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Engine

BEARINGS

Image Credit: ACL Race Series

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General Bearing Requirements and Design Criteria

Bearings are vital engine components; therefore, the correct bearing design

and the proper choice of bearing metal is necessary for reliable engine

performance. Bearing design criteria depend on the bearing type and, in

general, on:

a) Bearing sliding surface geometry.

b) The surface roughness of the journal or pin, which determines the

permissible bearing pressure and required oil film thickness. This is

necessary to ensure effective and safe functioning of the bearing.

c) The correct flow of cooling oil to prevent heat accumulation, which is

obtained through a flow area, provided either through the clearance

between the journal and the bearing bore or through axial grooves in the
bearing sliding surface.

The compactness of engines and the engine ratings influence the

magnitude of the specific load on the bearing and make the correct choice

of bearing metals, production quality and, in certain bearings, the application

of overlayer an absolute necessity.

An overlayer is a thin galvanic coating of mainly lead (Pb) and tin (Sn),

which is applied directly on to the white metal or, via an intermediate layer,

on to the tin aluminium sliding surface of the bearing. The overlayer is a soft

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and ductile coating, its main objective is to ensure good embedability and

conformity between the bearing sliding surface and the pin surface

geometry.

Scraping of the bearing surfaces is strictly prohibited, except in those

repair situations of oil wedges, tangential run out, bore relief, removing

ridges and high spots from wiped bearing as approved by manufacturer.

Incorrect scraping has often proved to have an adverse effect on the sliding

properties of the bearing, and can result in damage.

Bearing Design

Plain bearings for MC engines are manufactured as steel shells with a

sliding surface of white metal or tin aluminium. Tin aluminium bearings are

always of the thin shell design

while the white metal bearings can either be of the thick shell or thin shell
design.

The bearing surface is furnished with a centrally placed oil supply groove

and other design features such as tangential run-outs, oil wedges and/or

bore reliefs.

Tangential Runout

A tangential runout is transition geometry between the circumferential oil

supply groove and the bearing sliding surface. This special oil groove

transition geometry prevents an oil scraping effect and reduces the

resistance to the flow of oil towards the loaded area of the bearing

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Bore Relief

The bearing sliding surface is machined at the mating faces of the upper

and lower shells to create bore reliefs. Their main objective is to

compensate for misalignments which could result in a protruding edge

(step) of the lower shell's mating face to that of the upper shell. Such a

protruding edge can act as an oil scraper and cause oil starvation. Fig A-A

above.

Axial Oil Grooves and Oil Wedges

Oil grooves and wedges have the following functions:

a) To enhance the oil distribution over the load carrying surfaces. (The

tapered

areas give improved oil inlet conditions).

b) Especially in the case of crosshead bearings to assist the formation of a

hydrodynamic oil film between the load carrying surfaces.

c) To provide oil cooling (oil grooves). In order to perform these functions,

the oil must flow freely from the lubricating grooves, past the oil wedges,

and into the supporting areas ! where the oil film carries the load.

Thick Shell Bearings

This type of bearing has a steel back with the required stiffness

a) To ensure against distortion of the sliding surface geometry, and

b) To support the cast-on white metal in regions where the shell lacks

support, for example in the area of the upper shell mating faces.

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The top clearances in this bearing design are adjusted with shims, while

the side clearances are a predetermined result of the summation of the

housing bore, shell wall thickness, journal tolerances, and the influence of

the staybolt tensioning force which deforms the bedplate around the bearing

assembly.

Thin Shell Bearings

Thin shell bearings have a wall thickness between 2% and 2.5% of the

journal diameter.

The steel back does not have the sufficient stiffness to support the cast-on

white metal alone. The bearing must therefore be supported rigidly over its

full length. This type of bearing is manufactured with a circumferential

overlength (crush/nip) which, when the shells are mounted and tightened

up, will produce the required radial pressure between the shell and the

bearing housing. The maximum/minimum top clearance in this shell is

predetermined and results from a summation of the housing bore, shell wall

thickness, journal/pin diameter tolerances and, for main bearings, the

deformation of the bedplate from the staybolt tensioning force.

Top Clearance

Correct top clearance in main bearings, crankpin bearings, and crosshead

bearings

is necessary to sustain the required oil flow through the bearing, and hence

stabilize the bearing temperature at a level that will ensure the fatigue

strength of the bearing metal.

