COMPARISON OF SLOW , MEDIUM AND HIGH SPEED ENGINES

Slow Speed Engines :

Slow Speed engines are engines in the range of 50 – 300 rpm at rated power. These
are mostly two stroke, crosshead engines with between 4 to 12 cylinders in line and
turbocharged.
The stroke – bore ratio of low speed engines varies between 2.5:1 to 4.2:1. These
engines are called Super long stroke engines, and are well suited to operate on low
quality fuels and have proven to be economically advantageous.

These engines are more fuel efficient and lub oil consumption is less when
compared to medium and high speed engines, though the initial cost is
considerably higher.
Low speed engines are generally intended for direct drive, hence connected to the
propeller directly.

Medium and High Speed Engines :

Medium Speed engines are in the range of 300 – 800 rpm whereas high speed
engines are above 800 rpm, though there are no clear physical features that enable
the distinction to be made. These are usually four stroke, trunk piston engines
which have up to 10 cylinders inline or up to 18-24 cylinders in V configuration,
and mostly turbocharged.

Stroke to bore ratios are not very high, normally up to 1.5:1, because of the forces
created by high speeds. These engines are lighter, more compact, and lower in
acquisition cost than slow speed engines.
These engines have advantage of high power to weight ratio and used extensively
in passenger / cruise ships due to less head room required.

Though medium speed engines have proved capable of running on fuels of poor
quality, high speed engines are normally restricted to distillate fuels.
The maintenance required on these engines is more and these are more noisy as
compared to slow speed engines.

Medium and high speed engines, because of their higher rpm, drive propellers
through speed reduction gears.
 2 STROKE AND 4 STROKE ENGINES

TWO STROKE ENGINES :

Advantages :

* Able to develop much higher Power at lower rotational speed.

* Cheaper quality fuels can be used
* Slow speed so less wear and tear of moving parts
* Turning movement is more uniform, lighter flywheel can be used.
* Cost of lubricants is less.
* Crosshead bearings capable of sustaining high loads.
* High stroke bore ratio of about 4.2:1

Disadvantages :

* Requires more space due to super long strokes.

* Expensive

FOUR STROKE ENGINES :

Advantages

* High Power to weight ratio.

* Requires less head room
* Working parts are fewer and less costly.

Disadvantages :

* Gudgeon pin Bearing assembly not suited for higher loads

* Cost of lubricant is more
* Medium speed or high speed, more wear and tear of moving parts.
* Power developed is less.
* Due to 1 power stroke is every 2 revolutions the turning movement is not
so uniform. Heavier flywheel is required.
* Difficulty in burning cheaper quality fuels.
* Maintenance required is more
The different aspects that need to be taken into consideration when
choosing a main engine for a ship :

The criteria for selecting a main engine may change from ship to ship and also
according to the requirements. The emphasis on each criterion will also differ. But
there are few general aspects that remain same for almost all types of ships.

The criteria includes: required horse power, weight, space, capital cost, running
costs, requirement for electrical power and heat, reliability and maintainability,
maneuvering ability, ease of installation , vibration , noise and availability.

It is necessary to take into account the hull design as well because of the forces of
vibration and weight of the engine would have to be borne by the hull, hence ship
hull design is equally important to be taken into consideration.

Key factors influencing the choice of engine are:

 Capability to burn heavy fuel of poor quality without detrimental impact on

the engine components and hence maintenance / spares cost.
 The maintenance workload: the number of cylinders, valves, liners, rings,
and bearings requiring periodic attention in relation to the number of crew
carried.
 Suitability for unattended operation by exploiting automated controls and
monitoring systems.
 Propulsive efficiency: the ability of the engine or propeller shaft to be turned
at a low enough speed to drive the largest diameter propeller (and hence
most efficient propeller).
 Size and weight of the propulsion machinery.
 Cost of the engine.
  Power
The requirement of horsepower depends of quite a number of factors. It depends
on size and type of propellers used. It also depends on the number of revolutions a
propeller makes and fuel weight capacity.
Apart from all these factors, the overall power required by the ship is the
fundamental requirement.

 Weight
This is not considered an important point while choosing the main engine for most
of the ships. This criterion is taken into account only in smaller ships such as
ferries where the requirement of speed is more.
In making of such designs the power/weight ratio is of utmost importance.

 Space
Space and weight almost holds equal importance when considering the criteria for
main engine. But if a choice has to be made in between weight and space then
weight of the machinery is taken into consideration even if it occupies a larger
space.

 Cost
The cost of main engine is always of prime importance. While calculating the cost
of engine, the installation costs of the engine are also taken into consideration. It
will also include additional costs of gearing and pumps that needs to be set up.

 Running costs
The cost is an important factor in determining the main engine. The fuel cost is an
integral part of these costs.
There are two ways to reduce these costs. One is by choosing machinery that is
fuel efficient and uses less fuel oil or choosing machinery that uses cheap and
lower grade of oil but doesn’t compromise on the power and load output.
The running costs will also include the cost of lubricating oils, spares, maintenance
and the cost of manning.

 Reliability and maintainability

Breakdowns and emergency situations are a part of ship operations and efforts
should be made to see that costs incurred due to them are as low as possible.
The advantage of using a slow speed engine is that as it will have few cylinders the
maintenance cost arising will be comparatively low.

 Maneuvering ability
The maneuvering ability of the ship is an important factor while choosing a main
engine. The amount of power required and the frequency of running in confined
water will affect the type of machinery required. If the ship is running at slow
speed for more time then accordingly an engine needs to be chosen.

 Ease of installation
The ease of installation depends upon the size of the ship. If the size of the ship is
small and the machinery is bulky there arises a difficulty to install it.

 Vibrations
Any vibration force that arises from the main engine should be properly assessed.
Its intensity should be measured and its acceptability with the tolerance level of the
ship should be checked. Main engine should also be chosen on the basis of the type
of the ship. For example if the ship is a passenger ship then the allowance of
vibrations would be very less. Thus special care should be taken that the vibrations
thus generated should not affect the personnel and equipment’s on ship.

 Noise
All the main engines produce high levels of noise. Keeping this thing in mind it is
necessary that the engine is enclosed in an acoustic enclosure (to absorb and
control sound). Thus it is imperative to choose and install the main engine in such
a way that the noise levels doesn’t create unwanted vibrations and doesn’t affect
ship’s passengers.

 Availability
The choice of machinery should be made in such a way that in case any part of the
machinery breaks down or needs to be replaced, spares are available for the same,
easily at all places.