Exxon Mobil Marine Fuels and Lubricants has upgraded its marine engine condition[ds_preview] monitoring programme. The MobilGard cylinder condition monitoring (CCM) programme now has the functionality for on-board oil samples to be quickly and easily compared against a database of nearly 100,000 test results, helping operators to protect and optimise the performance of their engines. The programme includes taking regular cylinder oil scrape down samples from the scavenge drain system. Two tests are carried out on the sample, which analyse the two key parameters of iron content and total base number (TBN) in the oil, using on-board measurement units. The concentration of iron provides an indication of engine’s liner wear rate. The TBN level demonstrates if the liners are being protected from the effects of the acidic products of combustion, or are in danger of suffering from corrosive wear.
In addition to the on-board checks on scrape down oil, the CCM programme includes a full range of laboratory-based tests to give further insights into the performance of the oil and engine. All findings are reported in a format including historic trend analysis with advice on how to rectify areas of concern, and opportunities to optimise engine operation.
