MC Engines

The MC Engines
Service Experience
Contents
Page
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cylinder Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Design and Experience Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Piston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exhaust valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Valve spindle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottom piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Valve housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Air spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Actuator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Fuel oil system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Fuel valves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Bearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Main engine structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Top bracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
The MC Engines
Service Experience
Introduction
This situation also means that, from time

to time, it has been difficult to distinguish
between various generations of the MC
engines. To alleviate this, we introduced
the Mark designation several years ago
for easy reference.
As the first L35MC entered service in

1982 and the first 6L60MC in December
1983, the MC generation is backed up
by extensive experience accumulated
from the considerable number of running hours logged by the very large
number of plants in service.
In the following, we will describe recent

design features introduced in order to
cater for higher ratings. These features
Power
BHP kW
x 1000
100
70
60
80
50
60
40
Number of engines
1,400
Engines ordered
total
5,043
1,300
Engines in service
total
4,164
1,200
1171 1103
1,100
The MC engine programme of 1998-1999

is larger than ever before, comprising
25 engine types, each available in a
number of cylinder configurations, see
Fig. 2.
Fig. 1 shows the reference list as at

98.10.01. It can be estimated that the
accumulated service experience gained
from the more than 4,000 engines in
service exceeds 75 million running hours.
Throughout the years, the engines have

been updated and uprated on a regular
basis, when this has been justified by
service experience and made possible
by the use of new materials and more
advanced calculation methods.
1382
will enhance reliability and availability

despite the higher ratings because
they increase the design margins.
40
1,000
30
912
-C
0
K9 80
L
0-C
L90
30
20
S9
-C
80
900
L7
S7
872
20
776
700
657
10
600
8
427
0
L6
0-C
10
L5
S5
8
S
0-C -C
S46
S6
152
128
25
15
2
6
S2
0
98
S3
167
158
100
50
196
159
5
L3
0
S4
200
2
L4
367
300
80
S7
400
S6
539
500
0-C
15
800
15
8
C
8K9
C
0K9
C
0K8
K9
90
80
70
60
50
46
42
35
26
Engine type
Fig. 1: MC engines in service and ordered as at 1998.10.01
50
60
70
80
100
120 140 160
200
250
Speed r/min
Fig. 2: The two-stroke MC engine programme 1998-1999
Cylinder Condition
Reliability and economy are the important
factors for the ship operators, also
when talking about cylinder condition.
Reliability is ensured by safe and
sufficiently long overhaul intervals
Economy depends on wear rates of
cylinder liners and piston rings and,
even more, on the cylinder lube oil
consumption.
We therefore carefully monitor the relationship between wear, lube oil dosages
and Time Between Overhauls (TBO) to
obtain the optimum relationship on
each engine type.
Wear rates and overhaul intervals are
closely related to the cylinder lube oil
dosages actually used. The MAN B&W
guideline feed rates are chosen so as
to be on the safe side, and are not
necessarily the optimal oil dosage, seen
from a purely economical point of view.
This dosage varies widely, depending
on the parts and manpower costs of
maintenance, overhauling opportunities
in relation to the ships schedule, the
current cylinder lube oil price, etc.
While purely economical considerations
of the cylinder lube oil cost versus the
cost of cylinder liners may favour a
certain degree of oil starvation, most
owners choose to locate their cylinder oil
feed rate at a comfortable 0.9 g/bhph.
Wear rates of piston rings and cylinder
liner, together with cylinder lube oil consumption, are shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.
From our database, we have extracted
data regarding cylinder liner wear for 26,
35 and 42-cm bore engines. The statistics include 455 liners, and the average
specific wear is 0.037 mm/1000h, with
an average lube oil feed rate of 0.90
g/bhph. With our average wear limit of
0.6% of the liner diameter, this corresponds to a liner lifetime of 42-60,000
hours.
The normal range of top piston ring
wear centres around 0.26 mm/1000h
4
On 26, 35 and 42MC

