The Impact of Material Selection on Durability of Exhaust Valve Faces of a Ship Engine – A Case Study

Two alloys were used in order to extend the service life of marine engine exhaust valve head. Layers of cobalt base alloys were made of the powders with chemical composition as follow: the layer marked L12; C-1.55%; Si-1.21%; Cr-29.7%; W-9%; Ni-2%; Mo<0.01%; Fe-1.7%; Co-54.83% and the layer marked N; C-1.45%; Co-38.9%; Cr24.13%; Ni-10.43%; W-8.75%; Fe-7.64%; Mo-7.56%; Si-2.59%. Base metal was valve steel after heat treatment. It was consisted of: C-0,374%; Cr-9,34%; Mn-0.402%; Ni-0.344%; Si-2.46%; Mo-0.822%; P-0.0162%; S-0.001%. Layers on the valve faces were produced by laser cladding using the HPDL ROFIN DL020 laser. Grinding treatment is a very popular form of regeneration of seat and valve plug adhesions. Properly performed grinding operation ensures dimensional and shape accuracy of the surface from 7 to 5 accuracy class and surface roughness Ra not less than 0.16 μm, depending on the object and method of grinding. The 75H and 150S types are a significantly simplified form of valve plug face grinders. Finishing treatment was carried out with a Chris-Marine AB75H sander on a sanding stand equipped with a compressed air system - the stand was designed by the author. The sander has been set up to the surface of the valve stem so that the grinding angle of the valve faces is 30°+10°. A flat grinding wheel T1CRA54–K was used for machining. The plunge feed was 0.01 mm/rev. The thickness of the welded layer after grinding was 1.2 mm. Both valves were installed in the ship’s engine and were used in real life. After 2000 hours of operation, the valve marked N was damaged. The valve marked L12 showed no damage and was in operation for the next 1000 hours.