Large Two Stroke Marine Diesel Engine
Piston
• piston crown- which forms the top most part, exposed to the combustion chamber
• piston skirt- which acts as a guide inside the liner and also opens and closes the
air intake or scavenge ports in the liner for combustion air entry
• piston rod - which connects the piston to the crosshead
Piston Crown is normally casted from chrome nickel molybdenum alloy steel as it is
exposed to high temperature and thermal stresses.
The top land is sometimes coated with temperature resistant material to protect the
crown from overheating. Piston Rod is made up of forged steel.
Cooling Method:
Nowadays both MAN and SULZER engines prefer oil cooling to conventional water
cooling piston as the former reduces the risk of lube oil contamination in case of
leakage.
SULZER Piston:
The new SULZER piston with concave crown comes with Jet-Shaker cooling design,
wherein the jet nozzles are attached to the cooling passage of piston rod.
The piston crown design which comprises of bores and nozzles (for supplying cooling
oil with high pressure), provides better uniform cooling and reduces crown thickness
and overall piston weight. This is known as jet shaker method as during downward
movement of piston, the nozzle sprays the oil jet inside the bore and when the piston
moves upward, the oil inside the piston crown shakes for efficient cooling.
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MAN B&W Piston:
The new MAN engine uses simple bore cooling piston and jet nozzles, which
comprises of oil passage within the piston crown for uniform cooling. The MAN
engine also uses a top layer thermal coating over the crown, known as INCONEL 625
coat, which is 8mm thick and protects the crown surface from overheating.
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The latest development in MAN engine pistons is OROS Piston, which has top land
with double convex valleys.
The main advantage of this type of piston over the conventional designed piston is:
• Reduction in the thermal load and temperature of piston crown
• Increase in the overall working life of the piston
• Formation of better combustion chamber, leading to efficient combustion
Common problems in piston are:
• Cracks on the surface
• Deformation of piston crown top
• Burning off of piston crown top
• High temperature of piston while running
• Scuffing of piston
• Worn-out piston ring grooves
Main reasons for problems:
• Inadequate circulation of coolant
• Excessive deposits inside the cooling space
• Poor cylinder lubrication
• Faulty piston ring
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• Piston wrongly aligned
• Overloading during combustion
• Late fuel injection
• Faulty fuel injector leading to more penetration of fuel
• Wrong running-in after major overhaul
• Scavenge fire
• Thermal stresses due to cold starting or low temperature of scavenge air
General procedure for piston removal from unit (Large two stroke marine diesel
engine):
Engine maker’s instruction in the manual is to be followed strictly.
1) Permission from company (By Master and Chief Engineer)
2) Take immobilisation certificate from port state control / port authority
3) Read the manual and have a tool box meeting with everyone involved in the job.
Discuss the complete procedure
4) Prepare important tools, templates, measuring instruments and spares required for
overhauling piston as given in the manual
5) Prepare risk assessment and make sure all personal safety equipment are used
6) Shut starting air and distributor air supply and display safety placards
7) Engage turning gear
8) Open indicator cocks for all the cylinders
9) Stop main lube oil pump and switch off the breaker with safety placards
10) Isolate fuel oil supply to fuel oil pump and return line of the particular unit to work,
fuel line tracing steam line is to be shut for that particular unit.
11) Once the engine jacket temperature comes down, shut the inlet and outlet water
valve for the unit to be overhauled
12) Keep other units in Jacket preheating system to maintain the jacket temperature
13) Drain the jacket water from exhaust v/v and liner of the concerned unit.
14) Remove connection pipes for mounting on cylinder head. (Exh. Pipe. Starting air
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pipe, Pilot air pipe, FO high pr. pipes to injectors, FO return pipes from injectors, Exh.
valve hydraulic actuator pipe and return pipe, Exh. valve spring air pipe, Cooling
water pipes, etc.)