Average of 394 cylinders:
0.257 mm/1000 h
On 50, 60 and 70MC

0.48 mm/1000 h
On S70 and S80MC

0.46 mm/1000 h
100
100
100
90
90
80
80
80
70
70
70
60
60
60
90
Number of piston
rings measured
50
50
50
40
40
40
30
30
30
20
20
20
10
10
10
0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000 0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000

Wear rate in mm/1000 hours
Fig. 3: Piston ring wear
On 50, 60 and 70MC

0.06 mm/1000 h
On 26, 35 and 42MC

0.037 mm/1000 h
Number of cylinders measured
100
On S70 and S80MC

0.075 mm/1000 h
100
100
90
90
90
80
80
80
70
70
70
60
60
60
50
50
50
40
40
40
30
30
30
20
20
20
10
10
10
0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000 0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000 0.001 0.010
0.100
1.000
Wear rate in mm/1000 hours
Fig. 4: Cylinder liner wear
which, with a wear limit for the ring of

2.5 to 3 mm, permits intervals for piston overhauls of above 10,000 hours.
It will be noted that wear rates of cylinder liners and piston rings for 50MC,
60MC and 70MC, at an average of
0.06 mm/1000h and 0.48 mm/1000h,
respectively, are higher than for our
small bore engines, and that the cylin-
der lube oil dosage at 0.89 g/bhph is

marginally lower. The time between
overhauls is, on the average, slightly
longer for the medium bore engines.
The superlong stroke S engines, typically used in Cape-size and VLCC vessels, have an average liner wear rate
of 0.075 mm/1000h, and a ring wear
of 0.46 mm/1000h, at an average
On 50, 60 and 70MC

Average: 0.89 g/bhph
On 26, 35 and 42MC

Countermeasures to rectify this situation

have been introduced, see below.
On S70 and S80MC


160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
80
60
60
60
40
40
40
20
20
20

100
0
0.45
1.05
1.75
0.45
1.05
1.75
0.45
1.05
1.75
g/bhph (MCR)
Fig. 5: Cylinder lubricating oil consumption
Cylinder
Pressure switch
Tank
Control valve
Control box
Crankshaft position
Engine load
Load changes
Pump
station
Accumulator
Accumulator
Pressurized
Return
New cylinder lube oil system. Tests

with a new cylinder lubricating system
have been initiated. This system, which
is shown in Fig. 6, is based on two
groups of injectors per cylinder which
inject a specific volume of oil into the
cylinder for every fourth revolution. The
oil supplied to the injectors is pressurised
by a pump. The system is controlled
by a computer in such a way that the
oil can be introduced to the individual
cylinder at any piston position but, preferably, when the piston rings are adjacent to the lubricating quills. The
computer synchronises itself at each
revolution, when the piston for cylinder
No. 1 is at top dead centre.
The basic cylinder oil feed rate can be
set by means of a screw which limits
the stroke of the main lubricator piston.
The amount of oil injected can be adjusted, as required, by increasing or
reducing the number of injections, e.g.
depending on the actual engine load
changes.
In the event of malfunctioning of one of
the injector groups, solenoid valve or
transducer, the oil dosage for the other
group will automatically be doubled. If
the oil pressure fails, the computer will
start a stand-by pump, close the faulty
pump and set off the alarm.
Pressure control unit
Fig. 6: New cylinder lubricating oil consumption
cylinder lube oil consumption of 1.00

g/bhph.
The K-MC/MC-C engines of the Mark
3 version are well known for their good
cylinder condition, with low wear rates
and long times between overhauls.
Cylinder liner wear rates down to 0.02
mm/1000h and piston ring wear rates
down to 0.1 mm/1000h are normal, often
permitting more than 20,000 hours between piston overhauls.
However, recently some K-engines, especially the K80 and K90 in the Mk 5-6
versions, have suffered from scuffing of
the piston rings, leading to high liner
wear rates. Investigations into the origin
of this problem have revealed that one
major contributory factor is carbon deposits on the piston top provoked by
high lube oil dosage in combination
with high air humidity. Together, these
factors may lead to bore polish, oil
starvation and even scuffing.
The benefit of the new system, compared with the traditional one, is that it
ensures more accurate timing, making
it possible to obtain a lower cylinder
lube oil consumption. Tests on e.g. a
12K90MC look very promising in that
the same good cylinder condition can
be obtained with a lower cylinder lube
oil consumption. Owing to the fact that
cylinder lube oil represents a significant
portion of the total operating costs,
such a reduction is very attractive.
Depending on the outcome of prolonged
tests on different engines, the new cylinder lube oil system may become our
standard.
Design and Experience

