Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

A general purpose diagnostic technique for marine diesel engines – Application

on the main propulsion and auxiliary diesel units of a marine vessel
V.T. Lamaris *, D.T. Hountalas
Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory, Thermal Engineering Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens,
9 Heroon Polytechniou St., Zografou Campus, 15780 Athens, Greece

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Diesel engines are widely used in marine applications (i.e. propulsion and auxiliaries) except from a few
Received 5 March 2009 cases where gas or steam turbines are used. This is the result of their high efficiency, power concentration
Received in revised form 17 October 2009 and reliability compared to other compatible or alternative power sources. The proper and efficient oper-
Accepted 30 October 2009
ation of the engines (main engine and diesel generator units) in marine applications is critical, and there-
fore techniques or systems that determine engine current condition and detect potential faults are
extremely important. Furthermore, it is advantageous when such techniques can be applied on different
Keywords:
engine configurations and provide reliable results, because on a vessel usually exist diesel engines of dif-
Diagnosis
Condition monitoring
ferent type, i.e. the main propulsion unit is a large low-speed two-stroke diesel engine while the diesel
Marine generators are four-stroke medium or high speed engines. In the present work is described and evaluated
Diesel engines for the first time the application of an improved diagnostic technique, developed by the authors, on both
the main engine and the auxiliary units of a commercial marine vessel. The diagnostic technique is based
on a thermodynamic simulation model. The simulation model embedded in the technique has been mod-
ified, namely an existing two-zone model is replaced by a multi-zone one. With this modification it is
avoided model constant tuning with the operating conditions. This is extremely important for the diag-
nostic philosophy of the proposed technique. Using data from engine shop tests, the simulation model is
calibrated (i.e. model constants are determined) and the engine reference condition is obtained. The sim-
ulation model is then used to estimate the current engine condition, using field measurements (i.e. cyl-
inder pressure measurements, periphery data, etc.). From the results it is revealed that the diagnosis
method provides detailed information for the operating condition of both engines and the values of
parameters that cannot be measured on the field. To further evaluate the diagnostic procedure, results
of the diagnosis analysis are compared with respective readings from existing instrumentation (i.e. brake
power output, etc.), showing good agreement. From the investigation it is shown that the diagnostic tech-
nique can be applied on both engine types without modifications providing a useful integrated solution
for the entire vessel power plant. This is extremely important because conventional systems are usually
suitable only for the main engine even though auxiliary units are of significant importance.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction primary propulsion or auxiliary units may have severe conse-

The last decades, the diesel engine has attained a leading posi-
tion in marine applications, so that more than 99% of large com-
mercial vessels adopt this type of engine as the prime mover for
their propulsion systems. The two-stroke large-bore turbocharged
diesel engine has a dominant position in the marine sector because
it is able to cope with the market demand for higher power output,
use of low grade oil, superior efficiency, reliability and long term
operation [1]. A major objective for the marine diesel engine is reli-
ability and efficiency. Any malfunction, fault or failure of the vessel
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 210 7723528; fax: +30 210 7723478.
E-mail address: lamaris@central.ntua.gr (V.T. Lamaris).
quences that affect both vessel safety and reliability. For this rea-
son, various techniques and systems for condition monitoring
and fault detection of marine diesel engines have been introduced
and applied [2].
A simplified approach for diesel engine condition monitoring is
the use of conventional operating data (i.e. exhaust gas tempera-
ture, peak combustion pressure, etc.). These data, even though
valuable, are not usually sufficient to detect accurately and effi-
ciently the actual cause for an engine malfunction. For this reason,
more complex techniques, have been developed for fault diagnosis.
These techniques [2,3] are usually statistical approaches that use
specific mathematic and computational tools to process a large
amount of engine operating data. However, during the last decade

0196-8904/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2009.10.031
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 741

Nomenclature

aac constant (–) q density (kg/m3)

af combustion rate exponent / flow parameter
ao combustion rate exponent Ueq equivalence ratio
A area (m2)
b constant (–) Subscripts
c constant (–) a air
Cd discharge coefficient (–) bl blow-by
dinj injector hole diameter (m) C compressor
D cylinder bore (m) CQ compression quality
Ec activation energy (K) cal calculated
f function car characteristic
hc heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) cur current
Hcalor lower calorific value (J/kg) del delay
k turbulent kinetic energy (J) eff effective
Kb constant (–) exh exhaust
Kf bulk modulus of compressibility (N/m2) exp experimental
kis load parameter (–) f fuel
l length (m) fc combustion zone
L break-up length (m) fz fresh air zone
m mass (kg) g gas
m _ mass flow rate (kg/s) g,cum gross, cumulative
nz total number of zones (–) inl inlet
P pressure (N/m2) inj injector
Q_ volumetric flow rate (m3/s) is isentropic
Q heat release (J) IQ injector quality
r radius (m) j index
R ideal gas constant (J/kg/K) l liquid
Spr integral value in ignition delay correlation (–) p pump
t time (s) PC pump condition
T temperature (K) ref reference
u velocity (m/s) scav scavenging
U rotor tip velocity (m/s) tot total
V volume (m3) T turbine
W weighting matrix w wall
x penetration length
X matrix Abbreviations
yp rack position (–) A/C air cooler
Y, Z matrices ATDC after top dead centre
CA crank angle
Greek CR geometrical compression ratio
b matrix D/G diesel generator
bo matrix M/E main engine
dr equivalent cylinder-ring clearance (m) T/C turbocharger
Dhis isentropic specific enthalpy variation (m2/s2) TDC top dead centre
DP pressure difference (N/m2) VIT variable injection timing
e air cooler efficiency (–) ROHR rate of heat release
et viscous dissipation rate (W/kg)
g efficiency (–) Dimensionless groups
h crank angle (deg) Pr Prandtl number
k thermal conductivity (W/m/K) Re Reynolds number

more sophisticated methods have been developed based on neural
networks [4,5] and genetic algorithms [6,7]. These methods require
a large amount of operating data corresponding to both normal
and faulty operation and also ‘‘training” of the computational tool
to detect the actual cause for engine faults. The reliability of these
methodologies depends on the amount of operating data available
and the database of available faults. However, this approach has
drawbacks, since it cannot provide reliable results for non-experi-
enced faults, it is strongly related to a specific engine type, it re-
quires an enormous amount of data and most important it
provides no information for engine tuning.
Another approach for diesel engine fault diagnosis is based on the
processing of vibration signals [8,9]. This method utilizes measured
vibration data (i.e. torsional) from the engine crankshaft and after
spectrum analysis provides the existence of a fault. This methodol-
ogy is applicable for various engine types even if a fault database is
not available. However, it usually cannot provide the actual cause
for a fault. This originates from the nature of the methodology. A po-
tential fault results to an exiting force spectrum which is different in
frequency or phase from the one corresponding to uniform and nor-
mal cylinder operation. This deviating spectrum is measured and
the existence of torsional stresses induced from non-uniform engine
operation is detected. However, it is not always clear the origin of
these extraordinary torsional vibrations on the engine crankshaft.
To overcome the previous drawbacks an alternative approach
[10–12] is proposed and applied in the present work. The diagnosis
742 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

