Abstract
The oil film pressure is one of the key parameters in
journal bearings influencing the performance of the
bearings. A fibre optic sensor was developed for online
determination of actual oil film pressure under load
without disturbing the actual tribological contact. Four
optical sensors were integrated in a hydrodynamic journal
bearing of a Wärtsilä Vasa 4R32 LN E medium-speed diesel
engine with four cylinders, maximum power of 1,640 kW and
rotating speed on 750 rpm. Online engine tests were
carried out with different loads to study the sensor
operation in real operating conditions. The engine tests
were repeated six times over 4 years of operation
reaching up to thousand hours of the engine use. The
results showed differences in bearing pressure depending
on the position of the sensor and on the operating cycle
of the cylinders. The pressure peaks of all four cylinder
work cycles could be identified in the measured pressure
curves, and the pressure variations within the pressure
curves fit well to the diesel engine's work cycle and
mass forces. The sensors had good repeatability over the
whole test period.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 47-54 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Tribology Letters |
Volume | 56 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- diesel engines
- tribology
- journal bearing
- fibre optic sensors
- oil film pressure