An Introduction to Vibration Aspects of
Two-stroke Diesel Engines i,n Ships
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to give a
provide a straight-forward description
of the vibration characteristics of two-
stroke low speed diesel engines, and of
countermeasures to be taken in con-
nection with their use in ships.
For those who want to study the subject
in more detail, we refer to our publica-
tion “Vibration Characteristics of Two-
stroke Low Speed Diesel Engines”.
Copies of this publication are available
on request.
First, a number of general terms used
in vibration terminology are explained:
Excitation Sources
An excitation source is the disturbing in-
fluence which generates and maintains
vibrations. This source may be a free
moment, a guide force moment pro-
duced by the engine, the influence on
engine frame and ship‘s structure aris-
ing from the axial vibration of the shaft
system, or the influence on the same
parts from the torsional vibration of the
shaft system.
The excitation sources in a diesel en-
gine are cyclic by nature, meaning that
they vary periodically during the work-
ing cycle of the engine, see Fig. 1.
In order to evaluate the influence of an
excitation source, a so-called har-
monic analysis is performed, by which
an excitation source is represented by a
sum of excitations acting with different
frequencies, which are multiples of the
engine’s rotational frequency.
Mathematically, this is expressed as fol-
lows:
F= F, x co+ + v,) +
F,xcos(Za+~J+....
a= crank angle
qn= phase angles
I I
Fig, 7: internal forces in a crosshead engine
The first contribution Fl cos (a + cp,) is
called the first order force, because it
acts once per revolution.
F2 cos 2 (2~ + cp,) is called the second
order force, as it acts twice per revolu-
tion, and so on.
Natural Frequency and
Resonance
A natural frequency is a character-
istic frequency at which a solid ob-
ject will vibrate freely, if subjected to
an impact. Any system of solid ele-
ments, a violin string, a beam, a shaft
line or a ship, has several natural fre-
quencies, each corresponding to a
certain vibration mode as outlined
below.
Resonance occurs when the frequency
of the excitation coincides with a natu-
ral frequency and, when this happens,
quite high vibration levels can be the
result.
To take an example:
It is planned to install a 4L60MC engine
in a vessel.
Calculations have revealed that avert-
cal hull vibration has a natural frequency
of 3.83 Hz. This corresponds to:
3.83 x 60 cycles/min =
230 cycles/min
If 4L60MC engine runs 117 r/min at
MCR, so obviously there is no risk of
resonance with the first order moment,
as its maximum excitation frequency is:
117 x 1 cycle/min =
117 cycleslmin
The 2nd order moment has an excita-
tion frequency of up to:
117 x 2 cycleslmin =
234 cycles/min
This means that resonance with the
2nd order moment may occur at:
?=115r/min
corresponding to $ sx 100
i 1
which equals 95% load.
Therefore, it is relevant to consider out-
balancing the 2nd order moment in Case
a 4L60MC engine is installed.
1

Fig. 2 shows the deflection line of the
hull for the vibration mode mentioned.
Vibration Modes
A system can have several natural fre-
quencies, each corresponding to a cer-
tain characteristic vibration mode. for
Deflection:
2 nodes
- I
3 nodes
i Description and Examples
Fig. 3: Vibration modes
As can be seen, the upper deflection
mode has two points that do not move,
the lower one has three.
These points are called “nodes”, and
the vibration nodes are called “2.node
vibration”, and “3-node vibration”, re-
spectively.
Also other forms exist, e.g. deflections
in the longitudinal direction, torsional
deflections and combinations of these,
Often the phrase “vibratory response”
is met with: this means the deflection of
the system caused by~excitations on the
system.
Damping
As there is some kind of energy-absorb-
ing friction in all systems, the deflection
will only reach a certain value. This value
will depend on the magnitude of the ex-
citation and damping (Friction) as well
as on the excitation frequency in rela-
tion to the system’s natural frequency.
The magnitude of the damping, which
must be known in order to calculate
stresses and deflections, can be based
on theoretical studies or on experience.
Fig. 4 illustrates the deflection with and
without damping.
The description of excitation sources is
divided into four sections, because the
vibration characteristics of two-stroke
low speed diesel engines are normally
split up into four categories,
Each section gives a basic explanation
of a so-called excitation source in terms
of origin and nature, and describes the
countermeasures to be taken to mini-
mise or eliminate the consequences of
the excitation source.
mplitude
efleclion~
8 Frequency t
excitation
5
.5
r!
1
fig. 4: Deflection curve with and without
damping
The four categories of excitation sources
mentioned are the following, see Fig. 5:
I External unbalanced moments, clas-
sified as 1st order moments (acting
in both the horizontal and vertical
directions) and 2nd order moments
(acting in the vertical direction only),
see Fig. 5
II Guide force moments (see Fig. 5)
Ill Axial vibrations
IV Torsional vibrations
During the working cycle of an engine
there are inertia forces as well as gas
forces acting on the drive train.
The inertia forces are divided into inertia
forces acting on rotating masses and
on reciprocating masses.
The inertia forces acting on rotating
masses are constant in magnitude,
when the engine speed is constant, but
the direction changes
 The inertia forces acting on reciprocating
masses, however, depend on the actual
position of the piston, even though the
engine speed is constant.

