K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and

Legislation

BEARINGS

Forces on bearing:

a) Fluctuating gas load.

b) Inertia force.
Gas pressure

INERTIA

PISTON
DIRECTION

POWER STROKE EXHAUST STROKE

(A) At TDC, piston rest momentarily.

No inertia force.

(B) Moves down on power stroke (accelerate) gas pressure overcome inertia.
Inertia acts upwards.

(C) Approaching BDC (deceleration) inertia acts downward.

(D) Beginning of exhaust stroke (acceleration).

Inertia acts downwards.

(E) End of exhaust stroke, piston approaching TDC (deceleration) inertia acts
upwards.

NOTE: Inertia forces α (Speed)2

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

BEARING PROPERTIES

1) Mechanical Strength

Too soft – Flatten under heavy load.

Too Hard - High frictional characteristics
Brittle and poor fatique resistance.

2) Softness and Melting point

Softness and modulus of elasticity low as possible but hard enough to withstand
heaviest continuous loading without plastic deformation.
Low melting point constituents will enable softer metal to melt and flow locally
and/or deform plastically.

3) Embeddability

Ability to absorb dirt, rust and foreign matter (in oil etc.). Hence avoiding damage
or scoring of journal. Whitematals and babbits are best.

4) Compatability/Conformability

Indication of antiweld or antiscore characteristics of bearing material with a given

bearing and journal combination under boundary lubrication conditions.
Softer alloys are beneficial.

5) Corrosion Resistance

Under high temperature conditions; decomposition product of lubricating oil

attack some metals used in bearing alloys (such as weak organic acids,
peroxides).

BEARING ALLOYS

White Metal ------ Tin (86%) + Antimony (8.5%) + Copper (5.5%)

Tin based white metal also known as “Babbit Metals”.

In some cases, small percentage of the following materials added:-

Lead – improve machinability, conformability.

Cadmium – raise tensile strength (1%) and compressive strength (40%).

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
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Properties of Tin Based white metal

Temperature 160C 750C 1000C

Brinell Hardness 31/32 19/20 14/15
Fatique Strength 34.8 MN/m2
Compressive Strength 65.63 MN/m2

The metal softens as temperature rises. Hence oil flow rate to be high to improve cooling.
Safe maximum working temperature 750C.
Tin base white metals are better than lead base white metals.
Copper base Alloys
Hard alloy which do not require steel or iron backings (high tensile and compressive
strength).
Can withstand high load, high temperature but poor embeddability, conformability.

Lead – bronze bearing

Solid solution of copper and tin, containing up to 50% lead.
Improved frictional characteristic but reduced mechanical strength.

Copper – lead bearing

Mixture of 25% lead in copper base.
Copper from matrix which carries the load while lead gives low melting point, low
frictional characteristics.
Mixture alone cannot support heavy loads, so steel shell (backing) is required. Here,
copper-lead is a mixture rather than true alloy. Lead used here is poorer in corrosion
resistance than tin base white metal or lead base white metal (these are true alloys). In
order to overcome this problem, overlay of bearing surface with white metal or lead tin or
lead indium alloy (0.018 mm to 0.076 mm thick). Hence it is called trimetal bearing.

Aluminium base alloy

Aluminium + small amount of silicon/cadmium (matrix)

Overlaying with lead tin.
Steel backing. Hence, trimetal bearing.

Composition: Aluminium 78%

Tin 20%
Copper 1%
Nickel 1%

Low melting point and low frictional constituents.

Aluminium tin alloys have similar fatique strength as Cu-Pb but have better
embeddability and conformability.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

OIL GROOVES

- Use of grooves in pressure areas of bearings to be avoided (oil will squeeze over
edge).
- If circumferential groove is used to convey oil to other bearing, the bearing length
is increased to compensate for groove.
- Longitudinal groove should not extend to the end of bearing to help establish
hydrodynamic lubrication.

PLAIN BEARING FEATURES

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

NOTE: Some of the features shown may not appear in one bearing.
THIN SHELL BEARINGS

- Widely used in crosshead.

- Ratio of wall thickness/bore of 1 : 25 or less.
- Takes final shape in housing.

Advantages

1. Uniform wall section – better control of casting process and thus better bonding
strength.
2. Reliable test on bonding quality by ultrasonic method.
3. High fatique strength due to reduced thickness and absence of keying grooves.
4. Can benefit from ‘Tri Metal’.
5. Shell could be completely pre-finished and interchangeable. No need to fit and
scrape.

BEARING HOUSING DESIGN

Affects load-carrying capacity bore should be smooth, diameter slightly less than
diameter corresponding to free peripheral length of bearing liners.

1. Bearing held in housing by interference fit or nip. Prevent relative movement and
increase heat transfer.
2. Cap holding down bolts should be as closely pitched as possible to keep distortion
of housing to minimum.
3. If insufficiently robust, bearing subject to strains ---- failure.

If too stiff, it will not yield to crankshaft deflections ---- severe edge loading on bearing.

MEASUREMENT OF CLEARANCE

1. Lead clearance – strips of lead wire between bearing and pin/journal.

2. Feeler gauge.
3. Dial gauge.
4. Inside and outside micrometer above methods, measure oil clearance.
The following methods measure bearing clearance.
5. Bridge gauge.
6. Measuring thickness by micrometer.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

BEARING FAILURES

1. Wiping.
2. Fatique.
3. Tin oxide corrosion.
4. Cavitation erosion.
5. Electrical potential.
6. Fretting.
7. Thermal ratcheting in white metal.

