Exhaust gas temperature measurements in diagnostics of turbocharged marine internal combustion engines Part I standard measurements

The article discusses the problem of diagnostic informativeness of exhaust gas temperature measurements in turbocharged marine internal combustion engines. Theoretical principles of the process of exhaust gas flow in turbocharger inlet channels are analysed in its dynamic and energetic aspects. Diagnostic parameters are defined which enable to formulate general evaluation of technical condition of the engine based on standard online measurements of the exhaust gas temperature. A proposal is made to extend the parametric methods of diagnosing workspaces in turbocharged marine engines by analysing time-histories of enthalpy changes of the exhaust gas flowing to the turbocompressor turbine. Such a time-history can be worked out based on dynamic measurements of the exhaust gas temperature, performed using a specially designed sheathed thermocouple. The first part of the article discusses possibilities to perform diagnostic inference about technical condition of a marine engine with pulse turbocharging system based on standard measurements of exhaust gas temperature in characteristic control cross-sections of its thermal and flow system. Selected metrological issues of online exhaust gas temperature measurements in those engines are discusses in detail, with special attention being focused on the observed disturbances and thermodynamic interpretation of the recorded measuring signal. Diagnostic informativeness of the exhaust gas temperature measurements performed in steady-state conditions of engine operation is analysed in the context of possible evaluations of technical condition of the engine workspaces, the injection system, and the fuel delivery process.