Rivertrace’s new Smart Visco sensor for marine engines

Rivertrace a global supplier of environmental monitoring solutions for the marine market, will launch it’s a new engine sensor at the SMM Maritime Fair in Hamburg, Germany.

The new Smart Visco sensor is designed to measure the viscosity and temperature of fuel oil before injection into the main engines of large ships. The monitor then reports this data via both analogue and digital outputs, with volt-free relay contacts.

The Rivertrace Smart Visco sensor will be shown at the SMM show in Hamburg. (Photo: Rivertrace)

The Smart Visco sensor measures all grades of heavy fuel oil (HFO) using ultrasonic guided wave technology. Due to the high frequency and speed of ultrasound, ambient vibration and flow speed have no impact on the measurements. The monitor incorporates an LCD display that visually indicates all parameters. The viscosity and temperature data can also be easily retrieved using RS485 or a USB stick.

The fuel oil’s viscosity provides a direct indication of its impact on engine performance and efficiency. The availability of this information aid in the prevention of engine damage, reduces maintenance costs, and helps to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

The new Smart Visco sensor, with its digital capabilities, can be integrated with the Rivertrace Connected service to collect and share the data with ship management to monitor and analyze trends in fuel performance at both a vessel and fleet level.

The Rivertrace Connected service initiative provides calibration compliance and equipment performance data. It can either be viewed on a cloud platform or shared through an API to the vessel/fleet management systems. The digital service is designed to support customers seeking simplified, continuous monitoring and efficient operations.

“Monitoring environmental discharge has been at the core of Rivertrace’s ethos for over three decades,” said Martin Saunders, managing director of Rivertrace. “However, in recent years we have also embraced digital transformation and provided solutions to automate and analyze the data by making our services smarter, and by connecting into the marine digital ecosystem. The Smart Visco probe extends our offering to encompass onboard monitoring and expands our environmental solutions to include minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as our oily water pollution prevention system.”

Rivertrace will be showcasing its new sensor and demonstrating its Rivertrace Connected service at its SMM stand A1.118.