MED403 Operations of Main and Aux.

Machinery II - Online Supportive Subject III

16.10.2020

Engine Bearing inspections:

The ship’s main engine comprises of several bearings, which assist the moving parts such as crankshaft,
connecting rod, crosshead etc. The bearings supports the journal pin to avoid metal to metal contact, to reduce
the rotational friction, and to transfer the load through lubricants.

Main engine bearings are opened up for inspection or renewal if their is a breakdown in the rotating equipment,
grounding/accident of the ship, or for routine maintenance and survey.

Prior to Opening Bearing for Repair/ Survey:

– Ensure to check the previous bearing opening/ survey report

– Check details of the records and clearances
– Check all bearing related service letters from the manufacturer
– Check shore lube oil analysis record
– Perform onboard lube oil test and note down the results
– Check work done report or log book for any important points on the bearings (grinding or pin/ under or oversize
bearing etc.)
– Check all the photographs of the last opened bearing
– Perform tool box and risk assessment of the job
– Take immobilization permission from port authority

During Bearing Repair/ Survey

– Ensure crankcase is properly ventilated and proper personal protective equipment (PPE’s) like helmet and
safety harness are worn by those working
– Check and record clearance of the bearing
– Check the condition of bearing metal
– Check for signs of squeezing, scoring, cracking, pitting etc.
– Check the surface shine of the pin – it should be shiny in appearance
– If scoring, pitting, cracks etc. exist in the pin, same to be polished, grinded, or reconditioned
– Replacement of bearings to be be done as per maker’s instruction. For e.g. if overlay alloy is wiped out or oil
wedge in the bearing is reduced in dimension etc.
– The pin and the bearing to be thoroughly cleaned and lube oil to be put before fitting
– Take enough photographs while doing the maintenance or survey

After Repair/Survey:
– Ensure the bearing and other parts are secured as per manual instructions
– The tightening value of the hydraulic bolts to be crosschecked and it is to be done in the presence of senior
engineer officer
– Engine to be turned by turning gear for at least 10 minutes with lube oil pump on and oil pressure recorded
– The turning gear current to be observed during this process
– Once the engine is closed and ready, running-in to be performed as per makers instructions
– Record all the parameters
– Prepare the maintenance/ survey report
– File the report in ship’s record and send the complete work with photo proof to the office. This can be used as a
reference during continuous machinery survey and the concerned bearing need not to be opened.
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Engine Bearings:

The rotational power of a ship’s propeller is determined by the power produced by the marine engine to rotate the
crankshaft.

The crankshaft of the main engine is supported and connected to the connecting rod via main bearings whose
main function is to transmit the load without any metal-to-metal contact.

This is achieved by choosing special materials for manufacturing main bearings, which floats the journal pin of the
rotating crankshaft when lube oil is supplied to it.

Properties of main bearing materials:

 It must be anti-friction type

 It must be of anti-corrosive type
 Good running in and grinding in ability
 Good load carrying capacity
 Good embeddability property
 Must support the oil film
 Good tensile and compressive strength
 Must not react with the lube oil
 It must have thermal resistant property to avoid any damage in case it’s running hot

Types of Bearings

Three famous types of main bearings used for propulsion 2 stroke engines are as follows:

Lead Bronze Bearing: These bearings consist of the following layers

 Flash layer: It is the top most layer with thickness of 0.035mm and made up of tin and lead. It is used to
protect the bearing from corrosion and dust when not in use. This layer flashes off when bearing is under running-
in.
 Nickel Barrier: It is the second layer made up of nickel with thickness of 0.02mm. Its main function is to
prevent corrosion and avoid diffusion of tin into bearing metal.
 Lead Bronze: The third layer composed of lead bronze has excellent anti seizing property and is the
principle component, which acts as the bearing.
 Steel back: Steel back is the last and backing part of the bearing used for shape and support, over which
all the layers are bonded together.
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Bi-metal Bearing: This bearing consists of following layers

 Aluminium Tin: The first layer of bimetal consists of Al and Sn with thickness of 0.5 to 1.3 mm. It is the
main layer of this type of bearings.
 Bonding Layer: The bonding layer is made of aluminum and has 0.1mm thickness. The main function of
the bonding layer is to obtain a good bond between the shell and the top layer.
 Steel Back: The steel back part is used for shape and support.

