OFIENGINE: Improvements in maintenance and reliability of marine engines

This release is available in Spanish.

Aiming to overcome the technical and economic limitations posed by current marine engines, INASMET-Tecnalia has launched the OFIENGINE project, specifically to increase the life cycle of a number of components of the exhaust system and of the engine overall by means of a new coating technology - OFI or Oxy-Fuel Ionisation – using thermal projection. This has been developed by INASMET-Tecnalia over the last four years and is based on a supersonic plasma-assisted combustion process.

It is expected that this technology will be capable of not only generating the coatings technically necessary to combat mechanisms of identified wear, but also of competing with the thermal projection processes in current use as regards cost, reliability and industrial accessibility.

Taking part in the project, set to last three years, is the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) of the University of Limoges in France and Javikan, Arain and Mecanizados Kanter companies from the Basque Country, together with the other European companies, PyroGenesis (Greece) and BPE International Dr. Hornig GmbH (Germany).

Two-stroke diesel engines are recognised to be the most economic and reliable for ocean-going cargo ships. However, the aim of reducing maintenance requirements and enhancing reliability during operation is basic in competitiveness in the marine industry and maritime trading.

The components of this engine subjected to checks in order to increase their useful life are numerous: those of the exhaust gases exit system, the cylinder casing, the piston head, the segments and the piston rod, amongst others. The exhaust system is a substantial part of the cost of the engine given that, under the extreme conditions of corrosion and temperature, advanced high-cost materials have to be employed.