A new tribo-dynamics modeling and online measurement method for crosshead bearings in marine engines

Abstract

Due to harsh working conditions, the crosshead bearing is reported to be the bearing with the highest failure rate in marine engines. The dynamics behavior, fluid lubrication, and solid contact are coupled with each other, resulting in great difficulty in predicting the bearing performance. In the current study, a new tribo-dynamics model was proposed by coupling the multi-body dynamics model of the engine with the mixed lubrication model of the crosshead bearing, and the bearing load was monitored in real time for the first time through wireless techniques. The research results indicate that the bearing load predicted by the tribo-dynamics model is in good agreement with the experimental results. Based on the verified model, the impact of various design parameters on the bearing performance was further discussed. Regarding the engine researched in the current study, when the width of the oil groove was selected to be 100 mm and the oil supply pressure was set to be 10 bar, the friction loss of the crosshead bearing is at a low level. In addition, to avoid serious wear, the fit clearance of the crosshead bearing should not exceed 400 μm. These designs have been successfully applied to a certain marine engine.