Interaction
Piston
Piston crown. We have introduced pistons with high topland as standard,
Fig. 7, with the aim of protecting the
piston rings against the thermal load
from the combustion gases. The performance of the piston ring pack is
thereby improved significantly. The
gradual loss of tension in the piston
rings is reduced, resulting in higher
TBO for the pistons.
A further benefit is that the high topland has made it possible to lower the
mating surfaces between cylinder liner
and cylinder cover, thus reducing the
thermal load on the cylinder liner and
thus the lube oil film. The high heat in-
Tests with high topland pistons were

started about four years ago on an
S80MC engine and showed a significant
improvement in the wear condition and
an increase in the time between overhauls from some 4,000 hours to some
14,000 hours for the particular engine.
A number of engines with high topland
pistons on all cylinders are in service
with very good results, an example is
shown in Fig. 8.
Piston ring. The reliability of the combustion chamber components and the
cylinder condition strongly depends on

the performance of the piston ring pack
which, accordingly, is continuously
being optimised.
The two uppermost piston rings are
higher, giving these rings greater
strength and thermal stability, and the
piston ring material has been optimised
in accordance with the increased thermal load that results from the higher
rating of the engines.
Some years ago we tested and subsequently introduced a special patented
CPR (Controlled Pressure Relief) piston
ring as the top piston ring, see Fig. 9.
This ring has a double lap joint, and an
optimal pressure drop across the top
piston ring is ensured by relief grooves.
Furthermore, a ceramic coating has
been applied to the top piston ring to
increase wear resistance.
New standard
High topland
Topland
Previous standard
put is absorbed by the steel cylinder

cover, which has a much higher thermal
stability than the grey cast iron used for
the cylinder liners. As a consequence,
the reliability of the cylinder liner is further
enhanced by the introduction of the
high topland.
Cylinder 4
Fig. 7: Piston with high topland
Cylinder 5
Fig. 8: High topland, 7S70MC Mk 6 after 3000 hours service
sure an almost even distribution of the

thermal load from the combustion
gases over the circumference of the liner
and, as a consequence, the thermal load
on the cylinder liner as well as the second piston ring is reduced. This has
been confirmed by temperature measurements.
Upper piston ring with double-lap

S-seal and Controlled Pressure
Relief (CPR) gaps
Furthermore, the pressure drop across

the top piston ring has been optimised
with respect to wear on the cylinder
liner, piston rings and ring grooves.
Even heat distribution on 2nd

piston ring
2nd, 3rd and 4th piston rings with
oblique cut ring gaps
New piston ring material: RVK-C for 50-26
and RVK with plasma coating on 98-60
Fig. 9: CPR piston rings for MC engines
Cylinder cover
Piston
Piston cleaning ring
Cylinder liner
On testbed, the pressure drop across

the piston ring pack has been measured
with different configurations of piston
ring packs. With the CPR piston ring, it
is possible to choose the total area of
the relief grooves and the optimum
number of relief grooves, so as to provide the optimum pressure drop across
the whole piston ring pack. The optimum pressure drop is determined on
the basis of our service experience regarding running-in conditions and cylinder liner and piston ring wear rates for
each engine type.
With the controlled pressure relief piston
ring, the thermal and mechanical loads
on cylinder liner and piston rings are
reduced, which means that the CPR
piston ring provides higher reliability
of both the cylinder liner and the piston
ring pack. Consequently, the CPR
piston ring helps to increase the TBOs,
as has been clearly confirmed by more
than 20,000 hrs. in service.
Fig. 10: Piston cleaning (PC) ring
With the increasing mean indicated

pressure, the traditional angle-cut ring
gap may result in increased thermal
load on the cylinder liner. With the new
Thanks to the double lap joint, the

