REVERSINGOFTWOSTROKEENGINENoteBookForMarineEngineers

d)Fuel is admitted.e)Starting air is shut off.f)Speed is adjusted as per the control

position.If the initial firing revolutions at starting are not reached within a fixed
period, usuallyabout3secafurtherperiodofabout4secis allowed toelapse and
thecycleisrepeated, still underautomaticcontrol.Normallyafterthreefalsestarts
theoperationceasesandanalarmfunctions.
Interlock1:
It confirms that the camshaft has shifted to desired position. If yes the
subsequentsignalisgivenforstartingairsequencetostart.
Interlock2:
It conformsthattheenginehasachievedRPMthatissufficienttocausecombustion
andis also incorrectdirection.Ifyesthesubsequentsignalisgivenforacceleration
programmetostartthefuelinjection.
BRIDGECONTROLOFDIRECTDRIVEDIESELENGINE
Twoconsoles wouldbeprovidedoneonthe bridgetheotherintheenginecontrol
room.Forthebridge console theminimumpossiblealarmsandinstrumentswould
be provided commensuratewith safety and information requirements e.g. low
starting air pressure and temperature,sufficient fuel oil, fuel oil pressure and
temperature,etc.theengineroomconsolewouldgivecomprehensivecoverageand
overridingcontroloverthatofthebridge.Theselectorwouldbeintheengineroom
console and the operator can select eitherengine roomor bridgecontrol,withone
selected the other is inoperative.Assumingbridgecontrol aprogrammewould be
selected,sayhalfastern,thenproviding allsafetyblockages such asnoactionwith
turning gear in etc. are satisfied, the programme can be initiated a sequence of
checks as mentioned in program control.Essential safety locks, such as lowlube.
Oil pressure or cooling water pressure override the programme and will stop the
engine at the same time as they give warning.Direct local control at the engine
itself can be used if required on in the event of an emergency.Further more
protective considerations are:Governor, including over speed trip. Nonoperation

of air lever during direction alteration.Failure to fire requires alarms indications

and sequence repeat witha maximumofsay 4consecutiveattemptsbeforeoverall
lock.Movementofcontrollever forfuelforaspeedout ofacriticalspeedrangeif
the bridge speedselection within this range.Emergency full ahead to full astern
timingandsettings
MAINTENANCEANDTROUBLESHOOTING
Preventive maintenance is preferred according to a schedule as recommended by
themanufacturer and as amended by the operator in light of continuing
experience.Startingvalves:

Lubricateduringmanoeuvres.

Retightenvalvespindleafter200300startingairmanoeuvres,Grindifnecessary.

Automaticstartingairstopvalveandnonreturnvalve

Drainaftereachmanoeuvringperiod.Camshaftdrive:

Checkgear/camshaftchainwheelsandlubenozzles.
EngineerM.A.Hamid
11


REVERSINGOFTWOSTROKEENGINENoteBookForMarineEngineers

Regulatinglinkage

Grease.Fuelinjectionvalve:

Clean,checkandreadjustinjectionpressure.

Checkholesforwear.Pneumaticsolenoidvalve:

Periodicmaintenanceasperrecommendationsfrommanufacture.

Typicaljobinvolvescleaningofthevalvesoffoil/dirtandrenewalofgaskets.
EnginecannotbeReversedorcanbeStartedonlyinoneRunningDirection:
1)Thereis onlyaninsufficientcontrolpressureornoneatall.2)Iftheenginecannot
bereversedwhenstopping the vessel,this mayalsobe duetoaninadequatetorque
onaccountofinsufficientairstartingair pressureora defectivestartingair control
slide valveorstartingvalve.3)Thereversinggearisstuckatendpositionorshortly
before end position, thus not releasingcontrol signal tothe blockingdevice ofthe
startinglever.4)The running directionsafety interlock, orits control slidevalve,is
stuck in an end position.5)Control oil pipes or ducts are obstructed or heavily
leaking, so the pressure is too low.6)The reversing valve becomes loose and has
beenturnedrelativetothelever.