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In the main and crankpin bearings, the clearance ensures the necessary

space to accommodate the journal orbit so as to avoid mechanical overload

tendencies on the bearing sliding surface (especially in the main bearing).

The bearings are checked in general by measuring the top clearances.

In service, clearance measurements can be regarded:

1. as a check of the correct re-assembly of the bearing.

For new thin shell bearings and new/ overhauled thick shell bearings the

clearances must lie within the limits specified in the maintenance manual.

2. as an indicator to determine the condition of the bearing at a periodic

check Checks without opening-up

In both cases, it is vital that the clearance values from the previous check

are available for comparison. Therefore, it is necessary to enter clearances

in the engine log book with the relevant date and engine service hours.

Wear

Under normal service conditions, bearing wear is negligible. Excessive wear

is due to abrasive or corrosive contamination of the system oil which will

affect the roughness of the journal/pin and increase the wear rate of the

bearing.

The reduction of shell thickness in the loaded area of the main, crankpin

and crosshead bearing in a given time interval represents the wear rate of

the bearing. Average bearing wear rate is 0.01 mm/10,000 hrs. As long as

the wear rate is in the region of this value, the bearing function can be

regarded as normal.

For crosshead bearings, the wear limit is confined to about 50% reduction of

the oil wedge length

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Journals/Pins

Surface Roughness

Journal/pin surface roughness is important for the bearing condition.

Increased surface roughness can be caused by:

a) Abrasive damage due to contamination of the system oil.

b) Corrosive damage due to sea water contamination of the system oil

(acidic) or oxidation of the journals due to condensate.

c) Spark erosion (only in main bearings).

With increasing journal/pin roughness, a level will be reached where the oil

film thickness is no longer sufficient, causing metal contact between

journal/pin and the bearing sliding surface. This will cause white metal to

adhere to the journal/pin, giving the surface a silvery white appearance.

When such a condition is observed, the journal/pin must be reconditioned

by polishing, and the roughness of the surface made acceptable.

In extreme cases, the journal/pin must be ground to an undersize.

Limits to surface roughness

The surface roughness should always be within the specified limits.

1. For main and crankpin journals:

a) New journals 0.8 Ra

b) Roughness approaching 1.6 Ra (journal to be reconditioned).

2. For crosshead pins:

a) New or repolished 0.05 Ra

b) Acceptable in service 0.05-0.1 Ra

c) Repolishing if over 0.1 Ra

Determination of the pin/journal roughness

Measure the roughness with an electronic roughness tester, or

Evaluate the roughness with a Ruko tester, by comparing the surface of the

pin/journal with the specimens on the Ruko tester.

When performing this test, the pin surface and the Ruko tester must be

thoroughly clean and dry.

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Hold the tester close to the surface and compare the surfaces. If necessary,

use your finger nail to run over the pin/journal surface and the Ruko

specimens to compare and determine the roughness level.

Spark Erosion

Spark erosion is caused by a voltage discharge between the main bearing

and journal surface. The cause of the potential is the development of a

galvanic element between the ships hull, sea water, and the propeller

shaft/crankshaft.

The oil film acts as a dielectric. The puncture voltage in the bearing depends

on the thickness of the oil film.

With increasing engine ratings, the specific load in the main bearing is

increased. This will reduce the oil film thickness, and enable the discharge

to take place at a lower voltage level.

Since the hydrodynamic oil film thickness varies through a rotation cycle,

the discharge will take place at roughly the same instant during each

rotation cycle, i.e. when the film thickness is at its minimum. The roughening

will accordingly be concentrated in certain areas on the journal surface.

In the early stages, the roughened areas can resemble pitting erosion - but

later, as the roughness increases, the small craters will scrape off and pick
up white metal hence the silvery white appearance.

Therefore, to ensure protection against spark erosion, the potential level

must be kept at maximum 80 mV, which is feasible today with a high

efficiency earthing device.

If an earthing device is installed, its effectiveness must be checked

regularly. Spark erosion is only observed in main bearings and main bearing

journals.

The condition of the bearings must be evaluated to determine whether they

can be reconditioned or have to be discarded. Manufacturer is consulted.

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Bearing Metals

Tin based White Metal

Tin-based white metal is an alloy with minimum 88% tin (Sn), the rest of the

alloy composition is antimony (Sb), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and small

amounts of other elements that are added to improve the fineness of the

grain structure and homogeneity during the solidification process. This is

important for the load carrying and sliding properties of the alloy. Lead (Pb)

content in this alloy composition is an impurity, as the fatigue strength

deteriorates with increasing lead content, which should not exceed 0.2 % of

the cast alloy composition.

