The crosshead on a slow speed 2 stroke is a difficult bearing to lubricate effectively.

The load is continually downward

and because the con rod swings about the pin, changing direction each stroke, true hydrodynamic lubrication cannot take
place. Instead the lubrication starts as boundary, and as the rubbing speed increases, a hydrodynamic film is built up. As
the rubbing speed decreases the lubrication becomes boundary once again.
As engine powers and thus gas loads have increased, the difficulties with achieving effective lubrication have increased.
Larger pin diameters have helped by increasing the linear rubbing speeds, and the continuous lower bearing has reduced
the loading/unit area.

The older forked type crosshead as found in earlier engines (up to the mid
1980s) used various methods to improve the lubrication of the crosshead.
Oil grooves in the lower bearings were used to distribute the oil. The
grooves in some cases extended to the edge of the bearing, although with a
reduced csa, to ensure a flow of oil through the bearing.

THE MAN B&W MC ENGINE CROSSHEAD

The lower half of the bearing housing is formed by the top end of the
connecting rod. It supports the crosshead pin over its entire length, the
piston rod being bolted to the top half of the crosshead pin through a cut
out in the bearing top half. Oil supply to the crosshead is via a telescopic
pipe from the main LO supply at a pressure of about 2.5 bar.

Lower Bearing Shell Showing Arrangement of Grooves.

The lower bearing shell (tin aluminium with overlay) has oil grooves with machined wedges as shown in the diagram and
photo. The oil enters via the cut out channel in the centre. The grooves extend right to the edges of the bearing to ensure a
flow of oil, thus cooling the bearing.
THE SULZER RTA ENGINE CROSSHEAD

The early RTA had a forked crosshead with the

piston rod passing through a hole in the
crosshead pin and secured underneath with a
nut. Oil entered the bearing through holes in the
shell. via a groove machined in the the lower
bearing housing.
Crosshead Bearing Shell - Old RTA

The Modern RTA has a continuous lower

bearing, the housing formed by the top of
the conrod. Only a lower bearing shell is
fitted, the top bearing housing being
lined with white metal. Oil boosted in
pressure to 10 - 12 bar is supplied via a
swinging arm.
The swinging arm also carries oil at
system pressure (4 bar) for piston
cooling.

Con Rods - Modern RTA. Note Oil Supply Grooves in Bearing Housing.

Swinging Arm (Piston and Rod Removed)

OIL SUPPLY PRESSURE.

A Question sometimes asked is why do Sulzer need to boost their crosshead oil supply pressure to 12 bar whilst MAN
B&W supply oil to their crosshead at system pressure. The answer lies in the design of the bearing.
More than 90% of the circulated oil has the sole purpose of cooling the bearings. If you study antique machines with open
crankcases, you will see that the amount of oil for lubrication is a few drops per minute. This is enough for maintaining
the oil film in the bearing and with an open crankcase the friction heat is removed by air-cooling. Modern engines have
closed crankcases and a much higher bearing load - hence the need for oil cooling.
In a main bearing, the oil is pumped into the upper shell and it will cool the upper part of the joumal. Since the shaft is
rotating, it is cooled on all sides and because the oil film thickness is very small in the loaded part, the shaft will cool the
loaded bearing half as well.
A crosshead bearing is only oscillating and the lower shell is always loaded. The cooling oil must be injected between
shaft (crosshead pin) and lower bearing.
In MAN B&W engines, a set of channels have been machined in the lower crosshead bearing, in which the cooling oil can
pass. The geometry is designed in such a way that all the loaded square centimetres of the pin are flushed with cooling oil
twice every engine cycle. In contrast, the Sulzer crosshead has a plain lower bearing without channels. In order to inject
oil between pin and bearing, they have to supply oil at a much higher pressure. The injection will take place at around 20
degrees crank angle before TDC, where the cylinder pressure is still low and upward inertia forces on piston is still high.
There is a short interval, in which the bearing pressure is lower than the oil pressure.