LamaLo Technology Inc.
Tankers,
FPSO and Cargo Ships
Click
here for a copy of a paper from LamaLo Technology Inc.
World Maritime Technology Conference (WMTC) 2006 – London, England Paper – PDF File
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FPSO Searose (2 x 7800 kW): The SeaRose is
a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel that was
purpose-built for operations at the White Rose offshore oil field located about
350 km east of St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada.
The SeaRose has an overall length of 267 m. The box-shaped double-skin
hull has a 46 m moulded breadth and a 27 m moulded depth. She has a design
draught of 18m, a 127,000t deadweight and a displacement of 187,100t. The SeaRose has a twin screw controllable
pitch propeller configuration, each driven by a diesel engine with a rating of
7800 kW at 500
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MV Mighty
Servant 3 (2 x 3100 kW): The MV Mighty Servant 3 (MS3), a
semi-submersible heavy lift ship, was built in 1984. The vessel has an overall length of 181 m, a
breadth 42 m and a depth of 12 m. In
December 2006 the Mighty Servant 3 transported a large offshore oil rig to
Luanda, Angola and then encountered a problem offloading it. The ship
began to flood and then sunk in 62 m of water.
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American Heavy Lift Tankers
(2 x 4650 kW): A modular construction approach will be
employed for a state of the art twin screw, diesel electric, double-hull, IMO
Type II and III product/chemical tanker.
The vessel will have an overall length of 188 meters, a beam of 32
meters and a design draft of 11 meters with a total cargo capacity of
approximately 330,000 barrels. The
vessel will have a twin screw propeller configuration. Each of the 4 bladed fixed pitch propellers
will be driven by a 4650 kW electric motor through a single reduction
gearbox. The propulsion shaftline length
is about 87' (26 m) long, and is supported by a strut, a sterntube and a
lineshaft bearing. The main gear shaft
is supported by two bearings. The motor
rotor shaft is supported by two bearings and is connected to the gearbox via a
gear coupling. LamaLo Technology Inc.
(LLT) was contracted to assist in the propulsion shafting design and conducted
the corresponding alignment and vibration analysis. The construction of the vessel was halted in
2009.
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Veteran Class
MT46 Tankers (1 x 8700 kW): Built at Aker Philadelphia
Shipyards, these 46,000-dwt double-hull ships are 183 meters long, 32 meters
wide and have a cargo capacity of 330,000 barrels. The tankers’ design is being provided through
an exclusive five-year agreement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD). The vessel has a single screw propeller
configuration. The 4 bladed fixed pitch
propeller is directly driven by a MAN B&W 6S50MC diesel engine with a
rating of 8,700 kW (11,640 HP) at 127 RPM.
The propulsion shaftline is approximately 14.5 m long, and is supported
by two sterntube bearings and one line shaft bearing. Propulsion shaftline theoretical alignment
and lateral (whirling) vibration analysis, as well as strain gauge alignment
measurements were conducted. Strain
gauge alignment measurements were taken both on dock and when afloat, to
determine the affect on shaft alignment of undocking and the requirements for
chocking the main engine prior to floating the hull. The first vessel MV Overseas Houston was delivered
the first quarter of 2007. Subsequently
nine (9) vessels have been delivered.
The propulsion shafting and engine alignment performance has been
reported to be excellent.

MV Mississippi Voyager (1 x 7941 kW): The MV Mississippi Voyager (Voyager) is a
double-hulled petroleum product tanker.
The vessel was built 1998 by Newport News Shipbuilding, with a gross
tonnage 30,400 and a deadweight of 46 MT.
The vessel has an overall length of 183m, a moulded breadth of 32m, a
design draft of 11.2 m and a rated speed of 14.5 knots. The Voyager has a single screw propeller
configuration. The fixed pitch propeller
is driven by a MAN B&W 6L60MC slow-speed diesel engine with a rating of
7,941 kW at 96 RPM. The propulsion
shaftline is approximately 14.7 m long, and is supported by one aft sterntube
bearing and one intermediate shaft bearing.
The aft sterntube seal and sterntube bearing were both found to be
damaged during an inspection in the spring of 2007. The propeller shaft was removed and the
sterntube bearing was inspected and replaced.
LamaLo Technology Inc. (LLT) conducted a failure investigation that
included a shafting system design review, theoretical alignment and whirling
vibration analyses, on-site inspections, strain gauge alignment measurements
and shafting vibration measurements.
Realignment of the sterntube bearing was conducted in 2009. Monitoring and assessment is on-going.
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MV Marielle
Bolten (1 x 6400 kW): The MV Marielle Bolten (Bolten), a 19,354grt
& 1130 TEU general cargo/container ship, was built in 1997. The vessel has an overall length of 181 m
with a moulded breadth of 26 m and a rated speed of 14 knots. The single fixed pitch propeller is driven by
a MAN B&W 5S50MC slow-speed diesel engine with a rating of 6400 kW at 120
RPM. The propulsion shaftline is
approximately 11.7 m long, and is supported by two sterntube bearings and one
line shaft bearing. There is a shaft
generator fitted aft of the main engine.
On 24 January 2006 the MV Marielle Bolten grounded in poor weather
conditions and the hull and propulsion shafting were damaged.