Tri Metal Bearing:

These bearings are called tri metal bearing because they consist of three main layers (excluding flash layer as it
flashes off) and a steel back. It consists of:

Flash Layer: It is the top most layer with thickness of 1 micron and is made up of tin and lead. It is used to protect
the bearing from corrosion and dust when not in use. This layer flashes off when bearing is in runningin period.
Overlay: The second layer is made up of white metal, (Tin Antimony Copper) which is the main component in this
type of bearing. Its thickness is 20 microns.
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Interlay: It is the third layer used as anti corrosive layer for overlay. It is of 5 microns thickness.
Lining: It is the lining layer between interlay and steel back with thickness of 1 mm and is made up of lead and
bronze.
Steel Back: The backing part used for shape and support.

Measuring Main Bearing Clearance:

A marine engine comprises of several types of bearings, which support the rotating and reciprocating crankshaft,
camshaft, and crosshead of the engine.

It is extremely important to maintain good quality and quantity of lubricating oil to all these bearings in order to
avoid breakdown of the engine.

The main bearing of a marine engine supports the long running crankshaft throughout the engine length. This
makes it imperative to check the condition of the bearing at regular intervals of time.

The clearance measurement of the main bearing determines the amount of wear down, which the bearing has
been subjected to. There are various types of methods adopted by different marine engine manufacturers to
measure the clearances of the main bearing of marine engine. Following are some of the most prominent
methods used onboard ships to measure the clearance of main bearing:

1) Bridge with Depth Gauge

This method is used in SULZER 2 stroke marine engines where the bearing‘s shell is removed along with the
keep (the bearing shell is lined with the keep). After that a bridge is fitted over the top of the journal pin, from port
to starboard, making a bridge over the crankshaft with two ends supported on the cross girder.
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A simple vernier type depth gauge is then inserted in the hole provided on the bridge and the scale of depth
gauge is rested on the crankshaft pin. The total depth on the scale is measured and compared with the previous
reading and the reading in the manual for calculating the wear down of the bearing.

In old model SULZER engines, a collar is provided in the bearing shell along with a small hole. Thus, without
removing the keep, the bridge is fitted adjacent to the keep and the depth gauge is used from the hole provided in
the shell to measure the shell wear down.

2) Bridge With Feeler Gauge: In some engines, after removing the shell and the keep, the bridge is installed as
explained in the above point.

Also, in place of depth gauge, a feeler gauge is used to measure the clearance between the journal pin top and
the bridge bottom.

The bridge used here is different in terms of height and the gap between pin and the bridge is very less compared
to that of the bridge used in the earlier method.

3) Telescopic or Swedish Feeler Gauge

In engines like MAN B&W, this is the most common method used to measure the bearing clearance of the top
shell. In this method there is no need to remove any connection or bearing keep for measuring the clearance.

The telescopic gauge is inserted between the gap of the crank web and the bearing keep.

When the tip reaches the shell top, the feeler is inserted between the shell and the pin to check the clearance

4) Dial type Depth Gauge: This method is used in new MAN B&W engines (SMCC), which does not require the
top keep to be removed.

The lube oil pipe connection screw hole is in the bearing keep, which can be accessed from the hole on the
bearing shell.
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The dial gauge is inserted in this screw hole and the reading is taken as the clearance for upper shell.

CROSSHEAD BEARING IN DIFFERENT ENGINES

The crosshead bearing design in latest engines depends on the pressure of the lube oil supplied to them.

In MAN engine, the crosshead lube oil pressure is same as that of main lube oil system. This is due to the design
of the lower shell of the crosshead bearing which has machined wedges to hold oil in them and to support the
hydrodynamic lubrication of crosshead pin.

The top shell consists of a cut out part where the piston palm passes and connected to the crosshead pin.

In MAN engine, the lube oil is supplied to the crosshead from telescopic pipe, which is attached to the crosshead
face.

IN SULZER engine, the old type model comprises of forked crosshead i.e. the piston rod passes right through the
crosshead and is secured underneath with means of piston nut. The crosshead bearing has machined grooves to
support oil and lubrication.

In latest SULZER engine, only the lower shell is present which is continuous in nature and the upper bearing
housing is lined with white metal.

The oil pressure for crosshead is maintained at 10-12 bar by means of separate crosshead booster pump, which
increases the main lube oil pressure.

Material

In MAN engine, the lower shell with grooves is made from SnAL40 and the upper shell is of white metal.
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While in SULZER, the bearing shell is thin walled made of

white metal for high load bearing capacity.

Clearance

The top clearance between the journal and the new bearing
shell is a result of a summation of the production tolerances
of the bearing assemblies. Following points to be
considered while taking the clearance of crosshead
bearing.