The same applies to the gas forces;

they are not constant during the work-
ing cycle.

In order to give a mathematical descrip-

tion of the behaviour of the forces, a har-
monic analysis is normally carried out.

These forces are counteracted by reac-

tion forces in the crankshaft, thus mak-
ing the resultant force equal to zero, but
the external unbalanced moments will
still exist.

I External unbalanced moments

A -Combustion pressure
B -Guide force
C - Staybolt force
D -Main bearing force
1st Order moment vertical 1 cyclelrev
2nd Order moment, vertical 2 cycles/rev
The external moments are known as the
1 st ,order moments (acting in both the
vertical and horizontal directions) and
2nd order moments (acting in the verti-
cal direction only, because they origin-
ate solely in the inertia forces on the
reciprocating masses.
Moments of higher orders exist, but are
normally ignored, as they are very small.

1st order moment

The 1 st order moments acts with a fre-
1st Order moment,horizontal 1 cycle/rev
quency corresponding to the engine
speed x 1.

-
Guide force moment, H transverse Z cycles/rev
Z is 1 or 2 times the number of cylinders
Generally speaking, the 1 st order mo-
ment causes no vibration problems. For
4-cylinder engines, however, ti is recom-
mendable to evaluate the risk because
in rare cases this cylinder configuration
may cause vibration levels of a disturb-

.c-
ing magnitude.

Resonance with a 1st order moment

Guide force moment, X transverse Z cycles/rev may occur for hull vibrations with 2 and/
z= 1,2 1 2 or 3 nodes. This resonance can be cal-
-s culated with reasonable accuracy, and
the calculation for the specific plant will
show whether or not a compensator is
necessary on a given four-cylinder en-
gine.

