Mega Diesel Engines - How To Build A 13,600 HP Engine | Full Documentary

a steel bath with a temperature of 1500 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 NTU 8000 series made in Germany the

engines

are manufactured on air lease often on Lake Constance Malta from here the high speed ferry Jean de La Villette carries 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. Crews launch the ferries to

mega

diesel engines idling the men check that everything is technically in order this takes 10 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 the Jean de La Villette leaves Malta bound for the Italian island of Sicily, 120 kilometers away, weather 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. time, this extreme 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 about 48 tons, the 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 also comes from Germany this foundry and phone bag in Bavaria is the birthplace of the

mega

diesel engine and a place with a long tradition here there was a small blacksmith shop back in the 15th century, so the phone bag has been molded with hot iron for almost 600 years ago today the foundries three smelting furnaces are running at

full

speed to melt an 8000 series crankcase for 10 hours now the steel workers have been feeding the voracious furnaces with different materials the materials we need to The 8000 series are scrap steel and deep drawing sheet metal.

We also need graphite and silicon carbide electrodes. The composition is calculated by our superiors, in this case the engineers in our production planning department. Casting a crankcase requires 16 tons of material, a hard and hot work for casters who have to be constantly attentive on 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 to measure the temperature of the casting each steel mill has its own recipe again and again the foundries add this or that material the better the composition of the casting the harder In a modern foundry, a sample of the molten metal is poured into a crucible containing a small measuring sleeve that in a matter of 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 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 domestic kitchen the big difference is that the foundry's three electric induction furnaces have a power of five thousand. Microwave ovens have therefore heated the molten metal to a temperature of more than 1500 degrees. 200 meters away, the mold is already waiting. Speed ​​is now of the essence. Steel workers transfer the melt. The final ingredient, magnesium, is added via slides.

The bubbling sound can be heard in the stems. Partly due to the magnesium, at temperatures over 1500 degrees, the 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. The 19 tons of melt now flow into two huge casting ladles. It would make no sense to have more than two because the crankcase mold has only two intake funnels. That's right. How do you see the different parts of a crankcase mold of which these two discourses consist of quartz soaked in resin and which after setting has become hard as a rock ten of these cores in sequence formed the mold of a series 8000 crankcase before After casting each jig receives a coating that has a horrible smell the coating prevents the sand from mixing with the steel during casting, the molten steel flows into the mold through this channel, it passes through the filter chamber with its ceramic filter and enters the mold cavity through this feeding channel and then spreads throughout the mold, but before that the ten disc cores are placed. a casting box the cavities are filled with special sand without this sand parts of the mold would fly off during casting it is a job that requires a lot of experience any mistake could render the mold unusable all this happens days before the actual casting which also requires total precision the clock ticks the molten mass 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 transport gantry 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 happen with absolute synchronicity the casting head starts the countdown three two once In a fascinating spectacle, the molten metal flows into the two funnels, at the moment the two plugs are still in place because the mass first has to settle again, the order to remove the two plugs is given by the main melter now pulling Of the dough can now flow, it takes 70 seconds for the 16 tons of molten metal to flood the mold and fill each cavity completely.

The main smelter closely monitors the entire process by giving instructions to his colleagues controlling the smelting ladles a little faster. All that speed is of the In essence, 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. Only then remove the crankcase from the mold and it will be sufficiently hard, elastic and extremely durable. The Jean de la Villette sails through the Mediterranean at a speed of more than 40 knots.

The high-speed ferry heads to the Sicilian port of Port Salut. It is not like this. a propeller that drives the four mega diesel engines on her hull, but water jet propulsion units that operate on the recoil principle. Water is sucked under the boat and then expelled again with tremendous force. The engine on this boat pumps out 9.1 megawatts of power at one thousand one hundred and fifty rpm, the total power is 36.4 megawatts, so in reality losing one engine will not 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 driven even in tight spaces. The captain slowly drives the 107 meter long Jean de la Villette against the key wall and in just eight hours in Sicily the catamaran returns to Malta, that is not much time. because today a team of mechanics specializing in marine engines have come on board 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 port is very expensive specialists need to get to work immediately, this 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. are out of the question to return to the foundry and call two weeks later, if that time has already passed, the steel block has taken time to cool completely, and to the extent that the steel allows it, the elastic crankcase for the mega diesel engine is about to see For the first time in daylight, with the help of the raised gantry, the 16-ton Colossus is lifted out of the casting pit, causing the courts and cocoon to crumble, exposing the new crankcase of the 8000 series that we now see here is the sprue and The path taken by the steel towards the mold, the first task now falls to a welder, who has to cut the two sprues.

