[BITList] Don't tell me - big marine engine

[John Feltham]

  This is some  engine:
Maximum power: 108,920 hp at 102 rpm
Maximum torque: 5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm




The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine is  
the most powerful and most efficient prime-mover in the world today.  
The Aioi Works of Japan 's Diesel United, Ltd built the first engines  
and is where some of these pictures were taken. It is available in 6  
through 14 cylinder versions, all are inline engines. These engines  
were designed primarily for very large container ships. Ship owners  
like a single engine/single propeller design and the new generation of  
larger container ships needed a bigger engine to propel them. The  
cylinder bore is just under 38" and the stroke is just over 98". Each  
cylinder displaces 111,143 cubic inches (1820 liters) and produces  
7780 horsepower. Total displacement comes out to 1,556,002 cubic  
inches (25,480 liters) for the fourteen cylinder version.
Some facts on the 14 cylinder version:
	
Total engine weight:
2300 tons (The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.)
	
Length:
89 feet
	
Height:
44 feet
	
Maximum power:
108,920 hp at 102 rpm
	
Maximum torque:
5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm


Fuel consumption at maximum power is 0.278 lbs per hp per hour (Brake  
Specific Fuel Consumption). Fuel consumption at maximum economy is  
0.260 lbs/hp/hour. At maximum economy the engine exceeds 50% thermal  
efficiency. That is, more than 50% of the energy in the fuel in  
converted to motion.
For comparison, most automotive and small aircraft engines have BSFC  
figures in the 0.40-0.60 lbs/hp/hr range and 25-30% thermal efficiency  
range.
Even at its most efficient power setting, the big 14 consumes 1,660  
gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.
A cross section of the RTA96C:

The internals of this engine are a bit different than most automotive  
engines.
The top of the connecting rod is not attached directly to the piston.  
The top of the connecting rod attaches to a "crosshead" which rides in  
guide channels. A long piston rod then connects the crosshead to the  
piston.
I assume this is done so the the sideways forces produced by the  
connecting rod are absorbed by the crosshead and not by the piston.  
Those sideways forces are what makes the cylinders in an auto engine  
get oval-shaped over time.
Installing the "thin-shell" bearings. Crank & rod journals are 38" in  
diameter and 16" wide:


The crank sitting in the block (also known as a "gondola-style"  
bedplate). This is a 10 cylinder version. Note the steps by each crank  
throw that lead down into the crankcase:

A piston & piston rod assembly. The piston is at the top. The large  
square plate at the bottom is where the whole assembly attaches to the  
crosshead:

Some pistons:
And some piston rods:
	

The "spikes" on the piston rods are hollow tubes that go into the  
holes you can see on the bottom of the pistons (left picture) and  
inject oil into the inside of the piston which keeps the top of the  
piston from overheating. Some high-performance auto engines have a  
similar feature where an oil squirter nozzle squirts oil onto the  
bottom of the piston.


The cylinder deck (10 cylinder version). Cylinder liners are die-cast  
ductile cast iron. Look at the size of those head studs!:

The first completed 12 cylinder engine:





ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.




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