method is based on a thermodynamic model, which acts as an en- while the instantaneous heat transfer rate is obtained from:
gine simulator and describes the condition of the engine and its h  i
components using parameters referred to as ‘‘constants”. These Q_ ¼ A hc ðT g  T w Þ þ cr T 4g  T 4w ð2Þ
are automatically estimated from the simulator to match a given
engine performance. Their reference values are estimated from The mean gas temperature is derived from the following
shop and sea trial data and the corresponding simulator is consid- relation:
ered as a ‘‘new” engine for the present analysis. During diagnosis Pn z
mi cv i T i
the engine simulator is calibrated to match the current engine per- T g ¼ Pi¼1
nz ð3Þ
i¼1 mi c v i
formance and the constant values are used to determine the cur-
rent engine condition. where index i denotes the ‘ith’ zone of a total number of nz (air zone
Existing diagnostic methods for marine applications are usually included).
applicable only on the main engine. This is mainly due to the The overall heat exchange rate of Eq. (2) is distributed to the
necessity for a trigger source (i.e. a number of marks on the engine surrounding air and the jet zones according to their mass, temper-
flywheel) and the knowledge of cylinder TDC position. However, it ature and specific heat capacity as follows:
is usually very difficult to have such a trigger for the higher speed
auxiliary engines. In the present work, this is overcome by intro- Q_ ðmj cv j T j Þ
Q_ j ¼ Pnz ð4Þ
ducing a thermodynamic method for TDC estimation. Therefore, i¼1 mi c v i T i
no external trigger is necessary for the measurement because con-
tinuous cylinder pressure traces (P–t) are taken and processed to
2.2.2. Cylinder blow-by
provide a mean one with crank angle reference.
An important parameter for engine diagnosis is blow-by which
In the present work, the proposed diagnostic technique is ap-
affects both the compression and combustion expansion strokes
plied on both the main engine (i.e. M/E) and the diesel generator
[17,18]. In the present work a simplified approach is followed, in-
(i.e. D/G) of a commercial vessel. The target is to verify the simula-
stead of a detailed one developed in the past [19], by using an
tion model’s predictive ability and evaluate the diagnostic method
equivalent blow-by area (Aeq) equal to:
for estimating the condition and tuning of both engines. Further-
more, it is investigated the ability to detect ‘‘hidden” irregularities Aeq ¼ pDdr ð5Þ
or malfunctions, that cannot be detected using conventional
parameters (i.e. peak pressure, exhaust temperature, etc.). and isentropic compressible flow equations for the estimation of
The results reveal that the proposed diagnostic technique can the blow-by gas flow. In the previous expression, dr is the equiva-
estimate adequately the operating condition of both engines. From lent cylinder-ring clearance which defines the level of cylinder
the diagnosis it is revealed that even though both engines are gen- liner–ring wear.
erally in a good condition, there is need for tuning that will further As long as the fresh air zone exists blow-by is abstracted from it.
improve their performance, especially the one of the D/G. For the When the burning zone (i.e. fuel jet) occupies the entire combus-
last a potential problem is detected related to its turbine that re- tion chamber, blow-by mass is distributed to each zone as follows:
quires attention, accompanied by poor performance of one injector mi
dmbl;i ¼ dmbl;tot  ð6Þ
which requires inspection. mtot
where dmbl,tot is the total blow-by mass, mi the zone mass and mtot
2. The engine simulation model – brief description
the total instantaneous cylinder charge mass.
2.1. General
2.2.3. The jet model
The ‘‘heart” of the diagnosis method is a multi-zone combus- A multi-zone combustion model is used to simulate the com-
tion model, based on thermodynamics capable to describe a vari- bustion mechanism, details of which can be found in [13,14]. For
ety of engine configurations [13,14]. This is a basic modification of this reason in the present work, a description is given only for zone
the present diagnostic technique because up to now a simpler velocity which, as shown latter on, is related to the air entrainment
two-zone model was used [10,11,15]. The reason for the modifica- rate and through this to injector quality.
tion is that the multi-zone approach describes more accurately The penetration of the fuel jet is estimated from empirical cor-
the air–fuel mixing mechanism and accounts for the effect of relations that provide the velocity along the spray axis [13,20] as
engine geometry and fuel injection characteristics upon it. This follows:
enables the application of the proposed model on different engine  0:5
2 DP
types without modification of model constants and ‘‘constant tun- u ¼ uinj ¼ cd for x < L
q1
ing” with operating conditions. The last is important because the  n ð7Þ
diagnostic technique is based on the evaluation of constant L
u ¼ uinj for x P L
values. x

where the break-up length ‘‘L” is given from the following expres-
2.2. Simulation of in-cylinder processes
sion [20,21]:
 0:5
2.2.1. Heat transfer model ql
A turbulent kinetic energy viscous dissipation rate k  et model L ¼ uinj tbreak ffi c1 dinj ð8Þ
qa
is used to determine the characteristic velocity for the heat transfer
calculations as proposed by Assanis and Heywood [16] and de- c1 is a constant and qa and ql the densities of air and fuel,
scribed by detail in previous publications [13,14]. The heat transfer respectively.
coefficient is estimated using the following relation, The effect of air swirl on zone velocity has been considered
using the approach described in [13]. After impingement on the
k
hc ¼ cRe0:8 Pr0:33 ð1Þ cylinder walls, the wall jet theory of Glauert [22] is used to deter-
lcar mine the jet history upon the cylinder walls.
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 743

2.2.4. Air entrainment rate manifolds (intake–exhaust). The mass flow rate through the tur-
The air entrainment rate into each zone is estimated from bine nozzle is calculated using isentropic flow relations and the
momentum conservation as follows [14]: effective area Aeff of the turbine nozzle. This is adequate for the
  M/E and provides relatively good results for the D/G as well.
uinj
mf uinj ¼ ðma þ mf Þup ) ma ¼ mf  mf ð9aÞ
up
2.5. The scavenging model
ma;cor ¼ ca ma ð9bÞ
Scavenging is very important for two-stroke turbocharged en-
The air entrainment rate coefficient ‘‘ca” is used to adjust the gines [21]. For this reason a two-zone scavenging model has been
overall air entrainment rate, to account for combustion chamber developed, which divides the cylinder contents into two parts: one
geometry and mainly injector dispersion quality. consisting only of fresh entrained air, and a second consisting of
combustion products from the previous cycle and fresh entrained
2.2.5. Evaporation air. With this new approach, part of the intake air escapes directly
The injected fuel is distributed to the zones and is assumed to into the exhaust manifold (short-circuiting) affecting the exhaust
have a diameter equal to the Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD). The last gas temperature. If dma,inl is the amount of air entering the cylin-
is different for each zone since it depends [13,23] on the injection der, one part enters the fresh air and another the combustion prod-
velocity. ucts zone. These are given from the following two relations:
For droplet evaporation the model of Borman and Johnson is
used, described in [13]. dma;fz ¼ dma;inl ð1  C 1scav Þ ð13aÞ

