Adapting to new demands

Hyundai Heavy Industries and HSD Engine are adapting to the demands of building larger two-stroke models and electronic-controlled engines.

HSD Engine, created by the consolidation of the engine divisions of Doosan (formerly Hanjung), Samsung and Daewoo, has recently won orders for seven MAN B&W 12K98MC-C engines, whose unit output of 68,490kW and bore are the largest of any single diesel engine. Samsung Heavy Industries ordered the engines, five for 8,100 TEU box ships it is building for Canada?s Seaspan and two for 7,700 TEU box ships it is building for OOCL.

With this size of ship the 12-cylinder K98MC-C engine is at the limit of its potential. A single engine ship with more capacity will require greater power to maintain what owners accept as a reasonable speed. This entails more cylinders, 14, 16 or even 18, on the K98MC-C, or a bigger bore both of which MAN B&W (and Sulzer with its RTA engines) has considered and discussed with its licensees.

“We have already made all preparations such as test facilities for the production of larger engines that will be ordered in the near future,” comments HSD.

The company completed a consolidated works last year with machines and tools for assembling and testing larger engines. Hyundai, too, says it has prepared for the introduction of larger engines and is ready for orders. It also claims to offer a QA advantage in that it has its own large capacity foundry. Here it can cast the cylinder frames of large diesel engines in one piece and make crankshafts and other components.

“We are the only engine maker casting and forging in our own shop,” says K H Kim, director of the engine & machinery division.

Quality control is also held up by Kim as a key competence required for building new generation electronic engines. He says it is vital in component production, control systems and acknowledgement of the concept of the system and how it is best applied to the engine. It is consequently undertaking a transfer of technology from both MAN B&W and Sulzer.

HSD says it has established a training programme in association with MAN B&W, comprising three separate courses, to help in the production of ME-engines. “We think that its very helpful to understand the functional principles and general concepts,” it says. Shipyard engineers were invited to attend the third training course.

HSD own design

HSD Engine says it has undertaken a feasibility study into the production of its own design engine. However it says several reasons have given it cause to doubt its potential success and therefore prevented it from taking the idea any further. “We are holding its decision and watching at a major trend of the business,” says the company.

No Himsen expansion

Hyundai Heavy Industries engine and machinery division says it has no plans to expand its range of Himsen engines beyond the two models it currently produces.

K H Kim, director of the division, says a large part of its initial motivation to develop its own design engines was MAN B&W?s absence of engine development in certain output ranges for some years (an absence of development that MAN B&W has subsequently addressed). Hyundai builds MAN B&W medium-speed engines under license. For bigger bore, higher output requirements Kim says Hyundai is committed to producing MAN B&W?s 27/38 and 32/40 design engines.

To date, Hyundai has sold about 75 units of its two Himsen models, the 21/32 and the 25/33. It is continuing development of the basic design, examining features such as cylinder liners with oil pockets ? it has rejected this idea for now as tests have shown it makes just a marginal difference over previous designs says Kim.

It is targeting about 100 Himsen engine sales into the marine industry this year and 150 sales in total. It is not all plain sailing though. Kim says shipowners are pushing Hyundai hard on price to install what they see as unproven technology. “We are concentrating on proving engine performance and quality,” he responds.