Tin based white metal is used in the main bearings, crankpin bearings,

crosshead guide shoes, camshaft bearings and thrust bearings

because of its excellent load carrying and sliding properties.

Tin Aluminium (AlSn40)

Tin aluminium is a composition of aluminium (Al) and tin (Sn) where the tin

is trapped in a 3-dimensional mesh of aluminium. AlSn40 is a composition

with 40% tin. The sliding properties of this composition are very similar to

those of tin based white metal but the loading capacity of this material is

higher than tin based white metals for the same working temperature; this

is due to the ideal combination of tin and aluminium, where tin gives the

good embedability and sliding properties, while the aluminium mesh

functions as an effective load absorber.

Tin aluminium is used in main bearings and crosshead bearing lower

shells.

Overlayers

An overlayer is a thin galvanic coating of mainly lead (Pb) and tin (Sn),

which is applied directly on to the white metal or, via an intermediate layer,

on to the tin aluminium sliding surface of the bearing. The overlayer is a soft

and ductile coating, its main objective is to ensure good embedability and

conformity between the bearing sliding surface and the pin surface

geometry.

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Flashlayer, Tin (Sn)

A flash layer is a 100% tin (Sn) layer which is applied galvanically; the
thickness of this layer is from 2 m to 5 m. The coating of tin flash is

applied all over and functions primarily to prevent corrosion (oxidation) of

the bearing. The tin flash also functions as an effective dry lubricant when

new bearings are installed and the engine is barred.

LUBRICATION OF BEARINGS

Effect of Viscosity

The hydrodynamic behaviour of bearing is completely dependent upon the

viscous behaviour of the lubricant. Both load carrying oil film pressure and

temperature raising power loss are functions of lubricant viscosity. Viscosity

is the resistance of a fluid to motion its internal friction. Bearing

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performance depends on correct viscosity of lubricant as well as speed and

load. So, the selection of the correct viscosity for bearing calculations must

be made carefully. Three primary relationships determine the final

equilibrium viscosity and temperature:

Viscosity of lubricant decreases rapidly as temperature increases;

Heat generated in the bearings is proportional to viscosity;

The temperature rise in the bearing is proportional to the heat

generated and inversely proportional to the heat flow from the bearing..

Note that in larger bearings, the flow of heat from the bearings takes place

largely through the bearing oil flow. Rate of oil flow depends on viscosity.

So the bearing temperature rise depends on oil viscosity.

It is important to note at this stage that for bearings to operate satisfactorily

following factors must be taken into account:

Correct clearance which will ensure the required flow of lubricating oil

through the system in maintaining the bearing and the shaft at right

temperature and lubricating oil at the right viscosity.

What is Lubricating Oil Film?

This is a thin layer of oil between the bearing and shaft, essential for

separating them from each other. This lubricating oil must be maintained at

the right temperature through the bearing otherwise the viscosity of the oil

will be affected.

Lower viscosity will result in thin oil film termed as Boundary Lubrication or

Thin Film Lubrication. The bearing and shaft can come in contact with each

other in this situation. This will be extremely damaging if prolonged.

Higher than designed viscosity of lubricating oil will result in bearing running

hot and eventually the viscosity of oil will be dropping. Boundary lubrication

will be the end result.

The desired lubrication is termed as Hydrodynamic Lubrication or Thick Film

Lubrication which will provide full separation between bearing and shaft.

Importance of Bearing Material, Shaft Material and Lubricant

Compatibility

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In order for damage to the rubbing surfaces to be at a minimum, it is
essential to have proper choice of Bearing Material, Shaft Material and

Lubrication combination. When no lubricant is present or when lubricant is

squeezed out from rubbing surfaces, there is severe frication between the

contacting asperities (high points) of the two surfaces i.e. shaft material and

bearing material . Materials are fused at the point of contact because of the

high local pressure. For low friction and minimum damage to the surfaces,

it is desirable that the alloy formed at the weld has a lower shear strength

than the parent metals. If this condition exists, the weld will shear at the

point of original contact and minimum surface damage will result. If the

alloy formed at the point of contact is stronger than the parent metal, the

weld will break at some point beneath on or other of the surfaces and

extensive damage will take place. This is one of the main reason why large

portions bearing surfaces are damaged.