pressure drop will be almost constant
irrespective of the wear on the cylinder
liner and piston rings. This is in contrast
to the traditional angle-cut ring, with
which the cylinder condition slowly deteriorates as the liner wears. With the
CPR piston rings, a constant good cylinder condition and low wear rate can
be expected over the whole lifetime of
the liner.
CPR piston ring, the thermal load on

the cylinder liner is significantly reduced as no gas will pass through the
double lap joint. The relief grooves en-
A running-in layer of Aluminium Bronze

has recently been introduced on the
piston rings to facilitate running-in. By
virtue of this, no special running-in pro-
cedure is necessary, thus saving time

and money in service.
Piston cleaning ring (PC ring). The
purpose of this ring (Fig. 10) is to
scrape off excessive ash and carbon
formation on the piston topland and
thus prevent contact between the
cylinder liner and these deposits,
which would remove part of the cylinder
oil from the liner wall. Long-term tests on
an S80MC engine since 1994 show
very positive results, verifying the hypothesis that bore polish may be a
decisive factor in the deterioration of
the cylinder condition, especially for
high-rated large engines. Therefore,
PC rings are now standard on the
most recent large bore MC engines.
Now more than 80 cylinder units with
PC rings are in service.
Cylinder cut-out system. In the case

of low loads, the traditional problem is
fouling of the engine due to irregular
injection and atomisation, leading to
incomplete combustion.
The irregular injection may be caused
by jiggling of the governor, and/or play
in the connections in the fuel pump
rack control system. The effect in either
case is that the fuel pumps, when operating so close to the minimum injection
amount, may sometimes just have enough
index to inject fuel, at other times just not
enough index to do so.
By the introduction of a system where
approximately half of the cylinders are
cut out at low speed, the injection into
the remaining working cylinders is improved considerably, giving more stable
combustion and, consequently, stable
running and keeping particle emission
in the low speed range at a minimum.
To avoid that excessive amounts of

cylinder lubricating oil are collected in
cylinders that are temporarily deactivated, the cutting out is made by turns
between two groups of cylinders in
order to burn surplus lubricating oil
and keep the same thermal load on all
cylinders. Turns between the groups
are made on a time basis. The group
separation is determined in order to
halve the number of active cylinders
and to get the smoothest possible
firing order.
In order to obtain a safe start, the cutout system is disabled during the starting period and until the engine has
been stabilised.
The system has been in service for a
year on a series of 11K90MC-C engines,
and stable operation down to 13 r/min
(MCR is at 104 r/min) is achieved by
means of this system, see Fig. 11.
Cyl. 11
Solenoid valve
Group 1
Solenoid valve
Group 2
Without cylinder cut out
r/min
40
150
Min. r/min = 16
125
30
r/min
100
20
75
50
10
Air supply
7 bar
25
Index
0:30
1:30
2:30
3:30
4:30
5:30
0
6:30
min:s
With cylinder cut out
r/min
40
150
Min. r/min = 13
125
30
100
20
r/min
Cyl. 1
75
50
10
25
Index
0
0:30
Fig. 11: Cylinder cut-out system
1:30
2:30
3:30
4:30
5:30
6:30 min:s
Exhaust valve
Valve spindle
The seats with Alloy 50 on the small
Mk 3 engines and Stellite 6 on the large
Mk 3 engines have in general performed
satisfactorily.
Nimonic spindles are standard on engines of the 60 to 90 bore sizes. We
have received some queries regarding
spindles having many seemingly deep
dent marks after a few thousand hours
in service. However, Nimonic has proved
very resistant to blow-by despite dent
marks. The guiding overhaul interval of
16,000 hours for Nimonic spindles can
normally be met for the large engines
(80-90). For the engine sizes 50-70,
our experience indicates overhaul intervals of 10,000 to 12,000 hours.
However, we have received several
reports on short overhaul intervals
because the crew grind the valve seats
unnecessarily when they see dent
marks. We have therefore issued a
service letter, No. SL 98-356/HH with
photos for comparison purposes, so
that the crew will be better able to
assess the condition of the valves.
With regard to grinding, we recommend
that no more than 0.3 mm should be
removed by grinding each time a Nimonic valve is overhauled except if
there is a burn mark. In the latter case,
grinding should proceed until the burn
mark has been removed. To ensure
proper grinding of the Nimonic spindles,
a new, special grindstone has been
introduced.
Disc underside. Service experience
has confirmed that valve spindles with
Inconel 625 coated underside, even
under severe running conditions, can
limit the hot corrosion rate to about
0.3-0.6 mm/1000h, depending on
engine size. Nimonic spindles have a
similar resistance.
Stem. Due to scattered cases of worndown chrome layer at the air-spring
sealing rings, the thickness of the
chrome layer was increased from 0.11
to 0.3 mm.
Unfortunately, a fissuring problem has

