Wartsila v/s MAN Marine Engines- Who’s is the best ?
The stronger the
marine engine, the better is the ship’s propulsion power and speed. When it
comes to selecting marine engines for ships, there are only a few countable
names in the market, including MAN B&W and Wartsila.In
this article we are going to compare the two most powerful marine engine brands
in the maritime industry.As
discussed in one of our previous articles, the Most Popular Marine Propulsion
Engines , MAN Diesel Turbo (previously known as MAN B&W)
and Wartsila (Previously known as SULZER) are the two front-runner giants for
supplying propulsion solution to the shipping industry.Wartsila
& MAN both are in fact two rivals who have the best products and R&D in
the industry. In this article, we will compare the different propulsion
technologies provided by these two companies and will list out which technology
has got the edge over the other.Note:
This comparison is derived and compiled after taking views from professional
marine engineers who have worked on both of these engines. However, this is not
a yardstick for selecting marine engines for a ship.
Wartsila
v/s MAN Marine Engines
Technology/ System
|
Who gets the EDGE?
|
||
Intelligent Engine
|
RT Flex- A complete electronically controlled engine with
common rail system
|
ME Engine- Complete electronically controlled engine
integrated with hydraulic control.
|
Wartsila- For installing an Intelligent engine technology in
2001. Prior to MAN (2003).
|
Fuel Injection System
|
Common rail Electronic control with Delta Injection System
|
Hydraulic actuated Electronic Control Injection system
|
Wartsila- For integrating Delta control with 3 injectors
controlled independently for different load.
|
Exhaust Valve Control
|
Electronically controlled variable exhaust valve timing
|
Camshaft operated Exhaust valve for reliable operation
|
MAN- For integrating a smart mechanical exhaust valve
operation in Intelligent engine for reliable operation.
|
Fuel Injectors
|
Conventional fuel injectors
|
Zero Sac Volume type fuel injectors with slide valve
|
MAN- Slide type fuel injector reduces after burning and hence
NOx emission
|
Fuel Pump
|
Spill, suction valve controlled pump with VIT
|
Jerk type plunger barrel controlled pump with Super VIT
|
MAN- Super VIT with independent injection timing control w.r.t
fuel index.
|
Starting Air system
|
Starting air valve opened by 30 bar air and a closing supply
for positive shut along with spring.
A relief valve in air manifold to avoid overpressure during starting airline explosion. |
Starting air valve open by 30 bar air and shut by spring.
Bursting disc provided to avoid overpressure during explosion |
Wartsila- Additional safety provided in positive closing and
relief valve for reliability during manoeuvring.
|
Piston and Rings
|
Convex shaped piston with Jet Shaker cooling.
Chromium coated Piston ring. |
OROS type Piston for better combustion area and reduction in
piston temperature.
Controlled Pressure Relief type top piston ring. |
MAN-With OROS piston, the Maximum piston temperature reduces
by 90°C.
With CPR ring, better pressure distribution on liner and lower ring. |
Cylinder Liner
|
Fine honed and bore cooled Liner with mid layer insulation.
|
Bore cooled liner.
|
Wartsila- Better cooling and insulation increases Cylinder
liner Life
|
Main Bearing
|
White metal bearing lined on thin back.
|
Tri metal bearing with high load carrying capacity.
|
MAN-Tri metal bearing with long life and better embed ability.
|
Crosshead
|
12-15 bar pressure from separate pump supplied to bigger size
plain bearing.
|
Small size bearing with oil wedges to retain oil which is
supplied by normal system pressure.
|
Wartsila-Elevated pressure ensures better lubrication at high
load.
A back up line is provided in case of failure of crosshead pump. |
Cylinder Lubrication
|
Electronically controlled Pulse Lubrication System with
metered quantity injection
|
Alpha Adaptive Cylinder Lubrication control system allowing
blending of cylinder oil for different grade of sulphur in fuel
|
MAN- ACC with different inputs like sulphur content and load
index provide better neutralizing features.
|
Drive
|
Gear driven with timing gear driving the camshaft
|
Chain driven with 2 chains driving a camshaft
|
MAN- Chain drives are cheaper, lighter and easier to maintain
and duplication provides backup.
|
Turbocharging
|
Prefers Axial turbocharger with constant pulse system.
|
Variable Turbine Angle turbocharger provides better operation
at all load range
|
MAN-VTA allows engine to run without auxiliary blower at low
load operation.
|
Exhaust Valve
|
Cobentional Valve seat with Nimonic and Stellite coating
|
W seat for better operation and increased time between
overhaul.
Dura spindle with better heat resistant property. |
MAN- W seat allows cooling of exhaust valve during combustion
stroke
|
Miscellaneous
|
Tribo pack allows increased time between overhaul of cylinder
component up to 3 years.
Electronic monitoring system for safe operation |
Electronic monitoring system for safe operation.
|
Wartsila- With Tribo pack which is a package of design
measures increases the TBO to 3 years.
|
From
the above comparison, it can be seen that MAN has
an edges over Wartsila by a
thin margins.
However,
with the world’s most powerful marine engine (Wärtsilä RT-flex96C) in its
basket, Wartsila is one company that doesn’t have to prove anything.
Dear readers its just an study made under certain cases so there may be any tentative results......for more articles subscribe to my post.......