MAN Diesel & Turbo

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Subject
Troubleshooting using HCU Events
Title Page no.

Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 1 (19)
Replacement for Ident. no.
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy.. Internal use only 0
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Introduction and Layout

The following is a collection
ollection of some of the cases where
here the HCU Events have
been used as part of the troubleshooting process.
It is intended as a guide both in interpreting HCU Events and also in
understanding the usefulness of ttaking manual logs on a regular basis.
Incidentally the examples also show that many cases which would previously
lead to unnecessary exchange of FIVA and/or MPC can be solved more
correctly
ly using the HCU Events.

Examples included
1. MECHANICAL FAULT
AULT ON EXHAUST VALVE
VALV ACTUATOR ................................
........................................... 2
2. WORN BEARINGS ON A CW
C FIVA ................................................................
................................................. 6
3. PROBLEMS WITH EXHAUST
EXHAUS VALVES 3 AND 6 ................................
............................................................ 8
4. CHANNEL 70 DISCONNECTION ................................................................
................................................... 12
5. TOO LOW SETTINGS OF SAFETY VALVES FOR AIR SPRING ................................
.................................. 14
6. INSUFFICIENT FUEL PLUNGER
UNGER MOVEMENT..............................................................
MOVEMENT .............................. 16
Template no. 3090849-4, v2.2
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 2 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy. Internal use only 0

1. Mechanical fault on Exhaust Valve Actuator

The alarm “Exhaust Valve Stroke Low (SlowDown)” was raised by CCU1.
Incorrect movement of the exhaust valve can be due to many things: Problems with the MPC,
the FIVA, the actuator, the exhaust valve,
valve, the sensors, the cabling, the hydraulic oil etc.
The system automatically logged the below HCU Event:

As can be seen it was during starting of the engine since no fuel was injected prior to the alarm
being raised.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming on the FIVA signals shows

show that the FIVA followed the set point:
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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In case there is doubt about whether the FIVA behaviour was acceptable it is possible to
compare with HCU Events taken on days where there were no problems:

On the above image the exhaust valve iis opening and closing just as intended and there are
no problems.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming on this HCU Event it can be seen that the FIVA behaviour in this case is similar to the
behaviour when the exhaust valve failed to move:

Based on this examination of the HCU Events it is possible to start the troubleshooting
somewhere else than the FIVA. For instance testing of the exhaust valve position feedback
sensor (possibly by exchanging with the sensor from another unit) would be a somewhat easy
place to start.
In the actual case it turned out that the problem was mechanical trouble with the exhaust valve
actuator.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 6 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy. Internal use only 0

2. Worn
orn bearings on a CW FIVA
A routine manual log gave the below HCU Event:

Note that in this case the plant is equipped with FIVA’s manufactured by Curtiss
Curtiss-Wright, which
means that the amplifier is physically placed with the MPC and the output from the amp
amplifier is
also included in the HCU Event (4:( “Amplifier Current Ch33”).
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 7 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming reveals large differences between the FIVA set point and the FIVA feedback – also
during the steady states (where the set point is a horizontal line):

The optimal action would

uld be to compare with earlier HCU Events and corresponding
performance measurements; preferably from sea trial or maiden voyage.
The original plastic bearings in the Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss Wright FIVA valves can get worn over time and this
was the case here. MDT offers a procedure for reconditioning the valve by replacing the plastic
bearings with self-lubricating
lubricating ones made of bronze.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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3. Problems with exhaust valves 3 and 6

Routine manual logs showed the below when all 7 units were plotted together:

Plotting several plots taken at the same time (i.e. with the same engine conditions) gives the
possibility of comparing exhaust valve movement, fuel plunger movement and main spool
movement between units in a qualitative manner.
Note that due to the plot being
eing logged manually the angular spread of the logs will not be
evenly divided across the engine revolution; that is why for instance the fuel plungers are
clustered in a group.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 9 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy. Internal use only 0

Zooming makes it easier to compare the shapes of the exhaust valve movement:

In this case it can be seen that two of the exhaust valves have a sharper cut
cut-off during
opening.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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By plotting
lotting the logs two at a time it is possible to single out the units that differ from the rest.
Unit 1 and 3:
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Unit 1 and 6:

