Exceptional Engineering | Mega Diesel Engine | Free Documentary

but a steel bath with a temperature of 1,500 degrees sparks fly it is a

diesel

engine

a true colossus is about to be born the enormous

engine

will soon power a modern ship it will have to withstand enormous pressure and extremely high temperatures for many years manufacturing such a giant requires high technology and precision one of the most powerful high-speed

diesel

engines in the world is part of the MTU 8000 series made in Germany the engines are manufactured in philosophy on Lake Constance Malta from here the high-speed ferry Jean de la Villette transports passengers as well as cars and other goods to and from Italy the catamaran ferry is the most modern of its kind in the Mediterranean and is powered by four MTU 8000 series engines three levels below deck the crew launches the ferries for

mega

diesel engines at idle the men check that everything is technically in order this takes ten minutes and is essential before each trip the team then goes back up because down here things are about to get very noisy and above all extremely hot Dejan de la Villette Malta is bound for the Italian island of Sicily, 120 kilometers away.

Weather conditions permitting, the 52,000 horsepower ferry takes less than two hours to cross in the open sea. The 1,500-ton catamaran can reach a speed of up to 42 knots, that is, 75 kilometers per hour. Performance is achieved through its 4 MTU 8000 series diesel engines. The MTU 8000 series consists of 20-cylinder common-rail diesel engines. Each unit measures 7 meters long, 2 meters wide and three and a half meters high, approximately the same size as a steam locomotive. It also weighs. It is about 48 tons, 20 cylinders have a capacity of 350 liters and produce thirteen thousand six hundred horsepower. Fuel consumption is 2,000 liters per hour. The central element of the engine and its largest component is the enormous crankcase, like all engine components, the crankcase too.

Comes from Germany. This foundry and phone exchange is in Bavaria, the birthplace of the

mega

diesel engine and a place with a long tradition. In the 15th century there was a small blacksmith's shop here, which is why hot iron has been molded into the telephone bag today for almost 600 years. Foundries, three melting furnaces are running at full speed to cast an 8000 series crankcase for 10 hours. Now steel workers have been feeding the voracious furnaces with different materials. The materials we need for the 8000 series are scrap steel and deep-drawn sheet metal. Graphite and silicon carbide electrodes are also needed.

The composition is calculated by our superiors. In this case, the engineers from our production planning department. Casting a crankcase requires 16 tons of material. Hard, hot work for the foundries, who must constantly monitor the temperature. Only when the molten metal has reached a temperature of 1500 degrees is it ready to be transported to the mold. Here we have a measuring sleeve made of pressed board inserted in the front. Here there is a thermal element that is connected to a measuring probe and is used for measurement. the temperature of the foundry each steel mill has its own recipe again and again the foundries add this or that material the better the composition of the foundry the harder and more durable the crankcase will be from time to time the foundry is controlled in a modern foundry to The molten metal sample is poured into a crucible containing a small measuring sleeve that within seconds transmits the temperature profile to a computer in the office.

The melt has the perfect composition when the sample is cooled in a certain way and then heated. Once again, the enormous heat is no longer generated with fire but with electricity. The principle is similar to the operation of an induction cooker in a home kitchen. The big difference is that the foundry's three electric induction furnaces have the power of five thousand microwave ovens, therefore. megawatts have heated the molten metal to a temperature of over 1500 degrees 200 meters away the mold is already waiting speed is now essential steel workers transfer the molten mass the final ingredient magnesium is added through slides the bubbling sound that you can hear comes in part from the Magnesium at temperatures above 1500 degrees magnesium vaporizes much faster and that is what causes the bubbling sound.

Magnesium vapor flows through molten metal like carbon dioxide through mineral water. This changes the molecular structure of the steel and will make the crankcase slightly elastic. Tons of melt now flow into two huge smelting ladles. It wouldn't make sense to have more than two because the crankcase mold has only two intake funnels. This is what the different parts of a crankcase mold look like. These two speeches are made of quartz soaked in resin. and which after setting has become hard as a rock, ten of these cores and the sequence comprised the mold of an 8000 series crankcase before casting, each template receives a coating that has a horrible smell.

