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What is Power Balancing of Marine

Engines?
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By Mohit | In: Main Engine | Last Updated on July 20, 2016

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The efficiency of the overall ship depends a lot on the efficiency of the engine running in its engine room.
One of the important factors to ensure efficiency of marine engines is to control the power produced from
each of its cylinder. The process of making fine adjustments to achieve equal power from all engine
cylinders is known as power balancing.

Power balancing of engines is carried out by making minor adjustment to fuel pumps of individual
cylinders. The quantity of fuel injected in the cylinder plays the most important role in power balancing.
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Engine Diagram

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Diesel Engine Fuel Pump

The small adjustments made to the fuel pumps should be such that the units are not overloaded and the
exhaust temperature doesnt go beyond the safe limits. It is therefore necessary to be extremely careful
while carrying out adjustments for power balancing.

Important Points While Carrying out Power Balancing of Marine Engines

Power balancing should be done in such a way that:

Individual units are not overloaded

Exhaust temperature of the units do not rise above the acceptable levels

Fuel pumps are able to cut off when engine is stopped

Things to check while making Adjustments for Power Balancing of Marine Engines
 Fuel pump rack position

Exhaust and cooling water return temperatures for each cylinder of marine engine

Measurements from indicator diagram

VIT adjustment

It is to note that not all cylinder units show equal exhaust temperatures. However, for each engine the
figures follow a certain path which can help in accessing a situation. Peak or maximum pressure of the
cylinders should also be checked along with cylinder temperatures.

If proper care is not taken during power balancing, the marine engine can become unbalanced, leading to
other serious problems.

Unbalanced situation of the engine might lead to

Overloading of bearings and running gears

Overheating or bearing failure

Piston blow past

Overheated or piston seizure

Vibration followed by fatigue

Fatigue cracking in bearings, studs, or bolts

 Cracking in crankshaft

Failure of holding down bolts

If you are the watching keeping officer, you must check the following things to ensure smooth power
balancing of marine engines:

Check relevant temperature and pressures (exhaust and cooling return temperatures)

Check lubricating oil and turbo charger pressures

Check for any unusual noise or vibration

Keep an eye on the exhaust for any kind of smoke

Check if the turbocharger is running smoothly without surging or panting

Check fuel pump settings

Measure clearances and timings of fuel pumps when engine is not working

Ensure that fuel injectors are changed at regular intervals of time after cleaning and testing. A
faulty injector would not only cause loss in power but would also lead to overloading of other
cylinders as the governor would try to maintain the normal total power output

Carry out maintenance of the marine engine at regular interval of time and note down any
deviation from the normal running speed

Any error found should be rectified at the earliest.

Do you have any more important information on power balancing of marine engines? Kindly share it with
others in comments below.

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Tags: marine diesel engines Marine engines ship engine

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About Mohit
Mohit Kaushik is a marine engineer sailing with Maersk Shipping. He handles website development and
technical support at Marine Insight. Apart from handling web development projects, he also manages a
logistics company and have a keen interest in modern logistic technologies .

Comments

istiyak says
MAY 6, 2014 AT 9:02 AM

dear sir. i want to know how to calculate cylinder power balanc?

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