Through this process

ess it is possible to see that exhaust valve 3 and 6 behave differently than
the rest.
The next course of action would then be to compare the performance parameters and see if
the exhaust valve behaviour has any negative influence on these.
When convenient it would be wise to disassemble a couple of exhaust valves and compare
these. The differences in behaviour could be due to mechanical problems in e.g. the actuator
damper or the damper in the exhaust valve.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 12 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy. Internal use only 0

4. Channel 70 disconnection
The alarm “Exhaust Valve Stroke Low (SlowDown)” was raised by CCU1. The system
automatically logged the below HCU Event:

As can be seen this happened either during starting or an air-run

air run since no fuel was injected
prior to the alarm being raised. Also note that the engine is equipped with ‘low force’ exhaust
valves as can be seen from the overshoot in position during the opening
opening of the valves.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 13 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming on the three signals concerning the FIVA valve (set point, feedback and controller)
gives the below image:

It can be seen that approximately half a second prior to the alarm is raised, the FIVA main
spool moves to its fail safe position, however ECS continues to attempt to control the FIVA
which can be seen by the control signal increasing in magnitude until it is basically just an
offset version of the set point. This is correct behaviour since the FIVA position controller is
mainly a P-controller.
The FIVA moving to the fail safe position can be caused by the pilot valve loosing its signal, in
this case it was caused by a loose connection in the cable from the CCU channel 70.
This is also an example where a malfunction in o
one
ne component (the wire for the FIVA) is
detected by another component (the supervision of the exhaust valve stroke), giving an alarm
that needs interpreting together with the HCU Event before the root cause is found.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 14 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
2012-01-26 MSJ Initial draft for PrimeServ Academy. Internal use only 0

5. Too low settings of safety valves for air spring

A manually logged HCU event during engine start gave the below image:

This engine is equipped with low force exhaust valve and therefore it was expected that the
opening of the exhaust valve would have an overshoot and a settling period (simi
(similar to the
behaviour displayed on the HCU Event shown on page 12 in this document). However this
seems to not be the case.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming on the exhaust valve opening makes the lack of overshoot more evident; the top of
the signal where the exhaust valve is open
ope is almost completely flat.

Since the signal also includes a small undershoot (at app. 3.20sec) the flatness is not due to
the exhaust valve hitting the physical maximum movement. Rather it is due to saturation in the
position sensor: If the exhaust val
valve
ve moves too far then the sensor reaches its maximum value
and then gives a constant value.
Comparing with earlier HCU Events would reveal if this was a new situation or one that had
persisted for some time.
In the actual case it turned out that it had been
been the case since the sea trial and it was due to a
too low setting of the safety valve for the exhaust valve air spring. A too low opening pressure
means that the exhaust valve moves further than intended.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 16 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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6. Insufficient fuel plunger movement

As part of investigating intermittent start problems on an engine, the below HCU Event was
manually logged:

As can be seen this was during the starting of the engine – actually the very first injection on
that unit.
The fuel equipment was suspected as the root cause for the starting troubles.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 17 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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Zooming on the HCU Event is was possible to compare the FIVA main spool movement with
the fuel plunger movement:

In the above case the main spool moves to approximately 2000 ‘counts’ and the fuel plunger
moves approximately 400 ‘counts’.
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

ME 18 (19)
Date Des. Chk. Appd. A. C. Change/replacement C. no.
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With the engine running another HCU Event was logged manually:
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Examples of HCU Events from ME-ECS

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Zooming makes it apparent that the fuel plunger moves much further in this case:

Since the manual log was taken when the index was more or less the same as during starting
starting,
the main spool moves to approximately the same value (2000 ‘counts’) but this time the fuel
plunger moves almost 2000 ‘counts’.
‘counts’
This indicates that one of the fundamental prerequisites for the FIVA control was not fulfilled: It
is required that the same movement
ovement of the FIVA valve results in the same fuel plunger stroke.
It is worth noting that the starting position of the fuel plunger is the same in both cases; i.e. the
fuel plunger was returned as it should be prior to injection.
The possible causes for this
his kind of behaviour could be malfunctioning suction valves in the
fuel oil pressure booster or air in the hydraulic oil.
It turned out that it was air in the hydraulic oil and a change to the mechanical design was
introduced.