Cross Head Bearing / Main Bearings

/ Bottom end bearings Failures

Causes of X-Head / Top End Bearing Failure

• Impurities within the lubricating oil, causing

abrasion of the bearing and pin surface.
• Wiping of the bearing due to high bearing
loads caused by excessive cylinder pressure
being developed.
• Insufficient lubricating oil supply due to supply
pump failure, failure of the oil piping linkage,
oil filter blockage.
• Corrosion of the bearing and pin due to oil
contamination with acidic products and/or
water.
• Wiping of the bearing due to low viscosity of
the oil caused by excessive oil temperatures
and/or water.
• Insufficient bearing clearances within the
bearing, causing excessive oil temperatures
and hence low oil viscosity.
• Excessive bearing clearances within the
bearing, causing low oil generated pressures
due to excessive bearing end leakage.
Prevention of Top End Bearing Failure

• Follow Makers duration for monitoring of all

bearing clearances, to ensure these are
within normal limits

• Bi -monthly oil analysis of the oil by the oil

manufacturer, to ensure oil quality is ensured
• Weekly oil tests on-board for water
contamination, dirt levels, viscosity and
BN levels, to ensure that the oil condition is
acceptable.

• Monthly checks of the lubricating oil low

pressure alarm and trip, to ensure that the
engine is protected at all times
• Monthly monitoring of the cylinder pressures
using indicator cards, to prevent bearing
overload

• Closely monitor any overhaul and repair work

carried out on the bearings to ensure that the
correct procedure was being followed, and
that the re-assembly was correct
• Monitor any replacement parts that have
been used to ensure they are the
correct specification

• Monthly checks of the general crankcase to

ensure all locking devices are still in place
Main Bearing Failures Causes

Corrosion:
• If the oil in which the bearing is placed is
acidic, it may lead to corrosion. The surface of
the bearing will become discoloured and
rough due to corrosion
Abrasion:
• If the oil is not filtered and treated correctly and
contains minute particles, which are common in
engines burning heavy fuel oil, it may cause fine
scratches on the bearing surface
Erosion:
• When the oil supply pressure is not
appropriate, or there is a rapid and unusual
journal movement, it will lead the stripping of
the overlay layer of the bearing. These
phenomena are more common in medium-
speed engines.
Fatigue:
• When the engine load over the bearing is too
high, it may lead to the removal of the bearing
lining. The bearing surface loads cracked
paving.
Wiping:
• It is the process when the overlay layer
removes due to high temperature. When the
bearing is new, wiping is required to remove
the initial layer, which helps in re-alignment of
the bearing to the journal. However, too much
metal wiping can lead to increase in
clearances affecting the performance of the
bearing
Spark Erosion:
• When the propeller is at rest, the stern tube, propeller
shaft and bearings are in contact with each other.
Similarly, main engine bearing and journal are in contact
with each other, maintaining continuity of the circuit.
When the ship is running, due to the rotation of the
propeller and lubricating oil film the shaft becomes
partially electrical insulated.
It may also happen on the tail shaft using non-metallic
bearing which acts as an insulation.

The propeller at the aft is a large area of exposed metal

which attracts protective cathodic current which produces
an arc while discharging from the lubricating film.
This results in spark erosion of bearings, which can lead to a
worse situation if lube oil is contaminated with seawater.
 Crankshaft misalignment:
• Crankshaft of a marine engine is a massive
component when fully put together in the
engine. Initially, the complete crankshaft is
aligned in a straight line (connection drawn
from the centre of the crankshaft makes a
straight line) before setting it on the top of
main bearings. But with time due to various
factors, the straight line may deviate and
misalign which can lead to damage to the
main bearings
Other Possible Causes.
• Misassembly is a common issue.

• Misalignment of main bearing bores can be

caused by crankcase distortion or improper
machining tolerances.

• Oil starvation or insufficient lubrication is one

of the most severe forms of bearing failure.
General reason for the increase in the clearance between the
Bearing and the Journal pin

• -If the bearing is operated above the operating temperature for a longer
period

• -If there is significant and prolong variation in the engine speed, e.g. over
speeding of the engine

• -If the lubrication oil film thickness is reduced due to change in the oil flow

• –If there is a change in the viscosity of the lubricant

• -If the lubrication oil temperature is high

• -If the lube oil used has a different load-bearing capacity than the
recommended.

• -If there is a change in the engine ambient temperature.

Following are the different ways to safeguard and
monitor the main engine bearings:

Manual monitoring methods:

• Crankcase inspection
• Crankshaft Deflection

Electronic monitoring methods:

• Bearing Wear Monitoring (BWM)
• Bearing Temperature Monitoring (BTM)
• Water in Oil Monitoring (WIOM)
• Propeller Shaft Earthing Device
Bearing Wear Monitoring :

• The principle of the Bearing Wear Monitoring

(BWM) system is to measure the vertical position
of the crosshead in bottom dead centre (BDC).

