Slow-Speed Two-Stroke Engines

Nikolaos P. Kyrtatos
National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Unlike medium speed engines without crosshead, where

1 Introduction 1 the same lubricant oil has to be used for the lubrication of the
2 General Description 1 whole engine, which inevitably leads to some compromise as
3 Ship Propulsion with Direct Drive Engines 3 to its properties, the slow-speed engine with a crosshead has
a clear separation between the crankcase and the cylinders.
4 Design of Large Two-Stroke Marine Engines 4
Therefore, recirculating clean system oil can be used for
5 The Licensee Concept in Large Engine lubricating the bearings, and a separate consumable cylinder
Building 5 luboil is used for piston rings–liner lubrication, but also
6 Developments in Marine Diesel Engines 6 importantly to deal with the acidic residues of combustion.
7 Pollutants Emissions 8 Special alkaline oils can be used in this case, injected by
8 Engine Monitoring and Performance cylinder lubricant quills in precise quantities, distributed in
Assessment 9 each cylinder and even in different positions inside the liner.
9 Conclusion 10 The slow-speed engine has fewer cylinders and conse-
Glossary 10 quently fewer moving parts, which means in principle higher
overall reliability. Components, individually, are heavier but
Further Reading 10
their handling can be performed as easily with special tools
and lifting devices. In addition, any maintenance work is
facilitated by more space available inside the engine and
usually also in the engine room. Maintenance costs often
1 INTRODUCTION prove to be less than those of medium speed engines. The
noise level is much lower than that of medium speed engines.
The requirements for propulsion of merchant ships are The disadvantages of slow-speed engines, such as the
generally satisfied with a simple slow-speed diesel engine larger footprint and higher space requirements, the more
installation, meeting the speed and power demands, directly weight, and higher initial price, become less important when
connected to the propeller without gearboxes and clutches. considering the entire propulsion plant and not just the
The slow-speed engine is, because of size, the most efficient isolated engine.
thermal machine. These slow-speed engines are able to burn
heavy fuel easier than a medium speed engine, because they
have more time and space available for combustion. Heavy 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION
fuel is a residual from the crude oil refining process and there-
fore much cheaper than the refined products. All modern slow-speed engines share some common char-
acteristics: they are two stroke, have a crosshead, are
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
turbocharged, and uniflow scavenged.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. As the engine size increases, the relative advantage of the
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition)
two-stroke cycle over the four-stroke cycle in specific power
ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2 becomes more pronounced, surpassing any disadvantages.
2 Marine
With larger engine sizes, the sideways forces produced by the
crank mechanism, to be passed on to the engine body, would
require a sturdier piston skirt as well as heavy supports for the
relatively thin cylinder liners. The design that was adopted
had been used in the double-acting steam engine, where
a gland sealed the piston rod connecting the reciprocating
piston to the top of the connecting rod, to allow steam also
to the piston underside. The sideways forces are taken by
the crosshead, having slippers sliding on guides, which are
in turn mounted on the engine body. This arrangement also
allows for easy piston removal during maintenance.
An important issue with these large engines is the rigidity
of the engine frame. This was not important for old steam
engines, since their thin crankshafts were quite flexible and
could easily absorb the deformations of the ship. However,
modern large diesel engines have thick crankshafts to with-
stand the large forces of combustion and the higher specific
powers. The crankshafts are so rigid that the deformations
of the hull would produce excessive reactions at the main
bearings and high stresses in the shafts and couplings. So
the machine frame must also be made quite rigid to protect
the crankshaft from unacceptable distortion. The hull is also
reinforced under the engine and supports the engine frame.
This reinforcement is continued for some distance beyond
the length of the engine, so as not to cause a discontinuity at
the aft end of the engine, which would affect the propeller
shaft.
In the development of large two-stroke engines, several
design problems had to be resolved. The large size does
not present a particular difficulty in itself, as the stresses,
due to mechanical and inertial loads in geometrically similar
engines of different sizes, remain in accordance with the laws
of similarity. The most important exceptions are the thermal
stresses. These increase with size, and specific design solu-
tions had to be used to develop components strong enough
to receive mechanical loads—which sometimes amount to
hundreds of tons—and at the same time to keep the thermal
stresses low. Such designs involved bore cooling of thick
components and strong-back flame plate arrangements.
The operation of these large engines in two strokes creates
problems in the crosshead/connecting rod top end bearing,
which is always loaded in one direction downward without
a period to refresh the film of lubricant, as in four-stroke
engines. The lubrication of piston rings is also more difficult
due to absence of the two extra strokes to refresh the oil
film, before it is necessary to seal the combustion gases.
In addition, the presence of ports in the liner interrupts the
smooth running of piston rings on the liner surface.
The engines are so large that they have to be assem-
bled piecewise in three major parts, namely the bedplate,
the A-frames (columns), and the cylinder block (entabla-
ture). The engine bedplate is the foundation on which the
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
other components of the engine are built. It consists of a
welded plate structure with cast transverse bearing girder
members. The A-frames carry the crosshead guide rails. The
entablature (the cylinder block) is from gray cast iron made
as a single part or split in individual cylinder blocks. It rests
on the A-frames, embodies the cooling water passages, and
forms the housing to receive the cylinder liners. It may also
incorporate the scavenge air receiver. To fasten the bedplate,
the frames, and the entablature firmly together, long tie rods
are hydraulically tightened through these three components.