been observed in a few cases in the
lower part of the chromed area. Lately,
we have also experienced some cases
of sticking valve spindles which seem
related to the peeling-off of the chrome,
again related to a lack of bonding between the valve stem and the chrome
layer.
To improve the wear resistance of the
stems and to avoid the use of chrome
for environmental reasons, a number
of new surface treatments have been
tested. A Cermet coating applied by
means of the so-called HVOF-procedure (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel) has
shown excellent results. The Cermet
coating has now been introduced, together with a matching new type of
seal. However, since this process is
not yet available everywhere, chromeplating will remain an alternative standard for the next few years.
Bottom piece
Seat. The great majority of Alloy 50
and Stellite 6 seats show satisfactory
results on Mk 3 engines. In new engines of the 60-90MC Mk 5 types, a
semi-cooled steel bottom piece with a
hardened seat has shown excellent
test results, and has subsequently
been introduced in combination with
the Nimonic 80A spindle.
O-ring damage. On some 50MC engines the lowermost O-ring between
bottom piece and cylinder cover has
been damaged, apparently because
of the formation of steam from water
trapped in the O-ring groove. Reduction of the outer diameter of the bottom piece just above the O-ring groove
eliminates the problem.
Valve housing
Gas duct. Cold corrosion in the upper
part of the gas duct has caused durability problems on the large Mk 1-3
engine types (>50MC), while the
small-bore engines generally do not
suffer from this phenomenon.
To increase the inside surface temperature and to avoid cold corrosion, a

heavy duct housing and reduced
cooling have been introduced on the
50-90MC engines.
By this means, it has been verified that
corrosion at the usual locations has
been reduced to a negligible level.
However, in some cases, especially on
S80MC engines, we have observed
corrosion in a new location at the
bottom of the gas duct near the bottom piece. Additional investigations
were carried out, and we decided to
change the water flow. The modified
water flow has been tested on two cylinders of each of two S80MC engines.
Inspections revealed a positive effect
and, consequently, it was decided to
introduce the arrangement.
Spindle guide. It is sometimes seen
that the lower third part of the bronze
bushing is worn and corroded, however,
without disturbing the functioning of
the valve. In a few cases we have
experienced shrinking of the bushing,
and to avoid this, the bronze material
has been replaced by surface hardened
cast iron.
Air spring
It is essential for the proper functioning
of the air spring that the seal between
the air piston and the air cylinder, and
the seal between the spindle stem and
the air cylinder, are perfect.
Sealing air. The introduction of a sealing
air arrangement supplied with control
air (instead of scavenge air) resulted in
a reduction of carbon deposits, etc. in
the sealing air chamber, but the oil mist
in the air spring was not able to prevent
wear of stem and seals in all cases.
We have therefore introduced a sealing
air system which incorporates oil mist
from the air spring chamber. This has
resulted in a cleaner sealing air chamber and less wear of the spindle stem,
spindle guide and stuffing box seals in
the air spring.
The new sealing air system can be

