No.

3/97 Edited by DTP-245

SHIP TYPE: Tanker for Oil SIZE(GRT): 80,000 - 150,000 BUILT YEAR: 1988-1990

Unbalanced engine forces and vibration on board ships

Course of events
Severe vibrations were felt on the engine room platform near the auxiliary engines when one or more auxiliary engines were running. On some of these
engines, the crankshaft was found damaged due to overheating of the main bearings.
Damage of this kind has been reported in various vessels with 5 cylinders auxiliary engines, mounted on platforms in the engine room.

Extent of damage
The following damage was found:
- overheated and scored main journals and crank pins
- broken crankshaft
- piston seizure
- overheated gudgeon pin
- damage to bottom end bearings of connecting rods.
The bearing metal of some bearings was discoloured.
No damage was reported on the engine foundations, the platform or the hull structures in way of the platform.
Probable cause
The most probable cause of the damage to the auxiliary diesel engines is assumed to be the high vibration level. High vibration levels may cause
damage to the bearings of the engine and the generator of the genset(s) not in service. This may in turn cause overheating of the bearings when the
genset is put back in use.
However, it cannot be ruled out that water in the lubricating oil and inadequate maintenance may have served as contributing factors to the incidents.
The discoloured bearings were found to have a layer of lead oxide which is much harder than the original bearing metal. Water in the oil is a promoting
factor to this kind of damage.
Lessons to be learned
- Four stroke, 5-cylinder engines, produce greater unbalanced mass forces and mass moments (vibration excitation sources) than for instance 6 and 8-
cylinder units. Thus 5-cylinder engines are more probable to cause vibration problems on board under otherwise equal conditions.
 - This should be taken into consideration at the design stage in order to avoid severe vibration of the genset and /or the platform excited by the auxiliary
engine(s).
- When resilient mounts are used, it is important to know the natural frequency of the genset in order to avoid coincidence with the excitation
frequencies from the auxiliary engines, propeller(s) and main engine(s)(slow speed).
- Vibration measurements should be carried out to assure that the vibration level is within ISO requirements. If severe vibrations are felt or measured,
their cause should be identified and appropriate countermeasures taken. The genset arrangement should also be examined for severe vibrations when
one or more gensets are not running.
- In case high vibration level is indicated, it is recommended that regular maintenance services are followed, including checking of the main bearings and
the connecting rod bottom end bearings and tension bolts.
- The lubricating pumps should be kept running also for gensets which are not running. The oil film may have a damping effect and reduce adverse
effects of vibration (fretting, hammering).
- The lubricating oil should be checked regularly for water and contaminants as this combined with severe vibrations may speed up the damage
process.

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