The gas stream slowly makes its way through the tubes, which are as thick as a tank. Armor, other superfluous parts are also attached to them. the seven meters long cast body that was necessary for the casting process is now also cut off, you know, there's another four to go up and down, so we'll tear it all down and it will remain in the middle the experienced welder makes his way along of 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, it will be needed for the next casting, then the upper gantry comes into action again, lifts the block to the next station a huge mechanical vibrator the deafening vibrations cause the remaining quartz sand to fall out it will also be recycled after being cleaned the sand will be used to produce the next casting three minutes later the mega diesel The crankcase is approx. clean.

Your next stop is the shot blasting chamber where the crankcase will be bombarded with a storm of tiny steel pellets. These are steel granules. They are made of common steel and have a maximum diameter of 2.5 millimeters, so we can estimate approximately. What the surface will look like afterwards and how clean it will be. Millions of steel pellets are fired through the chamber at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. This not only cleans the surface of the component, but the bombardment makes the steel more hard and more resistant to corrosion, the process lasts an hour, then the doors are opened and with the help of a crane, the operators remove a perfectly clean engine block from the shot blasting chamber.

The sharp cast tips must also be cut, the crankcase can leave its place of origin for Transport to Lake Constance The assembly of the megaengines is carried out at the MTU plant on a fleet lease basis. The company often specializes in large, high-speed diesel engines. Ships, submarines, military vehicles and locomotives around the world are powered by MTU systems. An 8000 series naval engine has to go through six Assembly Stations 25 of these mega diesel engines leave the plant each year before assembly. The blank is milled. 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. Engines of this size. They are machined with extreme precision, the tolerances to be respected are so small that they can no longer be perceived with the naked eye and now we are talking about a precision of three or four hundredths of a millimeter, such dimensions pose a challenge in In other words, a component the size of a small bus should not deviate from the ideal by one hundredth of the width of a human hair. To verify this, the colossus is placed on the largest measuring table in Europe. Engineers measure every opening, every hole drilled and every square millimeter to make sure 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 They will turn the bare crankcase into a super extra large mega diesel engine the elevated gantry transports the 10 ton parts from the rotary station where it is positioned with millimeter precision during this process the entire area is sealed towards you now you have it it is first to the crankcase It is assigned 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 installers check the surfaces andthe bearings once again the large The shaft will illuminate the entire crankcase starting with the inlets and then continue 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 later, the main oil channel here has to remain. free of dirt, dust and splinters that could of course destroy the engine, then it is the turn of the camshaft components when fully assembled the shaft will be 6 meters long and will weigh 400 kilograms to ensure that everything fits. The mechanics work with liquid nitrogen. Dozens of small guide pins are immersed in a nitrogen bath with a temperature of -198 degrees Celsius. The liquid gas cools the metal pins and causes them to contract.

The super-cold guide pins can be easily inserted into the camshaft ring flange while They heat up they expand to give a really tight fit the guide connections need to be greased and the running surfaces greased the men then push the camshaft into the 6 meter long channel section by section making sure nothing tilts that's fine a a little lower, well, the next babies look then you will see that it goes down a little more. The initial phase is complete. The dyed collar is now in the channel. The men slowly push him inside once more. This is precision work.

There is no margin for error if something tilts the engine. locked back up a little longer just hold it like this when the three segments have been bolted together the two fitters carefully push the unwieldy component through the engine the camshaft is made of surface hardened steel and will not be replaced during the entire 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 by elevated gantry the rotating station is even bigger than the first station here the Installers will turn and rotate 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 At six meters long and weighing six thousand kilograms, it is the crucial element at the heart of the engine that runs at maximum speed.

The heavy crankshaft will rotate at an astonishing 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 shaft moves back towards the crankcase every millimeter counts very slowly six tons of high quality metal approach the inside of the engine if the component comes off, irreparable damage would occur after 20 minutes , the difficult task is completed. Installers now rotate the massive frame a few degrees more to gain better access to the engine inlets. In the next few hours they will install 20 pistons of these cylinders.

Later, the entire combustion process will take place in the engine. units, as they are known, each power unit has a capacity of 17.5 liters and is basically a separate single-cylinder engine. The workshop also contains the pre-assembly location for the power units, before the assembly of the cylinders can begin, the huge connecting rods have to 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 precise positioning. Then work can begin. The installers first prepare the pistons, each of which has a diameter of 27 centimeters and weighs 100 kilograms.