retrofitted on valves already in service
as an add-on block. On new valves,
the sealing air block is mounted directly on the air cylinder.
To ensure that only air mixed with oil
mist is used, a bent pipe is fitted in the
air cylinder with the intake well above
the normal oil level. On large bore engines with many cylinders it is particularly important to ensure a proper air
supply to the air spring. An insufficient
air supply might result in an excessively
high oil level above the intake pipe for
sealing air, resulting in camshaft oil
consumption and thus leading to coking and spindle sticking in the spindle
guide.
Seals. The sealing ring on the air
spring piston usually shows no wear or
very little wear. The seals in the stuffing
box of the air-spring chamber have
often proved to be worn on the early
types of sealing air system. When the
oil mist system is used, the standard
seals and the chromed stem generally
perform well.
Actuator
Wear on oil cylinder, piston and piston
rings is usually extremely low, and the
hydraulic actuators are generally causing very few operational disturbances.
Fuel oil system
Fuel injection pump. The so-called
Umbrella Type fuel injection pump
design has been used since 1991. This
involves a new sealing arrangement
which eliminates the risk of fuel oil
penetrating into the camshaft lube oil,
and this means that the separate camshaft lube oil system can be dispensed
with. Consequently, we have introduced
the uni-lube oil system as standard,
whereas the separate camshaft lube oil
system is still available as an option. As
there is thus no need for any tank, filters,
pumps and piping for the separate
camshaft system, the uni-lube oil system allows reductions in installation
cost, maintenance and space com10
pared with the traditional separate

main lubrication and camshaft lube oil
systems.
Fuel cam and roller. On the large bore
engines, skatemarks on the cams and
rollers are occasionally observed during running-in. The skatemarks originate from the reversing process where
the roller shifts position. In most cases,
these marks are rather of a cosmetic
nature, but they do not look good.
Phosphating of the rollers has eliminated the skating phenomenon.
Fuel pump reversing link. On a

number of 90MC engines, we have experienced low-cycle fatigue cracks on
the reversing links, as shown in Fig. 12,
position A.
Our service records contained no reports of earlier cracks or fractures at
that position, but a few incidents had
occurred with a fractured link from
cracks at position B. However, in
those cases the cause was found to
be a deviation from the specified material properties.
With regard to the B position, the design
was reviewed with respect to geometry, material, load and function, and the
actual execution (geometry and material) was also investigated.
Comprehensive measurements of
stresses in the reversing link were
carried out, and the movement of the
parts was tested to simulate all possible operating conditions on different
engines in service as well as on testbed.
A total of 15 engines were involved in
the investigation.
The conclusions from the investigation
were that the highest stresses come
from the impact when the link shifts
position. The link which shifts first
during the reversing of the engine, and
thus at the lowest speed of the camshaft, is exposed to the greatest impact.
However, malfunctioning when a link
fails to change position, and when fuel
injection starts with the link in the
wrong position, also gives rise to high
Crack in
camshaft
side
Fig. 12: Reversing link
stresses close to the acceptable in the

critical areas of the link.
The combination of a modified geometry, an improved air supply, and the
pneumatic damping of the movement
during reversing, see Fig. 13 and, for
the larger engines, the introduction of
improved material has increased the
margins considerably. Furthermore,
the changes in the pneumatic system
ensure that all links shift position during
a reversing sequence, eliminating the
situation where the link on a unit would
be in the wrong position.
In parallel with the development work,
vessels already in service as well as
vessels entering service were equipped
with the latest improved design, to ensure reliable operation. Follow-up on all
these vessels has shown that the problem has been solved.
Fuel injection valve. Cylinder covers
with three fuel valves are now standard
on the large bore 98, 90 and K80MC-C
type engines, leading to uniform heat

distribution and a general reduction of
the temperature level. The introduction
of the three-valve design has the additional advantage that the earlier experienced cavitation inside the fuel valve
spindle guides has been effectively
eliminated, thanks to the reduced oil
flow through each valve.
Fuel valves
During the last year, our so-called
mini-sac fuel valves have been in
service on a number of container vessels with K90MC engines. The service
results show a cleaner combustion
chamber and exhaust gas outlet ducts,
compared to units with conventional
fuel valves.
The relatively large sac volume in the

standard design fuel nozzle has a
negative influence on the formation of
soot particles and HC. The so-called
mini-sac fuel valve incorporates a conventional conical spindle seat as well
as a slide inside the fuel nozzle. The
mini-sac leaves the flow conditions in
the vicinity of the nozzle holes similar
to the flow conditions in the conventional fuel nozzle, but it has a strongly
reduced sac volume, only about 15%
of that of the conventional fuel valve,
which has proven to have a positive
influence on the cleanliness of the
combustion chamber.
Besides the mentioned benefit, the
mini-sac valves reduce the formation
of NOx during the combustion and
they are standard on engines with IMO
NOx compliance.
New optimized geometry of reversing links
We have recently conducted tests with

