8 Engine Terms Every Marine Engineer Should Know

8 Engine Terms Every Marine Engineer Should Know – Part 2 APRIL 25, 2012 BY ANISH 4 COMMENTS

In the previous article, 8 Engine Terms every marine engineer should know, know , we talked about marine engine terms which marine engineers should know without fail.

In this article, there are eight more engine terms which deals with the characteristics of fuel and lubricating oils used on ships. These terms are used extensively on ship and therefore they are of great importance.

8 More Engine Terms Every Marine Engineer Should Know 1.

Viscosity of Oils

Viscosity of oil is defined as the ability of the oil to flow. It is the property of the liuid which tends to prevent relative movement between ad!acent parts within itself. "enerally, thicker the fluid, higher is its viscosity# whereas thinner liuids have lower viscosity. 2.

Viscosity nde!

Viscosity Index is a term which is mainly related to marine lubricating oils. It can be defined as the change in viscosity of the oil which takes place as a result of change of temperature. $igher the viscosity index of the lubricating oil better is the uality. This means that lubricating oil with higher viscosity index has only a small change as a result of large temperature difference.  %s a general practice, various additives are added in the oil to improve the viscosity index of the lubricating oil. Viscosity index is a dimensionless number. ".

#loud $oint

&loud point is the term which is related to the wax formation in the oil. &loud point indicates the temperature at which waxes begin to form in the oil. "radually, the wax formed crystalli'es and clogs the filters. The cloud point helps in finding out the tendency of the oil to form wax. %.

$our $oint

(our point of the oil can be defined as the temperature at which the oil stops to flow. (our point is lowered using additives known as pour point depressants.

&.

'lash $oint

)lash point of oil can be defined as the lowest temperature at which the oil will give off sufficient inflammable vapour to produce a flash when a small flame is brought to the surface of the oil. (.

S)E *um+er 

*%E number of the oil indicates its viscosity based on classification involving two temperatures. Every lubricating oil comes with a specific *%E number. The *ociety of %utomotive Engineers is responsible for the classification of *%E numbers. ,.

Total -ase *um+er T-*/

Total +ase umber -T+ can be defined as the measure of reserve alkaline additives that are put into the lubricating oil to neutrali'e the acids. It determines how effectively the acids formed during the combustion process can be controlled. $igher the T+ better is the capability to fight oxidisation and corrosion, and to improve viscosity characteristics. It also allows longer operating period between lubricant changes under harsh operating conditions. /iesel engines burning low grades of fuel show high rate of liner wear as low grade fuel have higher sulphur content. This high sulphur content leads to corrosive wear to the liner surface. Thus, alkaline lubricating oil is used to protect the liner surface against corrosive attack by neutrali'ing the sulphur derivative compounds. The T+ is generally between 8012 for marine lubricating oils. 8.

Total )cid *um+er T)*/

Technically, the total acid number -T% of the oil indicates the deteriorating condition of the lubricating oil. $igher the T%, more acidic is the lubricant, and further are its chances of getting more deteriorated.

T% also indicates the potential of the oil to cause corrosion problems, leading to component failure. The T% should not be more than 3 for marine lubricating oils.