Each 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 then attention is focused on the complex cylinder head on the rotary table the fitter inserts four bolts and secures the cylinder liner with another twenty-four bolts to ensure precision they are automatically tightened by a machine the process is fully automated and monitored to ensure that I have not forgotten any bolt and that each bolt has the correct torque the computer determines the next operation and records each action of the installer now the piston together with the connecting rod is carefully inserted and slowly into the cylinder a single error would cause considerable damage later 20 of these power units will produce the 16 crankshafts rotate at a speed of 1,150 revolutions per minute the last component and assembly will be completed this is part of the exhaust the power unit weighs 750 kilograms in the future you will have to endure a lot the ignition phase forces the piston to rotate downwards vertical movement in the circular motion of the crankshaft the crankcase rotates once again and again the upper gantry comes into action while lifting the power unit the men go down slowly the cylinder unit inside the engine inside the connecting rod grips the crankshaft with millimeter precision the team installed 20 power units in one day the connecting rods are provisionally secured with white dummies because the engine will rotate once again and must not be allowed to Nothing changes its position.

The installers reposition the engine block to install the bearing. 20 housings in its lower part. The housing weighs 25 kilograms and is pushed on the bolts 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 a day. Secondly, 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 equipped the bolt with a hydraulic clamping cylinder. Then they connect oil pressure lines.

The hydraulic system forces the bolt. Now the nut can be screwed on and the pressure is reduced, the threads of the bolt and nut come together forming a solid joint. The installation of the power units is now complete and preliminary work is being done on the fuel lines, exhaust and cooling systems. The gantry transports the engine block to station 3, where a two-person team concentrates on the train. gears. Here it is about to be sealed with a cover, but first the men cover the edges with a special sealing compound that weighs 200 kilograms the cover is now in place it is secured with dozens of bolts in the next few years the gear train will not open again Depending on its application the mega diesel engine will have a useful life of up to 35 years only then will maintenance need to be carried out again towards the Mediterranean and places a low port 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 be carried out by specialists while the cover on top is removed one of the men crawls below of the still hot engine to drain the coolant and then opens the heavy covers to access the inside of the engine above it, two mechanics are loosening the bolts of the cylinder unit so far everything is going according to plan one crucial moment we have to remove the power unit 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 bar is now applied through hoses to ensure that all bolts are loosened. The four main bolts on the upper side of the power unit are also loosened with the help of the hydraulic system. Finally, the power unit is freed using nothing more than a pulley and its own strength. The men maneuver the power unit out of the crankcase inch by inch. 750 kilograms ascend working at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. The men now stop the unit. through the engine space until you are under the service hatch where the hook of the small truck-mounted crane on the deck is already waiting.

After three hours, the first power unit is taken to the sky. CAIR remains vital because the component is in no way scrap, it will be given a complete overhaul. revision and at some point it will be installed on another 8000 series mega diesel engine. Today, the part is first placed on a special transport frame, but why did it really need to be replaced? It is suspected due to small cracks in the cooling water of the cylinder head. managed to enter the combustion chamber, but only examination with a microscope will provide exact information. In the fleet there are leaks in the middle and in Lake Constance.

MTU technicians have made great progress. The mega diesel engine is now being equipped with a turbocharger group. A complex component. The supercharging group. gives the engine its impressive height of 3 meters 50 composed of several thousand separate parts the turbochargers are responsible for an enormous increase in the performance of the marine diesel engine every year the installer Tobias Heitor assembles 25 turbochargers of this type 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 impeller which can rotate here the exhaust gases come out again and on this side it drives the impeller This is where the air is then sucked in.

Here it 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 three bars for a car tire. Today, Lyta needs about a week to assemble the two-ton turbocharger. He is sealing the casing tightly to prevent toxic exhaust gases from entering the engine room. The turbocharger group is then transported via an overhead gantry to station five. Now the turbocharger can be connected to the engine block. Two men connect the piece to the exhaust circuit. The 8000 mega diesel engine now weighs around 40 tons, the clutches were then flange mounted, the installers maneuver the huge part to the end of the crankshaft and once again need special tools, this is the cylinder that will then be pushed with the clutch flange back here. the components have to expand they ensure a high oil pressure of 1500 bar the flange expands and little by little the clutch moves towards the shaft two minutes later the men release the pressure again the connection is solid the second part of the clutch is now bolted on, above all, the giant torsion damper is designed to prevent the clutch from breaking when the mega diesel engine comes into operation once again in fleet leaks, it's often a case of being ready to take off, then the overhead gantry transport the huge engine through the workshop, now it will. is lowered into the oil sump of the mega diesel engines the 40 ton Colossus is safely placed on six stilts the possums the oil sump 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 total precision a hydraulic lift raises the crankcase to bolt it further in the middle should be fine the fleet has leaks in an engine plant all the day's tasks have been completed but in sicily there is still a lot left to make the high speed ferry Jean de la Villette has yet to be born on the key side the maintenance team on board the catamaran has a tough job on their hands because the power units need to be replaced and the men now only have six hours to install them The replacement unit which has undergone a complete overhaul is lowered into the engine room through the service hatch.