The crankshafts on the large two-stroke crosshead engines
are too large and heavy to make as a single unit and so are
built up vertically by joining together forged parts (crank
throws) usually by shrink fit or deep welding, then machining
on very large horizontal lathes.
The connecting rod connects the crankshaft to the piston
assembly and is forged out of a round bar and machined. The
crosshead has four cast guide shoes with white metal lining to
transmit the sideways forces to the engine structure through
the guide rails.
The cylinder liner forms the cylinder in which the piston
works. The liner is manufactured separately from the
cylinder block. If they were cast together as one piece, then
it would be difficult to mitigate the thermal stresses. The
liner is made of gray cast iron, containing flake graphite, a
lubricant, and alloy metals to resist corrosion and wear at
high temperatures. The liner surface is usually honed in order
to improve the tribological behavior. Appropriate cooling of
the liner is important to restrain wear. The cylinder liner will
inevitably wear with use and may have to be replaced.
The piston comprises two parts: the crown and the skirt.
The crown is made of high alloy steel providing strength
and corrosion resistance at high temperatures. The crown is
subject to the high combustion temperatures, and its surface
may be eroded or burnt away. The piston has a high topland
with the ring grooves placed lower down in the crown to
reduce the combustion load on the rings. A package of three
to five piston rings prevent excessive blow-by of combustion
gases to the piston underside. Special coatings on the piston
ring surface reduce friction and prolong the lifetime of the
rings. The cast iron skirt acts as a guide within the cylinder
liner. A forged steel piston rod bolted to the underside of
the piston connects it to the crosshead. A piston rod gland
box separates the scraped down cylinder oil, which is under
scavenge space pressure from the system lube oil in the
crankcase.
The pistons are cooled using either water or oil. In some
arrangements, to enhance cooling, the oil is sprayed with
high pressure jets to the underside of the crown. Water has
a better heat absorption capacity, but there are more risks if
there is leakage into the crankcase.

Modern two-stroke crosshead engines have a single
hydraulically operated exhaust valve with an air spring.
The water-cooled valve cage is housed in the cylinder
cover, which is made of forged steel. The cylinder cover
is fastened to the cylinder block by a number of bolts that
are hydraulically tightened. The fuel injection nozzles and
starting valves are also housed in the cylinder cover.
The turbocharger(s) may be arranged laterally or a single
one at the driving end of the engine. Downstream of the
water-cooled scavenge air cooler, there is a water separator
to prevent condensed water carryover into the engine.
In the 1950s, turbocharging helped the diesel engine to win
the battle against the steam turbine, which then dominated
the region of high engine powers. Turbocharging not only
allowed increases in power but also improved fuel consump-
tion considerably. Air supercharging is obtained through
an independent turbocharger comprising a centrifugal
compressor and turbine on the same shaft, which works on
an open cycle gas turbine principle, where the cylinders can
be regarded as the combustion chamber. Such a cycle is
self-sustaining only if the temperature difference between
the compressor and the turbine is high enough not only to
overcome the losses of the cycle but also to provide the
required boost pressure for scavenging of the cylinders.
This easily occurs at high loads with modern turbines and
compressors of high efficiency. The turbine is connected
downstream of an exhaust receiver common for several
cylinders, the so-called constant pressure turbocharging
system. In the past, the more complex impulse system was
used to offset the then lower efficiency of the turbochargers.
In that arrangement, the energy of the gas pulse from the
opening exhaust valve was retained and transmitted via
narrow piping to the turbine, but this more complex arrange-
ment is no longer necessary. During low-load operation,
during startup and maneuvering, the exhaust gas temper-
ature is very low, especially in two-stroke engines where
scavenge air mixing with exhausting gases reduces further
the exhaust gas temperature upstream of the turbine. In
four-stroke engines, the two additional strokes render the
engine capable of breathing on its own, but with large
two-stroke engines, the torque produced by the turbine at
low loads usually cannot provide the necessary compressor
boost pressure for scavenging. This must then be accom-
plished by some other means, for example, by an electrically
driven scavenge blower in series with the turbocharger, or
with electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic power take-in driving
the rotor of the compressor when needed.
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
Slow-Speed Two-Stroke Engines 3
3 SHIP PROPULSION WITH DIRECT
DRIVE ENGINES
Moving of a ship’s hull through water at a certain speed
requires thrust usually provided by a pushing propeller. The
thrust required depends on the shape of the hull and the
wetted area, which affects the frictional resistance. The hull
shape displaces water, which forms waves moving out of
the way, and this wavemaking consumes part of the thrust
input. Both frictional resistance and wavemaking resistance
increase with increased speed through water. The ships’
superstructure also faces air resistance increasing with speed.
If the ship is loaded with more cargo, then the draft increases
and the wetted area of the hull increases, resulting in both
frictional and wavemaking resistance increases. Changes in
the trim (attitude) of the hull also influence the resistance.
