Increasing the accuracy of the mean indicated pressure determination by appointment of the TDC cylinder position

The paper describes the problems of mean indicated pressure determination and the piston TDC (Top Dead Centre) position impact on this parameter in marine diesel engines. Mean indicated pressure Pi is one of the most important diagnostic parameters of marine engines. On the basis of its parameter, the assessment of the technical condition of each cylinder as well as the regulation of injection equipment can be made. Most of the available electronic indicators enable automatic calculation of mean indicated pressure on the basis of progress indicator diagram. As the research shows the greatest impact on the accuracy of the designation mean indicated pressure has errors of piston TDC position. These errors can be significant and therefore this may lead to engine misdiagnosis. The actual piston TDC correction methods were discussed, and they justified the need of their use in marine engines, despite the wide use of methods of determining the angular position of the crankshaft. The original method of TDC correction based on the model of curve of the compression with the exponent of a polynomial was introduced. The proposed method of TDC correction has been verified for a different types of marine engines.