2.2.6. Ignition delay dma;cz ¼ dma;inl  C 1scav ð13bÞ

Ignition delay of each zone is determined from the relation
If dmg,exh is the total amount of exhausted cylinder mass to the
[13,20],
exhaust manifold, this is taken partially from the fresh air zone and
Z t the combustion products one. These masses are given from the fol-
1
Spr ¼   dt ¼ 1 ð10Þ lowing relations:
0 adel P2:5
g U1:04
eq exp 5000
Tg
dmg;fz ¼ dmg;exh  C 2scav ð14aÞ
where ‘‘Ueq” is the local equivalence ratio of the fuel air mixture in-
side the zone, Tg is the local temperature in K, and Pg the cylinder
dmg;cz ¼ dmg;exh ð1  C 2scav Þ ð14bÞ
pressure expressed in bar.
Constant adel depends on the quality of the fuel. where C1scav and C2scav are the constants of the scavenging model.
At the end of scavenging (start of compression stroke), perfect mix-
2.2.7. Combustion rate ing between the two zones is assumed resulting to a single zone.
The combustion rate of fuel is modeled using an Arrhenius type The constants are estimated using an iterative procedure to match
equation of the form [13,23], the measured exhaust gas temperature before the turbine.
Ec
_ fb ¼ K b C af
m ao
f Co e
T ð11Þ
2.6. Turbocharger
where Kb is a constant, Ec the reduced activation energy (K) and Cf,
Co are the mass concentrations of fuel and oxygen respectively. Usually it is difficult to obtain characteristic charts for the com-
pressor and the turbine. To overcome the problem the method of
2.3. The fuel injection system operation similarity [26,27] is used to reproduce the charts from
available experimental data (i.e. shop tests). The method is effi-
The injection rate and initial conditions at the injector nozzle cient for engine loads in the range of 40–100% and uses a least
are estimated using a simplified approach which is suitable for squares method to calculate the polynomial coefficients that fit
diagnosis [25]. In this, the following control volumes are consid- the following values:
ered: High pressure pump chamber (1), Delivery valve chamber
(2), Delivery pipe from pump to injector (3) and Injector (4). The gisC ¼ f1 ð/Þ ð15Þ
pressure of each control volume is estimated from the following gisT ¼ f2 ð/Þ ð16Þ
relation [24,25]: 2
kis ¼ f3 ð/Þ ¼ Dhis =U ð17Þ
 
dPj K f dV j
¼  Q_ tj ð12Þ _ qAUÞ is the flow coefficient.
where / ¼ m=ð
dt V j dt
The data required are:
where Q_ tj ¼ RQ_ j is the total net volume flow rate into the control
volume, dVj/dt is the rate of volume variation and ‘‘j” is the corre- (a) pressure before and after the compressor,
sponding volume. (b) pressure before and after the turbine,
In this simplified approach the delivery valve is modeled as a (c) air temperature before and after the compressor,
check valve allowing fuel flow to only one direction. The injector (d) exhaust gas temperature before and after the turbine,
is modeled in a similar way. The pressure history inside the fuel (e) rotational speed of the turbocharger and
pipe is obtained using the method of characteristics to solve un- (f) air and exhaust gas mass flow rate calculated from the sim-
steady flow equations [24]. ulation using the previous data.

2.4. Simulation of inlet and exhaust system The exhaust gas mass flow rate is calculated using compressible
flow relations [26] and the equivalent nozzle flow area ‘‘Aeff”. The
In the present work the filling–emptying method [21] is used to last is estimated from the shop test data (reference value) to match
estimate the pressure–temperature versus time history in the two the measured exhaust manifold pressure.
744 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

2.7. Air cooler Table 2

Constant values determined from calibration procedure.

A/C pressure drop and efficiency are functions of mass flow as Constant Description Eq. (–)
follows: CR Compression ratio (–)
c Constant for heat transfer coefficient ratio (1)
e ¼ 1  bm_ 2 ð18Þ dr Equivalent piston ring clearance (5)
_2 Tw Cylinder wall temperature (2)
DPac ¼ aac m ð19Þ
adel Constant for ignition delay (10)
ca Constant for air entrainment rate (9b)
where efficiency ‘‘e” is defined as, Kb Constant for combustion rate (11)
Aeff Equivalent nozzle effective area (–)
T a;in  T a;out cp Constant for fuel pump condition (26)
e¼ ð20Þ
T a;in  T c;in aac Constant for A/C pressure drop (19)
b Constant for A/C effectiveness (18)
subscripts ‘‘a, c, in and out” denote respectively: air, cooling med-
ium, inlet and outlet from air cooler. Constants ‘‘aac” and ‘‘b” are
estimated from a constants determination procedure using shop
test data.

3. The proposed diagnostic method

For diagnosis are usually utilized data obtained from measur-

able engine parameters, i.e. pressures, temperatures, etc. But these
parameters are influenced from a number of subsystems making
the distinction of the actual cause for a fault extremely difficult. Fig. 1. Constant determination philosophy.
For example, a low peak combustion pressure can be the result
of low fuel flow rate, a faulty injector, improper injection advance,
low boost pressure, increased blow-by, etc. Therefore, it is neces- ment errors on the field. The condition of an engine component or
sary to develop a method that can provide the actual cause. To subsystem results from:
achieve this a stepwise approach is adopted which distinguishes b
the parameters affecting the compression stroke, the combustion  100% ð22Þ
bo
expansion stroke and the gas exchange process.
The method is based on the aforementioned multi-zone model.
Initially the model is calibrated to predict the shop test data of 4. Model constants
Table 1. From this procedure the reference model constants are
estimated and the corresponding simulator is the ‘‘new” engine. 4.1. Determination procedure
In Table 2 are given the model constants which are estimated from
the calibration procedure and the equations in which they are Constants values are estimated using a least squares method
involved. aiming to the minimization of the following function:
In Fig. 1 is given a schematic depiction of the calibration X
procedure, where Xj is the simulation model input data (i.e. engine ferr ðb1;2;...;j Þ ¼ ðY exp;i  Y cal;i Þ2 ð23Þ
i
speed, etc.), Ycal,j the calculated output (i.e. power output, etc.) and
Yexp,j the corresponding measured values. Variables bj are the mod- where Yexp and Ycal are the matrices of the experimental and calcu-
el constants estimated from the calibration procedure. lated values respectively. The problem is reduced to the minimiza-
The procedure is repeated for the current operating conditions tion of the sum of squares function ferr which is non-linear in
and a new set of model constants is estimated. The corresponding parameters as follows:
simulator is now referred to as the ‘‘current” engine. ðkÞ
A fault or malfunction exists if the following criterion is bkþ1 ¼ bk þ Z k X TðkÞ ðY exp  Y cal Þ where
ð24Þ
satisfied: Z 1ðkÞ  X TðkÞ WX ðkÞ
 
b  bo  where k is the iteration number and X the sensitivity matrix defined
 
 b   100% P 3% ð21Þ
by,
o
2 3 2 @Y @Y 1;cal
3
1;cal
where b is the ‘‘current” engine constant and bo the ‘‘new” engine X 11  X 1j @b1
 @bj
ones. The three percent error limit is used to account for measure- 6 7 6  7
X¼4    5¼6 4   7
5 ð25Þ
@Y i;cal @Y i;cal
X i1  X ij @b1
 @bj
Table 1
Shop test data used for model calibration. W is a weighting matrix that considers for the importance of each
parameter by either including or excluding it from the calculation
Main engine data Inlet/exhaust system data
(values 1 and 0 respectively).
Engine speed Gas pressure before/after the turbine The constants determination procedure is divided into two
Fuel flow rate Turbine speed
Brake power output Air pressure before/after compressor
parts. The first involves the closed part of the engine cycle and
Peak firing pressure Gas temperature before/after the turbine the second is related to the gas exchange mechanism and the in-
Peak compression pressure Compressor air inlet temperature volved subsystems.
Fuel rack setting Air temperature before/after the air cooler As mentioned it is not easy to use a crankshaft encoder for TDC
VIT Index setting Water temperature before/after A/C
measurement especially on auxiliary engines without serious mod-
Air cooler pressure drop
ifications. However, the accurate estimation of TDC position is
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 745