If the ship has to face waves in a seaway, the thrust needed
to retain the set speed will increase. Over time, the surface
conditions of the submerged part of the hull change from
accumulation and growth of microorganisms, animals, and
plants and this hull biofouling increases frictional resistance.
For the propeller to produce thrust it must be rotated at a
certain speed. Within the bounds of draft necessary to keep
the propeller submerged, the largest propeller rotating at the
lowest speed will deliver the required thrust most efficiently.
Occasionally, the choice of propeller diameter is limited
by the need to keep the propeller submerged also in the
ballast condition. This is more important for tankers and bulk
carriers, but less critical for containerships, which seldom
sail in ballast condition. The propulsion engine must provide
the required torque to the propeller shaft at this required
rotational speed, therefore the engine must be able to deliver
the respective power (being the product of torque and speed).
A new ship will be ordered on the basis of size, cargo type,
and ship speed through water (at the design point, that is, at
certain conditions of loading and outside environment).
The two-stroke engine designer needs to get both power
and speed right independently, because the engine is directly
coupled to shaft driving the propeller. Since every ship has a
potentially different design point, the engine makers in their
portfolio offer engines that can be individually set up, tuned,
and optimized at any specific power/speed point anywhere
within the bounds of a so-called layout field of the engine
family. This specific point for any individual engine is called
contract maximum continuous rating (power) point. The cost
of the engine is directly related to the contract power.
Running the engine continuously at the contract maximum
continuous rating (CMCR) point is possible, but it would
probably mean that the maintenance costs would be too high.
Normally, the engine would be run during service at some
lower power, where the torque delivered would be adequate
for the propeller to produce adequate thrust to move the
4 Marine
hull at the specified speed through water. This power margin
between installed (CMCR) power paid for, but normally not
used and continuous service power, is some kind of insurance
that if conditions get worse, the ship can still fulfill its speed
through water requirements.
Such conditions are, for example, increased thrust, and
hence power requirements from increased resistance over
time due to hull fouling, from heavy weather encountered
in a sea passage, from engine performance deterioration due
to aging, or the need for higher speed to catch up with delays.
As mentioned, for constant ship speed and for a given
propeller type, a larger slower spinning propeller gives
improved propulsive efficiency. This trend has led to engine
designs to accommodate the requirements for power at lower
engine rotational speeds.
Considering the crank-piston mechanism and assuming
that the mean velocity of the piston in the cylinder during
the stroke remains unchanged, because of piston ring friction
and lubrication issues, then to obtain a lower crankshaft rota-
tional speed leads to longer piston stroke. The longer expan-
sion stroke may also provide some efficiency benefits. If the
bore stays unchanged, then the long stroke results in oblong
cylinders. In two-stroke engines such long stroke geome-
tries present difficulties for cylinder scavenging through inlet
and exhaust ports at the bottom of the liner, since the top
part of the combustion space will be left unscavenged. The
arrangement followed by all modern slow-speed two-stroke
engines is the uniflow scavenging pattern, with inlet ports at
the bottom of the cylinder and a single exhaust valve at the
top, which inevitably complicates the design.
In the modern electronically controlled engines the timing
of this hydraulically actuated valve can be independently
adjusted at various engine-operating conditions. In electronic
engines also the fuel injection timing, rate, and quantity can
be controlled. Usually, more than one fuel injection valves
are housed in each cylinder cover and, on some engine
types, each can be independently controlled, allowing more
flexibility in engine optimization at all operating conditions.
These large engines are started using timed injection of
compressed air directly into the cylinders and the starting air
valve can also be electronically controlled.
All large direct coupled marine engines are reversible and
can turn the propeller also in the opposite direction to reverse
the ship. The electronic control of the hydraulic actuation
of valves is much simpler than the mechanical shifting of
camshafts, required to change the timing of cylinder events,
as needed for reversing.
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
4 DESIGN OF LARGE TWO-STROKE
MARINE ENGINES
The development of ship sizes and the expected ship design
speed as foreseen by the engine makers’ market intelligence
define the engine power and engine speed envelope in the
initial phase of a new engine design. An additional forcing
term is the target engine footprint geometry, which for large
two-stroke engines is limited by the maximum bedplate
width, defined by the positioning of the engine in the aft part
of the hull, where the hull lines will inevitably be finer for
improved hull performance.
The MEP (mean effective pressure) level is the next deci-
sion point based on past experience and avoiding big jumps
that may have reliability implications. The lowest speed
for constant MEP defines the size of components such as
crosshead bearing, piston rod, and bottom end bearing, since
the forces remain the same for lower rotational speed and this
affects the oil film thickness. The highest speed on the other
hand affects the main bearing size because of the rotating
masses.
MEP and maximum cylinder pressure influence the
long-term condition of the cylinder, the piston ring pack and
the thermomechanical loading of the piston, the liner, the
cylinder cover, and the exhaust valve.
The cylinder distance in long-stroke crosshead engines is
defined by the drive train components (unlike four-stroke
engines where this distance is defined by the piston width).
