Baileys Performance Solutions - Refurbishment of Diesel Fuel Injection Systems Designed and Calibrated for Ship Engine Services

Baileys Performance Solutions (BPS) interconnect in a unique way the manufacturing competence of our OEM contract partners with their international clients of ship diesel engines by providing through its own expertise in research and development, investment and resources management an unrivalled excellence in economical, technological and ecological after-sales service in the field of fuel efficiency re-creation and performance solutions.

Fuel combustion behaviour dictates ship diesel engine performance

River, coastal and ocean-going vessels offer possibly the widest range of applications for two-stroke slow-speed and four-stroke medium-speed diesel engines. However, there is a further important denominator involved: the operating condition of the fuel injection and air charging system which influences the overall fuel consumption volume and value.

The importance of maintaining optimum fuel-air-compression ratios in marine diesel engines

With diesel fuel prices reaching breaking point in the commercial viability of "existing assets", ship owners and operators have chosen to reduce the speed of their ships and also to introduce state of the art fuel volumeter instrumentation keeping the ship diesel engines in their "optimum speed to fuel range" without giving too many ETA days away. Either of these measures brings only compromised savings unless the actual fuel-air-compression ratio has been calibrated to "as factory new standards".

Engine manufacturers the world over are contracting specialist manufacturers of fuel injection systems to provide specific efficiency and performance criteria commensurate with the overall task of the engine destined to equip a specific ship and its duties. Service work on these engines will be provided by the ship's technical personnel or engine maintenance crews during docking stations, assuring "functionality", albeit too often at the cost of "efficiency and performance".

The risk of using a miscalibrated fuel injection system in ship diesel engines

Designed as high precision engineering instruments in micron technology, deviations from the "factory new" tolerances within the injection system create havoc in efficiency and performance. And that is without the immediate effect on the air charger units which operate to their best under correct exhaust gas pressures and temperatures. Higher-than-permissible temperatures reduce the oxygen molecule content in the forced air pumped back into the combustion chamber, and the inefficiency cylce is repeated in billion increments without becoming tangible to the maintenance crews.

With an average speed of 15kn/h (27,7kmh) over 24,000 ophours the diesel engine will have "motored" the ship over 664,000kms - only medium speed diesels can achieve these distances without complaining. Increased fuel consumption, increased smoke build up and ever-so-minute loss of power are the first indications that a full refurbishment process will be due soon. The experts start to manipulate the engine block characteristics to make up for the combustion deficiencies and soon enough everything is out of shape.

Fuel injection and air charging systems refurbished to "as factory-new standards"

Sea-going, long distance travel between ports and landbased repair stations does not allow for experiments in reliablility standards when it comes to refurbishing diesel fuel injection systems. BPS as authorised importer, distributor and refurbishment partner to OEMs such as L'Orange, DUAP, BOSCH, ZEXEL, Diesel KIKI and Lucas Bryce/Woodward benfit from a comprehensive supply network of genuine, factory new components and parts which are the quintessence for a ground-up refurbishment together with original engine handbook data stipulating the original performance and validation process vital for the ultimate test protocol certifying and guaranteeing our work to "as factory new refurbishment".

However this is only one part of equating high precision machining processes to micon tolerances, fine mechanical assembly techniques and air-tightness pressure-testing of injector bodies and pump sections. Ultimate Efficiency and Performance testing to ISO standard 4008-1, 2 and 3 accuracy is carried out on our own test benches capable of verifying pumps to 35x35 lift and up to 30,000PSI working pressures.

Fuel injection and air charging system refurbishment coincide with engine block overhaul schedule

The combination of refurbishment and testing/calibrating qualities ensure that each injector and each pump delivers  "as factory new" fuel volume and pressure to within 0.02% tolerance between each of the refurbished units. Whether 8 - 12 - 16- or 20Cylinder Engine configuration, each cylinder is fed with identical supply of fuel, with the identical fuel spray pattern and the identical fuel pressure allowing the turbo charger to do its work by feeding into the compression chamber the right amount of air with the right pressure and the right dissipation for optimum fuel-air-combustion work.

This in turn optimises the engine's efficiency and performance both technically and commercially. And with fine-tuned logistic systems in place across the Oceania Region we also optimize pick up and return processes whilst the engine block gets a freshening up!