Investigating the effects of operating profiles on the engine reliability

Abstract

The target of this thesis was to find an efficient way of working or a method that could be used for sorting out the operating profiles of diesel engines in a dredger vessel. The work focused on exploring the load profiles of the selected dredger vessel engines in their various usage scenarios. The engine parameter values were measured as a function of time. The obtained engine parameter values were collected by using a data logger. The AIS Marine Traffic vessel tracking data was evaluated in order to see whether it could be used for the same purpose. The reference material was collected by using the employer’s own internal databases, the literature of statistics and probability theory, as well as the literature of the marine industrial technology. In addition, the thesis deals with engine failures and engine wear by means of the reliability engineering methods that are based on the statistics and probability criteria. With these different reliability analysis tools, the wear and failure rates of the engine components can be predicted. Thereby, suitable maintenance intervals can be chosen or prolonged after necessary design improvements. Similar studies have not been made before.

This thesis was carried out as a part of the DIMECC S-STEP program, funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) and by some companies. The result of the work showed that data logging is a useful tool for better understanding of how the engines are operated. This will enable better future prediction of engine failures and component wear.