BIG diesel power

[bobcat_ron]

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 in line 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.

A cross section of the RTA96C:


Some more 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.

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 "cross head" which rides in guide channels. A long piston rod then connects the cross head to the piston. I assume this is done so the sideways forces produced by the connecting rod are absorbed by the cross head and not by the piston. Those sideways forces are what makes the cylinders in an auto engine get oval-shaped over time.

These guys are installing the "thin-shell" bearings.
Crank and rod journals are 38" in diameter and 16" wide.


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



A piston and piston rod assembly. The piston is at the top. The large square plate at the bottom is where the whole assembly attaches to the cross head.


Some pistons and 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 (top 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:


Now that's a big engine!

[Landrus2]

I need that in my truck

[stuvecorp]

That is wild, I would so watch a documentary on this...

[ParkWelding]

I'd love to see the crank machine that produces that crankshaft. Lol. Awesome engine.

[ma71t]

In that first pic with the truck it looks like you can see the turbo mounted up top......... Its as big as the truck cab. Funny seeing all the familiar parts supersized.

[Cummins343]

I thought the tank I drove in the army had a powerful motor.....but WOW.

[agrostis]

I saw something on the discovery channel 5-6 year's ago that showed one of those wartsila's is a container ship and they said it was the biggest engine in the world.

[hosejockey2002]

Delete the DPF and put a chip in it and she will be golden.

[Mtnmn]

I saw a program on cable that showed the making and assembly of an engine similar to this one, be built in the Czech Republic.

It was to going into a container ship also.

They said it was direct drive, no clutch or transmission. If they wanted to reverse the propeller to go backwards they had to stop the engine and run it backwards to move the ship backwards.

[JCLawn and more]

I want it on my trimmer