15) Remove hydraulic nuts on cylinder heads and dismount the cylinder head using
dedicated lifting tools and engine room crane.
16) Discard the sealing ring from the top of the cylinder liner.
17) Remove hydraulic nuts of piston rod connected to crosshead.
18) Remove all bolts of stuffing box attached with crankcase diaphragm.
19) Take piston at TDC by turning gear.
20) Dismount articulate pipe connected to cross head or detach telescopic pipe (if
required) and fix it as per procedure given in the manual.
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21) Attach piston removing tool on special grooves at piston crown, follow as per
manual
22) Remove the piston by engine room crane following the procedure given in Manual
General Inspection (piston removed for inspection):
Before inspection and measurements, all parts must be cleaned.
Piston Crown
• Check for any burning at top part of the piston.
• Check any wear at the side walls of the crown and on ring grooves.
• Check for any cracking at top due to the thermal and mechanical stress, check also
for high temperature corrosion.
• Check any signs of hot corrosion at the top surface and acidic corrosion at the
lower part.
Measurement of piston top land:
The piston top land is prone to burn-outs due to direct contact with high temperature
combustion and malfunctioning of the injectors, resulting in longer penetration of fuel
which deforms the piston top.
The piston top land wear down is measured with the help of a template which is fitted
on top of the piston crown and the clearance between the template and top land is
measured with the help of feeler gauge.
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Piston Rings and Grooves maintenance:
• Check for the free movement of the piston rings.
• Check the ring clearance / groove clearance.
• Inspect for any wear, stepping and for scuffing.
• All ring grooves - for distortion / wear
Four important clearances taken in the piston rings are:
• Axial Clearance
• Radial Clearance
• Butt Clearance
• Controlled Pressure Relief groove measurement (if CPR grooves are there)
Axial Clearance: It is the clearance between the ring and the groove to be measured
at the top part by a feeler gauge. This clearance is to be measured at four different
points for each ring.
Radial Clearance: The radial clearance is the difference between the groove depth
and ring width, which can be measured by a vernier caliper.
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Butt clearance: It is the clearance between the end butt of the ring inside the liner.
The ring is placed inside the liner and the impression can be taken on a paper by
applying Prussian blue paste at the butt ends. The gap between the impressions can
then be measured.
CPR ring: The controlled pressure relief ring is fitted in the MAN piston as a top ring.
The CPR ring has “S” shaped butt joint with six controlled pressure relief grooves
milled across the face. Measure the radial depth of the grooves butt clearance at the
S joint.
Piston Skirt and Side-wall
• Check for any rubbing marks.
• Inspect for any wear down of wear rings.
Cooling Oil Passage
• Cooling passage - for scaling / chocking
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• Nozzles cleaning (if attached)
Inspection of Piston
• Carbonaceous deposits on the crown and sides
• Crown top surface-for burning and cracking damage
• Skirt - for wear / rubbing marks
• Wear ring / rubbing ring for scuffing
Pressure Test of Piston:
It is important to pressure test the piston, which has been taken out from the unit and
cleaned for reuse. Following Procedure is to be followed:
• Invert the piston so that the base of the piston palm is facing up
• Fill the piston with oil and keep an air hose ready
• Fit the pressure testing tool at the palm of the piston and ensure no oil leaks from
the connection
• Connect the air hose to testing tool and supply air pressure up to 7 bar
• Shut the air and isolate the piston in this condition
• Check for any leakages from all contact surfaces and sealing rings
• Check crown for any crack or oil
• Keep the piston pressure charged for 2-3 hours and check that the pressure is
stagnant which indicates no leakage
Finally inspect all locking bolts, wires, studs and 'O' ring condition
Pl check overhauling video: https://marine.man-es.com/two-stroke/maintenance-videos/video-
no-31-piston-overhaul
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Cylinder head
MAN and SULZER engines have single piece, solid steel cylinder heads with bore
cooling concept and centrally fitted exhaust valves. Other fitting holes are also
provided in the cover (Fuel valve, start air valve, relief valve etc.).