The coating prevents sand from mixing with the steel during casting. The molten steel flows into the mold through this channel, passes through the filter chamber with its ceramic filter and enters the mold cavity through this. feeding channel and then spread throughout the mold, but before that, the ten disc cores are placed in a casting box. The cavities are filled with special sand. Without this sand, parts of the mold would fly off during the casting. It is a job that requires a lot of experience. Any mistake could render the mold unusable. All of this is done days before the actual casting, which also requires total precision.

The molten mass runs and cools minute by minute, so the foundries have to check its temperature again and again. Under no circumstances should it have dropped below 1,400 degrees, then the mass would no longer be suitable for melting. A huge elevated portico transports the cauldrons to the mold the big moment is near the birth of a mega diesel engine the two casting ladles are placed on the filling funnels from now on everything will have to be carried out with absolute synchronicity the head casting begins the countdown three two one goes on a fascinating spectacle the molten metal flows into the two funnels for the moment the two plugs are still in place because the dough first has to settle once again the order to remove the two plugs is given by the main melter now he pulls the dough now can flow into it.

It takes 70 seconds for the 16 tons of molten metal to flood the mold and fill each cavity completely. The foundry boss closely supervises the entire process and gives instructions to his colleagues. He controls the casting ladles a little faster. Although speed is essential, all movements must be performed simultaneously, otherwise eddies could form in the funnels. Now after a good minute, the job will be done in a few hours. The molten metal in the mold will cool by several hundred degrees, but it will be two weeks before the men can peel the crankcase. only then will its mold be sufficiently hard and elastic and extremely durable LaShonda la Valette sails through the Mediterranean at a speed of more than 40 knots the high-speed ferry heads to the Sicilian port of Port Salut is not a propeller that the four mega Los diesel engines in her hull are running, but water jet propulsion units operating on the recoil principle water is sucked under the ship and then expelled again with tremendous force.

This boat's engine pumps out 9.1 megawatts of power at 1,150 rpm. The added power is 36.4 megawatts, so losing one engine won't actually drastically affect the boat. The immense power of the diesel engines is a great help, especially for docking the 1,500-tonne ferry. The boat is very maneuverable and can be easily steered even in a small space. The captain slowly drives the 107 meter long Jean de la Villette against the key wall in Sicily. In just eight hours the catamaran will return to Malta. It is not long because Today a team of mechanics specializing in marine engines has boarded one of the four mega diesel engines.

It needs two new cylinders and the old ones require maintenance. The men have to dismantle the diesel engine and replace the cylinders since a stay in the port is very expensive specialists must get to work immediately means going down to the levels that await men at a temperature of 50 degrees in the engine room there is an auxiliary power unit in full swing and the 48-ton diesel engine everyone knows that this means a lot of work under time pressure brakes are out of the question back At the foundry and back on the phone it's been two weeks now, this is how long it took for the steel block to cool completely.

The heavy and, to the extent that steel allows, the elastic crankcase of the mega diesel engine is about to see the light of day for the first time. With the help of the raised gantry, the 16-ton Colossus is lifted out of the casting pit, causing the fields and cocoon to crumble, exposing the new 8000 series crankcase. What we now see here is the sprue and the path taken by the steel inwards. The mold, the first task now falls to a welder, who has to cut the two sprues. The gas jet slowly cuts through the tubes, which are as thick as a tank.

Armor, other superfluous parts are also attached to the seven-meter-long cast body. They were necessary for the casting process now they are also cut there are four more up and down then we will knock everything down and it will be in the middle the experienced welder works his way along the crankcase little by little after an hour the block is completely exposed the casting channel can be removed but the material that has been cut is in no way scrap will be needed for the next melting the elevated gantry then goes into action again lifts the block to the next station a huge mechanical vibrator the deafening vibrations make the Any remaining quartz sand that falls out will also be recycled after being cleaned.

The sand will be used to produce the next casting. Three minutes later, the crankcase of the mega diesel is approximately clean. Its next stop is the shot blast chamber where the crankcase will be bombarded with a storm. of tiny steel pellets. These are steel pellets. They are made of ordinary steel and have a maximum diameter of 2.5 millimeters, so we can roughly estimate what the surface will look like afterwards and how clean. Millions of steel pellets will be fired into the chamber at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. This not only cleans the surface of the component, the blasting makes the steel harder and more resistant to corrosion.

