Case Study # 103
Danish Railway (DSB) Relies Upon
¨
Markisches
Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH)
From Torsten Ludwig, Marketing Director, Markisches
Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH)
¨
In 2004, more than 160 million passengers
Fig. 2: Exhaust valve
relied upon the Danish Railway (DSB) to serve
spindle showing deposits
their transportation needs. DSB had an aggres-
of Calcium Sulphate on
sive modernization program in place with two
under head radius and
critical goals: 1) Invest in new and modern trains
seat surface.
and 2) Work with external partners to help them
modernize their existing locomotives. Dedicated
to completely modernizing its train portfolio by
Just a few years ago,
2007, DSB turned to Märkisches Werk GmbH,
at the beginning of
Halver (MWH) to help them achieve their goals.
2003, the reliability
of these locomotives
at
the
was a different story. 37 locomotives of this type
with
his
within the DSB train portfolio were equipped with
colleagues, is technically responsible for the
EMD 645 engines. Since many of them had been
maintenance instructions for the existing diesel
in use for more than 25 years, the maintenance
ME and MZ locomotives. He has been working
intervals goals for the cylinder head, to follow
with valve manufacturer and solution provider,
the rest of the engine, in DSB maintenance setup
Märkisches Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH), to solve
with 800.000 km could no longer be achieved.
an unforseen problem: valve burning, particularly
The cylinder heads typically lasted only 200.000
on ME locomotives. He has just reviewed status
km before they needed to be changed. Some
reports on valve failures in these locomotives
lasted less than 60.000 km. The primary reason
and the results have exceeded his expectations.
for the reduced time between overhaul was due
These locomotives are fitted with EMD 645 E3B
to blow byes at the valve seat. The reason for
engines, a two-stroke diesel engine with four
the valve burning was established to be deposits
exhaust valve spindles per cylinder.
of Calcium Sulphate on the valve seats. DSB
Palle
Klitgaard,
Danish
Railway
Mechanical
(DSB),
Engineer
together
was investigating the problem and looking for
a method to remove these deposits or better to
prevent them from being created. After learning
that MWH constructed valve rotating devices, Palle
Klitgaard contacted MWH to help him find a
solution.
“I had been familiar with MWH’s solid reputation
for many years.” comments Palle Klitgaard“. In
addition to their competence as a manufacturer
of valve spindles, they have a strong reputation
as a solution provider in the field of cylinder
MWH Americas
MWH China
MWH Europe
Fig. 1: DSB locomotive ME 1534 fitted with 16
cylinder EMD 645 engine.
MWH Japan
MWH Singapore
heads. The technicians at MWH are familiar with
almost every diesel engine and are quite attuned
to the strengths and weaknesses of each type.
In addition, MWH has many years of experience
in the field of valve rotators.
MW Racing
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Case Study # 103
Danish Railway (DSB) Relies Upon
¨
Markisches
Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH)
Their Turnomat product has proven its functio-
the seat surface. The hard deposits on the valve
nality within many engines. Therefore, our goal
seat led to pitting on the seat surface, which
in choosing them as a business partner was to
enlarged over time and eventually caused the
combine their strengths as a manufacturer of
blow byes.
required cylinder head components with their
ability to customize a solution for DSB.”
MWH developed a two-step solution to correct
the problem. First, they integrated an O-Ring
MWH’s Director of Research and Development,
nut into the valve guide to prevent the lubricati-
Thomas
the
on oil from running down the valve stem in large
challenge: “We knew that we could manage the
amounts. Next, they developed a forced valve
problem with the blow byes by using our valve
rotator, specifically designed for this engine type,
rotator Turnomat. However, we quickly discovered
which rotated the valve during the closing stroke,
that the space under the cylinder head cover was
regardless of the engine speed. Therefore, when
very restricted, giving us very little additional
the valve touched the seat surface of the cylinder
room for the use of our Turnomat. We addressed
head it still had enough rotation speed to polish
this problem by developing a Turnomat custom-
away the hard deposits from the lubrication oil
designed to fit this engine. Unfortunately, this
and clean the seat surface.
Gross,
immediately
understood
only solved part of the problem so we recommended
and
implemented
a
complete
maintenance
solution for DSB, which included the use of stateof-the-art MWH components. This increased the
time between unplanned changes of the cylinder
heads tremendously.”
Fig. 3: Principle sketch of MWH
Valve rotator Turnomat.