Cylinder distance is thus defined by the main bearing width
plus two times half bottom end bearing width. Two-stroke
engines are only built as inline engines, mainly due to their
high stroke-to-bore ratios. A V-engine arrangement for a
large two-stroke engine would add higher complexity to the
engine structure and to engine maintenance, in particular
with regard to piston overhaul, and has therefore never been
realized. The cylinder number affects the dynamic torque on
the shrink fit of the main bearing journal to the web of a built
crankshaft.
• 4–5 cylinders require a big flywheel and may have
limited space for adequate scavenge receiver volume
• 6–7 cylinders have good vibration qualities
• 8 cylinders have simple firing orders
• 9–10 cylinders have some complexity in firing order with
respect to torsional vibration, 11 cylinders is worse
• 12 cylinders have good vibration qualities
• 13 cylinders nobody will buy due to superstition
• 14 cylinders total length may be a problem and only a
few engines have ever been built
In general, the number of cylinders chosen is 5–8, based
on operator preferences in overhaul and maintenance, with

some countermeasures for dynamic effects due to hull engine
vibration considerations.
The piston speed affects the piston ring package perfor-
mance and the cylinder lubrication system design. Increases
in mean piston speed are very moderate. The piston bore size
reflects the power per cylinder. The increases in piston stroke
aiming for improved expansion are tempered by limitations
in engine width, to accommodate the larger crank web radius
of rotation. Longer stroke will lead to higher friction losses
from the piston rings, but lower friction in the bearings.
The accuracy of the cylinder lubrication system in
achieving piston ring pack injection and the proper spread
and luboil distribution on the liner is important. Liner
protection is a major issue and the derating potential of an
engine, that is the optimizing of a large powerful engine
for running continuity at lower power, is limited by cold
corrosion, which may affect a colder running engine. Adap-
tive reduced cooling at lower loads for derated engines is
put forward to avoid cold spots. Piston cooling is often
provided by combination of oil jets and splash cocktail
shaker arrangements.
The combustion space is best served by two or three periph-
eral injectors that, however, affect the layout and packaging
of the cylinder cover. The multihole injectors, with a different
size and direction of each spray hole, provide plenty of
opportunity for optimization of timing sequence and spatial
distribution of injection. Slide valves with minimum sac
volume are becoming standard. The fuel injection compo-
nents appear to follow the high volume production trend used
in the four-stroke engines.
The materials used in engine components rely strong
on legacy and past experience. Since large engines are
almost exclusively manufactured under license, the designer
provides detailed weld seam quality instructions for the
bedplate and the A-frames. The steel exhaust valves usually
have welded seats. For the future, hot isostatic pressing (HIP)
manufacturing using powder metallurgy for valves has been
considered.
The white metal bearings traditionally used in large
engines with excellent embeddability characteristics for
foreign matter have some limitations in loading capacity.
The adoption of aluminum-based plain bearings with
increased loading capability in slow-speed engines will
lead to shorter cylinder to cylinder distances, and increased
specific power with reduced weight.
5 THE LICENSEE CONCEPT IN LARGE
ENGINE BUILDING
As the cost of production at the place where the engine
is designed becomes higher, the engine makers move to
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This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
Slow-Speed Two-Stroke Engines 5
decentralized production. Three engine maker groups exist
today designing large two-stroke slow speed engines. MAN
Diesel & Turbo in Copenhagen continuing the legacy of
Burmeister & Wein, Wärtsilä in Switzerland continuing the
legacy of Sulzer and Mitsubishi in Japan.
In 2015, the Wärtsilä two-stroke engine business was taken
over by Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD), a Joint Venture
company between China State Shipbuilding Corporation
(CSSC) and Wärtsilä.
Much of the production of large two-stroke engines takes
place in Asia, where the tradition for “own product” is strong
and the shipyards often look for local suppliers of engines.
To protect this trading mode, part of the licensee agreement
imposes special permissions for licensees to sell outside their
countries.
Often large engine builders seek to obtain licenses from
more than one licensor, so as to offer different engine brands
and balance negotiations on fees. Large builders will also
achieve volume discounts through reduction in royalties.
From the side of the licensor, balance must be achieved
between the number of licensees and market share in terms
of optimizing effort and quality. In general, the price for
large engines ranges from 100 to 200$/kW depending on the
size, and the royalty fees are a small fraction of this price.
Regarding capacity, the largest builders can build about 400
engines per year.
The manufacturing quality level of the licensee is of prime
importance. The larger ones may have in-house foundry,
welding shop, and forging shop, while the smaller ones will
outsource all these to subsuppliers. The very small ones
will only have assembly and testing work done in-house.
The common practice is to make engines near shipyards,
and the market is dominated by licensees affiliated to
a large shipyard. The quality assurance imposed by the
licensor in the approval procedure during initial production
involves making, measuring, nondestructive testing, destruc-
tive testing, inspection, and QA actions. This procedure is
applied also to each subsupplier, for example, for crankshaft,
block, and fuel injection parts, but not for nonsensitive parts
such as engine tools.
The licensees take drawings in English, then probably
convert into own language and engineering standards prior to
starting production. The cost estimators within the licensee
are a key department, to make sure not to sell below cost level
at a loss. In order to take a licensee’s specific manufacturing
setup or local availability of specific materials into account,
licensees can put forward requests for alternative executions
to the licensor, for examination and approval. The licensor
would probably have a site office at the licensee, with perma-
nent personnel in consultative role in production and testing.
