables, a junction box, a hybrid recorder and a personal computer. Fig. 6 shows system outline of the standard specification of T-MAS. In standard specification, two temperature sensors are installed on one cylinder liner. Additionally, temperatures of cylinder jacket cooling water inlet and outlet, a load indicator signal and an engine speed signal are also taken in this system. Ethernet cable connects between a hybrid recorder and a personal computer. Normally, a hybrid recorder and a personal computer are installed in a control room. A hybrid recorder is able to acquire multi signal data and dispose of them in one time. The data recorded are plotted on a recording paper and sent to a personal computer at same time. This hybrid recorder changes the voltage of thermocouple to the value signal of temperature. And it also changes of sensor signals of a load indicator position and engine speed to the process-able data. Fig. 8 shows the actual used hybrid recorder.

Fig. 8. Hybrid recorder in the control room

Fig. 6. Outline of T-MAS The temperature sensor is selected sheath thermocouple type of Chromel-Alumel which is able to measure from -200 to 1000 degrees Celsius. The temperature measuring points are upper part of running surface of cylinder liner and depth is

Fig. 9. Control room

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The personal computer is programmed alarm functions. TMAS has three kinds of alarming; high temperature, high temperature deviation and zigzag wave. Each setting of temperature is depended on an engine type. Alarming signal from personal computer is delivered to vessel control system and ring the alarm. The personal computer also indicates the alarm on the console picture and records the alarm history.

for only a problem cylinder with changing of fuel injection pump setting as for temporary action. Because they have many experiences of such problems, they can mention above things. Avoiding invasion of cat fine or other particles, it is necessary proper using of fine filters and purifiers and cleaning of piston underside space. Keeping on the engine performance, it is necessary maintenance of turbocharger and fuel injection valves. Avoiding over torque, it is necessary control of torque limiter in rough sea operation and reduction of engine load. And keeping on strength of cylinder lubricating oil on cylinder liner running surface, it is necessary increasing of cylinder lubricating oil feed rate and decreasing of temperature of jacket cooling water in order to increase its viscosity. All items of them are effective to avoid scuffing actually.

5. FIELD EXPERIENCES On the initial stage of this system, as mentioned above, it was only monitoring system and recoding temperature by a hybrid recorder. Normal cylinder liner temperature curves are very smooth and plain. Depend on the engine load, the temperatures are changed smoothly. Sometime, one big peak of temperature is appeared. This peak signal is indicated pass of a gap of top piston ring. It is said that piston rings run around a piston crown when the condition is normal. Therefore, this peak signal means condition barometer of a cylinder liner and piston rings. This peak signal of temperature is appeared clearly sometime and not clearly sometime. This temperature phenomenon is still not understood clearly at this present. T-MAS detects zigzag wave which is a symptom of scuffing and does not detect peak curve which is a piston ring gaps passing signal. Average temperature of zigzag condition is usually higher than normal condition at the same load. Indicated temperature on this system is not a surface temperature of cylinder liner. It is an actual temperature of the measuring position of a thermocouple. However, the intention of temperature is described the surface condition of cylinder liner. The value of measured temperature is in proportion to the temperature of cylinder liner surface. On the vessel which is installed this temperature monitoring system, the chief engineer can control the temperature by increasing of a feed rate of cylinder lubricating oil or decreasing of an engine load. Actually, after installing the TMAS, the replacement of cylinder liner with excessive wear has decreased extremely. Before installing the T-MAS, a vessel which often occur the scuffing of cylinder liner, replaced cylinder liners in many times. Many causes of excessive wear are existed. The engine designers and engineers on the vessel consider many things and take countermeasure against the causes. However, they are not perfect. Rough sea condition, heavy fuel characteristics, cylinder lubricating oil feed rate, engine operating load, fuel pretreatment system condition, engine maintenance condition, cylinder liner running surface condition, engine performance and torque condition, etc. Especially, recent vessels have very busy schedule and very short maintenance period with very long maintenance interval. They cannot achieve perfection. Therefore, T-MAS is very useful to detect the scuffing before the excessive wear which will come some time. The engineers can take a countermeasure against the occurring phenomenon depending on the output signal from T-MAS. The engine designers can provide the countermeasures against the detected phenomenon to the vessel engineers. They recommend that checking of fine filter condition, multi operation of the purifiers, torque limit control in rough sea, cleaning of the piston underside space, cleaning of the turbocharger and maintenance of fuel injection valves. Additionally, increasing of cylinder lubricating oil feed rate, decreasing of jacket cooling water temperature, operation of purifiers with minimum flow rate and reduction of engine load

Fig. 10. One of the consol descriptions of T-MAS

Alarm show disp.

Alarm Level 3
Time : 1999/05/07 06:49:10 Position : #2CylinderF Alarm : Frequent fluctuation Temperature : 194.0 Max.Amplitude: 11.0

OK
Fig. 11. One of the consol descriptions of T-MAS 6. CONCLUSION The best way to avoid scuffing of a cylinder liner is detection of a symptom of phenomenon. Then, users can take countermeasures against the detected phenomenon depending on the engine designers advices. The cause of phenomenon is considered many ways; abrasive wear, corrosive wear, water invasion, torque rich operation, abnormal combustion, low grade of fuel, etc. Under the every causes of phenomenon, the lubricating oil film breakage is occurred when scuffing starts. At that time, engineers on the vessel must consider to stop the phenomenon as soon as possible. This paper announces some ways to decide on the vessel. This behavior makes the best

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result for not only the vessels stuffs but also vessel owner and other relatives. The engine developers always wish the comfortable and safety voyages of vessel. At the end of this paper, the authors recommend to shipowners to install T-MAS for your vessels again strongly.

8. REFERENCES [1] Wakatsuki, Y., Watanabe, K., Yamamoto, T. and Takaishi, T., Relation between Recent Low Grade Fuel and Reliability of Marine Diesel Engines, Paper No. TS-66, 6th ISME 2000, Tokyo, Japan, October 23-27, 2000

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks should be extended to the shipowners and vessels staffs of vessels which installed the T-MAS and our service engineers who visit the vessels in worldwide.

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