important, because a 1° CA error results to a corresponding error of On the other hand, for the current engine condition the entire
8–10% in cylinder indicated power output [21]. As already de- cylinder pressure diagram is used. In this case, the accuracy of
scribed TDC position is estimated using a thermodynamic method the constant determination procedure is revealed from Fig. 3a
developed, evaluated and published by the authors in the past and b where the comparison between the calculated and measured
[12,14], having an accuracy of 0.1°–0.2° CA. The validity of the cylinder pressure traces for M/E and D/G at the current state is
method is verified herein, from the accurate prediction of engine given.
power output for both main and auxiliary units.
The reference values of model constants (i.e. ‘‘bo”) are calculated 4.2. Correlation between engine parameters and model constant
using the peak firing and compression pressure values of the shop values
tests. This is a standard practice because cylinder pressure traces
from shop tests are usually not available. However this is not a The present diagnostic methodology is based on the relation be-
problem because the engine in this state is in an excellent condi- tween model constants with engine components. This has been al-
tion, i.e. minimum blow-by, etc., and the CR is known. This is ver- ready investigated from a sensitivity analysis, described by detail
ified from Fig. 2, where it is given a comparison between M/E shop in [10,11] referring to the two-zone model. The procedure has been
test data and calculated values revealing a good agreement. repeated herein and similar results have been obtained. The main
difference refers to constants that are related to the combustion
mechanism (i.e. use of a multi-zone instead of a two-zone ap-
12000 proach). From this procedure the main findings are given in the
SYMBOLS: SHOP TEST
following.

T/C Speed (rpm)

LINES : SIMULATION 10000

8000 4.2.1. Constants related to the compression mechanism

350 TURBINE SPEED CR: has the highest effect on the initial part of the compression
DP. Exhaust (mmW)

300 6000 stroke, while constant dr which provides the degree of cylinder/ring
250 4000 wear affects mostly the part around TDC, having the most signifi-
200 cant effect on peak compression pressure angle by shifting its value
2000 to the left relatively to TDC position [17]. Tw: has a similar effect, as
150 EXH. BACK-PRESSURE
250 dr, but less pronounced. Constant c affects mainly the late part of
100
DP. Cooler (mmW)

200 compression and is obtained from the shop test data, because it
50
is characteristic for a specific engine type. Finally TDC position is
0 150 estimated thermodynamically from the constant determination
4.0 AIR COOLER PRES. DROP procedure. The previous constants are estimated so that the calcu-
Manifold Press. (bar)

100
3.5 lated cylinder compression trace matches accurately the measured
3.0 50 one for all operating conditions examined.
2.5
INLET 0
2.0 4.2.2. Constants related to the combustion expansion stroke
EXHAUST
1.5 Constant adel is related to the ignition delay period and constant
1.0 CYLINDER 500
Kb is related to the pressure derivative after ignition.
Gas Temperature (C)

0.5 TURBINE IN
450
TURBINE OUT
0.0 4.2.3. Constants related to the fuel injection system
400
Constant ca is related to the peak combustion pressure and used
350
to estimate injector dispersion quality. On the other hand, for the
300 fuel pump use is made of the fuel rack position to define its condi-
250 tion. This is standard practice when no measured injection pres-
sure is available. Therefore, fuel mass flow rate is related to the
200
pump index ‘‘yp” as follows:
180 CYLINDER PRESSURE 240
Air Temperature (C)
Max. Pressure (bar)

160 200
_ f ¼ cp qf yp
m ð26Þ
140
160 where constant cp is related to the overall condition of the fuel
120 pump.
120
100 COOLER IN
80
80 COOLER OUT 4.2.4. Constants related to the inlet/exhaust system
60 40 Constant aac determines the degree of A/C pollution while con-
40 0 stant b is related to its effectiveness and is used to express its effi-
210
ciency. Constant Aeff is related to the mean pressure before the
20000
POWER 205 turbine and represents the condition of the turbine inlet nozzle
b.s.f.c. (g/kWh)

15000
B.S.F.C. 200 (i.e. pollution or increased clearance). Finally the polynomial coef-
Power (kW)

195 ficients of Eqs. (15)–(17) are used to estimate the condition of the
190
10000 185 compressor and the turbine through their isentropic efficiencies
180 compared to the ones at the reference state.
175
5000
170
4.3. Estimation of cylinder fuel flow rate
165
0 160
65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 An estimate of the amount of fuel mass burned inside the com-
Engine Speed (rpm) bustion chamber can be obtained from the heat release rate anal-
ysis as follows [14]:
Fig. 2. Comparison between shop test data and simulation calculations.
746 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

a 150 b 150
Cylinder No.1 - [M/E] Cylinder No.5 - [D/G]
140 140 Measured Pressure
Measured Pressure
130 Calculated Pressure 130 Calculated Pressure

120 120

Cylinder Pressure (bar)

110
Cylinder Pressure (bar)

110
100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
120 150 180 210 240 270 300 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330
crank angle (deg) crank angle (deg)

Fig. 3. (a) Comparison between calculated and measured cylinder pressure traces for cylinder no. 1 of M/E after having determined model constants. (b) Comparison between
calculated and measured cylinder pressure diagrams for cylinder no. 5 of D/G after having determined model constants.

Q g;cum of 20–100 are taken (depending on engine speed). From these, a

mfinj ¼ ð27Þ
Hcalor mean cylinder pressure trace is estimated which is the input for
the diagnostic procedure.
where Hcalor is the lower heating value of the fuel and Qg,cum the Moreover the data shown in Table 3 are necessary for the diag-
cumulative gross heat release obtained from the integration of the nosis and they are obtained from conventional instrumentation.
instantaneous gross heat release rate given from the following
relation:
6. Application of the diagnostic technique
dQ gross dQ net dQ ht
¼ þ ð28Þ
dh dh dh The main technical data for the M/E and the D/G are given in
The instantaneous heat losses dQdhht to the cylinder walls are esti- Table 4. In Table 5 are presented the operating conditions of both
mated using Eq. (2), where the mean gas temperature is obtained engines for the measurements, which were conducted at sea.
from, Engine power is obtained from the installed M/E torque-meter

Pexp V
Tg ¼ ð29Þ
mR Table 4
Technical data for the main engine (M/E) and diesel generator (D/G).

M/E D/G
5. Experimental procedure
Type 2-stroke 4-stroke
Number of cylinders 7 cylinders 7 cylinders
As shown cylinder pressure is most important for the diagnosis Bore (mm) 600 210
procedure. For this purpose, cylinder pressure measurements have Stroke (mm) 2400 320
been performed on both engines using a piezotron type air-cooled Compression ratio 19:1 17:1
Max. engine power (kW) 15,785 1120
transducer, which is mounted on the indicator valve of each cylin-
bmep (bar) 19.0 24.1
der. Cylinder pressure data are recorded using a sampling rate of Peak firing pressure (bar) 160 200
0.5° of crank angle and a number of measured cycles in the range

Table 3
Readings taken from local sensors of the engine.

