Service Bulletin RTA–38

26.02.98
Technical Information to all the Owners
of Sulzer RTA 38, 48 and RTA ”-2 and -2U Series”
Engines with OIL-COOLED PISTONS

Piston Crowns
Loss of Material on Combustion Side

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Contents: Page

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1. Introduction 1

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3. Loss of Material on 2

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Piston Crowns

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the Loss of Material
5

6. Maintenance of the 7
System Oil (Cooling Oil)

7. Conclusion 7

8. Addresses of our 7
28.49.71.40 – Printed in Switzerland

Reconditioning Centres

9. Service Bulletin Published for 8

Large Bore RTA – Type Engines

Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd PO Box 414 Tel. +41 52 262 49 22

Wärtsilä NSD Schweiz AG CH-8401 Winterthur Fax +41 52 212 49 17
Wärtsilä NSD Suisse SA Switzerland Tlx 896 659 NSDL CH
1. INTRODUCTION

This Service Bulletin deals with engines equipped with oil cooled pistons. It informs you about the
recognition of trouble spots, which can lead to material loss in an excessive manner if not detected
and counteracted at an early stage. It also suggests necessary countermeasures on how to
minimize the loss of material on piston crowns.
The RTA "8 Series" comprises the following engine types in this Service Bulletin:
RTA 38 and RTA 48
The RTA "2 Series" comprises the following engine types in this Service Bulletin:
RTA 52, RTA 62 and RTA 72
RTA 84M and RTA 84C
The RTA "2U Series" comprises the following engine types in this Service Bulletin:
RTA 52U, RTA 62U and RTA 72U
RTA 84CU

This Service Bulletin should be kept in a separate file on board or the control room of a power plant and
the respective pages or tables of the Service Bulletin with modifications to the Operating Manual,
Maintenance Manual or Code Book should be copied and filed in the respective Manual or Book.

2. GENERAL ASPECTS

The often but falsely called piston crown "burnoff" is in principle a loss of material on piston
crowns which is caused by a combination of high temperature corrosion and erosion.
Corrosion:The elements Sulphur (S), Vanadium (V) and Sodium (Na) contained in the heavy
fuel oil burned in large twostroke engines deserve a special consideration in
relation to corrosive deposits causing the loss of material on piston crowns. High
temperature corrosion deposits, contained in the light ash layer the piston crown is
covered with after a relatively short running period, will cause practically no harm
to the material of the piston crown as long as this layer remain undisturbed.
Erosion: Some areas of the piston crown are exposed to erosion caused by high gas and
flame speeds which are evident in the combustion chamber. They are primarily
responsible for the local removal of the corrosion products, thus starting a
correlation between corrosion and erosion which enhances the loss of material in
the affected areas.
The mechanism of material loss is highly influenced by temperature, thus higher surface
temperatures will accelerate the loss of material in affected areas.
Furthermore the TDC (Top Dead Centre) position of the piston crown (protrusion in shop trial
report) has also an influences in this matter. Some EOP (Engine Optimization Point) tuned RTA
engines may have some loss of material on the piston crown because the protrusion of the piston
crown is higher.
We would, however, like to point out that a small amount of material loss of
0.2 mm/1000h is
normal as long as it is evenly distributed. It also has to be born in mind that a grey sooty layer has
certain protective qualities against erosion as long as it remains undisturbed.

1/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

 3. LOSS OF MATERIAL ON PISTON CROWNS

There are two distinct patterns indicating the loss of material on piston crowns:

3.1. Local Material Loss in the Area of the Injection Spray

Two Fuel Injectors / Cyl. Three Fuel Injectors / Cyl. Four Fuel Injectors / Cyl.

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Possible pattern on piston crown if all fuel injectors are in poor condition.
Check fuel injector condition and specification.

aa Deep spots of material loss caused by dribbling or damaged fuel injection nozzles.

Fig. 1

3.2. Loss of Material on Top of Piston Crown

Pattern: So called "paving stone structure" / "elephant skin" over a large

part / or smaller parts of the combustion surface of the piston
crown has been observed. Such a morphology is typical for the
described loss of material.