regular slide type fuel valves on a
12K90MC. Slide valves have the advantage over the mini-sac valve of having
no sac volume at all, thus the abovementioned benefits of the mini-sac
valve are even more pronounced for
this type of valve. On the mentioned
12K90MC, the application of the slide
valve compared to the mini-sac valve
gave a 40% reduction of smoke
(BSN10), while HC and CO were
reduced by 33% and 42% respectively,
though all from a low level. NOx was
reduced by 14%. The fuel consumption is virtually unchanged, however,
with a slight reduction at part load, see
Fig. 14.
The mini-sac fuel valves have now
been introduced as our standard for
large-bore engines. Development work
Internal damping of reversing link movement
Internal throttle valves
A
inner
lips
Optimized
machined groove
Reversing
link
Slightly sloped for

inner contact
Air cylinder
External damping of reversing link
Edges rounded
External throttle valve
Safety valves
Internal throttle
valves
B
A
Less depth of
groove around
reversing
shaft pin
Increased
roundings
Non-return valve
Non-return valve
Reversing
link
Fig. 13: Countermeasures to prevent cracks in reversing link
11
Standard 90MC
Mini sac
sembled, as it is machined in the

tightened condition
Thin shell bearings normally have a
higher-quality running surface than
thick shell bearings, as the cooling
is easier to control during casting
With a thin shell bearing, it is possible to use the stronger material
Sn40Al (tin-aluminium) which, for
the smaller two-stroke engines, has
been applied already for the main
bearing with great success. The
bearing shell has no overlay and,
consequently, no Ni-layer. These
bearings have now been in service
on several engines (S26MC - 42MC)
for up to 20,000 hours with good results.
Atomizer sac
volume 1690 mm 3
Atomizer sac
volume 520 mm 3
Fig. 14: Fuel valves
continues with a view to further reduction of the sac volumes with a view to
improvement of the emission level.
Although the stronger bearing metal

could withstand a higher load, the main
bearing load has not been increased,
i.e. the stronger metal is used solely to
increase the safety margin.
The design of the thick bearing shell
has also been continuously improved,
most recently by the introduction of
vertical guide pins between the upper
and lower shells and modification of the
bearing caps to avoid misalignment. The
geometry of the bearing shells (both
thick and thin shells) is rarely ideal in

the free condition, i.e. when the bearings have just been unpacked from
the supplier. These geometrical variations sometimes make the assembly
of the upper and the lower shells difficult, and misalignment between the
two halves can create an unintended
oil scraping edge. This misalignment is
eliminated by using the vertical guide
pins, the design of which makes top
clearance adjustment possible by using shims and yet retaining the necessary adjustment properties.
Main engine structure
Some years ago, we received information about cracks in the supporting ribs
of the foremost crossgirder in the thrust
bearing section on some engines, and
repair methods have been worked out
and used on the engines in question
with good results.
To reduce sensitivity to variations in
production and service load, we immediately modified the welding requirements and introduced larger roundings
at the rib-ends for new engines, as
shown in Fig. 15, and no problems
have been seen on these engines.
Bearings
Y-Y
The MC engines were originally designed

with white metal bearings for the crosshead, crankpin and main bearings. The
main bearings were of the so-called
thick shell design, and the other two of
the thin shell design.
Previous design
Quality
EN601M,Q2
Full penetration
K-butt weld
Y
Fillet weld with
concave finish
The development towards high specific

engine output has resulted in the gradual introduction of the thin shell design
for the main bearings too. All new engine types, small bore as well as large
bore, introduced since the late eighties,
have thus been provided with a modern thin shell bearing design, offering
the following advantages:
1/2-V butt weld

with concave finish
X-X
Fillet weld
The bore in the housing remains perfectly circular when the engine is asFig. 15: Thrust bearing ribs
12
Improved design
'Calliper' design
B-B
A-A
C
Top bracing
Indicated area
to be UT-tested
In 1989, we introduced the hydraulically

