WinGD to ramp up R&D efforts

The adoption of alternative fuels by the shipping industry is unprecedented: it is the first such energy transition that is being driven by legislation rather than international competition, as was the case with the wind-to-coal or coal-to-oil shifts.

But no matter how the fuel landscape alters, we have yet to find a more efficient means of propelling a vessel than a low speed engine with direct transmission. “We think that the diesel engine will be there in the future,” Klaus Heim reiterated.

However, the range of research objectives continues to proliferate. “Ten years ago, we were focused on one fuel type, which still entailed research in a wide variety of areas. Now we have research in areas as diverse as alternative fuels, digitalisation and emissions control,” Klaus Heim said.

New test engines

Faced with increasing research objectives, and in order to pursue our goal of becoming the leading two-stroke engine designer, WinGD has increased its R&D budget significantly and expects to maintain this upward trajectory, Klaus Heim said. “As such, we are undertaking a significant expansion in our research capacity.”

In addition to increasing research, WinGD is investing in test engines. WinGD expects to finalise a planning application for a single-cylinder test engine at its Winterthur site in spring 2019, with ground likely to be broken before winter 2019. Meanwhile, construction of two further test engines at the facility of our colleagues in Shanghai is likely to be completed by May 2019. One of the test engines, the RTX7, will have a 520mm bore, 4-cylinders and DF technology as basis, while the RTX8 is a pure diesel engine, also with 520mm bore and 4-cylinders.

Combining the expanded capacities with the 6X72 Dual Fuel test engine to which WinGD has access at Diesel United in Japan and the 6-cylinder test engine at WinGD’s Trieste facility will give the company access to 25 cylinders, of which 8 will be diesel only and 17 will be configured for DF operation.

Digitalisation

The development of additional test engines is a timely investment as WinGD is developing a number of new digitalisation services, and the rapid development of new services will require ever greater access to real time data from the engine control system.

However, the development of a new control system to replace WinGD’s existing engine control system, based on the legacy UNIC (Unified Controls) platform, is highly complex and is likely to require additional engine test time.

The new control system will provide users with full control over the engine and associated systems, increasing the platform’s speed, power and number of channels, a systems developer told the Motorship. The system will include better integration with associated systems, such as emissions abatement, while opening up the possibility of an improved fuel injection control system or a more sophisticated lubrication system.

The system uses ethernet technology with security features to ensure data integrity while increasing the number and frequency of data inputs from sensors around the engine’s functions.

The new platform is designed to be compatible with other ship management systems, such as ABB Agile or Kongsberg Kognifai, and will be able to interface with the WinGD Integrated Digital Expert (WiDE) engine diagnostics programme.

By offering faster data transmission, and improved data processing, the platform will open the way for future developments in predictive maintenance and condition-based monitoring of the engine.

Alternative fuels

The increasing demand for research into alternative fuels is also likely to make more use of the expanded availability of test engines. Research into alternative fuels is likely to significantly increase demands for more detailed research into areas such as combustion optimisation, injection equipment, materials and tribology for these new fuels.

These are areas where WinGD already has a leading position. For example, the company is home to a sophisticated Spray Combustion Chamber (SCC) and a wealth of experience in applying it for studying the impact of any liquid fuel on spray morphology. This has led to improved understanding of spray processes in the combustion chamber, which in turn trigger variations in ignition and combustion behaviour between HFO and distillate, for example.

This SCC is one of the legacies of WinGD’s involvement in the Hercules series of projects, German Weisser, senior advisor emissions, research and development, said. The research conducted on this device is highly relevant for investigations into optimising combustion for all kinds of liquid fuels, including the layout of the injection systems applied.

Another area of focus has been on the interaction of lower sulphur fuels on cylinder wear and associated lubrication issues. Applying incorrectly adjusted lube oil feed rates and inappropriate BN cylinder oils can lead to the build-up of additive based deposits from the lubricants. Consequently, the risk of excessive component wear, for example on piston rings and cylinder liners, increases.

Such research has fed through into a number of recent product innovations, such as the adaptation of dual-fuel engines to higher firing pressures – including altered combustion chamber geometries – the shift from three piston rings to two piston rings, and the integration of the GVU nozzle into the cylinder liner plus the development of WinGD’s own and integrated gas pressure regulation system (iGPR).