The 4T50ME-GI Test Engine at MAN Diesel & Turbo's ... - Sae.org

The 4T50ME-GI Test Engine at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s
Copenhagen Test Centre
1 Introduction
The commercial operation of two-
stroke, low-speed diesel engines us-
ing natural gas as a fuel source aboard
ships has been a dream and even an
obsession for decades.
The high efficiency and unrivalled relia-
bility of such engines, together with the
widespread availability of an onshore
gas-distribution network since the
1930s, triggered the development and
application of such engines for power
generation in the United States.
At the 1983 CIMAC congress in Paris,
Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding re-
launched the concept by proposing a
low-speed K80GIDE, also referred to as
a K80MC-GI, a low-speed diesel engine
based on the MAN B&W K80MC. This
was adapted for high-pressure gas in-
MAN B&W Diesel
jection (GI), and was particularly aimed
at replacing the rather energy-inefficient
steam turbines used for LNG carrier
propulsion.
At the time, both the gas-vs-fuel price
development, as well as technical and
political reluctance, prevented the idea
from being commercially successful.
However, technically, the concept was
fully proven on the test bed and, com-
mercially, as a prime mover in the Chiba
power plant in Japan.
In more recent times, development has
taken new turns with environmental
considerations having changed from
being interesting to becoming a neces-
sity. Furthermore, diesel engines have
now entered the propulsion market for
LNG carriers en masse and gas engines
are on the verge of being adopted for
propulsion by other ship types.
Accordingly, MAN Diesel and Turbo
Denmark took the decision in 2010 to
build a full-scale test and demonstration
engine at its R&D centre in Copenha-
gen. This intends to clear the way for
the full-scale commercial adoption of
the now electronically-controlled, dual-
fuel, low-speed, two-stroke ME-GI die-
sel-engine range.
This paper outlines the building of the
engine, the design and layout of its gas-
supply system and its test programme.
It also discusses the ME-GI engine’s
position in the market as one of several
solutions capable of meeting the IMO’s
Tier-III emission regulations, scheduled
to come in force for newbuildings from
January 1, 2016.
The 4T50ME-GI Test Engine at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Copenhagen Test Centre
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