Reason for the loss of material:

1. Piston cooling bores are covered with carbon

ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ deposits.

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(1mm deposit on the inside of the cooling oil

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bores can cause a temperature increase of up
to 200°C on the combustion space surface of
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ the piston crown.)
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ 2. Lack of scavenge air, due to dirty air filter,
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ compressor wheel and diffuser of the
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ turbocharger, contaminated aircooler, or a dirty
ÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔÔ exhaust gas boiler or silencer.

3. General service conditions.

Fig. 2

2/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

3.3. Loss of Material due to a Combination of Factors shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2

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are in poor condition, with one of them

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dribbling a .
In addition there are some signs of loss of ma
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terial originating from a source mentioned in
paragraph 3.2 or a combination thereof
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Drawn for engines with three
fuel injectors / cyl.

Fig. 3
The foregoing sketches may help you to pinpoint the source of a problem in its early stage.

4. INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

During piston overhauls the combustion face of the piston crown has to be periodically inspected
and the contour must be checked each time, with the template 94366, 94366a or half template and
feeler gauge 94122 contained in the tool set [RTA 2 series], to establish the total loss of material
(for your information please refer to Fig. 4 till Fig. 6 or to page 3403/4.1 [RTA 2 series] of the
Maintenance Manual).
For RTA 38 and RTA 48 new templates 94366 and 94366a were designed. They can be ordered
through Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd or any of our Network Companies.
Reference is also made to the maintenance schedule in the Maintenance Manual section 021-1
[RTA38/48] or 0380/1 [RTA 2 series] where for the working piston "Dismantling and assembling
(opening cooling space and cleaning same, minimum one piston yearly)" is recommended. Such
an inspection provides an early warning of a contamination with consequential risk of material
loss and may be taken as an indication of the condition of the other pistons.

4.1. Checking the piston Crown for Loss of Material

(when the piston is fitted to the engine)

WARNING ! !
Do not turn the engine while template
is applied in place!

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ
ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ
94366a
ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ½ Template to check the loss of
material if the piston is still
fitted in the engine.

As example drawn for

x RTA 72
Fig. 4

3/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

Note: The half template shown in Fig. 4 should not be used for checking the
piston crown of RTA 84C engines.

As example drawn for

RTA 48

Fig. 5 New Template 94366a for RTA 38 and RTA 48

4.2. Checking the Piston Crown for Loss of Material

(when the piston is withdrawn)

Template 94366

Piston Ring
As example drawn for
RTA 52

Maximum wear limit "x" = 10 mm for all oil cooled pistons

except RTA 38 and RTA 48

As example drawn for

RTA 38
New Template 94366 for RTA 38 and RTA 48
Maximum wear limit on RTA 38 and RTA 48= 7 mm
Fig. 6

If any abnormal amount of loss of material is discovered the piston crown must be removed and
the cooling space must be inspected carefully and if there are any deposits discovered then
immediate steps must be taken to avoid any further contamination of the piston cooling space.
However, should the loss of material be caused by overheating due to lack of scavenge air it is
strongly recommended to investigate the matter until the true origin of the problem which has led
to this situation is found and taken care off (hints on possible trouble spots can be found in
paragraph 3.2/2).
Piston crowns with wastage exceeding the above limits "x" can be sent to our Reconditioning
Centres for reconditioning.

4/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

5. COUNTERMEASURES TO MINIMIZE THE LOSS OF MATERIAL

5.1. Fuel Injector Valves

As we pointed out in paragraph 3.1 it is of major importance that the fuel injector valves are kept
in a good state of repair to avoid excessive loss of material on piston crowns.
Also fuel nozzle tips with the wrong specification (unsuitable spraying angles, wrong size of hole
diameters etc.) can cause loss of material, even if the fuel valve itself is in good condition.
Furthermore a high vanadium content in the fuel oil can accelerate the material loss process.

The deep spots a which are caused by dribbling fuel injectors may shorten the useful life of a
piston crown considerably and may call for an early reconditioning which may otherwise not be
necessary.

