TIGHTENING OF TIE BOLTS

General view of Two Stroke Engine Tie Bolts

Tie Bolts are provided to keep the whole engine structure in compression (clamping force), which:
1. Increases the fatigue strength of the engine structure.
2. Maintains the running gear in alignment, as fretting is prevented.
3. Reduces the bending stress imposed on the transverse girder. The gas force acting on the cylinder
head is transmitted via the tie bolts, whereas the firing pressure on the piston is directly transmitted to
the main bearing, which is then spread to the engine frame via the tie bolt support.

Pinching screw is normally provided at the foot of the engine cylinder jacket to stop the tie rod from
vibrating during the normal service of the engine. The pinch screw is fitted at the antinodal point of the
tie rod to limit the transverse vibration amplitude, thereby preventing its facture due to vibration.
This can be arranged by group of three screws positioned equilaterally at the antinodal point. Each
screw consist of a stud, which is hand tightened by screwing the outer sleeve and held in position by
a lock nut which is tightened to a torque specified by the maker.

Tie Rod tightening method.

For carrying any maintenance, manufacturer’s maintenance manual instruction to be followed strictly.

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Engine isolation requirements, related tools, tightening torque / hydraulic pressure etc. with related to
engine specification have to be followed as per maintenance manual.
General tightening method (MAN B&W Engine)
1. Slacken all pinching screws,
2. Mount hydraulic jacks, starting at mid-engine,
3. Pressurise up to 700bar, and tighten nut with tommy bar,
4. Work out from starting point with alternate sides,
5. Check that pinching screw is free to move, and tighten up so that tie bolt is nipped only.

General tightening method (Sulzer Engine)

1. If tensioning bolt from new, slacken off main bearing jack bolts,
2. Ensure clamping (or pinching) screws are slack,
3. Mount the hydraulic jacks, starting at mid-engine,
4. Pressurise to 350 bar, and tighten nut with tommy bar,
5. Work away from starting point, using alternate sides,
6. Tighten all bolts to 350 bar, then using the same procedure/sequence as before, tighten to 600 bar,
7. The elongation of the bolt may be checked, and these should be the same as the book reference
value, and the other bolts,
8. If just checking tension, then increase pressure to 600 bar and check with feeler gauge for any gap
between nut and washer,
9. Retighten clamping bolts.

K Das
If the makers tightening procedure is not followed correctly then non-uniform tightening may result. This
will produce uneven loading on the transverse girders causing possible crankshaft misalignment, and
reduced tension/possible fretting or over tension/possible yielding in some of the tie bolts.
If a tie bolt is operated with low tension then the fretting which occurs may permanently misalign the
affected components. So following fretting, placing the correct tension on the component will probably
cause misalignment, with corrective machining being an expensive remedy.
Although checking the tension of the bolt will indicate any slack bolts, visual inspection of the joints
between cylinder block / `A' frame / bedplate will show some movement if the bolts are incorrectly
tightened. If fretting wear is seen (fine rust particles like cocoa powder) then the bolt tension should be
checked, as well as the joint sealing bolts, at the earliest opportunity.

Broken Tie Rod

If tie rod is broken, obviously the compression of the engine structure in the location of that defective
tie rod will be reduced and this will:
• Reduce the fatigue strength of that area,
• Reduce the clamping force between components allowing fretting/misalignment and possible fluid
leakage.
The normal procedure that should be carried out when any component is damaged is to reduce engine
power, especially in that affected area. This would be the prudent course of action until detailed advice
from the engine builder can be received. It would probably be advisable to reduce the engine load
uniformly rather than just one cylinder, as this would increase all the associated problems from a poorly
power balanced engine.
However MAN B&W have stated that a single failure will not result in as much damage as long as the
engine components are not moving excessively.
Breakage, usually due to a fatigue fracture, can be caused by incorrect tightening, misalignment
between the mating surfaces, overloading of the engine etc. Generally bolt fails at mid length or near
mid. The top half can be removed by lifting it out, however the removing the bottom half will present a
challenge, due to the restriction in headroom in the crankpit.

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 The most obvious method of removal may seem to be to cut the tie rod out in small pieces using a
grinding wheel/ burning gear. This is not recommended.
Two alternatives are available:
 The first involves passing a wire loop down the tie rod tube to the bottom of the tie bolt and
lifting the bolt out.
 The second method outlined below involves jacking the bolt out from below.

A hydraulic jack is placed under the tie rod with a plank

In the first stage a clamp is secured to the tie bolt as shown. underneath it to distribute the load. After lifting and securing, a
Two pull blocks are fixed as shown and the bottom nut spacer is fitted between the jack and the bottom of the tie rod.
removed

A series of spacers are progressively fixed under the tie rod

until the tie rod emerges at the top of the entablature.
The clamp is fixed around the top of the tie rod as shown right
with a welded bead to prevent slipping. The engine room
crane is used to lift the broken piece clear.

K Das