Monitoring

The importance of regular monitoring of diesel and gas engines

To ensure reliable engine performance and determine the optimum time for overhaul, regular monitoring of diesel and gas engines is necessary. Monitoring helps to determine when it is time for maintenance and what type of maintenance needs to be done.

Chris-Marine’s portfolio of Monitoring equipment can help you save costs by identifying potential problems before they occur.

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The monitoring portfolio includes instruments to:

  • measure surface roughness, liner diameter and coating thickness
  • take pictures of the liner to visualize potential wear and damage
  • analyze shaft power efficiency
  • measure cylinder pressure 

In addition, the portfolio contains various precision instruments like calibrators, gauges, and a combustion chamber tester.

Chris-Marine’s cylinder condition monitoring portfolio
for 2-stroke engines

Chris-Marine’s cylinder condition monitoring portfolio facilitates the collection of cylinder liner data and piston ring data. All tools can be used without removing the cylinder cover.

Liner Diameter Measuring Instrument (LDM)

LDM measures cylinder liner wear/remaining lifetime, ovality and clover leafing.

Liner time scale: ~1000 Rh. Measurement time: ~1 h/liner.

Coating Thickness Measurement Tool (CTM)

The Coating Thickness Measurement Tool measures the wear rate/ remaining life time for coated piston rings. Liner time scale: ~1000 Rh.

Measurement time: ~15 mins /liner.

Liner Condition Camera (LCC)

Chris-Marine’s Liner Condition Camera documents the condition of cylinder liner surface, exhaust valve, piston rings and piston crown.

Liner time scale: ~100 Rh. Measurement time: ~15 mins /liner.

Replica Analysis & Microscopy

Takes an imprint of the liner for analysis with microscope in Chris-Marine’s laboratory.

Liner time scale: ~100 Rh. Measurement time: ~15 mins /liner.

Chris-Marine’s cylinder condition monitoring reporting service

We know that time is limited for the crew members operating today’s vessels. This is why we have made a great effort in developing user-friendly tools that make data collection straight-forward. However,  interpreting the data can be more difficult. Chris-Marine has therefore
introduced a cost-effective reporting service that allows customers to collect data on their own and send it to Chris-Marine for processing. Chris-Marine reverts with a report summarizing the findings and comparing the results to other engines of similar type.

A report can include:

  • Cylinder liner wear, life expectancy and clover data collected with the LDM, with recommended cylinder maintenance actions based on findings.
  • Cylinder liner and piston ring pictures taken with the LCC and analysis of the cylinder condition (under-lubricated / over-lubricated / critical).
  • Piston ring wear and life expectancy from data collected with the CTM.
  • Cylinder condition and cat fine analysis though microscopic images from
    replica imprints collected through scavenge air port. This method is especially useful when changing from high-S fuel oil to low-S fuel oil after 2020.

Learn more about Cylinder Condition Monitoring & Reconditioning



Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Q: Why is regular engine Monitoring so important?

A:
Monitoring makes it easier to determine the optimum time for overhaul as well as what type of maintenance needs to be done.  Monitoring is a crucial step to ensure reliable engine performance.
Learn more about cylinder condition monitoring and reconditioning: Make sure your 2-stroke engines are ready for the 2020 low-S challenges – Chris-Marine

Q: What products do you offer to help your customers with Monitoring?

A:  Our portfolio includes products that:

  • measure surface roughness, liner diameter and coating thickness
  • take pictures of the liner to visualize potential wear and damage
  • analyze shaft power efficiency
  • measure cylinder pressure

Q: What does Chris-Marine’s cylinder condition monitoring reporting service do?

A: Our cost-effective reporting service allows customers to collect data on their own and send it to Chris-Marine for processing. Chris-Marine reverts with a report summarizing the findings and comparing the results to other engines of similar type.

Q: What type of information can the report contain?

A: Information like:

  • Cylinder liner wear, life expectancy and clover data collected with the LDM, with recommended cylinder maintenance actions based on findings.
  • Cylinder liner and piston ring pictures taken with the LCC and analysis of the cylinder condition (under-lubricated / over-lubricated / critical).
  • Piston ring wear and life expectancy from data collected with the CTM.
  • Cylinder condition and cat fine analysis though microscopic images from replica imprints collected through scavenge airport. This method is especially useful when changing from high-S fuel oil to low-S fuel oil after 2020.

Q: What’s so special with Chris-Marine’s liner condition camera?

A: Our liner condition camera LCC scans / documents the condition of the cylinder liner
interface, exhaust valve, piston rings and piston crown. The photos are used when evaluating cylinder condition parameters such as cleanliness of ring land, size of cylinder wear edge, cylinder honing mark and wave-cut groove extension, black lacquering from corrosive wear and bore polish. There is no need to remove cylinder cover or exhaust valve housing when using the LCC, only venting of combustion chamber is necessary. This is done by opening the indicator valve. As a result, the process becomes faster and easier to perform. Learn more about our liner condition camera LCC: Liner Condition Camera / LCC – Chris-Marine

Q: How can we take cylinder liner diameter measurements more efficiently?

A: Our liner diameter measuring instrument LDM enables taking liner diameter measurements without removing the cylinder head or valve housing. Usually, it will take a three-man team one full day to get liner diameter measurements from two cylinder liners. However, with LDM, the same operation can be done in three hours by one single operator. The LDM can be used for verifying cylinder wear and deformation prior to dry-docking. It can also be used to monitor cylinder wear and deformation on an engine, as a complement to regular scavenging port inspections.
Learn more about Cylinder Linder Diameter measuring here: Liner Diameter Measurement / LDM – Chris-Marine