adjustable top bracing with the aim of
having a system that is capable of coping with the inevitable hull deflections
which, because of the use of high tensile strength steel in shipbuilding, give
rise to excessive stresses in the traditional mechanical type of top bracing.
C-C
After that a limited number of teething

problems have been solved, this system
works satisfactorily.
The drawback of the hydraulically
adjustable top bracing, however, is its
higher first cost, compared with the
traditional mechanical top bracing. For
this reason we have tested a revised
design of the mechanical top bracing.
Increased stiffness of thrust bearing support
Fig. 16 : Thrust bearing housing
In our efforts to design an improved mechanical top bracing, we have recently

made a design with two beams, as
shown in Fig. 17. This design has been
tested in service since early 1997.
A-A
The basic idea with this design is that it

is rigid in the athwartship direction and
sufficiently flexible in the longitudinal
direction to be able to adapt to movements between the engine and the hull.
As of now, 15 vessels are in service with
this design and the service experience
is excellent.
Conclusion
Fig. 17: Top bracing
However investigations in connection

with increasing the engine power, and
thus the propeller thrust, have prompted
us to modify the thrust bearing housing
into the so-called calliper design. By
making the horizontal stiffener plate
that connects the fore and aft thrust
bearing supports in one piece, and

shaping it like a calliper, see Fig. 16, a
significantly wider design margin has
been obtained, even though the engine
output has been increased at the
same time.
The well-proven MC engine design

concept introduced in 1983 has been
the backbone of our engine programme
ever since. However, continuous development and design work has been
added all the time in order to increase
the reliability and the specific power of
the engines so as to comply with the
requirements of the highly competitive
and efficient marine market.
This has only been possible with close
cooperation and many open and free
discussions among shipowners, engine
manufacturers and the engine designer
over the years.
13

MC Engines

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MC Engines

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The MC Engines

Design and Experience Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fuel oil system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Main engine structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This situation also means that, from time

As the first L35MC entered service in

In the following, we will describe recent

The MC engine programme of 1998-1999

Fig. 1 shows the reference list as at

Throughout the years, the engines have

will enhance reliability and availability

Fig. 1: MC engines in service and ordered as at 1998.10.01

120 140 160

Fig. 2: The two-stroke MC engine programme 1998-1999

On 26, 35 and 42MC

On 50, 60 and 70MC

On S70 and S80MC

1.000 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000

Fig. 3: Piston ring wear

On 50, 60 and 70MC

On 26, 35 and 42MC

On S70 and S80MC

1.000 0.001 0.010

Wear rate in mm/1000 hours

Fig. 4: Cylinder liner wear

which, with a wear limit for the ring of

der lube oil dosage at 0.89 g/bhph is

On 50, 60 and 70MC

On 26, 35 and 42MC

Countermeasures to rectify this situation

On S70 and S80MC

Number of cylinders measured

Number of cylinders measured

Number of cylinders measured

Fig. 5: Cylinder lubricating oil consumption

New cylinder lube oil system. Tests

Pressure control unit

Fig. 6: New cylinder lubricating oil consumption

cylinder lube oil consumption of 1.00

Design and Experience

Tests with high topland pistons were

cylinder condition strongly depends on

put is absorbed by the steel cylinder

Fig. 7: Piston with high topland

Fig. 8: High topland, 7S70MC Mk 6 after 3000 hours service

sure an almost even distribution of the

Upper piston ring with double-lap

Furthermore, the pressure drop across

Even heat distribution on 2nd

Fig. 9: CPR piston rings for MC engines

Piston cleaning ring

On testbed, the pressure drop across

Fig. 10: Piston cleaning (PC) ring

With the increasing mean indicated

Thanks to the double lap joint, the

CPR piston ring, the thermal load on

A running-in layer of Aluminium Bronze

cedure is necessary, thus saving time

Cylinder cut-out system. In the case

To avoid that excessive amounts of

Without cylinder cut out

With cylinder cut out

Fig. 11: Cylinder cut-out system

Unfortunately, a fissuring problem has