EXECUTION A EXECUTION B
Nozzle body with integrated Nozzle body with shrunkin
casehardened needle seat throughhardened needle seat
87 mm

83 mm

Fig. 7 2P  NOZZLES FOR RTA ENGINES

To minimize the loss of material on the piston crown it is essential to use only fuel nozzle tips with
the correct specification and it is also recommended to use only nozzle bodies with the
throughhardened seat (as per "Execution B" in Fig. 7) to prolong the time between overhauls
and increase the component's serviceability. (For exchange of previous executions please refer to
Service Bulletin RTA-3.4)
Fuel nozzles with a needle length of 87 mm have a body which has only a casehardened
integrated needle seat, whereas the correct nozzle body to be used with the shrunkin
throughhardened needle seat has a needle with a length of 83 mm only. The correct fuel injection
parts suitable for your engine can be obtained from:
Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd Fax No. +41 52 262 07 26 or any of our Network Companies

5/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

5.2. Impaired Piston Cooling
If a pattern according to paragraph 3.2, a combination of paragraph 3.1. and 3.2. or a temperature
decrease (∆ T) of the piston cooling oil through the piston is recognized then it is necessary to
investigate the piston cooling system performance. Compare the temperature decrease (∆ T) at
the present running condition with that just after delivery when the cooling space of the piston was
clean. If ∆ T decreases by more than 3°C the piston is running in a hazardous condition. This
happens because of insufficient cooling effect due to contamination of the cooling surface. The
lubricating oil separator plant may not work properly thus some of the sediments are causing a
kind of layer and/or carbon deposits in the cooling bores of the piston crown (please refer to the
picture of contaminated cooling bores below). For guidance the system oil should be analyzed.

b
a

a Clean area due to nozzle jet spray.

b Area with general layer of deposits.
c Area with general carbon builtup.
Fig. 3 Contamination of Cooling Bores in Piston Crown
To clean the deposits and the carbon out of the cooling bores it is necessary to sandblast the
internals of the piston crown. An efficient medium for sandblasting is fine corundum grit.
Chemical removal of the deposits and the carbon builtup is not sufficient, gives unsatisfactory
results and in addition may also be an environmental hazard.
It is essential that the oil swept surface of the piston is washed out with a suitable cleaning agent in
order to remove any remains originating from the sandblasting.

6/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

5.3. High Piston Protrusion Values
On some EOP (Engine optimization point) tuned RTA engines with a higher piston protrusion
the piston should be lowered, i.e. by machining of the compression shim. To compensate the lower
combustion pressure, the fuel pump timing must be advanced. Replace the EOP/VIT cam on the
regulating linkage by the CMCR*/VIT cam or reprogram in the case of an electronic VIT
(Variable Injection Timing). As an additional improvement a modified fuel nozzle specification
can be applied.
*CMCR means Contract Maximum Continuous Rating (Rx)

5.4. General Service Conditions

If all conditions as mentioned under paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 were found to your satisfaction, but
still some burning off could be found, please contact us, so that we can discuss with you further
actions and offer a relevant solution.
Also of interest for us will be the piston protrusion or shims fitted and the nozzle specification
which is recorded in the shop trial report of the engine builder, as well as the specification of the
nozzle tips fitted.

6. MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM OIL (COOLING OIL)

Contamination of the piston cooling system can be caused by combustion residues which enter
the oil system through the piston rod glands if they are in a substandard condition.

It is essential to ensure that the separation of the lubricating (cooling) oil is carried out
continuously and properly.

The condition of the lubricating oil must be analyzed frequently to detect any shortcomings in
service during separation or any contamination from the piston rod underside which manifests
itself also in an increased base number value.

7. CONCLUSION

As can be seen from the above, it is not only necessary to ensure that components with the correct
specification are fitted to the engine, but also that they are properly maintained and that the
treatment and cleanliness of the piston cooling oil system is monitored to avoid unreasonable loss
of material on the piston crowns.