Stop lube oil pump and allow crankcase to cool down

Open the crankcase door at the relevant cylinder
Ensure the crankcase is properly ventilated
Turn the crankshaft so that the web is 90 deg. before BDC
towards the exhaust side
Measure the clearance in crosshead bearings through the
inspection hole of the thrust piece by inserting a feeler
gauge at top of upper bearing shell
When checking the clearance, the discrepancy between the
actual and measured values is noted and if it exceeds 0.1
mm, crosshead bearing must be inspected.

Crosshead bearing of MAN engine should be replaced when the groove width ‘X’, channeled in the surface is
reduced by half.

CRANK PIN BEARING

The crank pin bearings are attached at the bottom end part of the connecting rod on the crankshaft crank. It helps
the connecting rod to transfer the reciprocating motion to rotary motion in a smooth manner.

Oil to lubricate the crankpin bearing is supplied through a hole drilled in the conrod from the crosshead.

Material:

Both the shells of crank pin bearing are made up of tin based white metal.

Clearance:

The bottom clearance between the journal and the new bearing shell is a result of a summation of the production
tolerances of the bearing assemblies.

Following points to be considered while taking the clearance of crankpin bearing.

Open the crankcase doors of main engine

Ensure crankcase is properly ventilated before entry
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Turn the concerned crank to BDC

Measure the clearance in the crankpin bearing by inserting a feeler gauge at the bottom of the bearing shell on
both sides
When checking the clearance, the discrepancy between the actual and measured value is noted and if it exceeds
0.1 mm, crosshead bearing must be inspected
The wear limit for the crankpin bearing shells is based on an evaluation of the bearing condition at the time of
inspection. An average wear rate of 0.01 mm per 10,000 hours is regarded as normal
In modern shell bearings, the clearance is manufactured into the shells. When the clearance has reached a
maximum value as laid down in the instruction manual, the bearing has to be changed.

Thick wall shell bearings fitted in some engines have the clearance adjusted by fitting shims between the bearing
halves. The shims are of equal thickness on both sides of the bearing housing.

Crank pin measurement:

Heavy loading of engine may lead to wear down of main bearing or deformation of crank pin of the crankshaft.
The crank pin ovality may result in increase in the bearing clearance, hence lube oil may not be retained and
which can cause bearing wipe out.

Crank pin measurement is done by outside micrometer at three different positions along the length of the pin. The
measurement is taken at Port-Starboard and Top-Bottom positions. Handle the micrometer carefully to avoid
scratching the pin while taking measurement.

THRUST BEARING
When the crank throw is loaded by the gas pressure through the connecting rod mechanism, the arms of the
crank throw deflect in the axial direction of the crankshaft, generating axial vibrations.

These vibrations may be transferred to the ship’s hull through the thrust bearing. The thrust bearing is
incorporated in the aft end of the bedplate as differential expansion of the shaft and hull is minimum at the aft due
to fuel heating in tanks.
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The aft-most cross girder is therefore designed with ample stiffness to transmit the variable thrust from the thrust
collar to the engine seating.

It is advised to align the thrust bearing when main bearing alignment is carried out to achieve accuracy.

Material

Michell type pads bearing arrangement consists of a steel forged thrust shaft, a bearing support, and segments of
cast iron with white metal.

The thrust shaft is connected to the crankshaft and the intermediate shaft with fitted bolts.

The thrust shaft has a collar for transfer of the ‘thrust’ through the segments to the bedplate.

Lubrication of the thrust bearing takes place from the system oil of the engine. At the bottom of the bearing there
is an oil sump with an outlet to the oil pan.

Clearance

The clearance in the thrust bearing is measured during test bed trials of the engine.

For a new engine the clearance is 0.5-1.0 mm, and for an engine in service it must not exceed 2.0 mm.

Dismount the foremost segment stopper On top of the thrust segment, a wear groove of 1mm is provided (a
segment with thermometer). To measure the wear, push the thrust pad with crowbar against thrust cam to
eliminate any gap at the back

While Inserting feeler gauge in the groove, if 0.1 mm is not able to enter, it indicates wear is more then 0.9 mm
and the bearings need to be overhauled.

If the white metal is found scored, fine scrapping can be done to wipe off the scoring marks. The liner shims can
be inserted at the back of the thrust shoes to make the clearance of all thrust pads equal. This avoids uneven
loading of pads
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References used:
http://mirmarine.net/
Marine insight

Additional supportive materials:

Main engine bearing inspections video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfn25TYxuc8
Crosshead bearing inspection : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3YSSmIIOiY
Small engine crankshaft inspection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkyVhE7Ww0M

SURPRISE!!!
Extra video for “Expert Engineer Candidates” 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAUMLVB4C2o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rttWSm4-vDw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOR4Rsv3uHs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgXf6ldoh9I