No. Measured parameter Instrument type Accuracy

1 Inlet manifold pressure Industrial pressure transmitter ±0.5%
2 Exhaust manifold pressure Industrial pressure transmitter ±0.5%
3 Cylinder exhaust temperature K-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
4 Turbine inlet temperature K-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
5 Turbine outlet temperature K-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
6 T/C speed Magnetic pick-up ±1% (FS)
7 Compressor inlet temperature J-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
8 Compressor outlet temperature J-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
9 Compressor inlet pressure U-tube (H2O) ±1 mm
10 A/C outlet temperature J-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
11 Water temperature before A/C J-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
12 Water temperature after A/C J-type thermocouples (class1) ±1.5 °C
13 A/C pressure drop U-tube (H2O) ±1 mm
14 Fuel pump index Mechanical rack ±0.2 mm
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 747

Table 5 condition. At this stage of analysis the TDC position is yet unknown
Operating conditions for both engines – actual and estimated power output values. and therefore no crank angle reference is available.
Operating data M/E D/G
Engine speed (rpm) 96.5 720 7.1.2. Peak combustion pressure
Engine power (kW) – measured 11399.2 658.9 In Fig. 6 are given the peak firing pressures for both engines. As
Load (%) 71.5 58.8 observed for the M/E, with the exception of cylinders no. 2 and no.
Engine power (kW) – estimated 11,255 650.4 5, no significant deviations exist. For the D/G the fluctuations are
Error (%) 1.26 1.29 higher, especially for cylinders no. 1, 4, 6 and 7. These fluctuations
can result from differences in injection advance, fuel flow, injector
or compression condition. The actual cause for these, is determined
and D/G kW-meter using generator efficiency provided in the shop in the next steps.
tests.

7.1.3. Exhaust gas temperatures

In Fig. 7 are given the measured cylinder exhaust gas tempera-
7. Results and discussion
tures for both engines. For the M/E the deviations between cylin-
ders are small. Cylinders no. 1 and .5 have a value lower than the
7.1. Direct results obtained from measured data
mean, while cylinder no. 7 has a higher one. For the D/G, cylinders
no. 1 and 5 have exhaust gas temperatures lower than the mean,
7.1.1. Measured cylinder pressure data
while for cylinders no. 3, 6 and especially 7 the temperature is
In Figs. 4 and 5 are given the mean measured cylinder pressure
higher. However, cylinder exhaust gas temperature is a ‘‘global”
traces for both engines, which provide a first indication of cylinder
140
M/E - Mean value = 121.6 bar
M/E [96.5 rpm-71.5% load] D/G - Mean value = 125.8 bar
130 No.5
130
No.1 No.3 No.4 No.6 No.7
120 No.2 D/G
Peak Firing Pressure (bar) 120 M/E
110
100
Cylinder Pressure (bar)

110
90
80
100
70
60 90
50
40 80
30
20 70

10
60
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Cylinder No. (-)
Measured points (-)
Fig. 6. M/E and D/G peak combustion pressures.
Fig. 4. M/E measured mean cylinder pressure traces.

360
M/E - Mean value = 327 oC
D/G [720 RPM-59% load] 350
140 D/G - Mean value = 315 oC
No.6 No.7
340
130 No.1
No.2 No.3 No.5
Exhaust Gas Temperature (oC)

No.4 330 M/E

120
320
110 D/G
Cylinder Pressure (bar)

310
100
300
90
290
80
280
70 270
60 260
50 250
40 240
30 230
20 220
10 210
0 200
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Measured Points (-) Cylinder No. (-)

Fig. 5. D/G measured mean cylinder pressure traces. Fig. 7. M/E and D/G cylinder exhaust gas temperatures.
748 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

value and provides only a first indication for cylinder condition 1800 120
M/E - Mean Value=1600kW
without a sufficient explanation for the actual cause of the differ-
1700 D/G - Mean Value=93kW 110
ences between them.

M/E - Cylinder Power Output (kW)

D/G - Cylinder Power Output (kW)

M/E 100
1600
7.2. Results obtained from detailed diagnosis D/G 90
1500
80
7.2.1. Cylinder pressure–crank angle diagrams 1400 70
From the application of the diagnostic technique, TDC position
is estimated and thus cylinder pressure traces with crank angle ref- 1300 60
erence are provided which are then used for performance calcula- 50
1200
tions. In Fig. 8a are given the cylinder pressure–crank angle traces
for cylinders no. 1, 5 and 7 of the main engine. Cylinder no. 1 is the 40
1100
reference, while 5 and 7 are selected because of their differences in 30
peak combustion pressure and exhaust gas temperature. As ob- 1000
20
served from Fig. 8, no significant differences exist with the excep-
900
tion of cylinder no. 5 which has a higher pressure after ignition and 10
during expansion. 800 0
In Fig. 8b are depicted the cylinder pressure traces with CA ref- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
erence for cylinders no. 1, 2, 4 and 7 for the D/G unit. The criterion Cylinder No. (-)
for the selection of the specific D/G cylinders is similar to the M/E.
As shown for the D/G, higher differences exist between cylinders Fig. 9. Estimated cylinder brake power output for M/E and D/G.
compared to the M/E. For cylinders no. 2 and 7 there is an indica-
tion of earlier ignition. Differences are observed during compres-
sion where cylinder no. 4 has the lowest compression pressure of fuel flow rate would be beneficial. This provides an explanation
and no. 7 the highest one. Finally, cylinder no. 7 appears to have for its higher firing pressure and exhaust temperature.
higher pressures after ignition up to exhaust valve opening. The On the other hand, for the D/G higher deviations, beyond the
detection of the actual cause for these differences requires addi- limit, are observed. Cylinders no. 6 and 7 have the highest power
tional processing via the diagnostic method. output, while no. 2 the lowest one. This provides a first explanation
for the higher exhaust gas temperatures of cylinders no. 6 and 7.
Using the data of Fig. 9, the total brake power output for both
7.2.2. Cylinder power output
engines is estimated. These values are then compared to the read-
The brake power output of each cylinder is obtained from the
ings of the torque-meter for the M/E and the kW-meter for the D/G
cylinder pressure–crank angle diagram using the mechanical effi-
unit (after correction with generator efficiency) respectively. The
ciency, determined from shop test data. The results are given in
results, given in Table 5, reveal very a good agreement between
Fig. 9, for both engines, while in Fig. 10 are shown the correspond-
estimated and measured power output values and provide a first
ing deviations from the mean value. Based on the engine manuals,
indication for the validity of the proposed diagnosis method as
deviations of ±3% are acceptable for the M/E, while for the D/G the
well as for the thermodynamic TDC estimation.
corresponding limit is ±5%, due to its higher operating speed.
As observed from Fig. 10 deviations exist between M/E cylin-
ders which are not severe (i.e. less than the limit). This is a first 7.2.3. Cylinder compression condition
indication of uniform operation and proper tuning of the specific An important parameter for overall engine operation is cylinder
engine. Only cylinder no. 5 is at the limit of ±3% and an adjustment compression condition. Based on this parameter faults related to

a 140 b 140
130 M/E [96.5 rpm-71.5% load] 130 D/G [720 rpm-59% load]
Cyl. 1 Cyl. 1
120 Cyl. 5 120 Cyl. 2
110 Cyl. 7 110 Cyl. 4
Cyl. 7
Cylinder Pressure (bar)
Cylinder Pressure (bar)

100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
120 150 180 210 240 270 120 150 180 210 240 270
engine crank angle (deg) engine crank angle (deg)

Fig. 8. (a) Cylinder pressure–crank angle diagrams for cylinders no. 1, 5 and 7 of the M/E. (b) Cylinder pressure–crank angle diagrams for cylinders no 1, 2, 4 and 7 of the D/G.
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 749

12 the liner–piston-ring assembly or valve leakage can be detected.

