Most powerful diesel engine in the world

Most powerful diesel engine in the world.. makes 109,000 horsepower

If the Seven Wonders of the World was updated for the 21 st century, the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine could be a contender. If you are a student of the internal combustion engine in all its wonderous configurations, then feast your eyes on this set of numbers which outline the truly astounding engineering feat. It is the most powerful and most efficient engine in the world today.

Designed to provide the motive force for a variety of supertankers and container ships, it comes in 6 cylinder in-line through to a whopping 14 cylinder version. The cylinder bore is 38 inches and the stroke is just over 98 inches. Each cylinder displaces 111,143 cubic inches (1820 litres) and produces 7780 horsepower. Total displacement comes out to 1,556,002 cubic inches (25,480 litres) for the 14-cylinder version.

At a length of 89 feet and a height of 44 feet, the total engine weight is 2300 tons - the crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.

The RTA96C-14 can achieve a maximum power output of 108,920 hp at 102 rpm and astonishingly, at maximum economy the engine exceeds 50% thermal efficiency. That means, more than 50% of the energy in the fuel is converted to motion. Its Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) at maximum power is 0.278 lbs/hp/hr.

Ship owners like a single engine/single propeller design and the new generation of larger container ships needed a bigger engine to propel them.While engine cylinder configurations for large-scale container liners have been discussed in the magnitude of 14, 16 and 18 cylinders, the 14-cylinder in-line low-speed engine is the first to be offered by any engine designer.

Ship owners prefer single engine/single propeller designs and the new generation of larger container ships (or post-Panamax) called for a bigger engine to propel them.

The RTA96C-14 turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine is produced by Swiss company Wartsila-Sulzer and is the largest and most powerful diesel engine in the world today.

The peak capabilities of the 14-cylinder RTA96C engine now exceed 80 MW, making it adequate for a single-screw Post-Panamax container liner, which is as large as container liners will get considering their greater cost-effectiveness.

Sulzer have also managed to increase cylinder output since they began first operation in 1997, due to the maintenance experience accumulated with the large number of RTA96C engines currently in service. The new kW rating of the new engine achieves a power output of 68,640 kW, a four percent increase on the initial RTA96C.

Despite the large amounts of power produced by these engines, surprisingly low wear rates have been achieved. Diametral cylinder liner wear is in the order of only about 0.03 mm/1000 hours.

This low cylinder wear is possibly attributed to a connecting rod that attaches to a "crosshead" which rides in guide channels, a fundamental difference to most automotive engines where the top of the connecting rod is attached directly to the piston. Instead, in this engine the top of the connecting rod attaches to a "crosshead" and a long piston rod then connects the crosshead to the piston. This lowers the sideways forces produced by the connecting rod and is absorbed by the crosshead and not by the piston. Sideways forces are what makes the cylinders in an auto engine become oval-shaped over time.

Fuel consumption at maximum economy is 0.260 lbs/hp/hour. Comparatively, most automotive and small aircraft engines can only achieve BSFC figures in the 0.40-0.60 lbs/hp/hr range and 25-30% thermal efficiency range.

The design and development of the RTA96C was close collaboration with the companies involved in the early stages of the first commercial project: the owner and operator P&O Nedlloyd BV, the ship designer and builder Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co Ltd (IHI), and the enginebuilder Diesel United Ltd.

The project began in March 1997 when the first engine, an 11-cylinder unit, was started on the test bed of Diesel United Ltd, Aioi.

Since then a total of 86 RT96C engines with eight, nine, ten, 11 and 12 cylinders in-line are in service or on order, 25 of these currently in service.

Shipping goods from China to the U.S. is big business. And when we say big, we're talking 1,300-foot-long ships that weigh 170,974 tons. The cargo ships in question can carry 11,000 20-foot shipping containers at a breakneck speed of 31 knots.

That's a lot more oomph than the typical 20-knot cruiser, and the reason for the extra push is the world's largest diesel engine. The 109,000-horsepower Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C, which first set sail in the Emma Mærsk in 2006, weighs in at a rotund 2,300 tons, and it's 44-feet tall and 90-feet long. In other words, the TRA96 is the height of a four-story building, and longer than a Christmas Eve line at Sam's Club. Within that massive exterior rests 14 cylinders that each consume 6.5-ounces of diesel fuel every cycle. And, if you like torque, there's enough twist to rip an M1 tank to shreds, though the massive mill churns at only 102 rpm.

That's a lot of motor to ponder, and we'd be imagining the size of that camshaft, if it had one. This turbocharged two-stroke features common rail tech that utilizes a high-pressure fuel rail to supply fuel to individual solenoid valves. That means improved fuel economy and better performance, which is nothing short of essential in such a massive ship.

So far there are 25 such engines patrolling the world's oceans, and another 86 are on the way. And since these mills can get a shipment from China to LA in four fewer days than their competitors, we wouldn't be surprised to see still more engines on the way.

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.