EnginestartsintheWrongRunningDirectionwhenbeingreversed:
1)The engine room telegraph has been fitted facing in the wrong direction.2)The
reversing valve, ortherotatingslidevalve,oftherunningdirectionsafetyinterlock
hasbeenincorrectlyfitted.3)The runningdirectionsafety interlockisoutofaction
if thecutoutservomotoris stuck.4)In controloilpipes ofthereversinggeararein
correctlyconnected.
ELECTRONICOPERATION
The signal received by the electro hydraulic servo valve and the control valve is
from cylinder control unit installed foreach cylinder.Theenginecontrolsystemis
connected to ships control system. This ships control system hastwo control
units.1)Cylindercontrolunitforeachcylinder.2)Alocalcontrolterminal.
EngineControlUnitsFunction:
It relatestooverallsituationoftheengineandconnectsplantcontrolsystem,safety
systemandsupervisionandalarmsystemwithinputsfromsensorsandactuators.
CylinderControlUnitsFunction:
It connects all functional components to be controlled at each cylinder, e.g. fuel
injection,exhaust valve,startingvalve and cylinder lubrication.Asfaultscannever
be completely ruled out each cylinder has a cylinder controller, whosfailurewill
result in temporary loss of power of concerned unit until the standby engine
controller takesover and continues the operation without any change in
performance.
ElectronicControlofFuelTiming
Operation of fuel valve is governed by a microprocessor (computer). For correct
operationinputs of engine speed and crank angle is given to the microprocessor,
whichcontrolsthe
EngineerM.A.Hamid
12

REVERSINGOFTWOSTROKEENGINENoteBookForMarineEngineers
operation of fuel valve. Here the metering of fuel volume for one cylinderisnot
governed bydelivery volume per stroke but by limiting the duration of injection.
This is made possible by anelectronic controller i.e. a low voltage signal that
controls the opening and closing action of electrohydraulic servo valve. This
opening and closingof electrohydraulicservo valveconnectsandisolatesthefuel
valve from the servo oil accumulator, which finally operates thefuel valve.Each
cylinder unit is provided with a servo oil accumulator to ensure sufficient fast
deliveryofservooilperinjectionrequirement.Anumberofinjectionspatterns are
stored in the microprocessor, which are selected by thecontrol system so as to
operate the engine with optimum injection characteristics from dead slowto
overload,aswellasduringasternrunningandcrashstop.
ElectronicControlofExhaustValveTiming
The exhaust valve is driven by the same servo oil system as that for the fuel
injection system,usingpressurisedcool,cleanlubeoilastheworkingmedium.The
operation ofexhaustvalveonlycontrolsthe timeofopening andclosingthevalve.
This isobtainedbyusingasimplefastacting ON/OFFcontrolvalvetocontrol the
movement of the exhaust valves. The control valve being again operated by the
microprocessor,whichoperatedthefuelvalve.

PROGRAMCONTROL
All operations should take place automatically without intervention bytheofficer
in control, andhe should receive a signal confirming that the orders have been
obeyed.Forexample,followingsequenceforstartinhalfastern:

Ensurefuelatzero.

Admitstartingairincorrectdirection.

Checkdirection.

Timedelaytoallowenginetoreachfiringspeed.

Admitfuel.

Timedelaytocutoffair.

Timedelayandcheckrevolutions

Adjustrevolution.

Lever travel time to full can be varied from stop to full between adjustable time
limitsofhalfminutetosixminutes.
References:
Marineengineersreview(India).
IRSpart4chapter2(1.10)[mainandauxiliarymachinery]
SOLASChapter2Regulations3&28.
Automation and control systems formarineengineersbyVikramGokhaleandN.
Nanda.
BasicmarineengineeringbyJ.K.Dhar.
Motorengineeringknowledgeformarineengineersvolume12,REEDseries.
QuestionandanswersbyLamb.
MarinedieselenginesbyPounders.
Sulzerdieselenginemanuals.
MANB&Wdieselenginesmanuals.
EngineerM.A.Hamid
13