Resonance with the vertical moment for

fig. 5: External forces and moments the 2 or 3-node hull vibration can be

3

Standard balancing A aft
Balancing reducing
the vertical moment
‘1.
MlV
a
MlH
I
~ Fig. 6: AQusfable counteweights for 1st order moment
I and a 1st order compensator fitted in
i critical, whereas resonance with the ho+
~, zontal moment normally occurs at a
~: higher engine speed than the nominal
because of the higher natural frequency
:‘.,.~.; of horizontal hull vibrations,
1 As standard, four-cylinder versions of
the 50MC and larger engine types are
~ fitted with adjustable counterweights.
For S26MC, L35MC and L42MC adju-
stable counterweights can be ordered
as an option.
~: These counterweights can reduce the
vertical moment to an insignificant value
(although they simultaneously increase
the horizontal moment), so this reso-
( nance is easily dealt with. A solution with
zero horizontal moment is also avail-
able should this be desirable, see Fig. 6.
An example:
A Panama bulk carrier, previously
designed and delivered with a 5-
cylinder engine, was ordered with a
4L90GBE.
The hull girder vibration characteris-
tics had been measured on the “hull
wise” identical sistership and were,
as such, well-known. The engine was
derated from the nominal 97 r/min
to 84 r/min in order to optimise the
propeller. The 1 st order moment at
the derated 64 r/min represents
1,000 kNm vertically as well as hori-
zontally in standard balancing.
As the natural frequency for the ver-
tical 3-node hull girder vibration mode
was approximately 80 cycles/min,
resonance would occur with excita-
tion from the 1st order vertical exter-
nal moment in the normal running
range.
It was decided to adjust the counter-
weights so as to neutralise the vert-
Cal moment, and to accept the in-
creased horizontal moment. If vibra-
tion excited by the horizontal 1 st
order moment would cause harmful
vibration (possible horizontal 2.node
vibration mode), an additional balan-
cing of the engine could be carried
out.
It should be mentioned that 2nd
order moment compensators were
fitted from the start.
Measurements on the trial trip and
with the ship in loaded condition
confirmed a satisfactory vibration
level.
In rare cases, where the 1 st order mo-
ment may cause resonance with both
the vertical and the horizontal hull vibra-
tion mode in the normal speed range
of the engine, the adjustable counter-
weights should be positioned so as to
make the vertical moment harmless,
the chain tightener wheel in order to
neutralise the horizontal moment.
The compensator comprises two
counter-rotating masses running at the
same speed as the main engine crank-
shaft, see Fig. 7.
Experience from actual vibration mea-
surements shows that the aftmost node
in the 2-node horizontal hull vibration
mode is positioned reasonably far from
the compensator in the chain drive.
Since resonance with both the vertical
and the horizontal hull vibration mode is
rare, the standard MAN B&W two-stroke
engine is not prepared for the fitting of

4k
Balancing reducing
the vertical moment
Balancing reducing
the horizontal moment
rotating with the crankshaft
fig. 7: Compensation of Ist order horizonfalmoment
such compensators. If there is a risk of
such resonance, it should be considered
to prepare the engine for the fitting of
compensators.
2nd order moment
The 2nd order moment acts with a fre-
quency corresponding to twice the en-
gine speed. As mentioned earlier, the
2nd order moment acts in the vertical
direction only.
Owing to the magnitude of the 2nd order
moment, it is only relevant to compen-
sate this moment on 4, 5 and B-cylinder
engines, for which reason it is necas-
..
Flc resulting horizontal
compensating force
sary to analyse the situation only on such
engines. Resonance with 4 and 5.node
vertical hull girder vibration modes can
occur in the normal engine speed range.
In order to control the resulting vibra-
tory responses, a 2nd order compen-
sator can be installed.
Experience has shown, however, that
vessels of a size propelled by the
S26MC, L35MC and L42MC engines
are less sensitive to hull vibrations, for
which reason engine-mounted 2nd
order moment compensators are not
applied on these smaller types,
However, should the need for compen-
sators arise, solution (e) as mentioned
below, may be applied.
The calculation of the vibration modes
mentioned above requires advanced cal-
culation systems and is often subject to
a high degree of uncertainty. Therefore,
it is essential that owner, shipyard and
engine builder discuss the question at
the project stage, because later reme-
dies can be very costly.
Several solutions, from which the most
cost-efficient one can be chosen, are
available to cope with the 2nd order vert-
cal moment:
a) No compensators, if considered
unnecessary on the basis of the
natural frequency, nodal point and
size of the 2nd order moment
b) A compensator mounted on the aft
end of the engine driven by the main
chain drive, see Fig. 8
c) A compensator mounted on the front
end, driven from the crank shaft
through a separate chain drive
d) Compensators on both the aft and
fore ends of the engine, completely
eliminating the external 2nd order
moments, see Fig. 9
e) An electrically driven compensator,
synchronised to the correct phase
relative to the free moment, This type
of compensator needs preparations
in the form of an extra seating, prefer-
able in the steering gear room, where
deflections are largest and the
compensator, therefore, will have
the greatest effect, see Fig. 10
Compensation of an external moment
by means of a compensating force is
possible if there is an adequate dis-
tance from the position where the force
is acting to the node of the vibration
(i.e. an excitation force is inefficient
when acting in a node).
5