An obvious clause in the licensee agreement is that if the
licensee attempts to design an own engine competing with
6 Marine
the licensed engine, then the license stops. However, it is
unlikely that the licensee would risk losing a market share
with an established product, by embarking in a new and
expensive engine own design.
Recently, there is a distinct trend of the engine makers to
move into the realm of the total integrated solution provider
in ship machinery, including main and auxiliary engines,
shafts, propellers, and bridge equipment.
6 DEVELOPMENTS IN MARINE DIESEL
ENGINES
The market of marine engines is affected by the techno-
logical advances, but most importantly by the activity in
newbuildings and the developments in ship sizes. These in
turn depend on the world’s economy and the need to replace
older vessels.
The design developments of marine engines are influenced
by:
• The cost of crude oil, heavy fuel, and distillates as well
as the cost and availability of alternative fuels.
• The introduction of new regulations.
• The state of the newbuildings market.
• The hull design in relation to the draft and propeller
diameter, as well as the positioning of the engine and the
hull lines in the aft of the ship.
• The operational profile of vessels and the combination of
fuels costs and freight rates.
The development aims at three general targets—increase
of efficiency, reduction of emissions, and improvement of
reliability.
6.1 Increase of efficiency
Large engines are more efficient than smaller engines purely
because of large size and low speed of operation. Large size
means that the lower surface to volume ratios in the combus-
tion chamber will result in lower heat transfer losses. Lower
gas velocities result in lower pumping losses. Reduced rota-
tional speed means lower friction losses. At the same time,
the size and cost of large engines makes economically viable
to install energy recovery systems, which can increase the
total energy efficiency.
The practical limitations to engine efficiency are due to
irreversible losses such as combustion irreversibilities, fric-
tion, and the work extraction efficiency. There are also mate-
rial properties to consider, which limit the engine operating
parameters. One possibility of increasing efficiency would
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
be to increase the extraction of work by the piston or alterna-
tively to increase the energy available in the exhaust and use
energy recovery arrangements.
The work output can increase with change of volume,
change of pressure, and change of 𝛾, the adiabatic index
gamma (specific heat ratio). Changes in cylinder volume
and cylinder pressure can be effected through changes in the
compression ratio, cycle changes through variable stroke or
variable valve and port timing, changes in charge density via
higher boost pressure, and rapid pressure rise through rapid
heat release rate combustion.
The quest for increasing of maximum and mean cylinder
pressure for achieving higher specific power is moderated by
the problems with materials, tribology, wear, and ultimately
reliability.
The technological advances have resulted in improved
materials and design methods that allowed the production
of engines with increased thermal and mechanical loading.
The improvements in the efficiency of turbochargers and the
production of high pressure fuel injection components have
contributed to the increase of mean effective cylinder pres-
sure.
The developments allowed improvements in the design of
the combustion chamber to allow higher maximum pressures
with reduced thermal loading and improved air-fuel mixing.
In two-stroke direct drive engines, the increase in the piston
stroke/bore ratio, while retaining the mean piston speed at
levels imposed by tribology, allows for lower propeller shaft
rotational speeds.
Work extraction by further increasing stroke will produce
diminishing returns due to friction and scavenging limita-
tions. The ability to electronically control the fuel injection
allows optimization of combustion for various engine loads.
The use of multiple injections and the change in timing
and injection rate shaping lead to controllable combus-
tion.
The improvements in efficiency of large marine engines
in the past 30 years have been impressive, but now the
limits of practical thermodynamic cycles are approached.
Some further reductions in the fuel consumption and CO2
emissions can be achieved by optimizing the energy use
at steady-state operation and with improvements in power
production during transients, through electronic control
and optimal adjustments. Systems for monitoring engine
operations further allow for control and automatic adjust-
ment (autotuning) of the various cylinders to ensure good
operation.
The fuel used has some effect on efficiency. Higher energy
fuels give higher output and simpler fuels produce lower
combustion irreversibilities. Any increased thermal and
mechanical stresses and increased friction due to increases
in cylinder pressure must be considered. Increase in the ratio

𝛾 products/𝛾 reactants leads to higher work extraction, so
the fuel type may contribute a little if 𝛾 products increase.
Combustion in engines is away from chemical equilibrium
and some energy is used to break chemical bonds and to
heat reactants. There may be some potential here for future
research.
6.2 Change in the “classical” diesel cycle
Improvements in engine performance may be achieved
with variable compression ratio, possibly with a vari-
able geometry piston, but more likely through changes
in the valve and port opening/closing timing and rate.
The variable valve actuation (VVA) systems usually have
electromagnetic or hydraulic motion electronic control.
The uncoupling of valve actuation from the crank-piston
mechanism allows interesting interventions in the engine
operation.
One application is the so-called Miller cycle, where the
compression phase is dissimilar to the expansion phase. In
one arrangement, the intake valve closes before the bottom
dead center, so that the air intake is stopped and the trapped
mass is slightly expanded in four-stroke engines; hence with
VVA, one can achieve variable compression. In two-stroke
uniflow engines, the equivalent can be achieved with the
exhaust valve. This flexibility permits very high boost pres-
sures, without the danger of high cylinder maximum pres-
sures.
