WinGD Low-speed Engines

Licensees Conference 2015

Concepts, Testing and First Service Experience with the

Generation X-Engines
(35 to 92 cm bore)

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

This paper describes, how the concept of the As the expectations of major players in the mar-
so-called Generation X-engines, namely ket for large low-speed diesel engines, i.e. the
engine builders; the shipyards and the design
· X-tra efficiency institutes; the ship owners and operators; and
· X-tra manufacturing-friendly the legislative authorities, have not changed,
· X-tra reliability but they have become particularly tough. The
· X-tra environmentally-friendly requirements for highly cost-efficient and envi-
ronmentally-friendly solutions for the transporta-
has been realised on the different models of this tion of goods were never higher than today. It is
engine family i.e. the W-X35 and 40, the W-X52, easily shown that shipping is environmentally
the W-X62 and 72, the W-X82 and the largest sound when calculating the emissions per unit
engine, the W-X92. Further it is explained why of cargo transported. Yet when a single vessel
there are some differences in the realisation of can consume between 50 to 60 tonnes of fuel
the Generation X concept, whether due to the per day, the resulting level of pollution is high in
need for different solutions based on engine absolute terms. Environmental concerns and
size, due to different requirements from the the price of fuel have been driving shipping to
shipyards or due to the availability of technical become more cost conscious. The official term
concepts. for the latest and most efficient vessels is the
so-called “eco-ship”, which claims efficiency
Additionally, a short update is given on the up- gains of up to 30% compared with previous gen-
graded versions of the W-X35 and 40 and the erations of ships. These gains can be achieved
W-X82 – the so-called B versions – as well as a by various means, including alternative energy
preview of the newest X-engine model, the W- sources (renewables, biofuels, LNG), design
X52. measures (bulbous bow, lightweight construc-
tion, design speed reduction), hydrodynamic
Several Generation X-engines are already in measures like propeller modifications and hull
service – these are the W-X35 and 40, the W- coatings, and machinery measures such as
X62 and 72 and the W-X82. Field experience main engine design, tuning, rating and hybrid
with these engines is described in the second shaft generators.
part of this paper.
The market has evolved and is more seriously
considering the condition and performance of
ships at sea. For example, the largest shipping
banks are much more interested in the quality
and the value of assets today than back in 2010.
After the global economic crisis and the intro-
duction of stricter banking regulation, financial
institutions have much less enthusiasm for risk-
taking. Banks are looking for ships that can

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 1 / 13

maximise asset utilisation, ensuring that owners THE TECHNICAL REALISATION OF THE
and operators remain compliant with their loan X CONCEPT
conditions. Furthermore, in the case of bank-
ruptcy or liquidation, a good quality asset will
have a higher resale value.
X-tra environmentally-friendly
Then, another important aspect is the charterer
vs. owner debate. In times of high spot rates, as A newly developed engine needs to be pre-
currently seen in the tanker market, operators pared for the coming enactment of the Interna-
are looking into accepting spot rates as they tional Maritime Organization’s (IMO) limits on
come. In more tumultuous and volatile markets, emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO X) emis-
owners will be opting for the stability of long sions legislation. The Tier III limits will become
term charters, transferring the fuel cost respon- effective from 1st January 2016 and, in addition
sibility to the charterer. The charterer is there- to NOX limitation, limits will be introduced for fuel
fore deliberately looking at environmentally sulphur content for the first time, in order to limit
sound, more efficient ships. Consequently, the emissions of oxides of sulphur (SO X).
industry is experiencing the emergence of com-
panies rating ships depending on their emis- The strategies and the technologies WinGD is
sions and performance levels. following to meet the upcoming emissions leg-
islation are described in detail in two separate
To summarise, the higher the rating, the more papers.
efficient the ship, which then allows more attrac-
tive bank loan terms, a better charter contract The Tier III NOX legislation can be fulfilled by
(possibly even with a premium) and a higher re- using so-called Dual-Fuel (DF) technology,
sale value. which produces NOX emissions are well below
the given limits during operation on gas. Two
As mentioned above, machinery is one key ele- other technologies which can be applied to re-
ment in the design of an “eco-ship”. The new duce NOX emissions to the required low level
Generation X-engines are the first in Winterthur are Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and
Gas & Diesel Ltd’s (WinGD) two-stroke marine Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).
diesel portfolio which are specifically developed
with the aforementioned increased focus on low Among emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2) is cur-
operating costs combined with optimised first rently receiving great attention. CO2 is the di-
costs, on actual and forthcoming environmental rect product of hydrocarbon fuel combustion in
legislation and, finally, on compact design for thermal engines, is directly proportional to their
the highest possible cargo capacity (payload). fuel consumption and contributes to the green-
house effect. CO2 has also become a new focus
To highlight the new generation of engines, an in the marine industry since IMO introduced the
updated type designation was introduced in Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). The
May 2011, namely W-X35 and W-X40, W-X62 EEDI is a method used to quantify the CO 2
and W-X72, and W-X92, where “W” stands for emissions of merchant vessels by benchmark-
Wärtsilä and “X” for cross-head engine, extra ing them, and transport work, against a limit im-
low speed and flexible fuel injection posed by the IMO. Several measures can be
technology. taken to reach an EEDI below the limit, such as
optimisation of the cargo capacity and hull effi-
ciency of the ship, engine and propulsion effi-
ciency or the application of a Power-Take-Off
(PTO) generator. The following paragraph de-
scribes in which ways an engine developer can
contribute to an optimised EEDI.

