Stroke-by-stroke measurement

As important as continuous monitoring of all cylinders is the performance logging and reporting. A clear and consistent logging of all relevant combustion parameters will form the base for simple and clearly understandable reports but it will also compose a strong tool for advanced engine analysis and diagnosis.

The report functions of Cylmate will help the engineers to go from reactive maintenance to preventive and predictive maintenance, which will reduce the operation cost due to lower spare part cost, lower maintenance cost and the over all engine safety will be increased. The report functions will also help the engineer to run the engine with a fuel-optimized Pmax pressure without risk for mechanical or thermal overload. A reduction of Pmax with 4bar from recommended value can give, depending of engine type and bunker cost, a fuel cost increase of 60,000 USD, this during one year.

The reporting functions will in most cases directly inform the engineers if the engine performance is optimal or not. The reporting functions can be divided into four main report presentations, each one with unique functions.

The Engine Performance Report can be seen as an engine logbook, which clearly summarize all important combustion parameters. The report can be printed, stored on the hard disk, burned to a CD and/or transmitted to a superior system.

The Engine Performance Curves report is a real-time presentation of actual combustion parameters such as MIP, Pmax, Pcomp, Pscav, etc in comparison to the engine performance curves. These are recorded by the engine builder at sea trial or during shop test. The engine performance curves, entered into the Cylmate System, are automatically recalculated from ISO normalized curves to curves that are adapted to actual environmental conditions. That means the engineers can with just a brief look judge if the engine is running optimal or if any combustion parameter is out of range.

The Performance History – Reference report is a strong tool for recording engine status and behavior at different load and environmental conditions. As soon as the engineer needs it, he can store a record with live date from 68 consecutive strokes. For example a recording can be taken during the sea trial, at tropical conditions, at Nordic sea conditions, after engine overhaul and so on. Each recording is stored on the hard disk and can be used as reference value for future comparisons.

This report function can also be used to record any performance deviation from normal behavior. The file with the recorded strokes can be used for later off-line analysis on board or it can be sent the home office for expert analysis.

The analysis is done by means of a freestanding tool called Cylmate Viewer. The Cylmate Viewer works like a video player. The tool can play the recorded stroke sequence. The strokes can be replayed from stroke 1 to stroke 68 - forward or backward. The tool also can replay the strokes stroke-by-stroke - forward or backward. The Cylmate Viewer will for each stroke show the pressure curves, crank angles, trends, deviations, scavenging air pressure, Pmax, Pcomp and etc.

The Performance History –Alarm report is an indispensable tool for engine fault analysis. As soon as Cylmate has detected an engine combustion alarm a record of 68 strokes will automatically be stored. The stored file will include all combustion data for 60 strokes before the alarm, data for the stroke at which the fault was detected and data for 7 strokes after the alarm stroke.
The fault analysis is done by means of Cylmate Viewer, as described above. This is the first commercial tool on the market that has all information of the combustion process stroke-by-stroke- before the alarm, at the alarm, and after the alarm. That means it is possible to see the development of a fault and to get understanding of the mechanism that led to the fault. Based on this knowledge future alarms of this kind can be avoided.