• The general BWM system monitors all three

principle crank train bearings using two proximity
sensors forward and aft per cylinder unit, placed
inside the frame box. The sensor continuously
monitors the guide shoe bottom ends and
measures the distance to the crosshead in BDC.
• These sensors send the continuously monitored
data to an alarm system in the ship’s computer
monitoring system.
Hence, when there is a notable wear in the main,
crankpin or in crosshead bearing, this monitored
vertical position will shift and the same will be
reflected in the monitoring system of the ship.
If this shift reaches the set alarm values for one or
more unit, the engineer will be alerted about the
situation. This monitoring system is connected to
the safety system of the engine which might slow
down the engine when the Bearing wear alarms
occurs.
 Tri-Metal Bearing: These bearings are called tri-metal bearing
because they consist of three main layers (excluding flash layer as it
flashes off) and steel back.
It consists of-

• Flash Layer: It is the top most layer with a thickness of 1 micron

made up of tin and lead and used to protect the bearing from
corrosion and dust when not in use. This layer flashes off when
bearing is in Running in the period.

• Overlay: The second layer made up of white metal (Tin Antimony

Copper) which is the main component in this type of bearing. Its
thickness is 20 microns.

• Interlay: It is the third layer used as an anti-corrosive layer for

overlay. It is of 5 microns thickness.

• Lining: It is the lining layer between interlay and steel back with a
thickness of 1 mm made up of lead and bronze.

• Steel Back: The backing part used for shape and support.
Bi-metal Bearing: This bearing consists of the following layers

• Aluminium Tin: The first layer of bi-metal consists of Al and

Sn with a thickness of 0.5 to 1.3mm and this is the main
element of this type of bearing.

• Bonding Layer: The bonding layer consists of aluminium

and it is 0.1mm thick. The main function of the bonding
layer is to obtain a good bond between the shell and the
top layer.

• Steel Back: The backing part used for shape and support.
Lead Bronze Bearing: These bearings consist of the following layers

• Flash layer: It is the topmost layer with a thickness of 0.035mm

made up of tin and lead. It is used to protect the bearing from
corrosion and dust when not in use. This layer flashes off when a
bearing is running.

• Nickle Barrier: It is the second layer made up of nickel with a

thickness of 0.02mm. Its main function is to prevent corrosion and
avoid diffusion of tin into bearing metal.

• Lead Bronze: The third layer composed of lead bronze which has an
excellent anti seizing property and is the principle component
which acts as a bearing out of all layers.

• Steel back: Steel back is the last and backing part of the bearing
used for shape and support over which all the layers are bonded
together.
Thank you
Main Bearing Failures
Fatigue
• Most main crank bearings are constructed of several
layers with a soft overlay or babbitt material applied
over a stronger steel backing.

• A fatigue failure is characterized by surface cracks on

the bearing and areas where the overlay has begun to
flake off.

• This failure mode is the result of bearing forces

exceeding the fatigue strength of the overlay material.

• As the overlay flakes off and the load is concentrated

onto the extruding surfaces and causes the wear to
accelerate.
Wiping
• A wiped bearing is characterized by a smeared
overlay surface. Wiping occurs when the internal
forces or temperature in the bearing become so
great that the overlay babbitt material is either
partially melted or displaced and moved to a
cooler or less loaded area and deposited.

• A severe case of wiping is the “Hot Short” failure

in which the internal bearing temperature
elevates to the point that the overlay material is
actually melted and torn completely off of the
steel backing.
Scoring

• Scoring in a bearing surface is characterized by deep

radial scratches and foreign particles being embedded
into the overlay of the bearing.

• This type of bearing failure is the most common, and is

typically caused by foreign particle contamination of
the oil supply such as dirt and metallic wear particles.

• As these debris particles displace bearing material in

the form of scratches, a high spot is created in the
bearing surface that can cause metal on metal contact
with the journal surface.
Corrosion

• A corrosion failure of a bearing is characterized

by oxidation of the bearing surface caused by
chemical attack. This is usually the result of
contamination and dilution of the oil from
excessive blow-by, coolant or water in the oil, and
improper oil change intervals.

• Corrosion of the bearing is typically followed by

other failure modes as the oxidized bearing
surface accelerates fatigue and generates large
amounts of wear particles that can cause scoring
of the bearing surface.
What examinations must be carried out when a crosshead
bearing of a large, slow-speed engine is opened up for survey?
2018/SR08 2018/SR11