Wear of hardfaced valve spindles in highly loaded stationary lean-burn large bore gas engines

The technological evolution of more efficient natural gas-fuelled large bore engines aggravates the load situation within the engine and thus as well the tribological system valve spindle/seat ring. As a result of these changes, valve recession increases and component lifetime decreases, i.e. higher failure rates and more frequent service intervals. The tribological issues can be traced back to the cleaner combustion which demonstrably suppresses the formation of a protective layer on the sealing faces.