6.3 Reduction of internal losses
The reduction in combustion energy losses to cooling is
an interesting target for improving the engine efficiency.
However, it has been amply demonstrated that the construc-
tion of combustion chamber walls from materials able to
withstand higher temperatures and their insulation, hence
reduction in the heat loss, does not improve the thermo-
dynamic efficiency of the engine. At the same time, the
hotter walls lead to volumetric efficiency reductions. Due to
the lower heat rejection, the exhaust gas temperature will
be increased, hence the turbocharger can use some of the
extra energy for providing extra boost to mitigate the volu-
metric efficiency reduction. A small gain from the reduced
coolant pumping is also possible. Reducing the in-cylinder
heat losses (hot engines and insulated-adiabatic engines)
provides more work potential, but conversely very small if
any gains in piston work. The end result is hotter exhaust
gases, which may be used in an exhaust gas boiler, in turbo-
compounding, or with other waste heat recovery methods.
The recovery potential of the waste heat in the exhaust stream
is also related to the extra cost of the additional installation,
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
Slow-Speed Two-Stroke Engines 7
with steam turbine or power turbine and the requisite gener-
ator gear.
The friction increases with engine speed and load, and its
reduction through advanced materials, redesign of rubbing
components, and lubrication advances will directly benefit
efficiency. Advanced materials and lubricants with high
thermal durability can be used to obtain reduced friction.
Gas-pumping losses could be somewhat reduced via opti-
mized scavenge volume and port design as well as reduced
valve blow-down losses, but the benefits are quite small.
Computer-controlled intelligent cooling and optimization of
common rail pumps and other parasitic loads could also
contribute to the reduction of losses.
6.4 Change in working fluid
Some past applications of heavy fuel-water emulsions in
engines were aiming to improve combustion of variable
quality fuels. This approach exhibited numerous problems
with emulsion instabilities, corrosion of injectors, and poor
atomization at low loads. For injecting other fuels into the
combustion chamber, various injector arrangements have
been examined, including multiple injectors with pilot and
main injections.
Direct injection of water into the cylinder has been used
to cool the charge and has occasionally shown improved
air-fuel mixing, purportedly due to the extra turbulence
created from the gasification of water droplets. The main
interest was in lowering the mean combustion temperature,
hence the NOx production. Fumigation of water or direct
steam injection into the cylinder has been used to add to
the expansion work, with steam generated from waste heat
recovery. Most of the above systems remain mechanically
complicated with dubious reliability.
One simpler version of such arrangements is the saturation
of the intake air with water sprinkled in the scavenge receiver,
which reduces the air temperature due to the latent heat
absorption. However any short-circuit of saturated scavenge
air onto the exhaust receiver leads to undesirable cooling of
the exhaust gases before the turbine, especially in two-stroke
engines. A less severe problem is the possible liner corrosion
due to the saturated air, which may be counteracted with
redesign of the lubrication system and the liner-piston ring
coagency.
6.5 Increase of boost pressure
The increase of boost pressure with requisite adjustments
in fuel injection may lead to substantial increase in specific
power and some increase in efficiency. However, the
maximum cylinder pressure increase poses additional issues
8 Marine
with the mechanical loading of crankshaft and bearings as
well as lubrication issues. Single-stage turbocharging has a
practical pressure ratio limit of 5:1 if a reasonable width of
operating range is needed. Above this limit, the centrifugal
compressor wheels from aluminum alloys suffer from creep
problems due to the wheel tip high speeds and the high
temperature of the compressed air, requiring tip cooling or
titanium wheels. Turbocharger efficiency is quite high and
improvements are difficult, but there may be some more
margin for improving part load performance. The increase
of turbocharger efficiency over the years allows for excess
turbine power at high engine loads, which could be used to
drive a generator on the same shaft. A motor/generator in a
PTI/PTO (power take-in, take-out) arrangement can be used
to improve the total overall efficiency of the installation.
New designs appear to tackle past problems of generator
inertia and cooling, high speed bearings, and the coupling of
turbocharger and generator shafts.
Two-stage turbocharging allows a relatively simple solu-
tion for increasing the specific power, but at a higher cost,
complicated plumbing arrangement, and reduced efficiency
at low loads, where the wheels operate at low efficiencies. It
will probably be used in conjunction with Miller–Atkinson
valve timing.
Variable geometry is proposed for improving the
turbocharger operating range. This involves prerotation
vanes and variable diffuser vanes on the compressor, as well
as variable nozzle valves on the turbine side, even for engine
operation with heavy fuel.
7 POLLUTANTS EMISSIONS
The legislation of limits to gas emissions from engines is
a complex technical, social, and political issue. Emissions
limits for nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are currently
in place for large engines. Black carbon and particulates
emissions may be legislated in the future.
The technologies to reduce NOx emissions from engines
can be classified into primary (within the engine cylinder)
methods and secondary methods (exhaust gas after treat-
ment).