The last can be excluded if the exhaust gas temperature is normal.
10
In Fig. 11 is given the cylinder compression quality for both en-
Brake Power Output Deviation (%)

8 gines. Compression quality is defined from the following relation:

6
CRcur
gCQ ¼  100% ð30Þ
4 CRref
2 For compression quality (gCQ), a value above 95% is ideal, while
0 a value up to 90% is acceptable. A value lower than 90% reveals
necessity for inspection. These values are defined from the com-
-2
pression pressure variation limits provided in the manuals.
-4 From Fig. 11 is revealed that all M/E cylinders have a compres-
-6 sion quality above 95%. Cylinders no. 3, 5 and 7 have the highest
compression quality. The condition is similar for the D/G unit, with
-8 the exception of cylinder no. 4 which has a compression quality be-
M/E
-10 low 95%. Cylinder no. 7 has the best compression quality. There-
D/G
fore, inspection is recommended for D/G cylinder no. 4, because
-12
its condition may deteriorate in the near future and is expected
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to have a negative impact on engine efficiency.
Cylinder No. (-)

Fig. 10. Cylinder brake power output deviation (%) for M/E and D/G. 7.2.4. Combustion analysis
As mentioned in the theoretical analysis, the gross heat release
M/E rate for each engine cylinder is determined from Eq. (28). From
D/G this, it is possible to estimate the ignition angle, the duration of
acceptable limit (90%)
combustion and possibly injector fault (i.e. secondary injection).
Furthermore, the fuelling rate is estimated from the cumulative
Compression Quality (%)

100 gross heat release (Eq. (27)). The results for the gross heat release
95 rate are given in Fig. 12a for the M/E and Fig. 12b for the D/G. In
90 these are included the cylinders having the highest differences.
85 As shown in Fig. 12a deviations between individual cylinders
80
for the M/E are minimal. Small differences are observed for initia-
tion of combustion (i.e. cylinder no. 1). Moreover, combustion
75
duration is similar and no secondary injections occur. Finally, cyl-
70
inder no. 5 has the highest ROHR which is line with its higher
65 power output (Figs. 9 and 10). Thus, it is revealed that the M/E is
60 properly tuned.
55 From Fig. 12b it is observed that combustion for cylinder no. 1
50 of the D/G initiates later compared to the others. Furthermore,
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 for cylinder no. 7 a higher combustion duration is observed which
Cylinder No. (-) is in line with its higher power output. The secondary heat release
observed for all cylinders is due to the injection mechanism of the
Fig. 11. Cylinder compression quality for M/E and D/G. specific engine.

a 110 b 3000

100 M/E [96.5 rpm-71.5% load] D/G [720 rpm-59% load]

Cyl. 1 2500 Cyl. 1
90 Cyl. 5 Cyl. 2
Cyl. 7 Cyl. 4
Heat Release Rate (kJ/deg)

80
Heat Release Rate (J/deg)

2000 Cyl. 7
70

60 1500

50
1000
40

30
500
20

10
0
0

-10 -500
170 180 190 200 210 220 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230
engine crank angle (deg) engine crank angle (deg)

Fig. 12. (a) Heat release rates for cylinders no. 1, 5 and 7 of M/E. (b) Heat release rates for cylinders no. 1, 2, 4 and 7 of D/G.
750 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

350 25 6.0
M/E - Mean Value = 311 kg/h M/E - Normal value=2.0 deg
5.6
D/G - Mean Value = 17.5 kg/h D/G - Normal value=3.0 deg
325 5.2
M/E

D/G - Cylinder Fuel Flow (kg/h)

M/E - Cylinder Fuel Flow (kg/h)

20 4.8
300 4.4

Injection Angle (deg)

D/G
4.0
275 3.6
15
3.2
D/G
250 2.8
2.4
10
225 2.0 M/E
1.6
200 1.2
5
0.8
175 0.4
0.0
150 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cylinder No. (-)
Cylinder No. (-)
Fig. 15. Estimated dynamic injection timing for M/E and D/G.
Fig. 13. Estimated fuel consumption for all engine cylinders for both M/E and D/G.

In Fig. 15 is given injection advance for both M/E and the D/G,
7.2.5. Cylinder fuel consumption and the ‘‘normal” value obtained from the engine shop tests. For
As already mentioned cylinder fuel flow is estimated using Eq. the estimated injection advance, a tolerance of ±0.5° CA for the
(27). In Fig. 13 is given the estimated fuel consumption per cylin- M/E and ±1.0° CA for the D/G is considered to be acceptable.
der for the M/E and the D/G. As observed for the M/E small devia- For the M/E no significant deviations exist, revealing proper
tions exist. Cylinder no. 5 has a relatively higher fuel flow, while for tuning. On the other hand, for the D/G higher deviations exist. Cyl-
cylinders no. 6 and 7 fuel flow is slightly lower. For the D/G, cylin- inders no. 1 and 5 have a significantly higher injection advance,
ders no. 3 and 6 have a considerably higher fuelling rate. The re- while cylinders no. 3 and 6 have a lower value. However, the pre-
sults are generally in line with the ones for power output vious differences cannot explain the variation of peak combustion
revealing that fuelling rate is the main reason for the observed pressure because the last is affected from compression condition,
deviations. An adjustment (decrease) of the fuelling rate for the fuelling rate and injector condition, too. Thus, an adjustment of
aforementioned two cylinders of the D/G is recommended. This injection timings for the aforementioned cylinders of the D/G unit
is expected to have a positive impact on uniform engine operation. is recommended, to achieve uniform and proper operation.

7.2.7. Injector nozzle condition

7.2.6. Ignition angle and injection advance
The results for ignition angle are given in Fig. 14 for both en-
gines. Having determined the ignition angle the simulation is used
to estimate the injection angle. An iterative procedure, based on
Eq. (10) is applied to estimate the injection advance so that ignition
occurs at the crank angle given in Fig. 14. In the iterative procedure
the mean gas temperature estimated from Eq. (29) is used.
8.0
7.5
7.0
6.5
6.0
Ignition Angle (deg)
Injector quality is an overall term describing the condition of
the fuel injector. Its estimation is based on the following relation:
ca;cur
gIQ ¼  100% ð31Þ
ca;ref
For injector condition index (gIQ), a value above 95% is consid-
ered as ideal while a value in the range of 90–95% is acceptable.
An injector quality below 90% reveals need for inspection. The lim-
M/E its have been derived from simulation, the criteria being deteriora-
D/G tion of bsfc and exhaust gas temperature. The results are given in
Fig. 16. As observed, for the M/E all injectors have a quality close
to 100%. For the D/G a similar condition is observed, with the
exception of injector no. 3 (slightly below limit) and injector no.