The process lasts an hour and then the doors open. Using a crane, operators remove a perfectly clean engine block from the shot blasting chamber. Sharp casting tips must also be cut off. The crankcase can leave its place of origin to be transported to Lake Constance. The assembly of the megamotors is necessary. place at the NTU plant in fleet leasing often the company specializes in large high-speed diesel engines submarine ships military vehicles and locomotives around the world are powered by MTU systems an 8000 series naval engine has to go through six assembly stations twenty-five of these mega diesel engines leave the plant each year before assembly the blank is ground the Colossus is machined to the correct dimensions in several stages losing up to a ton of material in the process this takes several days the engines of this size are machined with extreme precision, the tolerances to be respected are so tiny that they can no longer be perceived with the naked eye.

Lonnegan we are now talking about an accuracy of three or four hundredths of a millimeter such dimensions pose quite a challenge, that is, a component the size of a small The bus must not deviate from the ideal by one hundredth of the width of a human hair to check it . The Colossus is placed on the largest measuring table in Europe. Engineers measure every opening, every hole drilled and every square millimeter to ensure no disaster can happen when the engine is running after two weeks the crankcase is ready now the main assembly can begin over the next five weeks these 35 installers will convert the crankcase of the rod in an extra large mega diesel engine the elevated gantry carries the 10 ton parts of the rotary station where it is positioned with millimeter precision during this process the entire area is sealed a little towards you now you have it it is inside first of all nothing the crankcase receives a serial number in the past this had to be hammered with effort now a special tool performs the task mechanically in seconds the foreman is about to give the green light for assembly: ooh huh, he is in charge of the workshop but first the fitters check the surfaces and the bearings once again the big shaft will illuminate everythingthe crankcase starting with the inlets and then continuing with the main oil channels, the job of the two installers is to detect any contamination.

Small burrs or metal chips in one of the channels could cause serious problems. Subsequently, the main oil channel here has to remain

free

of dirt, dust and chips that could cause Of course destroy the engine then it is the turn of the camshaft components when fully assembled the shaft will measure 6 meters long and weigh 400 kilograms to ensure that everything fits together the mechanics work with liquid nitrogen they sink dozens of small guide pins in a nitrogen bath with a temperature of -198 degrees Celsius the liquid gas cools the metal pins and makes them contract the super cold guide pins can be Easily insert into the camshaft ring flange as they heat up they expand to give a really firm appearance The adjusting guide connections should be greased and the running surfaces greased.

The men then push the camshaft into the 20-foot-long channel, section by section, making sure nothing tilts any further. Well, the next babies like it, so they'll see it go down a little more. The initial phase is complete. The guide collar is now in the canal. The men slowly push him inside once more. This is precision work. There is ZERO margin for error. If something tilts, the motor will lock again. Optimal, just keep it that way when the three segments have been bolted on and the two installers carefully push the unwieldy component through the engine. The camshaft is made of surface-hardened steel and will not be replaced throughout the entire service life. of the engine after two days the work on station 1 is completed one of the 25 mega diesel engines manufactured here each year is transported to the next station via an elevated gantry the rotary station is even larger than the first station here the installers will rotate and they will spin the Colossus several times and even turn it upside down the crankcase is the largest component of the mega diesel engine now the second largest is added the gigantic crankshaft six meters long and weighs six thousand kilograms, it is the crucial element in the heart of the engine running at maximum speed, the heavy crankshaft will rotate at a staggering twenty revolutions per second for crankshaft installation, the engine must be upside down, the installers wheel, the cage suspended.

From the upper gantry, the huge chef moves again towards the crankcase, each millimeter counting very slowly. Six tons of high-quality metal are brought closer to the inside of the engine. If the component comes off, irreparable damage would occur after 20 minutes. The task is complete, the installers now rotate the huge frame a few more degrees to gain better access to the engine inlets. During the next few hours they will install 20 pistons of these cylinders. Later, the entire combustion process will take place in the power units as they are. Each power unit is known to have a capacity of 17.5 liters and is basically an independent single-cylinder engine.