Compensating moment F2C x Lnode
render M2V harmless
Lnode
fig, 8: 2nd order moment compenstor located on aft end
Moment from compensator
M2C outbalances M2V
Centre line crankshaft
Fig. 9: 2nd order moment compensator located on fore end
I
The counterweights on the chain wheel
produce a centrifugal force which cra-
ates a moment, the size of which is
found by multiplying the force by the
distance to the node.
Due to the positioning of these counter-
weights, the direction of the compen-
sating moment will always be opposite
to the direction of the external moment.
Obviously this method of compensa-
tion, solutions (b), (c) and (e), requires
knowledge of the distance from the po-
sition of the compensating force to the
node in order to choose the correct
compensating force. Such knowledge
may be acquired by calculation, but it
is often necessary to take measure-
ments during the sea trial.
If the node is placed in the same posi-
tion (or close to) the compensating
force, no compensating moment will
be created. Thus, solution (d) must be
applied, because the fitting of compen-
sators on both the fore and aft ends
of the engine form a compensating
moment which neutralises the free mo-
ment. In this case independence of the
node position is achieved, and no know-
ledge of the hull vibrations forms is
necessary.
When placed in the steering gear room,
the electrically driven compensator (e)
has the advantage -compared to the
other compensators (b) and (c) -that it
is not as sensitive to the position of the
node. Such a device does not take up
much room, approximately 1 x 2 x 3 m,
and is driven by an electric motor of
about 15 kW.
More than 70 ships are currently in ser-
vice with the electrically driven compen-
sator and have an excellent low vibration
level.
If compensator(s) are omitted, the en-
gine can be delivered prepared for the
later fitting of compensators. This prep-
aration must be decided at the project
stage or, at the latest, when ordering
the engine.
 II Guide force moments

The so-called guide force moments are

caused by the gas force on the piston,
Compensatiirg moment FZE x Lnode and by inertia forces.
outbalances M2V
When the piston is not exactly in its top
or bottom position, the gas force, trans-
ferred through the connecting rod, will
have a component acting on the crank-
shaft perpendicular to the axis of the cy-
linder. Its resultant is acting on the guide
shoe and, together, they form a guide
force moment, see Fig. 1.

In a multi-cylinder engine, gas and iner-

tia forces and their resultants form a
system of guide force moments con-
taining all orders.

Two kinds of guide force moments exist:

The so-called H and X-moments.

Lnode -I The H-type guide force moment, which

Fig. 10: 2nd order moment comoensation from electrical driven compensator in steer;ng
gearroom
Measurements taken during the sea
trial, or later during service, with diffar-
ent loadings of the ship, will show
whether or not compensator(s) need
to be fitted.
An example:
A 40,000 dwt general cargo ship was
to be equipped with a 6-cylinder en-
gine of the L67GFCA-type. A rough
calculation showed only a small risk
of excitation of vibration from the 2nd
! order external moment of 760 kNm,
but still there was a certain degree
I
of uncertainty.
Discussion between the owner, yard
and engine builder materialised into
an agreement that the engine should
be delivered prepared for later mount-
ing of 2nd order compensators.
Only in cases where the vibration
level would exceed the value given
in IS0 recommendations, should
compensators be fitted.
The measurements showed satis-
factory conditions at fully loaded
ship, but at the specified ballast
condition the level was measured
to 11 mm/set. The IS0 recommen-
dation stated 9 mm/set as being
acceptable.
However, the measurements also
showed that the node or the vibra-
tion (4-node hull girder vibration) was
situated very close to the aft end of
the engine, nearly independent of the
ship’s load.
As mentioned earlier, a compensator
fitted at the aft end would be ineffi-
cient, so only the forward compen-
sator was fitted.
is dominating on engines with less than
seven cylinders, tends to rock the en-
gine top in the transverse direction, see
Fig. 5. The main order of the H-moment
is equal to the cylinder number, i.e. for
a 5-cylinder engine the frequency of the
excitation is 5 times the number of
revolution.
The X-type guide force moment is the
dominating for engines with more than
six cylinders, see Fig. 5. The X-moment
tends to twist the engine in an X-like
shape, and the main order is equal to
half the number. For engines with odd
numbers of cylinders, the main orders
are mostly the two orders closest to
half the number of cylinders, In order
to counteract the possible impact on
the hull from guide force moments, we
recommend the installation of a set of
top bracings between the upper gallery
of the main engine and the hull struc-
ture (casing side). The top bracing can
either be mechanical with frictional con-
nection or hydraulically adjustable, see
Fig. 11 and Fig. 12.
These bracings act as detuners of the
system double bottom and main en-
gine, which means that the natural fre-
quency of the vibration system will be

