The development of the marine diesel engine

Developments are also continuing in the maritime sector and the marine diesel engine has made a significant development. While the engines used to be very large and robust, today's marine diesel engines are much smaller and of a high technical level. The simple mechanical techniques are replaced for innovative electronic solutions and new injection techniques to meet current environmental requirements.

Today's marine diesel engine can no longer be compared to those of the past

The marine diesel engine has made an enormous development. The originally heavy stationary engine which spread a lot of soot and noise can no longer be compared to today's clean and efficient diesel engine.

The diesel engine was invented in 1892 by Rudolf Diesel

The history of the diesel engine begins in 1892. At that time, Rudolf Diesel, the inventor and namesake of the diesel engine, applied for a patent for a new, economical combustion engine. He convinced, among other things, the management of the Germany-based Maschinenfabrik Augsburg to invest money in the development of his engine. At the beginning of 1897 a prototype was devoloped that functioned satisfactorily, and subsequently two more copies were built. The following year, Diesel received his first orders.

The first test drive with a diesel truck was in 1924

When Rudolf Diesel passed away, the director of the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (later the truck manufacturer MAN) continued the development of the engine. In 1924, the first diesel truck, a MAN of course, completed its first long test drive from Augsburg to Nuremberg – MAN's headquarters. The 155 kilometer long journey took five and a half hours and the MAN engineers who drove the journey spoke of a flawless journey upon arrival. This first diesel truck was used for decades without major failures.

From stationary applications to marine diesel engines

In the beginning, diesels were only suitable for stationary applications, for example in factories and mining. This is because these diesel engines only ran at a fixed speed and due to the high compression ratio, these diesel engines caused a lot of vibrations and noise. The engines therefore had to be extra heavy. It soon became apparent that multiple applications were possible for the diesel engine and the marine diesel engine was soon used.

Marine diesel engines were fitted with a turbo

Marine diesel engines were always significantly slower and delivered less power compared to petrol engines. Thanks to the use of a turbo, the marine diesel engine equipped with a turbo is on par with its petrol equivalent. The turbo not only provides higher specific power, but also more efficiency, fewer emissions and less noise.

From pre-combustion system to direct injection system for better efficiency

A major change in the marine diesel engine over time is the renewal of the injection system. During the development of the diesel engine, the pre-combustion injection system was used by means of a pre combustion chamber. This system has been replaced by a more modern direct injection system. The efficiency of the diesel engine has clearly improved. The common rail system was necessary to meet current emission requirements and development continues.

Modern marine diesel engines adapt to load demand

In modern marine diesel engines, a technology has been developed in which the speed of the diesel engine adapts to the load demand of the propeller while full power remains available. The technology used is called Wide Operating Speed Range (WOSR). It is an originally Dutch invention that was developed to drive sand pumps in the dredging industry. The system makes it possible to deliver high torque over a wide speed range

Generators are optimally loaded in this way

This was already possible with diesel-electric propulsion. If the load decreases, the speed of the electric motor increases and as the load increases, the speed decreases. The generators that supply the power are therefore always optimally loaded. This is normally not possible with propellers driven directly by a marine diesel engine. After all, the set speed is maintained by the governor. In maritime shipping, propellers with an adjustable pitch (Controlled Pitch Propellers or CPPs) are therefore used on many ships. The pitch can then be increased or decreased depending on the power demand to optimize the load on the engine.

Large stock of used marine diesel engines

You can also contact Pool Trading for these used marine diesel engines in various models. We have a large stock of used marine engines available. Contact us for your questions. We are happy to help you!