Viscosity

Temperature

Fig 1

Bearing Operating Temperature

Lubricant

Bearing

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Lubricant insists on following the lubricant curve and since bearing must

operate on computed bearing curve, the particular Bearing-Lubricant

combination will reach a steady operating condition at the intersection of

these two curves. This method of solution is known as the Operating-Line

Method and is quiet general in its applicability.

Boundary Lubrication

In bearings of almost all designs there are periods of operation during which

a Hydrodynamic or Thick Film Lubrication cannot be maintained between

moving surfaces. In starting a Hydrodynamic Lubrication, rubbing will occur

at the initial stage before a load-carrying film is established. In other cases,

the load may be so high and speeds so low that it is not possible to obtain a

hydrodynamic film under any conditions.

Under these circumstances, where complete separation of the moving

surfaces by a lubricant film cannot be maintained, the kind of lubrication

occurring is called Boundary Lubrication.

Conditions which may result in Boundary Lubrication are as follows:

a) High Load Oil film can get ruptured.

b) Low Speed Prolonged operation of the engine at extremely low speed

can be damaging to the bearings because full separation between shaft

and bearing do not take place.

c) Low Viscosity Lubricant This results in thin film between bearing and

shaft.

d) Misalignment between Bearing and Shaft Some of the bearings get

overloaded resulting in poor lubrication.

e) Insufficient Clearance Oil flow through the bearing gets affected

resulting high bearing temperature and lower lubricant viscosity.

f) Rough Surfaces High points of bearings and shaft come in contact.

g) Irregular Surfaces.

It must be clear at this stage that Boundary Lubrication is extremely

damaging to the bearing and shaft. Necessary steps must be taken in

designing and during operation so that the period ob boundary lubrication is

minimized.

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Hydrodynamic Lubrication

The film thickness under this lubricating conditions is estimated to be 0.025

mm to 0.1 mm under full load. The lubricant is drawn by moving parts

because of its oiliness and viscosity on the running surfaces.

Mean Lubricating Oil Film Pressure = Mean Load Pressure

uv

Film Thickness ----

Where u = Viscosity

v = Rubbing Speed

p = Pressure

It can be seen that the film thickness is directly proportional to the viscosity

of lubricant and rubbing speed on the bearing surface. However, beyond a

certain viscosity and speed the film will be affected as mentioned earlier.
Beyond this limiting speed, turbulence occurs in the oil film. This results in

higher power loss, lower oil flow and higher operating temperature. This

higher temperature will eventually lower the viscosity resulting in thin oil film.

Fig 2

Generation of Oil Film (Source: Lubrication Fundamentals)

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Fig 3

Generation of Oil Film (Source: Lubrication Fundamentals)

With reference to Fig 2 & 3, note the wedge formation between the shaft

and bearing and the eccentricity in the shaft as it has stabilized.

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Fig 4

Fig 4

Generation of Oil Film: Gudgeon Pin Bearing

(Source: Lubrication Fundamentals)

With reference to Fig 4, note the oil film in the gudgeon pin bearing of 4

stroke engine along with load reversal during the end of exhaust stroke.

Reciprocating Loaded Bearings Design Features

Internal combustion engine bearings will be discussed in particular in this

section. The forces on a typical diesel engine bearing are as follows:

 There is fluctuating gas load on the piston crown, which is transmitted

through the top end bearing and the connecting rod to the crankpin.

There is inertia force which is required to speed the piston from rest, at

the end of stroke to maximum speed near the middle of the stroke and to

bring back to rest again at the other dead centre.

These bearings are subjected to fatigue of bearing-surface metal caused

by the repeated loading and unloading under the ever changing load

pattern.

The cylinder pressure and inertia forces vary very much in magnitude

throughout the working cycle. Hence the loads to be sustained by the

bearings fluctuate very severely and the bearing must be designed to

withstand fluctuation.

Bearing Clearance

Bearing clearances may vary because of combination of tolerances on the

journal, bearing bore and housing bore. Operating loads and speeds also

play an important role in determining the clearance. The clearance is very

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critical factor in reciprocating load bearings. The oil flow through the

bearing varies roughly as the cube of clearance i.e.