5.5 6 (close to limit). Therefore an inspection of the specific injectors

is recommended.
5.0
4.5
7.2.8. Fuel pump condition
4.0
Fuel pump condition index provides an estimate of the overall
3.5 condition of the fuel pump. It is determined from the following
3.0 relation:
2.5
cp;cur
2.0 gPC ¼  100% ð32Þ
cp;ref
1.5
1.0
For fuel pump condition index (gPC), a value above 95% is con-
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sidered as ideal while a value in the range of 90–95% is acceptable.
Cylinder No. (-) A fuel pump condition value below 90% reveals need for inspection.
The results are given in Fig. 17. As observed, for the M/E all fuel
Fig. 14. Estimated ignition angle for M/E and D/G. pumps have a condition above 95% and close to 100%. For the D/
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753 751

M/E
lem but cannot define the actual cause. For this reason an attempt
D/G is made herein to explain the temperature differences of Fig. 7,
acceptable limit (90%)
using the diagnosis results. As shown cylinder no. 7 has a higher
exhaust temperature even though it has a slightly lower power
100 output (Figs. 9 and 10). From the diagnosis it is revealed that this
Injector Quality (%)

cannot be attributed to the condition of the cylinder or the fuel

injection system but to its position which is close to the turbine
90
(where exhaust flow from all cylinders converges).
As for M/E, the overall condition of the D/G is given in Table 6.
80 Cylinder no. 1 and 5 have a lower than normal mean exhaust
gas temperature which is attributed to their higher injection ad-
70 vance. For cylinders no. 3 and 6 the relatively higher exhaust gas
temperatures are due to their lower injection advance and injector
quality. For cylinder no. 6 this is further promoted from its higher
60
fuelling rate. Finally, for cylinder no. 7 the higher exhaust gas tem-
perature is attributed to its higher fuelling rate and position, which
50 is next to the T/C turbine. Thus, using the proposed methodology, is
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 avoided the application of actions which are usually based only on
Cylinder No. (-) exhaust gas temperature readings and can finally result to impro-
per tuning.
Fig. 16. Estimated injector quality for M/E and D/G.

7.3. Condition of engine subsystems

M/E
D/G 7.3.1. T/C condition
acceptable limit (90%)
The determination of compressor and turbine condition is based
on the comparison of their ‘‘current” isentropic efficiencies (Eqs.
Fuel Pump Condition (%)

100 (15)–(17)) with the reference values as follows:

gis;cur
90 gC;cond ¼  100% ð33Þ
gis;ref
80
gis;cur
gT;cond ¼  100% ð34Þ
gis;ref
70
The results for the M/E are given in Table 7. For the D/G no re-
60 sults are available due to lack of shop test data that are necessary
for the estimation of the reference values.
As shown, compressor condition has been found to be 94%. Re-
50
duced compressor condition is an indication of wear or changes in
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
compressor blade geometry. The reduction of 6% is considered to
Cylinder No. (-) be acceptable considering the uncertainties of measured parame-
Fig. 17. Estimated fuel pump condition for M/E and D/G.
ter values. On the other hand the turbine condition has been found
to be excellent. (i.e. 100%)
G cylinders no. 2–4 have a fuel pump condition close or below the Finally, a small increase of turbine inlet nozzle effective flow
acceptable limit and therefore an inspection of the specific pumps area is detected. The increase is 3% and possibly reveals initiation
is recommended. of gas leakage from the turbine.

7.2.9. M/E and D/G overall condition 7.3.2. A/C condition

From the previous analysis, Table 6 is constructed revealing the
overall condition of both engines. The ideal values are depicted by
‘‘+++”, the acceptable ones by ‘‘++” and finally the poor ones by ‘‘+”.
A parameter commonly used for diagnosis is exhaust gas tem-
perature. Its value provides indications for the existence of a prob-
From the measured A/C air and water inlet and outlet tempera-
tures, its effectiveness is estimated (Eqs. (18) and (20)). This is
compared to the one for a new engine operating at the present con-
dition and a small reduction is observed (5%) revealing slight pol-
lution of the heat exchange area (Table 7).

Table 6
M/E and D/G condition provided from diagnosis analysis.

Cylinder no. (–) Main engine Diesel generator

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Compression quality +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ ++ ++ +++ +++ +++
Injection angle +++ ++ +++ ++ +++ +++ +++ + ++ ++ ++ + ++ ++
Injector quality +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ + +++ +++ ++ +++
Fuel pump condition +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ ++++ ++ ++ + +++ +++ +++
752 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753