7.1 Primary methods
The formation of nitrogen oxides is primarily dependent
on the mean gas temperature in the cylinder. Lowering this
temperature reduces NOx. The most common way to reduce
this mean temperature in value and time duration is through
delay in timing of the start of injection. However, this will
lead to increases in fuel consumption due to the shift of the
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
heat release later in the cycle, producing lower pressures and
temperatures. To partly compensate this, the injection rate
must be increased and the duration of combustion decreased,
so that the end of injection remains unchanged. To retain the
ignition quality, the compression ratio may also be increased,
to the extent that the mechanical stresses due to the higher
firing pressures do not affect the robustness of the engine.
The effect of possible higher exhaust gas temperatures to the
thermal stresses of valves must be taken into account.
The use of water injection techniques has already been
mentioned. The cooling of the charge air reduces the temper-
ature near the burning gas and also in the cooler extremes of
the cylinder. Thus, the production of NOx in these regions is
reduced, and also the expansion work capacity of the gas is
reduced. The charge cooling with Miller timing has already
been mentioned.
The EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) has multiple effects.
Since the exhaust gases have greater heat capacity than the
air charge, they capture heat, reducing the mean temperature
of the cylinder contents. At the same time, the exhaust gases
contain less oxygen, thus the rate of combustion is reduced.
EGR has been used for many years in Otto cycle engines,
but in diesel engines and in particular those which use heavy
fuel, there are many problems. To retain the volumetric
efficiency of the engine, the recirculated exhaust gas must
be cooled. In addition, to reduce the contamination of the
turbocharger compressor (if the EGR loop is a low pres-
sure one, from downstream of the turbine to upstream of
the compressor) and generally to reduce engine wear from
particulates, the recirculated exhaust gas must be cleaned,
either by passing it through a filter or wet scrubbing.
If a filter is used, then the blocking tendency due to the use
of heavy fuel is much higher and consequently the need for
frequent regeneration. In addition, the substantial problem of
sulfuric acid corrosion in the cooled exhaust gas of the EGR
loop from sulfur in the fuel must be addressed, as well as the
issue of management of acidic waste water from scrubbing.
The high efficiency of marine engine turbochargers prob-
ably entails that there is insufficient pressure difference to
overcome the backpressure of the EGR loop and maintain
positive EGR gas supply throughout the engine-operating
range, so it is usually necessary to use a special electrically
driven boosting blower, even for low pressure recirculation.
An interesting variant is the combustion gas recirculation,
which effectively is bleeding cylinder combustion gas at
some pressure before exhaust valve opens, from a special
valve, then through a cleaning scrubber to downstream of
the turbocharger compressor, without need for a boosting
blower. However, the large size of the extra valve required
for substantial EGR apart from the engineering complexity
places severe demands to the cylinder head design. Another
possibility is to intentionally impair scavenging, but this has

associated problems of increased engine thermal load and
reduced volumetric efficiency.
The NOx generated inside the cylinder could conceiv-
ably be reduced by direct injection of ammonia. The dosing
control, dispersion, and ammonia slip problems make this
method practically unworkable.
It is obvious that the reduction of NOx with any of the above
methods would result also in changes to engine performance,
therefore a reoptimization would be necessary.
7.2 Secondary methods
Aftertreatment of exhaust gases through selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) units for the reduction of NOx has been used
in thermal power stations for many years. The process uses
ammonia injected in the exhaust flow to react with NOx in a
catalyst. The reduction of NOx to nitrogen can be up to 98%.
One issue is ensuring that the proper amount of ammonia
is injected and used completely to avoid slip of unreacted
raw ammonia—which is highly toxic—out of the exhaust.
Hydrolized urea can be used in the reaction, which is much
safer than anhydrous or aqueous ammonia in handling. Urea
requires thermal decomposition for conversion to ammonia.
Such SCR units have already been installed in more than
400 ships. The installation cost of marine SCR is about
20–30% of the engine cost. The cost of reductant must also
be considered in the operating costs.
An important issue in marine SCR is the poisoning
of the catalyst. The catalyst is usually some ceramic
carrier with active components being oxides or metals or
zeolites. Contamination and plugging of the catalyst is more
pronounced with the compounds present in the combustion
gas of heavy fuel. Poisoning refers to the destruction of
catalyst’s ability to promote the reaction. Sulfur and other
components in the heavy fuel and in the cylinder lubricants
lead to catalyst poisoning.
Cleaning of the exhaust gas with filters and/or scrub-
bing prior to the SCR may be needed to avoid excessive
contamination builtup. Scrubbing involves water washing,
using the natural alkalinity of the sea water to reduce the
acidic sulfur compounds present in the exhaust gas stream.
These are produced from the reaction of sulfur in the heavy
fuel with oxygen during combustion in the cylinder. Proper
handling of wash water must be ensured. When seawater
does not process the required alkalinity, for example, in river
estuaries, it cannot be used in an open loop scrubber. In
such case chemicals must be added to provide alkalinity,
usually caustic soda. Since some sea areas have been desig-
nated SOx emission control areas and sulfur limits have been
imposed, scrubbing must be used if heavy fuel is used. Alter-
natively, use of other fuels with low sulfur may be a more
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
Slow-Speed Two-Stroke Engines 9
straightforward option subject to cost and availability of such
fuels.
