Rooke, J. orcid.org/0000-0003-0720-7891, Li, X. and Dwyer-Joyce, R.S. (2025) Detecting piston ring–cylinder liner metal–metal contact in a fired large marine diesel engine using piezoelectric transducers. SAE International Journal of Engines, 18 (3). 03-18-03-0017. ISSN 1946-3936
Abstract
Shear-polarized ultrasonic sensors have been instrumented onto the outer liner surface of an RTX-6 large marine diesel engine. The sensors were aligned with the first piston ring at top dead center and shear ultrasonic reflectometry (comparing the variation in the reflected ultrasonic waves) was used to infer metal–metal contact between the piston ring and cylinder liner. This is possible as shear waves are not supported by fluids and will only transmit across solid-to-solid interfaces. Therefore, a sharp change in the reflected wave is an indicator of oil film breakdown. Two lubricant injection systems have been evaluated—pulse jet and needle lift-type injectors. The needle lift type is a prototype injector design with a reduced rate of lubricant atomization relative to pulse jet injectors. This is manifested as a smaller reduction in the reflected ultrasonic wave, showing less metal–metal contact had occurred. During steady-state testing, the oil feed rate was varied; the high flow rate case was shown to reduce the amount of piston ring–liner contact, while no changes in the lubricant film thickness had previously been detected using traditional longitudinal ultrasonic sensors. This displays the increased sensitivity of shear sensors relative to longitudinal sensors in respect to the quantity of lubricant present. Piston ring oil film breakdown was also studied at a range of steady-state loading levels and engine slow down, showing the amount of contact decreased as engine load decreased, providing a real-time indication of the lubrication regime of the piston rings. When the load was further decreased, into total shutdown of the engine, the amount of contact increased until the engine had stopped rotating. The study has demonstrated the capability of shear ultrasonic sensors to detect changes in solid contact caused by injector design, oil feed rate, engine load, and engine shut down.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 SAE International. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in SAE International Journal of Engines. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Marine engines; Engines; Pistons; Fuel injection; Sensors and actuators; Diesel / compression ignition engines; Engine efficiency; Greenhouse gas emissions; Engine lubricants; Metals |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > University of Sheffield Research Centres and Institutes > AMRC with Boeing (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Advanced Manufacturing Institute (Sheffield) > AMRC with Boeing (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Apr 2025 10:39 |
Last Modified: | 14 Apr 2025 11:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAE International |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.4271/03-18-03-0017 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:225465 |
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Filename: Detecting_piston_ring-cylinder_liner_metal-metal_contact.pdf
