The Latest Sulzer Marine Diesel Engine Technology

Considerable advances in diesel engine technology have been achieved over the past decade to meet the challenge of high fuel prices. This is illustrated by the comprehensive family of Sulzer two-and four-stroke marine diesel engines. After discussing the respective characteristics of both engine types the paper presents some aspects of the development of the RTA-series low-speed two-stroke engines, with particular respect to the bore cooling of all combustion space components, the scavenging process, the exhaust valve and the crosshead bearing. The integral power take-off enables ship's electrical requirement to be met at the low RTA operating costs. Turbo-compounding, with an exhaust power turbine is now a standard option, demonstrating some 3% fuel savings and opening a new line of engine development.