Oil Flow Clearance3

This relationship means for example, if clearance comes down by two (2)

times, the oil flow will come down by eight (8) times. This will seriously
affect the bearing performance. The clearance must not be so small that

the oil flow is unduly restricted and the bearing overheats. This has been

mentioned earlier that the bearing performance significantly depends on oil

flow which in turn depends on clearance. While the clearance must not be

so small as to restrict oil flow, larger clearances will make excessive

slapping noise and end leakage will be excessive. In extreme cases it may

damage bearing material, reduce the load carrying oil film. In order to

obtain an adequate oil flow without slapping from large clearance, the

clearance in the direction of principal load is normally kept small and

clearance at right angles in the direction of the split is two to four times the

clearance in the direction of the load. Actually less oil will flow through

bearing with smaller clearance, causing it to run warmer. This will drop oil

viscosity and further decrease film thickness. In order to avoid excessive

slapping and noise, connecting rod bearings are often held to minimum

clearance in the direction or rod axis. The clearance is 2 to 4 times as much

in the direction at right angle along the bearing spilt. This increases oil flow,

maintaining the bearing temperature and oil viscosity.

Oil Grooves

The use of oil grooves in the pressure areas of bearing should be avoided,

as the pressure built up within the oil films tends to escape from the high to

low pressure zones. All the oil will have a tendency to escape in the groove

thus reducing the possibility of establishing hydrodynamic conditions on the

bearing surface. However, in some diesel engine bearings, a

circumferential groove is used to convey oil to other bearings. In such

designs the bearing length is usually increased to compensate for the

groove. Longitudinal groove should not extend to the end of bearing to

prevent excessive side leakage. Grooving differs extensively between main

bearing, connecting rod bearing and top end bearing.

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Identify the type of grooves on the crosshead bearing, main bearing and

bottom end bearing i.e. circumferential, longitudinal and combination of

both.

Oil Inlet & Supply

Oil can enter the bearing surface only from the unloaded part. For example,

oil enters main bearing from top because this is the unloaded half of the

bearing. In case of bottom end bearing of large 2 stroke engines, oil enters

from the side. Correct oil flow through the bearing is essential for

satisfactory operation.

The journal or shaft surface of highly rated engines are hard and smooth.

The hard surface reduces embedment of dirt or other foreign matter.

Study the manual and identify the oil entry point to main bearings and

bottom end bearings?

Is there any difference in oil entry point between crosshead and trunk type

engines?

It is important to note that oil outlet is through the side leakage. This must
not be restricted under any circumstances. Free flow of oil at right quantity

is the aim for satisfactory operation.

Bearing Properties

A good bearing alloy should possess following essential properties:

Mechanical Strength A compromise must be adopted as too soft a

bearing material posses other desirable properties but tend to flatten

under heavy loads. On the other hand, a harder alloy capable of

withstanding high loads, may posses high frictional characteristics and

may be brittle with poor fatigue characteristics.

Softness and Melting Point This softness and modulus of elasticity of

a baring alloy should be as low as possible but hard enough to withstand

heaviest continuous loading or shock loading to which it is likely to be

subjected, without plastic deformation. Low melting point constituents will

under boundary conditions with high local asperities contact

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temperatures, enable the softer metal to melt and flow locally and / or

deform plastically.

When there is dirt, rust or other foreign matter entering the bearing with

the oil, it is advantageous if the bearing alloy has the ability to absorb

such contaminants, thus avoiding damage or scoring of the journal.

White metals or babbits are good in this respect. This property of bearing

alloy is commonly termed embeddability.

 Compatibility This is an indication of antiweld or antiscore

characteristics of a bearing material with a given bearing and journal

combination under boundary lubrication conditions. Softer alloys are

beneficial.

Corrosion Resistance Particularly under high temperature conditions,

some metals used in bearing alloys are attacked by decomposition

products of lubricating oil such as weak organic acids and even

peroxides. In diesel engines the attack may be caused by mineral acids

formed as a result of condensation of sulphur oxides, specially in fuel with

high sulphur content. In general, it is the steel working part which

corrodes more than bearing alloy. Usually the higher the temperature,

more readily do these metals react with contaminants. A successful

method of protecting both steel and bearing alloy is to add good rust and

corrosion inhibitor in oil.

Material

Provided that load and temperatures are not excessive, good tin-based or

lead-based white metal alloys are most widely used bearing alloys for diesel

engines, marine turbine and auxiliary machinery. Thick white metal linings

(up to 12.7mm) which was the old practice have relatively poor compressive

strength at high operating temperature. This will cause fatigue failure of

bearing material if load is high. That is why the modern practice is to u se

bearing shell with thin lining of white metal.

