Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2012)

MARINE PROPULSON UPDATES TECHNICAL32Maritime Reporter & Engineering News At the Marintec 2011 marine tradeshow in Shanghai, ABB Turbocharging announced its latest move: the start of production in China of its most modernhigh pressure single stage turbocharger for low speed 2-stroke engines, the A100- L. ABB Turbocharging?s involvement in the Chinese market started in December 1978 with the conclusion of a licenseagreement with the organization that sub- sequently became its joint venture part- ner, Chongqing Jiangjin Turbo & Charger Machinery Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of theChina Shipbuilding Industry Corpora- tion. In parallel, on the after-sales side a service network was installed, mainly for turbochargers on the ships of Chinese owners. The ABB Jiangjin Turbo Sys- tems Co., Ltd, joint venture was forged in 2006 and, as the next step, 2009 saw the opening of the state-of-the-art tur- bocharger factory in Jiangjin, close to the previous place of manufacture. ?The driving force behind this progres- sively increasing commitment has been our strategy of always providing Chinese engine builders and end users full access to the new products and service offerings they need,? said Oliver Riemenschneider, head of the global ABB Turbocharging Business Unit. ?To get this right, we have to fully connect with the engine builders of China, supporting their development efforts with our local team of application engineers, dedicated to the Chinese mar- ket and constantly in contact with it.? The feedback gathered from these con- tacts and extensive market research pointed in the same direction: the timehad come to localize the A100 tur- bocharger generation. ?This is triggered by the expansion of licensed production of 2-strokes as a result of China?s inten- tion to be the global number one in ship-building,? Riemenschneider said. The first A100-L turbocharger to leave the Jiangjin factory ?is an example of the A165-L, the smallest A100-L model, and will be fitted to one of the first examples of a new, small bore 2-stroke engine to be produced at the brand new factory of a brand new player in the 2-stroke engine market,? Riemenschneider said. ?I am talking about a 6 cylinder model of Wärt- silä?s new 35 cm bore RT-flex35, from a series being built by Yuchai Marine Power Co. at its recently completed fac- tory in Doumen, in the southwest ofChina.? The engines will be used in a se- ries of 20,000 DWT bulk carriers being built at a shipyard in Fujian province. A100-L ?During its final development stages an A190-L turbocharger for low speed 2- stroke engines set a new efficiency record for an ABB turbocharger of well over 75%,? Riemenschneider said. ?Signifi- cantly, the record was achieved at a higher pressure ratio than the previous best ? the A100-L is capable of produc- ing pressure ratios in the range 4.7 to5.1.? This combination of high pressure ratios and high efficiency enables manu- facturers of low speed 2-stroke diesel en- gines to reduce the effects of the so-called ?NOx-SFC trade-off?. This is principally achieved by transferring the work of compressing the combustion air from the piston to the turbocharger, so that more useful power is available at the crankshaft. ?In daily commercial opera- tion, fuel savings as high as 2 g /kWh are being achieved aboard a wide range of vessel types. For a 50 MW rated low- speed engine burning heavy fuel oil (HFO), and assuming a fuel price of $500per ton, this amounts to savings of $ 300,000 over a typical 6000 hour operat- ing year,? Riemenschneider said. Local production of the A100-L means the Jiangjin factory now manufactures modern turbochargers for both 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines. While growth in shipbuilding is currently the major con- tributor, China is positioning to become the most important market for large en- gines in the world overall. ?The diversification we will see in the demand for turbochargers will set the pat- tern for the future and is mirrored in theunique combination of ownership and de- sign bases we need to supply in China,? Riemenschneider said. ?These compriselicensees like Yuchai Marine Power Co.; local Chinese engine builders; joint ven- ture companies bringing together localproducers and western manufacturers; and implants by the leading internationalengine builders. There will be big de- mands on engine system and componentsuppliers like us to cover whole ranges of, predominantly, four stroke applica- tions.? Looking at specific 4-stroke growth sectors, considerable demand is forecastfor the coastal and inland waterways ves- sels which play such a big part in China?s transport infrastructure. ?As in several sectors in China, renewal of engines and engine technology will be strongly de-pendent on the introduction of emissionslegislation,? Riemenschneider said. ?Judging by the preparations we are see-ing, this will certainly happen and low emissions engines with acceptable fuelconsumption will require the latest tur- bocharging technology. In fact, there is even the possibility of the Chinese engine industry doing a dou-ble step on engines powering inland and coastal ships, straight from older dieselsto the latest gas and dual fuel engine tech- nology, given that new reserves of gas have been found in China and a supply infrastructure is being installed.? ABB Turbocharging Prepping for Growth in China Oliver Riemenschneider, head of the global ABB Turbocharging Business Unit.The factory of ABB Jiangjin Turbo Systems Co., Ltd. is one of the most modern turbocharger facilities in the World. A100 turbochargers cover a full spec- trum of high, medium and low speedengines. The A100-L (L=low speed)addresses 2-stroke engines with bores from 35 cm ( A165-L) to multiple tur- bocharger systems on the largest bore 2-strokes in existence ( A190-L). MR Jan.12 # 4 (26-33):MR Template 1/9/2012 4:17 PM Page 32