Some closed loop control involving measuring NO in the
exhaust is needed to ensure proper ammonia flow for all
engine-operating conditions. Reasonably high exhaust gas
temperatures are needed for ammonia to react, and this is
a problem downstream of the turbocharger especially in
two-stroke engines and in all engines during startup. Placing
the ceramic catalyst before the turbocharger—practically on
the engine structure—requires proper design to account for
the increased mechanical vibration loading. Combining a
particle filter with a catalyst SCR surface may be a way
to compact units for both NOx and particulate matter (PM)
reduction.
8 ENGINE MONITORING AND
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
Most shipping companies operate vessels of various types
and sizes, equipped with engines built by different manufac-
turers. The size and complexity of modern marine engines
has increased, and the operators must comply with more
strict safety and environmental regulations. With newbuild-
ings and sales/purchases of second-hand vessels, the owners
inevitably end up with ships of various sizes and engines of
different make, with different histories of maintenance.
About half of all reported engine failures are due to the
thermally loaded components, and from these the largest
percentage is due to poor cylinder condition. Turbocharger
failures also account for a sizeable percentage of break-
downs.
The complexity of monitoring systems may also differ
among a fleet of ships. The general practice in ship engine
performance monitoring is to record important engine
parameters (i.e., pressures, temperatures, speeds, etc.).
Some shipping companies include cylinder pressures and
shaft torque recordings. One fundamental issue of any moni-
toring system is that each sensor is the interface with the
actual process, and a check if the sensor is working properly
can only be performed with other parallel sensors or through
some mathematical inference of expected values. Period-
ically, data is collected in a service report and forwarded
to headquarters for further processing and evaluation. With
modern data acquisition and communication technology,
such “reports” can be forwarded almost real time, resulting
in a flood of data in need of processing and evaluation, both
onboard and at the main office.
In principle, engine performance evaluation and fault diag-
nosis can be accomplished by comparison of actual moni-
tored data to some “reference” of expected performance.
The monitored data must be reliable (considering sensor or
10 Marine

monitoring system malfunctions, as well as human errors in Rating (of Stated power output that can be safely
recording and reporting) and the reference data must relate marine produced for a specified rotational
to the actual operating and environmental conditions. engine) speed of the crankshaft. Guarantee
Shipping companies with large fleets must formulate point that the manufacturer will honor.
appropriate operation and maintenance policies The above Reliability Ability of the system to function under
requirements call for increased sophistication in engine stated conditions for a specified
performance assessment. period or interval of time.
Dependability. Availability.
Scavenging The process of displacing combustion
9 CONCLUSION product gases out of the cylinder and
drawing in a fresh charge for the next
The propulsion engine may cost 10% of the total cost of power cycle.
a ship and is the most expensive item onboard. The large (Specific) fuel Mass rate of fuel consumed to power
slow-speed two-stroke marine diesel engine has the highest consumption produced. Can be converted to
efficiency of all thermal power plants. Still, the engine’s efficiency with known heating value
initial cost will be equaled in less than 6 months by the of fuel.
cost of fuel consumed by this engine. The reliability and the Two-stroke An internal combustion engine that
fuel consumption are the two major attributes aimed for by (engine) completes a power cycle in two
large engine makers. The expected lifetime of a large marine movements (strokes) of the piston,
engine is 30 years (180,000 h) with time between major within one revolution of the
overhauls 5 years, which poses heavy demands on reliability. crankshaft.
The design and operation of ships is today also influenced Uniflow The charge air for scavenging enters the
by the legislation on engine emissions. Fuel costs account cylinder from ports at the bottom and
for the largest part of total operating costs and thus affect the travels in one direction to valve(s) or
economics and profitability margins of ship operation. ports at the top.

GLOSSARY
Crosshead A junction piece that couples the piston
rod to the connecting rod.
Incorporates slippers that slide on
guides of the engine frame to take the
sideways reaction of the connecting
rod.
Direct drive The connection and transfer of power
from engine crankshaft to propeller,
without clutch or gearbox.
Efficiency Useful work output to total heat in.
Emissions Exhaust gas generated by fuel
combustion exiting to the atmosphere.
Licensee Specialized companies that manufacture,
test, and sell engines under agreed
conditions and pay a license fee
(royalty) to the licensor company that
has designed and developed engine.
FURTHER READING
Dragsted, J. (2013) The first 50 years of turbocharged 2-stroke,
crosshead marine diesel engines, CIMAC, Frankfurt. http://www
.cimac.com/cms/upload/history/Dragsted_History_Booklet_2013
.pdf.
Kuiken, K. (2012) Diesel Engines for ship propulsion and power-
plants, Target Global, Netherlands.
Woodyard, D. (2009) Pounder’s Marine Diesel Engines and Gas
Turbines, 9th edn, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Klein-Woud, H. and Stapersma, D. (2002) Design of Propulsion and
Electric Power Generation Systems, I.Mar.EST, London.
Heywood, J. and Sher, E. (1999) The Two-stroke Cycle Engine, Taylor
& Francis.
www.marinediesels.co.uk
www.cimac.com
www.mandieselturbo.com/lowspeed
www.wartsila.com/en/media/articles
www.hercules-c.com
www.hercules-2.com

Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe098
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2