Marine Engineering

Lecture 1
Layout of Engine Room
Layout of Engine Room
 ENGINE ROOM – Arrangement

The modern engine room is a conglomeration of

•Gears,
•Generators,
•Compressors,
•Separators,
•Boilers

•and every kind of mechanical contrivance imaginable, all linked

together by a network of pipelines, regulators and valves to form
a complex power house.
 1. Generators
There are normally three generators;
• On standby or near coast – 2 generators synchronized on
switchboard, 1 standby
• At sea 1 generator on switchboard 2 on standby or 1 standby
and 1 stripped for overhaul
• In port- 2 generators synchronized on switchboard, 1 on
standby
Note that there is always a generator on standby, in case of
blackout

Watch-keeper duties are as per main engine- temperature and

pressure checks, lube-oil checks, using instruments and touch.
 2. Main switchboard
• The main switchboard can be located in the control room or
in the engine room, normally on the next level up from the
generators
• Remember this is a dangerous piece of equipment as it has
live 240V High Voltage busbars, control breakers and panels at
the rear. The front section houses the main gauges, generator
synchronizing lights and speed control buttons. Notice the
black rubber mating on front of the switchboard, this is for
standing on to insulate one against electric shock whilst
operating the controls.
• Watch-keepers duties are to check the voltage, cycles (Hertz)
and amperage regularly, and if two generators are on line
ensure they are sharing equal loads.
 3. Flywheel
• The purpose of the flywheel is to maintain the inertia of the engine
after firing up it is usually cogged around the rim so engine can be
turned using the turning gear.

• Watch-keepers normally paint one of the cogs white to show

rotation speed when turning the engine on air prior switching to
fuel. This is used as a guide to engine rotation speed as if the
engine is switched fuel too soon it may not start, and on next
injection of air may cause a relief valve to lift. (video)
 4. Thrust block
• The purpose of the thrust block is to resist the
thrust generated by the shaft rotation
transmitting it to the ship's hull.

• Watch-keepers duties are to check

temperature regularly by instrumentation and
by touch ensuring adequate lubrication.
 5. Propeller shaft tunnel watertight
door
• This is a vertical watertight door which can be
shut manually in an emergency, such as the
tunnel flooding.

• Watch-keeping duties are to operate the door

once a week, usually the same day as lifeboat
duties.
 6. Propeller shaft bearings

• Also known as tunnel bearings, these are white

metal bearings which take the load of the prop
shaft ensuring even running. They are lubricated
by ring feed i.e. the bottom of the ring is
immersed in the oil bath and rotates with the
shaft thus transferring the oil from the ring to the
bearing.

• Watch-keeper duties include hourly checks for oil

level on the bearing oil sight glass and any
excessive temperature or vibration by touch.
 7. Stern gland.

• The stern gland prevents ingress of seawater

to the shaft tunnel. It is packed in a particular
manner whereby the packing strips (oil and
graphite impregnated) are cut to fit precisely
around the shaft and between the shaft and
the stuffing box.
Transmission Line
Engine
Main components of a basic piston
engine
• Cylinder block and crankcase. The unit forms
the principal part of the engine. It may be cast
as a single unit, or the cylinders may be
detachable from the crankcase.
• Cylinder head. The head, usually detachable,
is bolted to the cylinder block and forms a gas
tight and water tight ‘lid’ on each cylinder.
 • Sump. This is a light casing fitted to the
underside of the crankcase to contain the
lubricating oil.

It is an example of
the oil pan of
an engine. The oil is
used to lubricate
the engine's moving
parts and it pools in a
reservoir known as
its sump, at the
bottom of the engine.
• Piston. The piston is a sliding fit in the cylinder
bore. It is fitted with piston rings to prevent
gas leakage past the piston. The top of the
piston is known as the crown. The lower part,
which acts as the guide is called the piston
skirt.
• Connecting rod. The connecting rod is
attached to the piston at one end by a
gudgeon pin which is fitted to the piston. This
is known as the Little End. The bottom end of
the connecting rod is attached to the
crankshaft, at the Big End Bearing.
• Crankshaft. The crankshaft is carried in main
bearings which are part of the crankcase
casting. It converts the reciprocating
movement of the piston to more useful rotary
movement.
• Flywheel. Most internal combustion piston
engines have a heavy flywheel to carry the
engine over the non-power strokes,
particularly in the four-stroke engine where
there is only one power stroke in four on each
piston. The flywheel is attached to the
crankshaft, and is outside the crankcase.
• Valves. The valves are usually fitted in the cylinder
head, and are called overhead valves. When open they
allow the passage of Air, Fuel, and Exhaust gas, when
shut they seal the cylinder.
•
• Camshaft. Each valve is lifted by a cam, which is pear
shaped and machined in an angular position on the
camshaft so that it will lift the valve for the correct
period.
•
• Rocker gear. Overhead valves are operated by rockers
with one end of
End of Lecture
• The structure under the thrust block is reinforced with steel plates and
I-beams above and inside the double bottom tanks or cofferdams.

• The thrust block itself consists of a housing which contains a number of

wedge-shaped white medaled pads with generous helical oil grooves cut
into them. The pads are arranged and fixed around a steel support,
holding them against a machined collar on the drive shaft.

• The pads are prevented from overheating and premature wear by a fluid
film of oil between them and the collar, with the oil supply being
hydrodynamic (self-pressurized) due to the rotation of the drive shaft.

• There is an oil reservoir in the bottom of the housing which may contain
an oil-cooling coil through which seawater is circulated.
 Propeller Drive Shaft
• The propeller shaft is bolted to the main engine flywheel, passing through
the thrust block then along the shaft tunnel. Here it is supported by the
shaft bearings before passing through the stern tube to drive the ship's
propeller.
• The shaft is manufactured from forged steel, complete with coupling
flanges. It is machined leaving a larger diameter at the location of the
shaft bearings; this section has to have a fine finish to run within the white
metal bearing.

• The shaft coupling flange faces are accurately machined and the bolt holes
reamed to accept fitted bolts. They are bolted together using high tension
bolting, which is tightened using hydraulic tensioning gear.

• The supporting bearings are cast in two halves and are usually white
metal lined. These have oil scrolls cut into them to distribute the splash
lubrication. Nowadays ball bearing shaft supports are being used, but
they have been reported as being quite noisy with a tendency to run hot
 Stern Tube
• The stern tube is used to support and seal the propeller shaft as it passes through
the aft hull. It consists of a cast iron tube welded into the stern frame. In the old
days, the shaft inside the tube was bronze coated and run against a longitudinal
bearing, which, when I was serving my time in Harland & Wolff Belfast, was
made of narrow strips of a very hard wearing wood known as “lignum vitae.”
• However nowadays, the propeller shaft has a CUNI (copper nickel alloy) liner shrunk onto it. Babbitt
metal is applied over this and then machined, providing the bearing surface between the cast iron stern
tube and the propeller shaft. This is lubricated and cooled by lube oil supplied from a gravity tank
located under the aft peak. The propeller shaft has mechanical and/or adjustable gland seals fore and
aft to prevent the ingress of oil to the sea and the aft bilge well.

• Note:
• There are several different arrangements of stern tube bearings. Some are similar to the one described,
and some having additional water-cooled strut bearings fixed to the outside hull of the vessel,
supporting the shaft right up to the propeller. (Notably on RN & US Warships.)