The workshop also contains the pre-assembly location for the power units before assembly of the cylinders can begin. The huge connecting rods must be measured. This includes measuring the bearing shells because if the bearing shells are too small this could damage the crankshaft All measurements are recorded exactly to ensure accurate positioning then the war can begin The installers first prepare the pistons each of which has a diameter of 27 centimeters and weighs 100 kilograms each. The connecting rod can only be moved with a crane. The connecting rod is carefully lowered into the piston. The retaining bolt is then slid into place.

It takes a quarter of an hour to install the first of the 20 pistons. Next, attention turns to the complex cylinder head. rotary table The installer inserts four bolts and secures the cylinder liner with another 24 bolts to ensure accuracy They are automatically tightened by a machine The process is fully automated and monitored to ensure that I have not forgotten the bolt and that each bolt has the correct pair the computer determines the next operation and records each action of the installer now the piston together with the connecting rod is carefully and slowly introduced into the cylinder a single error would cause considerable damage later 20 of these power units will make the crankshaft 16 rotate at speed a speed of 1,150 revolutions per minute the final components and assembly will be complete this is part of the exhaust the power unit weighs 750 kilograms in the future it will have to endure a lot the ignition phase forces the piston downwards converting the vertical movement into circular movement of the crankshaft the crankcase rotates once again and again the upper gantry comes into action while lifting the power unit the men slowly lower the cylinder unit into the engine inside the connecting rod grips the crankshaft with millimeter precision the team installed 20 units of power in one day the connecting rods are provisionally fixed with white pacifiers because the engine will rotate once again and nothing should be allowed to change its position the fitters reposition the engine block to install the 20 bearing shells in its lower part The casing It weighs 25 kilograms and is pushed on the pins of a connecting rod.

Subsequently, it is this area that will have to withstand the greatest forces. The up and down movement of the piston causes the crankshaft to rotate 20 times per second. The forces involved are extreme and all components will have to withstand them for many years a special procedure is followed to secure the connecting rod the men fitted the bolt with a hydraulic clamping cylinder then connected oil pressure lines the hydraulic system forces the bolt to separate at a pressure of 1,600 bar the nut can now be screwed on and the pressure reduced again the threads of the bolt and the nut come together forming a solid joint the installation of the power units is now complete along with the preliminary work on the supply pipes fuel and in the exhaust and cooling systems the gantry transports the engine block to station 3, where a two-person team concentrates on the gear train.

Here it is about to be sealed with a cover, but before the main layer covers the edges with a special sealing compound that weighs 200 kilograms, now the cover is attached, it is secured with dozens of bolts in the next few years the gear train will not break. will reopen depending on its application the mega diesel engine will have a useful life of up to 35 years, only then will it be necessary to carry out maintenance return to the Mediterranean and put in Port of Salah in Sicily, where the high-speed ferry Jean de la Villette is born, three levels below deck a team works against the clock the men have eight hours to replace two power units of one of the four diesel engines the maintenance work can only The task is carried out by specialists while the cover on top is removed, one of the man crawls under the still hot engine to drain the coolant, then opens the heavy covers to access the inside of the engine, above him, two mechanics are loosening the cylinder unit bolts so far everything is going according to plan a moment Crucially, the power unit has to be removed the installer has to open the eye of the connecting rod that encloses the crankshaft the nuts can only be loosened with a hydraulic bolt Tensioning cylinder pressure of up to 1,600 bars is now applied through hoses to ensure that all bolts are loose.

The four main bolts on the upper side of the power unit are also loosened with the help of hydraulic system, finally the power unit is

free

without using anything. more than a pulley and their own strength the men maneuver the power unit out of the crankcase centimeter by centimeter 750 kilograms rise working at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius the men now move the entire unit through the engine room until it is below the service hatch where the hook of the small crane mounted on a truck on the deck is already waiting. After three hours, the first power unit is brought to the top.

