CYLINDER LUBRICATION AND FEED CONTROL IN RELATION TO LOW-SPEED, CROSS-HEAD ENGINE LOAD AND SPEED

Cylinder lubricant qualities as well as oil feed rate are primary fact ors for engine reliability and long service life in two-stroke cycle c ross-head diesel engines. Cylinder liners and piston rings are lubrica ted with the oil delivered by the plunger pump (lubricator) which mete rs oil to the liner surface with each plunger stroke. Spread along the cylinder wall, the thin oil film perceives a thermo-oxidating ''impac t'' from combustion gases with each power stroke. Therefore, a proper relation between the tribological conditions and the cylinder liner/pi ston ring surface and its requisite lubrication is essential. An inter relation between current engine power loading parameters, cylinder lin er/piston ring weal and oil feed rates is investigated in, a cross-hea d engine. The results can be applied to the development of improved cy linder lubricant supply control methods for these low-speed, cross-hea d, marine diesel engines.