MTU to unveil improved 4000 series

MTU in Friedrichshafen is unveiling at SMM its new generation of the 4000 series marine diesel engines which will be cleaner and more powerful than their predecessors.

The latest Series 4000 engines are the result of ten years of experience with the previous generation and the new units will meet the more stringent demands of US EPA Tier 2 emission specifications which, in particular, prescribe a significant reduction in nitrogen oxide. The MTU marine units undercut the new NOX-limit of 7.2 g/kWh by employing purely internal engine technology without any exhaust aftertreatment. The new combustion balance on the Series 4000 marine engines also achieves a significant decrease in particulate emissions.

The power output has risen by more than 2% per cylinder from 170 kW to 215 kW at a rated speed of 2,170 rpm. The total power of the 12-cylinder engine has thus increased from 2,040 kW to 2,580 kW whilst the 16-cylinder unit has risen from 2,720 to 3,440 kW. New in MTU’s marine applications range is a 20-cylinder version of the Series 4000; this engine generates up to 4,300 kW.

Fuel consumption has also been slightly reduced while the new Series 4000 unit is around half a meter lower and approximately one and a half tons lighter.

MTU has also achieved technological progress on the tubocharging front: The new Series 4000 marine engines are fitted with 2 (12 and 16-cylinder versions) or 4 (20- cylinder version) of the turbochargers developed and manufactured by MTU in-house. The TCs can be switched in in line with engine speed and the single-stage sequential charging system ensures optimum performance across the whole engine performance map.

The latest generation of MTU’s own electronic management system, ADEC (Advanced Diesel Engine Control) represents a further significant advance incorporated in the new marine engines. Among other features, the ADEC unit has triple injection electronics (pilot, main and after-injection), which provide optimum control of the fuel injection process to ensure low-pollution, high-efficiency combustion. Additionally, the ADEC system allows remote scanning and Internet read-out of engine data such as the number of operating hours. For maintenance purposes the data can also be copied to another engine governor.