The suction valve rod in the generator engine severed while the ship was at sea. An investigation found that the piston in cylinder 3 had been installed incorrectly, with the suction and exhaust valve recesses reversed. This caused the suction valve to be pushed up when compressed, resulting in the piston colliding with and breaking the suction valve rod over time. Four of the six pistons across cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 5 were also found to be installed incorrectly during a docking in January. The cause was traced to errors made during piston restoration at the dock. The incorrectly installed pistons were replaced and repairs made to the damaged cylinder 3.
The suction valve rod in the generator engine severed while the ship was at sea. An investigation found that the piston in cylinder 3 had been installed incorrectly, with the suction and exhaust valve recesses reversed. This caused the suction valve to be pushed up when compressed, resulting in the piston colliding with and breaking the suction valve rod over time. Four of the six pistons across cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 5 were also found to be installed incorrectly during a docking in January. The cause was traced to errors made during piston restoration at the dock. The incorrectly installed pistons were replaced and repairs made to the damaged cylinder 3.
The suction valve rod in the generator engine severed while the ship was at sea. An investigation found that the piston in cylinder 3 had been installed incorrectly, with the suction and exhaust valve recesses reversed. This caused the suction valve to be pushed up when compressed, resulting in the piston colliding with and breaking the suction valve rod over time. Four of the six pistons across cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 5 were also found to be installed incorrectly during a docking in January. The cause was traced to errors made during piston restoration at the dock. The incorrectly installed pistons were replaced and repairs made to the damaged cylinder 3.
The suction valve rod in the generator engine severed while the ship was at sea. An investigation found that the piston in cylinder 3 had been installed incorrectly, with the suction and exhaust valve recesses reversed. This caused the suction valve to be pushed up when compressed, resulting in the piston colliding with and breaking the suction valve rod over time. Four of the six pistons across cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 5 were also found to be installed incorrectly during a docking in January. The cause was traced to errors made during piston restoration at the dock. The incorrectly installed pistons were replaced and repairs made to the damaged cylinder 3.
ME238 Generator Engine Suction Valve Rod Severance Technical committee
Ship type Ore or bulk carrier
Date of build November 27 1987, NKK Tsu Works Navigation route Tramper (Japan - Australia - Europe - South America) Trouble machinery Category Generator engine Name Suction valve stem, piston, liner, push rod Type 6DL-22 Date of trouble February 23 1993, around 6:00, while at sea after undocking
1. Outline of breakdown
During voyage, an abnormal sound was heard from the operating No.1 Diesel Generator. Operation was immediately switched to a S/B unit. On opening the bonnet cover of the cylinders, it was found that the suction valve spring had come off in the No. 3 cylinder and the suction valve rod was severed and had fallen into cylinder. Thus, the cylinder cover was opened for inspection, and the following damages were found. 1) Broken hole at piston top 2) Angular section of cylinder liner top was chipped. 3) Two push rods were bent. Furthermore, since damaged fragments were found inside the cylinder, the Turbocharger was inspected by way of precaution. Damage to turbine blades and nozzle ring was found.
2. Cause
The inspection of the piston removed from the No. 3 cylinder revealed that the top of the piston had incurred stamp marks caused by the suction valve (marks produced when struck by the suction valve). From these marks, it was determined that the piston top collided with suction valve, which led to a breakage of the valve rod. The stamp marks on the piston top that was caused by the suction valve were produced when the piston was installed in a 180 degrees incorrect direction. The No. 1 Diesel Generator had all its pistons pulled out at the time of docking in January 1993 and errors made then when restoring had developed and led to this incident. Other cylinders were inspected as well to make sure, and stamp marks were found on top of the pistons in the No. 1, 2, and 5 cylinders. Namely, for four cylinders out of six, pistons had been restored in a 180 degrees incorrect direction. After this incident, an inquiry was made to the dock side concerning the work carried out, and the dock replied as follows: 1) The work on the No. 1 Diesel Generator is an ordinary piston pull-out operation. As it is the basic rule to restore it to original state, they had inscribed Arabic numerals at the corresponding positions of the piston and piston rod when overhauling the piston pins. However, no record exists on details of restoration, and it is unknown if it has been restored normally or not.
1 2) During turning for tappet clearance adjustment, neither heavy turning nor strike sound was ob- served. 3) After work, trial run was made, but no abnormality was found. Furthermore, when pistons are removed, they are usually marked as below for ring clearance meas- urement so that they can be used as guides for restoration. However, it is unknown whether this marking was done or not for this work in question.
The cause of stamp marks as produced when the piston was restored in a 180 degrees incorrect direction is as follows: 1) Exhaust valve recess is 2.5 mm deep from the piston top, and suction valve recess is 6.0 mm from the piston top. 2) If a piston is restored in a 180 degrees incorrect direction, the suction and exhaust valve recesses are reversed, and as a result, the suction valve is pushed up 1.5 mm making a crank angle of 15 degrees. 3) This push-up is subtle and thus can be undetected during turning. Even during operation, as the shock is absorbed by various parts, it can run for some time.
3. Repair
For the No. 3 cylinder, and the No. 1, 2, and 5 cylinders of which piston restoration direction was mistaken, pistons were pulled out and restored in the correct direction. Since the No. 3 cylinder had incurred damages to the piston and liner, the damaged parts including the piston rod were replaced with new parts. For the Turbocharger, as there were no spare parts available for the turbine blades and nozzle rings, they were transported overseas by air along with push rods for recovery.