Care remains vital because the component is not discarded in any way; It will undergo a complete overhaul and at some point or another will be installed in another 8000 series mega diesel engine. Today, the part is first placed on a special transport frame, but why did it need to be replaced? It is suspected that due to small cracks in the cylinder head, cooling water could have entered the combustion chamber, but only a microscope examination will provide exact information at a glance in the middle and in Lake Constance. If its technicians have made good progress, the mega diesel engine is now being equipped with a turbocharger group, a complex component that the supercharger group gives the engine its impressive height. of 3 meters 50 composed of several thousand separate parts turbochargers are responsible for a huge increase in marine diesel engine performance every year installer Tobias Haider assembles 25 such turbochargers for 8000 series engines the purpose of the turbocharger is to increase the oxygen content of the combustion chamber this is the inlet of the exhaust gases here we have the paddle wheel that can rotate here the exhaust gases come out again and on this side it drives the paddle wheel this is where the air is then sucked in Air here is compressed and here it enters the intercooler at 40,000 revolutions per minute and the boost pressure is four and a half bars, compared to two and a half or 3 bars for a car tire.

Lyta needs about a week to assemble the two-ton turbocharger. Today it is hermetically sealing the casing to prevent toxic exhaust gases from entering the engine room, then the turbocharger group is transported by overhead gantry to station five now the turbocharger can be connected to the engine block two men connect it by separated with the exhaust circuit the mega diesel engine of the 8000 series now weighs around 40 tons the clutches are then mounted with flanges the installers maneuver the huge part to the end of the crankshaft and once again they need special tools the 15 this is the cylinder with which the clutch flange will then be pushed back here so that the components have that the expansion hoses guarantee a high oil pressure of 1500 bar the flange expands and little by little the clutch moves towards the shaft two minutes later men release the pressure again the connection is solid the second part of the clutch is now bolted onto everything The giant torsion damper is designed to prevent the clutch from breaking when the mega diesel engine comes into operation once again in fleet leasing .

It is often a case of being ready to take off, then the elevated gantry carries the huge engine through the workshop and it will now be lowered into the mega diesel engines oil sump the 40 tonne Colossus is safely perched on six stilts the sump oil is filled with two thirds of its maximum capacity, i.e. 1600 liters, which is the volume pumped through the engine twice a minute with complete precision a hydraulic hoist raises the the sump will be screwed further in the middle should be fine the fleet loses water at an engine plant all the day's tasks have been completed but in Sicily there is still much to do the high-speed ferry jean de la Villette is still Born on the key side, the maintenance team on board the catamaran has a tough job on their hands: the power units need to be replaced and the men now only have six hours to install them.

The replacement unit that has been completely serviced is downloaded. to the engine room through the service hatch the team of seven people, specialists specially trained for this series of engines, slowly lower the 750 kilogram piece into the crankcase hard manual work with the help of a pulley and the limits of the machine There is no space for an automatic overhead lift, the connecting rod cover lowers, as it weighs only 25 kilograms, it is no problem for mechanics. Skilled hands easily slide the cap over the threaded bolts and nuts and the job is done. The team doesn't talk much, each one knows what they have to do, only then will they be able to meet the deadline.

The next step is to prepare the injector, it must be cleaned, greased and new seals placed in the cylinder head. The rocker arms and valves must also be reset to tolerance. Each feeler gauge has a specific thickness that allows the mechanic to adjust the valve clearance accurately. The cover is placed and the men have reached the halfway point of the first of the two power units. has been replaced the equipment still has four hours to repeat the procedure removing the cylinder unit lifting it on deck with the crane and packaging it safely for transport the new power unit is then lowered to the engine room installed, bolted, greased and adjusted everythingmen can all we can do now is wait for the engine to start working again immediately the fitters are still working but the ship's crew is already closing the maintenance hatch the first trucks will soon come on board everything is going according to plan, but the engines reconditioned The MTUs will be started at Lake Constance, the new engine block is again transported by crane through the workshop.

Meanwhile, the mega diesel engine has become even heavier just before the final assembly station, now weighing almost 48 tons at station 6, the installers are focusing on the electronics. and in pumps and lines of all types, the 8,000 series marine diesel engine is a complex structure of circulation lines for fuel, air and exhaust gases. Several hundred meters of copper tubes, cables and hoses have been installed in and over the engine. Two thousand liters of diesel fuel will circulate through the engine per hour and hundreds of cubic meters of air in the exhaust gases along with three thousand liters of oil per minute.

