Optimisation of the Topping-Up Process of Lubricating Oil in Medium-Speed Marine Engines

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the problem of optimising the process of topping up lubricating oil in medium-speed marine engines. This process is one of the methods that can be applied to improve the properties of lubricating oil. The amount of fresh oil added to lubricating oil system always balances its consumption, but the method used to top up depends on the marine engineer. Small amounts of fresh oil can be added at short intervals, or large ones at long intervals, and the element of randomness often plays a significant role here. It would therefore be valuable to find a method that can help the mechanical engineer to choose the right strategy. We apply a multi-criteria optimisation method for this purpose, and assume that the criterion functions depend on the concentration of solid impurities and the alkalinity, which are among the most important aspects of the quality and properties of lubricating oil. These criterion functions form the basis for multi-objective optimisation carried out with the use of the MATLAB computer program.

Keywords

• multi-objective optimisation
• medium-speed marine engine
• lubricating oil
• soild impurities
• alkalinity
• topping-up process