AMAP was asked to join the Posseidon Project, due to the centre's expertise in industrial applications and digital engineering technologies. The Posseidon Project is made up of a consortium of maritime partners - Fundación Tekniker, BP Marine, OelCheck, Martechnic, IMM (International Mercantile Marine), Rina and IB Krates - who have all had an input into the unit, the project being funded by the EU as part of the Framework Programme 6.

Lubricating oil is a critical fluid onboard ship. The lifeblood of propulsion and power generating engines, any failure in its quality leaves the vessel, cargo, onboard community onboard and even the environment in a vulnerable position.

The AMAP team has now developed a software programme for a sensor-based processing unit - the Posseidon system. The ‘black box' unit attaches to the ship's main engine, and software which monitors the oil, acts as a traffic light system, warning crews if there's a potential problem, even providing solutions on how best to tackle it. The unit will extend engine life, avoid loss of performance and could prevent worst-case catastrophic failures through loss of propulsion or a power blackout.

Dr David Baglee (right) who led the three and a half-year project alongside Dr Mike Knowles (left) believes the technology also has major environmental and ecological benefits in reducing the risk of oil spills at sea if a ship is at risk of breaking down

"This has been a fantastic project, especially as this is the first time Amap's been involved in a project with the marine industry. It's been exciting and the possibilities for this software are endless. We are even looking at adapting the software for multi-use in other industries such as wind power."

While ships engine rooms have increasingly automated, with sensor systems in place to monitor temperature, pressure, fluid level and flow monitoring - lube oil has remained a void in the engine management system. Attempts made to address this problem only discovered the necessary techniques did not exists and that the specialised means to develop them are available only outside of the maritime industries.

"The Possiedon proposal is hopefully, finally an idea whose time has come," said Dr Baglee, adding "The main propulsion engine of a ship can circulate 40t of expensive lube oil that, in addition to its normal in-service aging, is exposed to contamination such as fresh and sea water, fuel oil and the products of combustion from heavy fuel that started life as refinery waste. Also accidental topping-up with the wrong oil is not unheard of.

"These operating realities present ships engineers with a degree of jeopardy unacceptable in a modern context. But in the operating environs of the maritime industry they have little choice.

"Therefore the economics surrounding this vital fluid are significant. While engine spare parts are costly, the penalties of interrupted service for a ship can be crippling, costing millions of pounds everyday a vessel is out of action."

The sensor unit will monitor the main properties of the lubricating oil - viscosity, water-in-oil, base number and impurities - and oil degradation. It provides a more precise understanding of the engine's status and wear. This will give crews a head start in taking action and provide the appropriate maintenance measures.



The system is also robust enough to withstand the unique operating environment aboard a ship with motion, vibration, varying temperature and humidity over extended periods of time, without service or specialist attention.