A major concern for ship owners is that the detergent level (and hence TBN) of the marine diesel cylinder lubricant (MDCL) is appropriate for changing operating conditions, piston operating hours, and fuel sulphur content. It is found that TBN depletion of the MDCL, due to combustion of the heavy fuel oil (HFO), is more pronounced when the ship burns fuel with high sulphur content. Typically, MDCLs have a TBN of 70, which minimises corrosive wear in low speed engines burning fuel with 3 % to 4 % sulphur content. However, HFO sulphur levels can vary between 1 % and 5 % between ports, leading to a range of TBN requirements. Certainly, there is a growing trend towards low sulphur fuel in certain ports and sea areas. Corrosion and wear commonly occur when the engine burns high sulphur HFO and the TBN level becomes too low. Conversely, it is found that engines running on very low sulphur fuel may be prone to piston deposits, arising from calcium carbonate in the unused detergent. In this case, insufficient corrosion can cause bore polishing which may prevent generation of an adequate lubricating film, resulting in accelerated wear and failure. It is clear that cylinder performance and life cannot be optimised by simply increasing TBN and eliminating corrosion. Instead, it is desirable to be able to continuously monitor the performance of the MDCL and either adjust feed rate or the detergent level accordingly on an individual piston basis. An automated, continuous on-board analysis technique has been developed to provide optimum MDCL feed rate and TBN content for each individual cylinder. The technique allows quick and accurate oil analysis under 'real time' conditions. No training or instrument maintenance is required and there is no need for samples to be sent ashore for testing. This system can offer significant savings in terms of increased cylinder life and reductions in oil consumption and labour costs.
A continuous, on-board analysis technique to determine optimum feed rate and TBN level of marine diesel cylinder lubricants
Kontinuierliches On-Board-Analyseverfahren zur Bestimmung von optimaler Förderrate und TBN-Level für die Schmierung eines Schiffsdieselmotors
2004
7 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 6 Quellen
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
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