This article discusses about the performance tests that you need to take of the main engine and the auxiliary engines. These tests are required from time to time, thus to make sure that your engines are up to the mark and they are performing as per the makers recommendations. The responsible engineer officer on ship will carry out this job on ship.
Engine Performance Tests-What is It?
Well performance tests as name suggests, is nothing but a test to see whether the engine is performing up to the mark or not. And we usually have special equipments for doing it for example Doctor Diesel etc. Well all these such type of equipment uses sensors (transducers) to read the pressures or temperature in the engines and relay back them to the user. These are some of the parameters about which we get information when we are conducting these tests:
1) Pmax
2) RPM
3) Mean Indicated Pressure
4) Power
5) Pmax
6) Power relative to MCR
Below diagram shows the values and parameter we get for an 2 stroke diesel engine.
How to carry out the engine performance tests?
Well the equipments shown here might be different from the one you are using, but the general idea is always same. You are provided with a sensor probe, that will fit on to your indicator cock and other sensor will got the RPM connection of the engine. Before doing the tests, make sure that your engine is running on some load.
1) Connect one probe to the speed sensor and one to the indicator cock. Make sure that you have already blown out the indicator cock, before connecting this probe.
2) Now you will open the indicator cock, so that the sensor can read the pressure inside. And will automatically take readings for 20 cycles and will present you with the graphs and values.
3) Like this you need to keep on moving to next units. The equipments will keep on recording the values. Later you can connect to the ship computer and transfer values. And take a printout of the same.
4) After you get results on your computer, you can make changes as per the need. You can adjust the position of the fuels racks.
5) Some of the most important information we get from this tests are like how is the condition of your fuel injector, the condition of piston of O-rings.
6) Chief engineer will direct you to take these tests from time to time, and will keep an eye on the performance of the engines. So this was all from the performance tests on the engines. Hope you liked reading it.