Wiping

- A slight transient phenomenon.

- Undetected until opened-up.
- In other cases, complete bearing failure.

Causes of wiping

1. Temporary lack of oil.

2. Very slow start-up.
3. Too small clearance.
4. Misalignment.
5. Fabricated bedplate cross girders.
6. Tin oxide corrosion.

Fatique

A form of crazy-cracking which penetrates the white metal and continues to, and parallel
with the white metal backing interface, allowing pieces of white metal to fall out.

Causes of fatique

1. Repeated high loading.

2. Poor bonding.

Tin oxide corrosion

- Tin phase of white metal forms tin oxide due to corrosion.

- Tin oxide is extremely hard, brittle and breaks off rapidly causing wear of
surfaces and oil film breakdown.

Causes of corrosion

Presence of water in lubricating oil. Water almost certainly contaminated with chlorides,
which promotes electro-chemical action.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

Wiping caused by Tin-Oxide Corrosion

In the past, it is probable that bearing loads and clearances can tolerate a thin layer of
oxide and bearing continued to work with a slight rise in temperature.
Now with high loads, when oxide layer becomes thick, bearing temperature may rise high
enough to melt underlying metal and failure occurs by wiping.

Cavitation erosion

- Unusual form of bearing failure but quite severe.

- Mainly on shell-type bearings fitted to high or medium speed engines and
bearings that are subjected to fluctuating loads, such as crankpin bearings.
- Usually complete areas of bearing metal missing.
- Cavities found around oil grooves or holes particularly in low pressure areas
- Air bubbles or gas in lubricating oil form cavities in oil film, unless escape with
oil through end of bearings.
- Bubbles or cavities collapse when subjected to fluctuating load set up very high
pressures locally and caused pitting or cavitation effect.
- Less effect with viscous oils as it dampens the implosion or collapsing of bubbles.

Electrical potential

- Occurs frequently in electrical machinery.

- Due to stray shaft currents.
- Uniformly, distributed pitting, pits being hemispherical, maximum at zone of
thinnest oil film.
- Prevention by insulating non-driving end bearing or both bearings.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

JOURNAL LUBRICATION

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

TOP END BEARING/CROSSHEAD BEARING/BIG END BEARING

Bearing problems;

1. High sudden load.

The load from the combustion is first taken by this bearing. That is to say that
most of the load is subjected to this bearing compared to other bearings.

2. High bearing pressure.

Due to less area to support the load.

3. Distortion of pin.
When under pressure the crosshead pin is deflected but the bearing housing not
following (due to construction), this will cause edge loading at the inner
part of the bearing.

4. Lubrication difficulty.
Cannot have hydrodynamic lubrication. To have good hydrodynamic lubrication
the coefficient of friction must have enough ZN/P. In this case revolution
(N) is slow and bearing pressure (P) is high, and viscosity = Z.

5. No load reversal (for 2 stroke engine).

In any strokes the crosshead pin is always on the bottom half of the bearing,
therefore no space for the lubricating oil.

Some design to overcome the problems;

1. Flexible bearing support;

- Use thin shell bearing.

- Bearing support is machined concave and use additional web.
- Or increase bearing support bore diameter. Inner side support thickness is
reduced.

2. Hydrostatic lubrication;

- Using booster pumps, i.e internal pump pressure to increase the lubricating
oil pressure to bearing during minimum load.

3. Large diameter, stiff pin;

- i.e D/L – increase, this cause increase in contact surface area, so reducing
the pressure area.
- Disadvantages – increase side leakage and less deflection & edge loading.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

4. Eccentric bored bearing (GMT Engine)

- When the eccentric pin in contact, main pin lifted and vice versa. When
either pins is lifted the oil is supplied at the pin and bearing
surfaces.

5. Large diameter pin smaller conrods to crank throw ratio (C.R/C.T) - smaller

- The bearing have to travel longer distance, so increase bearing loading

area.
- Circumferential speed increase ZN/P – better lubrication.

6. Hardened, mirror finished pin.

- Hardened material, avoid scratches and scoring of bearings.

- Mirror finished pins will increase pressure area.

7. Symmetrical pin block and identical bearing shell.

- For temporary repair, pin can be turned through 180 degree, i.e the bottom
part to the top and so the identical bearing shell can be
interchanged to the bottom and vice versa.

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

BEARING LUBRICATION SYSTEM (BOTTOM TO TOP)

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

DESIGN OF SUPPLYING LUBRICATING OIL FROM TOP

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

CONTINUOUS BOTTOM HALF BEARING SURFACE

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

FLEXIBLE BEARING SUPPORT

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

BEARINGS LUBRICATION THROUGH TELESCOPIC PIPES

AND BOOSTER PUMP

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

ECCENTRIC BORED BEARINGS

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 K5106 – Marine Engineering Practice and
Legislation

EFFECT OF SCRATCHES ON BEARINGS

_ Initially 50% of bearing area consume by scratches

_ End play further reduce contact area (see sketches above)
_ Remaining narrow ridges cannot carry load since oil film will escape
sideways into scratches and drain away
_ Frictional heating and wiping of white metal follows

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