Measurement of Clearance
The following methods are used for checking bearing clearances:

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Lead clearance (strips of lead wire is placed between the bearing and

pin/journal on the unload half).

Feeler Gauge.

Dial Gauge.

Inside and outside micrometer.

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Above mentioned methods are adopted to check oil clearance. The

following methods can also be used to measure bearing wear.

Bridge Gauge.

Measuring thickness by micrometer.

Lead Clearance

It is advisable not to use this method in thin shell bearings. Clearance can

be measured over a wide bearing surface. It is very important that the wire

is soft enough and does not make indentation on the bearing alloy. The

wire should not get compressed less than 2/3rd of its original diameter. The

bearing should be tightened to required torque or tension.

Feeler Gauge

Feeler gauges are easy and simple to use where it is accessible. It is very
important to make sure that sufficient length of feeler gauge has been

inserted to give a representative measurement of the full length of the

bearing. It must not be taken in way of oil grooves, this may restrict entry of

the feeler gauge. The feeler gauge should not score the bearing surface or

the shaft. In case of a very small clearance, sometimes the feeler gauge

tends to break because of insufficient stiffness. It is ideal for checking guide

clearance.

Inside and Outside Micrometer

Inside and outside micrometers are used for measuring internal bore of

bearing halves (bolted) and pin diameter. It is used where clearance is

large compared to the diameter.

Bridge Gauge

It is used to measure main bearing wear down. The measurement should

be done without disturbing the lower half of the bearing. The machined face

of the bearing housing should be absolutely clean where the gauge if fitted.

The gauge is stamped with original bearing reading, comparison is made

with same to assess the wear down. They should be stored in a protective

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box. Describe briefly how the bearing wear down can be measured with the

aid of the bridge gauge.

Thin Shell Bearings

It is widely used in marine engines especially in the crosshead. Thin wall

bearings will have a ratio of Wall Thickness/Bore of 1/25 or less. These

bearings take their final shape in the housing. Proper interference fit is

extremely important as discussed earlier.

The advantages of thin shell bearings are as follows:

The uniform wall section permitted better metallurgical control of the

white metal casting process.

Bond testing carried out by ultrasonic methods is more reliable on the

uniform wall and it is therefore possible to maintain a higher quality. The

uneven thickness and configuration of the conventional bearings gives

rise to uncertain signals, making ultrasonic testing more difficult, if not

impossible, in some areas.

The reduced thickness of white meta and absence of keying grooves

gives improvement in fatigue strength and consequently in bearing life.

The keying groove is a source of weakness in white metal due to the

sharp change in section and fatigue cracking had been known to be

initiated in line with the edges of the grooves.

The thin shell bearing is not confined to steel lined with white metal but

could benefit from more advanced materials such as tri metal i.e. steel

lined with an intermediate layer of copper lead overlaid with white metal

or steel lined with Tin Aluminium. As newer materials are developed, they

would only be available in shell form due to the manufacturing techniques

required.

Thin shell bearings could and indeed must be, made to high degree
accuracy for wall thickness and circumferential length. As the bearings

are thin and flexible until fitted into a housing, the diameter would not be

measured and is meaningless. The fit will be determined by

circumferential length. Shells could be completely prefinished and

interchangeable.

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Identify the crosshead bearing spare shells in the workshop. These are thin

shell bearings. Observe the grooves on the bearing shell (bottom half). The

grooves are provided to spread and store lubrication oil.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH BEARINGS

Lack of Compatibility

It has generally been the experience that stainless steels of 18%

Chromium, 8 % Nicket variety, have a very low compatibility with white

metal oil lubricated bearings. The tendency is perhaps rather worse with

tilting pad journal bearings than with plain bearings but in repeated

instances wiping, pick-up and seizure have occurred with these steels.

The problem is naturally worse at high specific loads but has been known

to occur at quite low loads.

Nickel and Chrome Plating

Occasionally shaft journals are damaged or accidentally machined

undersize and then it appears to be an attractive proposition to restore

them to size by Nickel or Chrome Plating. In all instances where rotating

machines had journals built up by Nickel plating, the results were

unsatisfactory. Scuffing and seizure occurred within a few hours of

operation. Hard chrome plating, applied on top of Nickel has, however,

been found to give good results when the process properly carried out.