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MV Caribe Merchant (1 x 4900 kW): The MV Caribe Merchant was built in 1984, and is a 160 m long Roll-on/Roll-off Carrier, with a gross tonnage of about 15,400 and a dead weight tonnage of 9,200. The single four bladed controllable pitch propeller is driven by one diesel engine with a rating of 4,900 kW at 500 RPM, through a single reduction gearbox. The propulsion shaft is approximately 10.7 m (35') long, is supported by two sterntube bearings and is connected to a CPP Hydraulic Cylinder with a flanged sleeve coupling, which is then connected to the main gearshaft also by a flanged sleeve coupling. A failure of the aft main gearshaft support bearing occurred in 2006, and damage occurred to the pinion. The gearbox was also repaired and realigned after a previous failure in 2004. LamaLo Technology Inc. (LLT) was contracted to provide specialized engineering analysis services with respect to the propulsion shafting alignment and investigation of the gearbox failures. A theoretical alignment and whirling vibration analysis of the propulsion shaftline was conducted, and the installed alignment condition was measured using the strain gauge technique. The initial measured loads on the main gearshaft bearings were found to be excessive, and it was determined that this misalignment would result in failure of gearing components. To achieve an acceptable alignment condition the gearbox was lowered about 5 mm. The resulting bearing loads and all alignment criteria were satisfactory. The ship returned to service in December 2006 and has been in service without any further failures.
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Vessel Being Delivered Strain Gauge
Alignment in “Open Air”
Tote Orca Class
Trailership (2 x 19750 kW): Two of these
vessels were built at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (
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BP Alaska Tankers (2 x 13,400 HP): Four (4) BP
Tankers are under construction at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (
Two of the vessels have been delivered as of
2004 and the shaft alignment condition has been reported to be acceptable. Measurements of the alignment condition with
the vessel light and loaded confirmed that the alignment condition does not
change significantly with loading condition.
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Vessel Being Delivered Intermediate
Shaft Alignment Crankshaft Web Deflection Measurements
CV2600 Container Vessels (1 x 28,800 kW): Four CV-2600 Philadelphia-Class container
vessels are under construction at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The vessels have a displacement of
approximately 30,000 metric tons and are powered by a 28,880 kW slow speed
diesel engine. The propulsion shaftline
is approximately 32 m long, and is supported by two sterntube bearings and two
line shaft bearings. The thrust shaft
has one support bearing between the turning wheel and the thrust bearing. The main engine crankshaft is supported by nine
bearings. For the first two (2) vessels
of this class (MV Manukai and MV Maunawili), LamaLo Technology Inc. was
contracted to ensure that the propulsion system has a satisfactory alignment
condition when the vessel is waterborne and fully outfitted, for all modes of
operation.
Propulsion shaftline final alignment was
conducted using the strain gauge technique.
The vertical and athwartships loads on the sterntube and line shaft
bearings were measured. The shear and
bending moment combination were also measured at the thrust shaft flange. The second vessel was delivered in 2004, and
the shaft alignment condition has been reported to be acceptable on both the
first and second vessels.
In the process of completing this project
LamaLo Technology Inc. demonstrated that significant cost savings and increased
reliability in achieving an acceptable alignment condition can be achieved with
the application of strain gauge alignment techniques for shafting systems with
Slow Speed Diesel Engines.
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Vessel Alongside
Dock Strain
Gauge Alignment and Jack-Up Load Tests
579' Car Carrier (1 x 11,060 kW): The MV Jean Anne is a roll on / roll off car
and truck carrier, suitable to carry passenger cars and trucks, in the
world-wide and U.S. coastwise service, with a displacement of 12,850 tonnes,
with a dead weight of 8,850 tonnes. It
is being built by VTHalter Marine and will be delivered in 2005. The propulsion shaftline is approximately 22
m long, and is supported by two sterntube bearings and two line shaft
bearings. The thrust shaft has one
support bearing between the turning wheel and the thrust bearing. The main engine crankshaft is supported by
eight (8) bearings. LamaLo Technology
Inc. was contracted to ensure that the propulsion system has a satisfactory
alignment condition when the vessel is waterborne and fully outfitted, for all
modes of operation.
Propulsion shaftline cold final alignment was conducted using the strain gauge technique in November 2004. The vertical and athwartships loads on the sterntube and line shaft bearings were measured. The shear and bending moment combination were also measured at the thrust shaft flange.
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MV Ocean Atlas and Industrial Chief (1 x 5400 kW): The MV
Industrial Chief, and it sister vessel the MV Ocean Atlas, are Heavy Lift
Vessels, with a single screw propeller configuration. The four bladed controllable pitch propeller
is driven by one diesel engine with a rating of 5400 kW at 500 RPM, through a
single reduction gearbox. The propulsion
shaft is approximately 6.5 m (21') long, is supported by two sterntube bearings
and is connected to the main gear shaft by a sleeve coupling. The main gear shaft is supported by two roller
bearings. Premature failure of a bearing
on the main gearshaft occurred on the MV Industrial Chief. A theoretical alignment and whirling
vibration analysis of the propulsion shaftline was conducted, and the installed
alignment condition was measured on both vessels. The alignment condition on the MV Ocean Atlas
was found to be unsatisfactory, with unacceptable loading on the main gearshaft
bearings. The gearbox was realigned in
June 2006, and the vessel has operated without incidence since then. The alignment condition on the MV Industrial
Chief was found to be satisfactory and no action was recommended.
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