7
I fig. 17: Mechanical top bracing
increased to such an extent that rason-
ance occurs above the running range
of engine speed and the guide force
moments will, therefore, be harmless,
Measurements on plants in selvice
prove that, with adequately fitted brac-
ings, resonance occurs above the nor-
mal running range.
III Axial vibrations
When the crankthrow is loaded by the
gas force through the connecting rod
mechanism, the arms of the crank throw
deflect in the axial direction of the crank-
shaft, exciting axial vibrations which,
through the thrust bearing, may be trans-
ferred to the ship’s hull.
The dominating order of the axial vibra-
tion is equivalent to the number of cy-
linders for engines with less than seven
cylinders. For engines with more than
six cylinders, the dominating order is
equal to half the numbers of cylinders.
8
fig. 12: Hydraulic top bracing
For engines with odd numbers of cylin-
ders, the dominating orders are mostly
the two orders closest to half the cylin-
der number.
In order to counteract the influence on
the hull from the axial vibration, all en-
gines are equipped with an axial vibra-
tion damper although, for the crankshaft
itself, such a damper is only necessary
on larger cylinder numbers.
The damper is shown in Fig. 13.
An example:
At the introduction of our MC en-
gine series, an axial vibration dam-
per was only standard on engines
with six or more cylinders, where the
damper was needed because reso-
nance with the order corresponding
to the cylinder number would other-
wise have caused too high stresses
in the crankthrows.
Shortly after we experienced a case
in which a 5L50MC engine installed
in an LPG tanker recorded excessive
axial vibration of the crankshaft dur-
ing the trial trip.
A closer analysis of this case re-
vealed that the crankshaft was not
in resonance, and that the situation
was caused by a coupled vibration
phenomenon The crankshaft vibra-
tion was coupled to the engine frame
and double bottom which, in turn,
transferred vibration energy back to
the crankshaft. As a result, both the
whole engine and the superstructure
suffered from heavy longitudinal vi-
bration.
We decided to tackle the problem
from two sides:
An axial vibration damper was retro-
fitted to the crankshaft, and top brac-
ing in the longitudinal direction was
fitted on the aft end of the engine.
 These two countermeasures both influ-
Crankshaft
free end , enced the vibration behaviour of the
crankshaft, the engine frame, and the
superstructure.

The axial vibration damper alone actu-

ally eliminated the problems, and the
longitudinal top bracing alone reduced
the vibration level in the deck house to
below the IS0 recommended values.
With both countermeasures in action,
the longitudinal top bracing had only in-
significant influence.

This incident, together with experience

from some other 5-cylinder engines, led
us to install axial vibration dampers as
standard on all our engines.
Main bearing
support NO. 1
IV Torsional vibration

The varying gas pressure in the cylin-

ders during the working cycle and the
fig. 13: Axial vibration damper crankshaft/connecting rod mechanism
create a varying torque in the crank-
shaft. It is these variations that cause
the excitation of torsional vibration of
the shaft system.

Like the other excitation sources, the

varying torque is cyclic of nature and
can thus be subject to harmonic ana-
lysis.

As explained in the section “Excitation

Source” this analysis makes it possible
to represent the varying torque as a sum
of torques acting with different frequen-
cies which are multiples of the engine’s
rotational frequency.

Abs. max. limit Like other kinds of vibration, torsional

vibration causes extra stresses, which
Barred speed may be detrimental to the shaft system.
range required The stresses will show peak values at
resonances, i.e. where the number of
I - Speed revolutions multiplied by the order of
excitation corresponds to the natural
Resonances !-Normal frequency.