Prior to launching the customized solution, MWH engineers
completed a thorough analysis
of the engine failures DSB was
Fig. 4: Valve rotation and seat polishing effect by
experiencing. The technicians
using the Turnomat
began the process by determining the cause for the blow
MWH Americas
MWH China
MWH Europe
byes: the initiating mechanism
In addition to the blow byes, the MWH engineers
creating
was
discovered another problem that added to the
never found, but one contri-
reduced time between overhaul (TBO): The DSB
buting cause was lubrication
reconditioned cylinder heads had a high nominal
the
deposits
oil that was running between
value for the seat run out. DSB was overhauling
the valve guide and valve stem in very heavy
the cylinder heads by milling the seat surface.
amounts. This caused a serious build up of hard
However, a new machine purchased to replace
deposits in the under head radius of the exhaust
some older equipment for this job created new
valve spindles, which then spread out across
problems. The machine was adjusted on the
MWH Japan
upper surface of the opposite seat side. This was
MWH Singapore
not an appropriate reference, so the adjustment
MW Racing
was misaligned.
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Case Study # 103
Danish Railway (DSB) Relies Upon
¨
Markisches
Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH)
MWH switched the reconditioning to its own
proprietary standards and carried out the seat
grinding using a pilot mounted within it, which
was controlled by the valve guide. The result
was that the seat surface was properly aligned
with the valve guide. The seat run out was
dramatically reduced, under a value of 0,03mm.
Fig. 5: Measuring of seat
run out after seat grinding.
The
total
customized
solution provided to DSB
Fig. 6: Assembling of a reconditioned cylinder head
by MWH included:
1) development of the
with Turnomat.
valve rotator Turnomat,
2)
use
of
an
O-Ring
inside the valve guide,
3)
reconditioning
cylinder
head
cordance
with
standards
and
of
the
in
acMWH
4)
the
assembly and installation of new MWH components (exhaust valve spindle, valve guide, valve
spring and clamping cones).
the
first
communication
between
the
companies to discuss the challenge DSB faced
through to the conversion of the first locomotive engine, a 16 cylinder engine. Based on
the initial success, DSB decided to contract
with MWH to recondition cylinder heads and
assemble components (including the Turnomat)
for three more locomotives. After 50.000 km, a
common inspection was carried out, highlighting
the results of the new partnership. The valve
spindles showed clean metal contact minimal
deposits at the under head radius and the seat
MWH Americas
surface was smooth and shiny like metal, all due to
MWH China
the use of the Turnomat.
MWH Europe
MWH Japan
MWH Singapore
their partnership with MWH, contracting with
them to conduct all cylinder head reconditioning,
including the assembling of the Turnomat into
the EMD 645 engines.
Now, DSB technicians disassemble the cylinder
heads and send them directly to MWH, where
MWH
MWH’s solution for DSB spanned six months,
from
DSB was thrilled with the results and furthered
technicians
carry
out
a
Ruled
Based
Inspection (RUBI) of the incoming parts and
recondition the cylinder heads according to the
agreed upon standards set by MWH.
Currently more than 350 DSB cylinder head have
been reconditioned and assembled using MWH’s
Turnomat, with more scheduled in the near
future. Palle Klitgaard is extremely pleased with
his decision to partner with MWH: “Our locomotives are significantly more secure now than
they were before we began this partnership. In
addition, the investment in reconditioning and
converting costs has saved us a tremendous
amount of money. We have significantly fewer
failures, require less spare parts, and have
reduced the need to bring the locomotives into
our own workshops. The partnership has been a
positive experience.”
MW Racing
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Case Study # 103
Danish Railway (DSB) Relies Upon
¨
Markisches
Werk GmbH, Halver (MWH)
A true collaborative effort, MWH continues to
provide unfailing customer service and reliable
components
to
support
DSB´s
long-term
efforts. Thomas Gross, Director of Research and
Development at MWH is also quite pleased with
the successful partnership: “With our technical
expertise and many years of experience we are
pleased to offer a proven and successful solution
to our customers. The creative solution we
deployed using the EMD 645 engine is certainly
transferable to other customers experiencing
similar challenges. Each solution allows us to
expand our knowledge and transfer it to future
customer projects.”
About MWH
90% of the world’s large engine builders rely
on MWH’s components and team of technical
experts, when engine failure is simply not an
option. With an average customer retention rate
of more than 30 years, MWH guards against
breakdowns
in
high-risk
industries
including
marine applications, stationary power generation
and locomotive applications.
MWH is the leading customer-focused manufacturer and supplier of new and reconditioned
cylinder head performance systems for 2 and 4
stroke engines. They support their customers’
systems by offering extensive diagnostic and
lifecycle services as well as cutting edge design
and development solutions for a variety of renown
customers.
MWH Americas
MWH China
MWH Europe
MWH Japan
MWH Singapore
MW Racing
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