Engine Room Bottom Platform Explored

written by: KennethSleight edited by: KennethSleight updated: 9/24/2011 Get a clear picture of the bottom platform on the engine room of a ship

Introduction We have been reading a lot about the engine room of the ship and layout of components on various platform. We have also learnt about the engine control room. In this article we will take a look at the engine room platforms in a serial order starting from the bottom most platform. The various platforms are central to the arrangement of various kinds of machinery and equipment. A juinor engineer should know thoroughly about the placement of various machines even before going on board and this is taught during pre-sea training and other academic courses. Here is an aid to gain more of this knowledge and the next few articles will provide a bird's eye view of the various platforms which form a central part of the machinery arrangement in a ship's engine room A sketch of the bottom platform given below will also help you go get a quick understanding of what is being talked about in this article so take a thorough look at that sketch along with reading this article. Bottom platform of the engine room contains the following: Various pumps including : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Main sea water pumps Auxiliary sea water pumps Main ballast pump Heavy oil transfer pump Diesel oil transfer pump Lube oil transfer pump Main engine lube oil pump Bilge pump Sludge pump Air conditioner condensor pumps Fridge pump Fire and gendral service pump Fresh water generator ejector pumps Piston cooling water pump Jacket cooling water pump

Tanks There are lots of fluids that need storage space on a ship, and hence there are different kinds of tanks meant for such storage. Given below is a list of tanks that you would normally find on the bottom platform of a ship 1. 2. Fuel oil drain tank Sludge drain tank

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Lube oil drain tank Lube oil renovating tank Scavenger drain tank Stuffing oil drain tank. Piston cooling water tank. Bilge holding tank. Bilge holding tank

Bottom Platform Layout Sketch

Bilge Wells We have studied about bilges and the bilge pump in detail at this site. Basically all leakage oil and sludges along with engine room wash water get collected in the spaces known as bilge wells

There are normally 5 bilge wells inside the engine room as follow 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Aft bilge well Port side bilge well Starboard bilge well Central bilge well Cargo bilge well

Auxiliary Machinery Auxiliary machinery does not directly help in ship propulsion but is very important to carry out related tasks without which it would be literally impossible to run a ship smoothly. Here are some of the auxiliary machineries found on the bottom platform of a vessel o o o Lube oil purifier Diesel oil purifier Oil water seperator

Cofferdam and Drain Tanks What do you mean by cofferdam? To avoid the mixing of two different liquids a void space/empty space is provided between two tanks. This prevents any accidental intermixing of two different liquids due to leaking. What is stuffing drain tank? Stuffing box oil can be re-used because the oil is not contaminated. Whatever oil from crank case is scrapped by the stuffing box from piston rod; it is drained to the stuffing drain tank. What is scavenge drain tank/dirty tank? Whatever waste oil produced in the scavenge spaces or present in the scavenge spaces is drained to scavenge drain tank. The oil present in the scavenge space is mainly from the cylinder lubrication drained along with the unburned carbon particles which are present due to the blow past of the piston rings. This oil cannot be re-used so it is called dirty oil. The scavenge drain oil is mainly burned in the incinerator which is present in the ship to burn the wast sludge and oils which cannot be used. In next article we can see the MIDDLE PLATFORM of the engine room .

Layout Of Middle Level Of Engine Room

written by: KennethSleight edited by: KennethSleight updated: 9/24/2011 Learn what all types of machineries are found on the middle level of the engine room Introduction We learnt about the engine room design and layout of the bottom most platform and saw the various machineries and equipment that can be found over there. Now we will proceed a step further (rather upward) and jump over to the next platform or the middle tier of the engine room and find out what all can you expect to see over there. I must state at this stage, that though this would give you a general idea about the equipment layout, do not take this as a hard and fast rule which cannot be altered. So sometimes you might find some machinery or equipment at a different place or location than you have been reading in these articles. This is so because there are so many different types of ships having different uses and sizes etc, that it is not possible to generalize everything about all vessels. You can expected to find the following pumps on the middle platform of the ship's engine room: 1. 2. 3. 4. Coolers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Jacket cooling water cooler Main lube oil cooler Fresh water generator cooler Purifier steam heater Main engine fuel oil heater Main engine booster pump Boiler feed pump Fresh water condenser pump Maine engine fuel pumps

Auxiliary Machinery The following auxiliary machinery can be expected to be found at the middle level of the engine room 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Main air compressor Auxiliary / topping air compressor Emergency air compressor. Control air compressor Dehumidifier Fresh water generator Auxiliary air blower for main engine. Auxiliary generators / alternators. Heavy oil purifier Diesel oil purifier

Middle Platform Sketch

Reasons for Location Sometimes the location of a particular machinery or equipment is not merely due to aesthetic or design reasons but there might be some operational features associated with the specific location. Given below is a list of reasons why some equipment is found at the middle platform Why generators are provided at the middle platform? Generator are provided at the middle platform because in the extreme situation of flooding of bottom platform. immediate shutdown of the power supply or black out condition can be avoided.