Tin Oxide Corrosion

This failure is due to the corrosion of the tin phase of the white metal to

form tin oxide. Tin oxide is extremely hard and brittle. This breaks off

rapidly causing wear of the surfaces and breakdown of the film. The

appearance of film so formed is grey in the early stages, becomes

progressively darker as its thickness increases and particles become

detached.

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Cause of the Corrosion

One of the main causes is water. It is probable that this form of corrosion

has always taken place in marine bearings but in the past, bearing loads

and clearances have been able to tolerate a thin layer of oxide and

bearing has continued to work with a slight rise in temperature.

More recently, with higher loads, when the oxide layer becomes thick, the

bearing temperature may rise sufficiently to melt the underlying metal and

failure occurs by wiping. Regular and continuous removal of water from

lubricating oil should prevent tin oxide formation.

Electrical Potential
This type of damage occurs frequently in electrical machinery due to

stray currents. The damage consist of uniformly distributed pitting, the

pits being generally hemispherical, with the intensity increasing to a

maximum in the zone of thinnest oil film. The usual method of prevention

is to insulate the non-driving end bearing of electrical machines, and

sometimes in fact both bearings.

Identify the spare pedestal bearing of the alternator end in the engine

room. The back of the bearing will be insulated. Check with the

electrician on board as to how the pedestal bearing (alternator end) is

inspected.

Fretting

In dynamically loaded bearings, fretting will occur on the back of support

surface where the interference fit or nip is insufficient for the dynamic

forces involved. It may also be caused by the housing which is

insufficiently rigid for the load cycle involved. Pivoted pad bearings

(thrust pads of thrust bearing) are peculiarly liable to fretting of the pivot if

subjected to dynamic loading

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Fatigue

Bearings carrying high dynamic loads are liable to fatigue damage, often

caused by a concentration of load due to mechanical imperfection e.g.

poor geometric form, misalignment and distortion. White metal bearings

are particularly prone to fatigue since any high loading not only increases

the stress in the lining but the associated temperature rise reduces the

strength.

Wiping of Bearing Surface

Very often, wiping is a slight transient phenomenon and is undetected

until the machinery is opened up for survey. In serious cases, complete

bearing failure occurs. It may be due to the following reasons:

a) Temporary lack of oil

b) Very slow start up of engine

c) Too small clearance

d) Misalignment

e) Fabricated cross girder of bedplate (Refer to notes on Bedplate)

f) Tin oxide corrosion

If wiping is only discovered upon opening up of the machinery for

inspection, it is usually a sign that bearing has in fact done its job correctly

and has saved further damage occurring. The temperature at which bearing

surface yields is a function of load.

Cavitation Erosion

This is unusual form of bearing failure but could be quite severe. It is

confined mainly to shell-type bearings fitted to high or medium speed

engines and to bearing subjected to fluctuating loads, such as crankpin

bearings. Bearing subjected to this kind of failure usually have complete

areas of the bearing metal missing.

These cavities are usually around oil grooves or holes particularly in low

pressure areas. It is caused by an implosion of gas or air bubbles

released from a lubricating oil film under particular conditions. Some of

the dissolved air is released as bubbles, usually fairly large in size, which

Page 26 of 32
form cavities in the oil film, unless they escape with oil through end of

bearings.

In a bearing subjected to fluctuating load, particularly if applied suddenly,

the air bubbles or cavities collapse or implode. The pressure set up

locally during these implosions are very high, possibly exceeding 220 Bar

and may cause a pitting or cavitation in the area.

It appears cavitation erosion may be reduced by Viscous oil because of

dampening effect high viscous oil. There is a practical limit to acceptable

oil viscosity. We have discussed this in detail earlier.

Thermal Ratcheting

This is the deformation of tin based white metal by alternate heating and

cooling. Its occurrence is generally and indication of high bearing

temperature. This problem is common thrust pad bearing surface.

CROSSHED BEARINGS

In the slow speed 2 stroke Diesel Engine, the top end bearings have

number of factors which limit their safe working load. Improvements in

design and materials have barely matched the engine builders requirements
for up rating, and these bearing still operate with tool small a margin of

safety. In a two-stroke engine, the bearing must operate under slow speed

oscillating conditions which produce very thin oil films and there is no load

reversal, which in a higher speed engine allows the entry of providing a

squeeze film.

In most designs the pin hardened and polished to a pure finish of at least,

and preferably better than 0.1 um. It should be stressed that geometric

shape is equally important and there should be an absence of waviness in

the surface. The bearing surfaces and geometric tolerances are equally

important, as also are those of the housing bore.

