Hydraulic Steering Gear Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting for MV “TANSUO HAO”

Abstract

The rudder and steering gear is the most widely used ship maneuvering equipment. It consists of the maneuvering device, transmission mechanism, steering gear, steering mechanism and the rudder blade. MV "TANSUO HAO" is a scientific research ship of 30 years old. The scientific exploration missions require a very high accuracy of the ship’s course, so the ship has to constantly adjust her course and steer frequently. On that day, the duty officer found the steering gear failure to turn left in the rough sea condition. The engineering crew members had to make an emergency repair. It took plenty of time to locate the trouble of the steering gear in the repair process, because the valve plate deformation problem on the solenoid reversing valve was very hard to find out. By exploring the obscure steering gear failure reason and special troubleshooting process on MV "TANSUO HAO", this thesis provides some repair experience for the hydraulic system management and proposes flexible and patient failure analysis as well as some preventive maintenance measures against the problem.