Therefore, the Classification Societies

If the barred speed range is close to normal speed, request that the torsional vibration
this solution can not be used characteristics of the engine/shafting
system be calculated, and they have
laid down limits for the extra strasses.
Fig. 14: Engine located aft and shaftk diameter according to Class Rules

9

Small varying
_ -
torque improved material
fig. 15: Over-critical condition
Two limits exist:
The lower I,:
Determines a stress level which
may only be exceeded for a short
time, i.e. not during continuous run-
: : ning, which means that the propul-
sion plant requires a barred speed
range of revolutions.
The upper limit za:
May not be exceeded at all,
Considering a shaftline of a certain
length, it is possible to adjust its natu-
ral frequency of torsional vibration by
adjusting the diameter. A small diameter
results in a low natural frequency, and
a larger diameter in a high natural fre-
10
ning wheel
quency. Also the introduction of a tun-
ing wheel will lower the natural frequency.
The Classification Societies have also
laid down rules determining the shaft
diameter. It is permitted to increase the
diameter, whereas a reduction will re-
quire the use of a material with a higher
ultimate tensile strength.
For the different numbers of cylinders
the following guidelines can be given
based on our experience:
4-cylinder engines normally have the
main critical resonance (4th order) posi-
tioned above but close to normal revo-
lutions and thus, in the worst cases,
require an increased diameter of the
shaft-line relative to the diameters re-
quired by the class rules in order to in-
crease the natural frequency and
thereby bringing it 40.45% above nor-
mal running range.
For 5cylinder engines the main critical
(5th order) is also positioned close to,
but below, normal revolutions.
If the diameter of the shafting is chosen
according to the class rules, the reso-
nance with main critical will be posi-
tioned quite close to the normal service
speed, thus introducing a barrad speed
range, see Fig. 14. The usual and cor-
rect way to tackle this unacceptable po-
sition of a barred speed range is to mount
a tuning wheel on the front end of the
crankshaftand design the intermediate
shaft with reduced diameter relative to
the class diameter and to use better
material with a higher ultimate tensile
strength. This is called over-critical run-
ning, because the normal speed range
is placed above the resonance, see
Fig. 15.
In some cases, the solution chosen
has been to install a large diameter in-
termediate shaft in order to increase the
resonance to above the MCR. This is
called under-critical running, because the
normal speed range is placed below the
resonance, see Fig. 16.
Besides avoiding a barred speed range,
this solution is characterised by a
rather high varying torque in the shaft
which will induce a rather high varying
thrust, called Torsional Vibration In-
duced Propeller thrust.
For 6-cyknder engines the normal ex-
ecution is a shaftline with a diameter
according to the class rules and, con-
sequently, a barred speed range.
For engines with seven or more cyfin-
der. the excitations are smaller, and a
barred speed range is not normally
necessary.
An example:
A series of tankers equipped with
5L80MCE engines was fitted with a
shaft system of a larger diameter than
 Large vaying torque
increased diameter
and large vajing thrust
related to class rules
when or if resonance is

I - Speed

Normal

Approx. 40-45% of rlmin

Recommended distance
“from resonance”

No barred speed range required

fig, 16: Under-cr;tical condition

required by the Classification Societies had to be strengthened in order to pos-

and had no tuning wheel in order to
avoid a barred speed range. The tor-
sional vibration induced propeller thrust
was approximately 30% of the mean
thrust and, during the sea trial, heavy
longitudinal vibration of the engine frame
as well as the superstructure excited
by the varying thrust was experienced.
As replacement of the whole shaft sys-
tem was considered virtually impossible
(expensive and time consuming), efforts
to restrict the heavy longitudinal vibra-
tion were concentrated on longitudinal
top bracing. After a few attempts it be-
came evident that the steel work of the
deck in way of the fore end of the engine
sess sufficient rigidity. After this streng-
thening had been carried out, the vibra-
tion levels became accedable.
Conclusion
If proper consideration is given to the
vibration aspects at an early stage, the
countermeasures available provide a
good safety margin against potential vi-
bration problems.
It is emphasised that the all-important
issue in these questions is the interac-
tion with the ship, and not the mere
magnitude of the excitation source.

11