8. ADDRESSES OF OUR RECONDITIONING CENTRES

Wärtsilä NSD Nederland BV, Schiedam Fax no. +31 10 426 45 71

Wärtsilä NSD (Singapore) Pty Ltd, Singapore Fax no. +65 261 42 39
Wärtsilä NSD US Inc, Miami Fax no. +1 305 591 09 25

Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd has issued this Service Bulletin with their best knowledge and ability.
However, Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd can not take any liability for any or all information contained
in this or any other Service Bulletin.
Changes of any nature to the form and or to the content of this or any other Service Bulletin as published
by Wärtsilä NSD Switzerland Ltd, are not permitted.

7/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38

9. SERVICE BULLETINS PUBLISHED FOR LARGE BORE RTA-TYPE ENGINES

We have so far published the following Service Bulletins which are valid for Large Bore RTA-Type Engines
(RTA 48T to RTA 96C):
RTA-1 dated 01.03.88 Recommendation Concerning Piston Running Behaviour
RTA-2 dated 05.10.88 Water Drain from Charge Air Receiver and Charge Air Temperature
RTA-3.3 dated 25.04.94 Fuel Injection Nozzles
RTA-4 dated 20.11.89 Oil Damping for Short Tie Rods
RTA-8 dated 15.06.92 RTA-Cylinder Liners and Reinforced Water Guide Jackets
RTA-9 dated 20.07.92 Cylinder Cover with Erosion / Corrosion Resistant Cladding
RTA-10 dated 28.10.92 RTA "-8 Series" Engines / Piston Skirt in Two Parts
RTA-11 dated 31.03.93 Fuel Injection Pump Regulating Linkage
RTA-14 dated 30.11.93 System Oil Care and Maintenance
RTA-15 dated 10.02.94 Elastic Studs on RTAType Engines
RTA-16.1 dated 20.02.98 Retrofit for Piston Rod Stuffing Boxes for RTA "8 Series" Engines
RTA-17.1 dated 28.02.95 Circulation Valve to Fuel Injection Valve
RTA-18 dated 15.09.94 Runningin of Cylinder Liners and Piston Rings
RTA-19 dated 28.10.94 Oil Supply Monitoring for Geislinger Torsional Vibration Damper
RTA-20 dated 30.11.94 Rotational Safety Studs for Roller Guide of Fuel Pump and
Exhaust Valve Actuator
RTA-21 dated 10.04.95 Improvement of Starting Behaviour (For engines with
DENIS-1 and DENIS-5 Control Systems only!)
RTA-22.1 dated 28.11.96 Waisted Bolts for Piston Crown Spraying Plate of RTA 84C,
84CU, 84M and 84T Type Engines
RTA-24.1 dated 19.09.97 ABB Type VTR..4 Turbochargers After Sales Service Information
RTA-26 dated 03.01.96 Loss of Material on Piston Crowns due to High Temperature
Corrosion and Erosion (Watercooled Pistons)
RTA-27 dated 26.04.96 Plastic Water Separator
RTA-28 dated 31.05.96 Improvement of the Engine Control System
RTA-29 dated 21.10.96 Improved Oil Supply to the Integrated Axial Detuner
equipped with Internal Oil Supply Line
RTA-30 dated 27.11.96 Improvement of starting behaviour on RTA engines equipped
with Type PGA200 and PGA EG200 Woodward Governors
RTA-31 dated 23.01.97 Alphabetical Index of Topics of Service Bulletins
RTA-33 dated 11.04.97 Crank Pin Bearing Shell
RTA-34 dated 28.11.97 Fuel Injection System Modification and Maintenance
RTA-35 dated 20.02.98 Retrofit for Piston Rod Stuffing Boxes for RTA "2 Series" Engines
RTA-36 dated 25.02.98 Reconditioning of Piston Rods of RTA 2 Series" Engines
RTA-37 dated 25.02.98 Reconditioning of Piston Rods of RTA 8 Series" Engines
RTA-38 dated 26.02.98 Piston Crown Loss of Material on Combustion Side

Should you not be in possession of the above mentioned documentation suitable for your plant, kindly contact your
local Wärtsilä NSD representative for your copy.

8/8 Service Bulletin RTA-38