Why Fresh Water Generator is located at the middle platform? For normal steam generation the temperature is equal to the boiling point of water that is at 100 c at atmospheric pressure. In fresh water generator the temperature to which the sea water is heated is lower than that but because of it being at low pressure, the steam is generated. When the pressure is reduced, the boiling point of water also reduced; this is the basic principle behind the fresh water generator. Normally the waste heat is used to heat water in the fresh water generator. Waste heat from the jacket cooling water or steam line can be connected for the purpose. If the fresh water is generated is located at the bottom platform, there would be a back pressure of sea water and sufficient vacuum will not be created. Hence the reason for it to be placed at the middle platform. Why lube oil & heavy oil heaters are provided? Heavy oil and lube oil is heated before entering the purifier for the effective purification of the oil, and since the purifiers are located at the middle tier, the heaters have to be there. Air Bottles Main air bottles contain air at a pressure of (25 -30 )kg/cm . These bottles provide air for the starting of main engine. Compressed air from the air bottle is taken and pressure reduced to (6-8) kg/cm2 by the pressure reducing valve and this air is used for control and service purposes. As per regulations, the air in one of the main air bottle with other air bottle closed and with out the compressor running should be enough to give at least 12 continuous KICKS / MOVEMENTS to the main engine . Mainly vertical air bottles are used for less space consumption. Auxiliary air bottles are used for the auxiliary engines. Emergency air bottle is used to start the emergency generator in case of power failure and gives control air for the QCV (quick closing valve). In the next issue we can see the top platform so don't miss it .
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Ship's Engine Room Top Platform Explored

written by: KennethSleight edited by: KennethSleight updated: 9/24/2011 Learn about the top platform of the machinery space of a ship Introduction We have been talking about the various platforms of the ship engine room and have discussed about the bottom platform as well as the middle platform of the engine room layout. Now it is time to get on to the higher level and talk about the top platform of the ship engine room. As usual, there are lots of tanks, and other paraphernalia on the top platform as well. Take a good look at the sketch given below this section to visualize better about what is being said here. Tanks 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Pumps 1. 2. 3. sanitary hydrophore pump Fresh water hydrophore pump sludge discharge pump Main engine crank case lube oil tank Hot well / cascade tank Diesel oil settling tank Diesel oil service tank Heavy oil settling tank Heavy oil service tank Mixing column Cylinder lube oil storage tank Jacket cooling water expansion tank

Auxiliary Machinery 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Exhaust boiler Incinerator Sewage plant Fresh water hydrophore sanitary hydrophore Engine room over head crane Auxiliary steam condenser

Top Platform Layout

Spare Parts The top platform contains the spare parts of main engine and spares for the operation of the ship including the following. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Spare piston rod Spare cylinder head Spare cylinder liner Spare propeller Spare tail shaft

This section will explain some of the paraphernalia found at the top platform.

What is an Incinerator? Burning of waste oil, sludge, cotton waste is carried out using the incinerator .The waste oil which is obtained from the scavenge drain tank, sludge from the purifier and oil water separator cannot be disposed overboard so the incinerator is used to burn this oil. Plastic is not burnt in it because it would cause air pollution. What is Hot Well? Hote Well recollects the steam after the work is done and it is condensed. Boiler water tank is known as the hot well because boiler feed pump takes suction from the hot well and gives it to the boiler through feed check valve. It can be called by three different names, they are: 1. 2. 3. Hot well - because the water collected is hot Cascade tank - because it collects the water from the condenser Observation tank - because it is used for observe for any oil or dirt entering the system

If any traces of oil are found in the system, it indicates that there is a crack in the steam heating line in side the fuel oil tanks. A sight glass is placed to observe the traces of oil or dirt present in the system. If oil is present in the system then it forms a coating in tubes of the boiler, which may lead to lesser heat transfer to the water in the boiler. What is a Hydrophore System? It is used to maintain the pressure of the water supplied to the different parts of the ship at various heights to keep the constant presser of water in all lines and at all floors of the ship. There are two hydrophore systems used on board: 1. 2. Fresh water hydrophore system Sanitary hydrophore system

What is the Jacket Cooling Water Expansion Tank? Expansion tanks are provided for venting of gas, air or vapour formed in the jacket cooling water line, which has to be released. Expansion tank makes up the losses that occur due to evaporation in the jacket cooling space in the engine. The make up water is provided in the expansion tank. It also provides the vent to trap any vacuum or vapour due to evaporation or leakage /cracks in the closed cycle lines. Low level alarm is fitted in the expansion tank to give alarm when the level of the water reaches the low line due to leakage in the pipe or cylinder liner break down. Expansion tank also consists of a sight glass to observe the water level in the tank. WorkShop WORK SHOP is present in the top platform it contains : 1. 2. 3. 4. Lathe machine Drilling machine Grinding machine Milling machine

5. 6.

Working bench Bench vice

These machines are normally used for fitting and maintenance purposes and not for production obviously. List of Stores o o o o Engine room consumable store Engine spare store Electric store Ordinary tools store

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