Some SULZER engine (RTA series) models also have two piece cylinder cover -
Inner and outer pieces. This design was introduced to tackle cracks in the cover
body, especially in the uncooled space due to thermal expansion.
Inner piece is also known as cylinder skirt, which is made up of cast iron and outer
cylinder is made of cast steel; both are tied together to form a single piece. Now the
latest Rtflex series engine uses advanced design single piece cylinder cover.
Some MAN engine cylinder covers have special head studs with elastic property.
These stud expands in case of overpressure of the cylinder and releases the excess
pressure from the area between the liner and the head, which opens up when the
head lifts. No relief valve is fitted in such type of cylinder cover.
SULZER and MAN engine covers with high KW ratings use three fuel valves mounted
on the top of the cylinder cover forming a triangle.
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This is done to achieve efficient combustion, to reduce overheating of cylinder head
and to improve cooling. If the KW rating of engine is reduced i.e. small engine, one or
two fuel valves are installed.
Forged or cast steel is used for the construction of cylinder cover to withstand gas
load and high temperature.
Anti-corrosion cladding is applied to the cylinder covers, downstream of the injection
nozzles to protect the covers from hot corrosive or erosive attack.
General procedure for cylinder head removal from unit (Large two stroke
marine diesel engine):
Engine maker’s instruction in the manual is to be followed strictly.
1) Permission from company (By Master and Chief Engineer)
2) Take immobilisation certificate from port state control / port authority
3) Read the manual and have a tool box meeting with everyone involved in the job.
Discuss the complete procedure
4) Prepare important tools, templates, measuring instruments and spares required for
overhauling piston as given in the manual
5) Prepare risk assessment and make sure all personal safety equipment are used
6) Shut starting air for Main Engine and distributor air supply and display safety
placards
7) Engage turning gear
8) Open indicator cocks for all the cylinders
10) Isolate fuel oil supply to fuel oil pump and return line of the particular unit to work,
fuel line tracing steam line is to be shut for that particular unit.
11) Once the engine jacket temperature comes down, shut the inlet and outlet water
valve for the unit to be overhauled
12) Keep other units in Jacket preheating system to maintain the jacket temperature
13) Drain the jacket water of the concerned unit from exhaust v/v and liner.
14) Remove connection pipes for mounting on cylinder head. (Exh. Pipe. Starting air
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pipe, Pilot air pipe, FO high pr. pipes to injectors, FO return pipes from injectors, Exh.
valve hydraulic actuator pipe and return pipe, Exh. valve spring air pipe, Cooling
water pipes, etc.)
15) Remove hydraulic nuts on cylinder heads and dismount the cylinder head using
dedicated lifting tools and engine room crane.
16) Discard the sealing ring from the top of the cylinder liner.
Before inspection and measurements, all parts must be cleaned.
Problems in cylinder head:
Cracks: This is the most common defect that occurs in a cylinder head, especially
near the fuel valve area and exhaust seating.
Burn: Burning of cylinder head surface occurs due to flame impingement of fuel valve.
Leakage: Exhaust leakage from head occurs due to worn head gasket or improper
tightening.
Distortion: Occurs due to improper tightening, overheating, casting strain
Corrosion: Acidic corrosion or due to poor water treatment
Carbon Deposit: Occurs due to improper combustion and poor fuel treatment
Inspection:
• Check cooling water space for deposits
• Check starting air valve pocket and seat for scoring or cracks (lapping by special
tool)
• Check fuel valve pocket and seat (lapping by special tool)
• Check the combustion side of the head for deposits, overheating, and cracks
• Check exhaust passage for scoring and burnout
• Pressure test the cylinder head water side
• Check condition of relief valve and ensure it is not leaking and cylinder head gasket
• Check all the studs are properly tightened to engine frame
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