Table 7 From Table 8, it is revealed that the operational condition of the

T/C and A/C condition for the M/E. D/G is close to normal even though differences exist. A decrease
Estimated parameter (%) M/E (7 bar) is observed for the peak combustion pressure at the cur-
Compressor condition 94.0 rent condition, caused mainly from the reduced compression pres-
Turbine condition 100.0 sure (compared to reference), resulting from the slightly reduced
Turbine nozzle area 103.0 compression quality of most D/G cylinders (Fig. 11). Finally, the in-
Air cooler condition 95.0 crease of exhaust gas temperatures is mainly caused from the low-
er mean injection advance and from the lower injector quality of
8. Comparison of current engine performance to the one of a two cylinders, as detected from diagnosis analysis (Fig. 16). From
new engine operating at the present conditions the comparison between the current and reference engine condi-
tion, is also observed a higher temperature after the turbine. But,
It is standard practice for diagnosis to compare current engine it is not possible to analyze this due to lack of measurement data
behavior to the one of a new engine, using shop or sea trial data from both experiments and shop tests. However, the increased tur-
at the same rotational speed for the M/E or load for the D/G. How- bine outlet temperature in combination with the increased T/C
ever, this comparison is usually invalid because it is impossible to speed and inlet pressure at the current state provide an indication
have the same operating conditions between shop tests and cur- for pollution of the turbine nozzle.
rent state (i.e. ambient conditions, fuel, load, etc.). For this reason,
the simulation model and its reference constants are used to pre-
9. Conclusions
dict the output of a new engine at the current operating conditions
using the same type and amount of fuel. Then, the comparison of
In the present work a diagnosis methodology for marine appli-
current engine performance with the one derived by simulation
cations is presented and validated. The diagnosis philosophy is a
is valid.
stepwise approach based on the comparison of current engine
In Table 8 are given the results of the aforementioned method-
operation with the one corresponding to a new engine. Engine
ology for the M/E and the D/G. In this Table the mean values for all
operation at the reference and current condition (new engine) is
cylinders is considered. From Table 8 it results that ‘‘current” M/E
estimated using a simulation model based on thermodynamics.
operation is close to the one of a ‘‘new” engine. However, peak
This enables its application on any type of engine (i.e. two or four
combustion pressure is lower compared to a ‘‘new” engine. This
stroke), as revealed from the present analysis.
is the result of the slightly lower compression pressure at the cur-
The diagnostic method has been applied on both the main en-
rent condition caused from the slightly lower inlet pressure and
gine (M/E) and the diesel generator (D/G) of a marine vessel. For
the slightly reduced compression quality. The lower inlet pressure
this purpose, measurements were taken at sea. From the process-
is due to reduced compressor efficiency and partially to the small
ing of measured engine data the current condition of both engines
increase of turbine nozzle effective area. The previous are the main
has been estimated. As revealed, the main engine operates prop-
reasons for the increase of exhaust gas temperatures before and
erly and no significant adjustments are necessary. An inspection
after the turbine. Furthermore, the temperature drop across the
of compressor (i.e. reduced efficiency) and turbine inlet nozzle
turbine (115 °C) is similar to the reference, which explains qual-
effective flow area is recommended. Furthermore, the results for
itatively the 100% of turbine efficiency given in Table 7. Finally,
the diesel generator reveal that even though the engine condition
charge air temperature drop at the A/C is slightly reduced due to
is acceptable, adjustments are required for injection advance and
the aforementioned reduction of A/C heat exchange area (Table
fuelling of individual cylinders. These adjustments will contribute
7). The previous results are in total agreement with the findings
to a more uniform operation. Furthermore, a need for inspection of
of the diagnosis procedure.
two fuel pumps, two injectors and the turbine nozzle is revealed.
Finally, a small deterioration of the compression condition of two
cylinders is detected.
Table 8 The technique provides detailed information for both the en-
Comparison of the current engine performance with the one of a new engine
gine and its subsystems (i.e. T/C, A/C, etc.), which is not possible
operating at the present conditions for both the M/E and D/G.
using conventional condition monitoring techniques. As shown, a
Parameter Main engine Diesel generator direct comparison of exhaust gas temperatures and peak combus-
Current New Current New tion pressures cannot provide reliable information for engine cur-
engine engine rent condition and tuning. With the proposed methodology a
Engine speed (rpm) 96.5 96.5 720 720 malfunction can be detected at its early stage before resulting to
Fuel cosumption (kg/h) 2188.9 2188.9 125.8 125.8 an engine fault. Another advantage of the present technique is that
Power output (KW) 11254.9 11589.4 650.4 658 it requires no TDC sensor which makes it suitable for field applica-
bsfc (g/kW h) 194.5 188.9 193.4 191.2
Combustion pressure (bar) 121 127 125 132
tions especially on existing vessels. Last, but not least, it is revealed
Compression pressure 101 107 114 117 that the diagnostic technique can be applied with similar efficiency
(bar) and reliability on various engine configurations.
Scavenging pressure (bar) 1.80 1.87 1.58 1.53
Exhaust manifold 1.48 1.57 1.44 1.34
pressure (bar) References
Cylinder exhaust 327 310 315 285
temperature (°C) [1] Ishii Y. A half century with marine diesel engines. Trans Inst Mar Eng
Turbine inlet temperature 382 356 420 – 1997;109(1):33–45.
(°C) [2] Jones NB, Li Yu-Hua. A review of condition monitoring and fault diagnosis for
Turbine outlet 266 241 315 295 diesel engines. Tribotest Int J 2000;6(3):267–91.
temperature (°C) [3] Antory D, Kruger U, Irwin G, McCullough G. Fault diagnosis in internal
Turbine speed (rpm) 8210 8373 39,000 37,936 combustion engines using non-linear multivariate statistics. Proc IMechE, Part
A/C temperature in (°C) 150 154 N/A – I: J Syst Control Eng 2005;219(4):243–58.
A/C temperature out (°C) 40 38.5 38 40 [4] Mesbahi E, Arriagada J, Ghorban H. Diesel engine fault diagnosis by means of
A/C pressure drop (mm W) 165 174 N/A – ANNs: a comparison of two methods. Pro IMarEST – Part B – J Mar Des Oper
2004;2004(6):25–33.
 V.T. Lamaris, D.T. Hountalas / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 740–753
[5] Chandroth GO, Sharkey AJC, Sharkey NE. Artificial neural nets and cylinder
pressures in diesel engine fault diagnosis. Proceedings of the international
maritime conference – shipping trends for the next millennium, vol. 1; 1998. p.
9.1–2.
[6] Wen-Xian Y. Establishment of the mathematical model for diagnosing the
engine valve faults by genetic programming. J Sound Vib 2006;293(1–
2):213–26.
[7] Chen P, Taniguchi M, Toyota T, He ZJ. Fault diagnosis method for machinery in
unsteady operating condition by instantaneous power spectrum and genetic
programming. Mech Syst Signal Process 2005;19:175–94.
[8] Charlesa P, Sinhaa J, Gub F, Lidstonea L, Ball AD. Detecting the crankshaft
torsional vibration of diesel engines for combustion related diagnosis. J Sound
Vib 2008;321(3–5):1171–85.
[9] Shiyuan L, Fengshou G, Ball A. Detection of engine valve faults by vibration
signals measured on the cylinder head. Proc IMechE Part D: J Automob Eng
2006;220(3):379–86.
[10] Kouremenos DA, Hountalas DT. Diagnosis and condition monitoring of
medium speed marine diesel engines. Tribotest Int J 1997;4(1):63–91.
[11] Hountalas DT, Kouremenos AD. Development and application of a fully
automatic trouble-shooting method for large scale marine diesel engines. Appl
Thermal Eng 1999;19(3):299–324.
[12] Hountalas DT, Kouremenos DA, Sideris M. A diagnostic method for heavy-duty
diesel engines used in stationary applications. J Eng Gas Turbines Power
2004;126(4):886–99.
[13] Kouremenos DA, Rakopoulos CD, Hountalas DT. Multi-zone combustion
modeling for the prediction of pollutants emissions and performance of DI
diesel engines. SAE Trans J Engines 1997;106:905–22.
[14] Lamaris VT, Hountalas DT. Possibility to determine diesel engine condition and
tuning from the application of a diagnostic technique at a single operating
point. SAE technical paper 2009-01-0681; 2009.
[15] Rakopoulos CD, Rakopoulos DC, Giakoumis EG, Kyritsis DC. Validation
and sensitivity analysis of a two zone diesel engine model for
combustion and emissions prediction. Energy Convers Manage
2004;45(9/10):1471–95.
753
[16] Assanis DN, Heywood JB. Development and use of a computer simulation of
the turbocompounded diesel system for engine performance and component
heat transfer studies. SAE paper no. 860329; 1986.
[17] Kouremenos DA, Rakopoulos CD, Hountalas DT, Kouremenos AD. The
maximum compression pressure position relative to top dead centre as an
indication of engine cylinder condition and blowby. Energy Convers Manage
1994;35(10):857–70.
[18] Hountalas DT, Mavropoulos G, Kourbetis G. Experimental investigation to
develop a methodology for estimating the compression condition of DI diesel
engines. Energy Convers Manage 2006;47(1):1–18.
[19] Kouremenos DA, Rakopoulos CD, Kotsos KG, Hountalas DT. Modeling the
blowby rate in a reciprocating internal combustion engine. In: Proceedings of
16th IASTED IMS international conference; 1987. p. 465–8.
[20] Kadota T, Hiroyasu H, Oya H. Spontaneous ignition delay of a fuel droplet in
high pressure and high temperature gaseous environments. Bull JSME
1976:19.
[21] Heywood JB. Internal combustion engine fundamentals. New York: McGraw-
Hill; 1988.
[22] Glauert MB. The wall jet. J Fluid Mech 1956;1:625–43.
[23] Jung D, Assanis DN. Multi-zone DI diesel spray combustion model for cycle
simulation studies of engine performance and emissions. SAE paper no. 2001-
01-1246; 2001.
[24] Rakopoulos CD, Hountalas DT. A simulation analysis of a DI diesel engine fuel
injection system fitted with a constant pressure valve. Energy Convers Manage
1996;37(2):135–50.
[25] Hountalas DT, Kouremenos AD. Development of a fast and simple simulation
model for the fuel injection system of diesel engines. Adv Eng Softw
1998;29:13–28.
[26] Watson N, Janota MS. Turbocharging the internal combustion
engine. London: MacMillan Press; 1982.
[27] Serrano JR, Arnau FJ, Dolz V, Tiseira A, Cervelló C. A model of turbocharger
radial turbines appropriate to be used in zero- and one-dimensional gas
dynamics codes for internal combustion engines modeling. Energy Convers
Manage 2008;49(12):3729–45.