Page 27 of 32
Factors Limiting Safe Working Load on Crosshead Bearing

High Sudden Load Full effect of combustion is applied directly to the

crosshead bearing bottom half through the piston rod and crosshead pin.

High Bearing Pressure The bearing is placed high in the engine in a

limited space. The whole assembly reciprocates full length of stroke.

The size (diameter and length) has to be kept as low as possible. So, the

area will be limited resulting in high specific load.

Distortion The crosshead pin is simple supported beam with central

load and two reactions in most of the engines. Number of older model

engines have bearings on either side of the pin at the bottom.

Crosshead bearing
Fig 5

Older Model Engines

Bending moment and deflection are maximum at centre. This will cause two

problems as follows:

High Stress Concentrations and Less Stiffness because the maximum

Bending Moment is applied where pin is often bored at the centre to carry

piston rod.

Bearing surfaces will deflect making alignment with pin poor.

Poor Lubrication Lubrication is poor because of the following factors:

Slow Oscillating Movement Connecting rod swings through 25O

to 30O

depending upon Connecting Rod Length: Crankthrow ratio. It is

extremely difficult to build up full fluid film (hydrodynamic lubrication).

Page 28 of 32
Condition is improved slightly because highest load is applied when the

bearing is mid way through the oscillation and slight reform of oil films

has taken places.

Reciprocating Movement Oil supply is disturbed by vertical Movement

of pin and bearing. It is difficult to get smooth and uninterrupted flow of

oil.

2 Stroke engine No load reversal takes place which does not help the
oil flow into the loaded part of bearing. It means the load is always on the

lower part of the bearing, making it difficult for lubricating oil to flow in for

an effective film.

Fig 6

Crosshead design with pin bored at the centre-older design

(Source: Motor Engineering Knowledge by T D Morton & L Jackson)

Page 29 of 32
The crosshead pin design in the Fig 6 of older model engines where the pin

is not getting the full support at the bottom. Bending moment is maximum at

the centre where the pin has been bored to accommodate the piston rod.

Fig 7

Crosshead design with full support at the bottom modern engines

(Source: Motor Engineering Knowledge by T D Morton & L Jackson)

This is the crosshead design of modern engines with full support at the

bottom of the pin.

Page 30 of 32
This results in better alignment between the pin and the bearing. Study the

manual and spare bearing shell (bottom half) to identify the type of

crosshead design in your main engine. Crosshead bearings must be given

due attention during operation and maintenance because of its onerous

working condition as mentioned in earlier sections.

Checking Crosshead Bearing Clearance

Fig 8

Bearing Clearances at Top and Bottom End

(Source: Sulzer Engine Manual)

Study the manual and observe carefully how the crosshead bearing

clearances are measured. It is checked at the top of the pin with the

crank at BDC. Crosshead bearings are thin shell type. So if the

clearance is excessive, the shells have to be renewed.

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Thin shell bearing must be inspected thoroughly on the bearing surface

as well as at the back of the shell. If there are rubbing or fretting marks

on the back of the shell, the shell must be renewed because this is an

indication of shell running loose in the housing. This can block lubricating

oil passage with serious consequences. Study the following figure. Thin

shell bearing has just a layer of white metal or soft material on the

running surface. So never scrap or use rough brush.

Fig 9

Lubricating Oil Passage through Trunk Piston Engine

(Source: Pielstick Engine Manual)

Page 32 of 32
REFERENCE

1. Christensen, Stanley G, Lambs Question and Answer on Marine

Diesel Engine (1990), Edward Arnold, (Ch 6 pp 141, 264, 272-277,

258, 260-261, 315)

2. Morton, Thomas D and Jackson, Leslie, Motor Engineering Knowledge

for Marine Engineers (1994), Thomas Reed Publications (Ch 2 pp 58)

3. Pirro, D. M and Wessol, A.A, Lubrication Fundamentals (2001), Exxon- Mobil Corporation,
Mercel Dekker, Inc

4. Pielstick Engine Manual

5. Sulzer Engine Manual

6. MAN B&W Engine Manual

Useful Link:

1. http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/ctrp-1201-bearings-clearance- basics/

2. http://www.brighthubengineering.com/marine-engines- machinery/28734-bearings-used-in-
marine-diesel-engines/

3. www.marineengineering.org.uk

Thank you!

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