The seven-man team are all specialists who have been trained specifically for this series of engines slowly lowering the 750 piece kilograms in the crankcase hard manual work with the help of a pulley In the engine room space there is no room for an automatic overhead crane, the connecting rod cover is lowered afterwards, as it weighs only 25 kilograms, the skillful hands of Mechanics have no problem fitting the cap easily over threaded bolts and nuts. and the work is done the team doesn't talk much each one knows what they have to do only so they can meet their deadline the next step is to prepare the injector it must be cleaned greased and have new seals placed in the cylinder head the tolerance of the rocker arms and The valves must also be reset.

Each feeler gauge has a specific thickness that allows the mechanic to adjust the valve clearance exactly. The cap is placed and the men have reached the halfway point. The first of the two power units has been replaced. The teams still have four hours to repeat the procedure. They remove the cylinder unit, lift it on deck with the crane and pack it safely for transport. The new power unit is then lowered into the engine room. It is installed,screws and greases. and tight the only thing the men 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 remains as planned but so The reconditioned engines start up at MTU on Lake Constance.

Meanwhile, the new engine block is again transported by crane through the workshop. The mega diesel engine has become even heavier just before its final assembly station. It now weighs almost 48 tons at station six. The installers focus on the electronic system and pumps and lines of all types. The 8,000 series marine diesel engine is a complex structure of circulation lines for fuel, oil, air and exhaust gases. Several hundred meters of copper tubes, cables and hoses have been installed. 2,000 liters of diesel fuel per hour and hundreds of cubic meters of air in the exhaust gases will circulate through the engine along with 3,000 liters of oil per minute.

All lines are special home-made and custom-made products, such as the tube for seawater cooling. system the installer assembles the separate elements of the wound tube on a gauge, everything that is slightly outside is custom ground to fit with millimeter precision. this is the place you need to fit now it fits first of all a welder joins the different sections loosely together they are made of a very special material it is a cupronickel 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 big challenge for any welder.

The seam has to be absolutely airtight, if seawater got into the motor 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 fixed to the crankcase, the result is an extra large marine diesel engine made in Germany once again the team of 35 installers has done a great job but one thing is still missing: the test run no engine leaves the plant without having been tested here there are 46 test benches and our mega diesel engine of the 8000 series is placed in the largest one we start the engine with a pneumatic starter that works with 40 bar it activates the flywheel that makes the engine start from which it started immortal finally comes the big moment the mega diesel engine comes to life for the first time in the control console, hold Luther and a colleague increased the speed, the performance of the engine 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 queuing in front of the ferry loading ramp. The engine just has to. Otherwise, it starts fine, not worth thinking about. that, but in fact the engine does not start, so the installers have to check all the lines and try again successfully, the engine is running again and a deafening noise sounds to the installers' ears. music The stop has lasted 8 hours and has 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 will be able to terminate the diesel The motor can now expect a long service life. These motors run practically forever in typical conditions, we are talking about 70mm to hours of operation, after that the motors are taken out and checked where and if all is well they are reassembled and put back into service already. It is 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 three 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 worldwide. JaVale 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 a detergent and then dried to spray paint it is really hard work dressed in a protective suit heavy the man with the high-pressure cleaner has to deal with the noise of heat and humidity after five hours the engine is impeccable, above all, free of grease, it is essential to Subsequently it will be sprayed with a special type of paint.

The approximately 1000 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 alter their thermal and electrical properties. Finally, the coating is given to the motor, this is also a process that takes time. The more they talk, we apply two coats, first a primer, then leave dry for about four hours and then we apply a thick coat which also takes about four hours to dry it is a lot of work for the two paint sprayers that process 200 liters of paint including drying time the mega diesel engines spend 16 hours in the cabin now it is Ready, the colossus took five weeks to

build

and will power a boat.

For several years now, the 8000 series mega diesel engine has a displacement of 350 liters and a power of thirteen thousand six hundred horsepower. Its total cost is at the lower end of a scale of between 1 and 10 million euros. Well packaged, the engine is ready for delivery worldwide for up to 35 years and will operate maintenance-free as a marine diesel engine or as an emergency generator in a nuclear power plant or industrial facility. Manufacturing an extra-large diesel megaengine requires state-of-the-art engineering. This scrap metal marked the 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.