Aux Engines

The whole auxiliary engine and its generator: structure and moving parts, valve gear and fuel injection, starting, governing and load sharing, cooling and lubrication, the alternator and switchboard, the emergency generator, operation, maintenance and safety.

13 Topics In this Sub-topic

Aux Engines

Aux Engines Topics

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01 What the Auxiliary Engine Is — Why It Is a Four-Stroke Medium-Speed Machine Establish what the auxiliary engine is, what distinguishes it from the main propulsion engine, and why it is almost always a four-stroke medium-speed machine. Beginner · 11 min read · 6 sections 02 The Diesel Generator Set — Bedding Down, Coupling and Driving the Alternator How the engine and the alternator are joined into one machine, how that machine is bedded down to the ship, and what the alternatives to a diesel generating set look like. Intermediate · 11 min read · 4 sections 03 The Engine Structure — Bedplate, Frame, Crankshaft and Main Bearings The stationary parts of the auxiliary engine — the bedplate, the frame and cylinder block, the crankshaft and the main bearings. Intermediate · 9 min read · 4 sections 04 The Moving Parts — Liner, Piston, Gudgeon Pin and Connecting Rod Wear The piston, the piston rings, the gudgeon pin, the connecting rod and the cylinder liner — the parts that take the combustion load, transmit it to the crankshaft, and wear out doing it. Intermediate · 10 min read · 5 sections 05 The Valve Gear and Fuel Injection — Valves, Camshaft Drive, Pumps and Injectors How air gets into the cylinder, how the exhaust gets out, how the valves are operated, and how fuel is metered and injected. Advanced · 19 min read · 5 sections 06 Starting the Engine — Air Start Valve, Distributor and the Four Interlocks How a stopped auxiliary engine is turned over and brought to firing speed, and what has to be true before the air is admitted. Intermediate · 11 min read · 6 sections 07 Governing and Speed Control — Droop, Load Sharing and the Overspeed Trip How the auxiliary engine's speed is held constant as its load changes, and how two or more sets share load between them. Advanced · 23 min read · 9 sections 08 Cooling, Lubrication and Fuel — Systems and the Tanks Checked Before Starting The three fluid systems that keep the auxiliary engine alive — the cooling water, the lubricating oil and the fuel. Intermediate · 16 min read · 4 sections 09 The Alternator and Switchboard — AVR, Load Shedding and the Automatic Plant The engine has been described; this chapter describes what it turns and where the power goes. Intermediate · 13 min read · 7 sections 10 The Emergency Generator — Location, Starting, Fuel and the Emergency Board The emergency generator is the ship's last line of electrical defence. Intermediate · 9 min read · 7 sections 11 Operating the Plant — Preparing, Starting, Watchkeeping and Keeping Warm What an engineer actually does with an auxiliary engine — how it is prepared, started, watched and stopped, and how the automatic systems change that routine on an unmanned ship. Beginner · 12 min read · 7 sections 12 Maintenance and Troubleshooting — Overhauls, Tappet Clearance and Reading a Fault The work that keeps an auxiliary engine reliable, and the reasoning that turns a symptom into a diagnosis. Intermediate · 18 min read · 9 sections 13 Safety — Crankcase Explosion, Scavenge Fire and Starting Air Line Explosion The three hazards that are peculiar to a diesel engine and that have killed people — the crankcase explosion, the scavenge fire and the starting air line explosion — together with the devices and the practices that exist to prevent them. Intermediate · 11 min read · 6 sections