All pipes are special home-made and custom-made products, such as the pipe for seawater cooling system. Assembles the separate elements of the coiled tube into a gauge. Everything that is slightly out is custom milled to fit with millimeter precision. This is what this site needs to fit now. First, a welder loosely joins the various sections together. We are made of a very special material. It's a nice print. Ferrous alloy. The boat engine is exposed to salt water, but that cannot affect this pipe. Welding curved sections while the workpiece rotates is a great challenge for any welder. The seam has to be absolutely airtight, if seawater got into the engine, it would destroy it.

The final tube for the engine block is now ready. It's been a long road over the last five weeks. Around 20,000 parts have been placed in the crankcase. The result is an extra. large marine diesel engine manufactured in Germany once again the team of 35 installers has done a great job but one thing is still missing: the functional test no engine leaves the plant without having been tested here there are 46 test benches and our mega engine 8000 series diesel is placed in the largest we start the engine with a pneumatic starter that works with 40 bar it activates the flywheel that makes the engine start before starting immortal finally the big moment arrives the mega diesel engine comes to life for the first time ever At the control console, Luthor and a colleague increased the speed.

The engine's performance is measured with the help of a water breaker attached to its transmission. The water breaker has a paddle wheel that rotates in the water, creating artificial resistance after half an hour. It is clear that the engine has passed the test. It works perfectly on the hull of the ferry Jean de la Villette, still born in Sicily. Another diesel engine of the same type has yet to pass the test. The team of installers only had eight hours to replace the heart of the engine, the two propulsion units with cars and trucks queue in front of the ferry loading ramp, the engine only has to start, otherwise, well, no.

It is worth thinking about, no way, but in fact the engine does not start, so the installers have to check all the lines and try again. The engine is running again and a deafening noise sounds to the installers' ears. music The pit stop lasted 8 hours and cost thousands of euros but the high-speed ferry is now ready once again to cross to Malta. The ship's driver only has to give the green light and the team of installers can call it a day. The diesel engine can now expect a long service life. These motors run virtually forever under typical conditions, we're talking 70mm to hours of operation, after that the motors are taken out and checked for wear and if all is well they are reassembled and put back into service.

It is already night when the Jean de la Villette arrives in Malta, its engine is working perfectly after making a last skillful turn in the narrow basin. The captain reverses the boat next to the key. The high-speed catamaran will be able to cross the Mediterranean again three times. times a day carrying cars and trucks, boots and tourists from Malta to Sicily and back in record time and reliably thanks to four mega diesel engines in its hull. Made in Germany next to Lake Constance. The new engine has passed its test with great success. now the 7 meter long Colossus is heading to the washing unit, the largest of its kind in the entire world, there are molecules.

All large engines are washed here, on average the procedure lasts five hours at a temperature of 70 degrees, the engine is washed with detergent and then dried to spray paint it is really hard work dressed in a heavy protective suit the man with the high-pressure cleaner you have to deal with the noise of heat and humidity after five hours the engine is impeccable, above all, free of grease, it is essential if it is Later it will be sprayed with a special type of paint. The approximately one thousand cubic meters of water used will be treated and recycled before painting.

The engine parts are masked. Sensitive cables and pipes must be kept free of paint that could change their thermal and electrical properties, finally the engine has given its coat, this is also a time-consuming process, the vast majority of us at Motown apply two coats, first a primer, then let it dry for about four hours and then we apply a thick coat which also takes about four hours to dry, it's a lot of work for the two paint sprayers going through 200 paint leaders including drying time, mega diesel engines go through 16 hours in the cabin is now ready, the colossus took five weeks to manufacture and will power a ship for several years.

The 8000 series mega diesel engine has a capacity of 350 liters and a power of thirteen thousand six hundred horsepower in total. the lower end of a scale between 1 and 10 million euros well packaged the engine is ready for delivery worldwide for up to 35 years it will operate maintenance-free as a marine diesel engine or as an emergency generator in a nuclear power plant or in a industrial installation. Manufacturing an extra-large diesel megaengine requires cutting-edge

engineering

that this scrap metal marked the beginning. The hard work of the foundries laid the foundation for one of the most efficient marine engines in the world.

In the future, the 8000 series mega diesel engine will power ships around the world.