X-tra efficiency

The optimisation of engine efficiency – or,

equivalently, Brake Specific Fuel Consumption
(BSFC) – has always been one of the most im-
portant targets of an engine developer. One of
the biggest steps on low-speed two-strokes was

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 2 / 13

the introduction of the electronic control of fuel X-tra manufacturing-friendly
injection and exhaust valve actuation. While on
mechanical engines it was only possible to opti- As described above, the goal of highest total ef-
mise these aspects at one single operating ficiency for the vessel propulsion system leads
point, a BSFC optimisation at all loads became to engines with higher stroke-to-bore ratios.
possible with the introduction of fully flexible This automatically leads to engines which are
electronic control. As the IMO NOX legislation considerably higher than predecessor models,
weights the emissions for different load steps to with consequences for engine room design as
define the total NOX emissions of an engine, it well as component and engine weights and
is possible to use the flexibility of electronically- cost. For the W-X52, W-X62, W-X72 and W-
controlled engines to offer different tuning op- X82 models, a bore diameter has been selected
tions to optimise the total fuel consumption of a which is 2 cm bigger than for the respective
vessel depending on its operating profile. The competitor’s engines. As a consequence, the
four tuning options which are available for the requested cylinder power can be achieved with
RT-flex and the X-engines are: a stroke which is about 5% shorter, leading to a
considerably lower engine room height (piston
· Standard Tuning dismantling height) and also to a lower engine
· Delta Tuning weight.
· Delta Bypass Tuning
· Low-load Tuning As mentioned above, the stroke of the W-X92
has been limited to 3468 mm to give the major
The Figure 1 shows BSFC depending on the en- crankshaft manufacturers the possibility of pro-
gine load for the four tuning options. ducing the crankshaft without major investment
in new machining facilities. For the small W-X35
and W-X40, the stroke and bore have been se-
lected at the same length as well-established
competitors’ models to limit engine room re-de-
sign work at the shipyards and design institutes
to a minimum.

During all development work, close and contin-

uous attention is paid to optimising designs for
manufacturing. Simplified manufacturing pro-
cesses lead to both high quality production and
competitive manufacturing costs. Apart from
Figure 1: Typical BSFC curves to illustrate shortened assembly time during production,
Standard, Delta, Delta Bypass and Low Load simplified assembly leads to improved service-
Tuning ability during engine operation. Since cost com-
petitiveness can only be achieved by industrial-
Striving for more efficient propulsion systems isation that takes into account local production
leads to lower speed engines and thus to larger standards and requirements, co-operations with
propellers, since reduced engine speed im- major engine builders in Asia were established
proves the propulsion efficiency of the propeller, for the development of X-engine. With the
and higher stroke-to-bore ratios lead to better strong support of its Asian partners, WinGD’s
internal efficiency of the engine. In the mid “Manufacturing Engineering” experts continu-
1990s Wärtsilä introduced engine models with ously drive this process throughout the whole
a stroke-to-bore ratio of over 4.0, namely the development project, according to the “Winter-
very successful RT flex48T, RT flex58T and RT thur Gas & Diesel Ltd design-to-cost process”
flex68. All the X-engines have a stroke-to-bore (see Figure 2).
ratio in the range of 4.1 to 4.5 with the exception
of the W-X92. On such a large engine the stroke
is limited due to machining limitations at the
crankshaft manufacturers.

Why WinGD was seeking a compromise be-

tween a long stroke and engine height for some
of the X-engines is described in the following
Chapter.

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 limits, without unnecessary margins which
would lead to excessively high manufacturing
cost.

“Same, same – but different!”

As far as possible, the same technical concepts

or even identical components are being applied
on all the X-engines. However, in several cases
some adaptations were necessary to the re-
spective engine types. One of the main reasons
for such adaptations is the huge ranges of pow-
ers and dimensions the X-engines cover. A
W4X35 has a power output of 4,350 kW
whereas the biggest X-engine, the W12X92
Figure 2: Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd design- produces 73,560 kW. Also, the weight range of
to-cost process 74 to 2140 tons for these two extremes in the X-
engine family is impressive. It is self-evident,
Wherever possible, the X-engines follow an then, that technical concepts might differ over
identical design concept. In some cases, e.g. for such huge ranges, for example due to limita-
the engine control system, identical compo- tions in manufacturing.
nents are even being used. Besides the cost re-
duction from increased production volumes, this Another reason for adapted solutions is different
modular approach leads to optimisation in man- engine room designs, depending on the vessel
ufacturing and assembly since the accumulated types in which the X-engines can be installed.
knowledge from one engine type can be readily In larger vessels, the typical turbocharger loca-
transferred to another type. tion is laterally on the engine’s long side,
whereas in smaller vessels with very compact
X-tra reliability engine rooms, the most suitable turbocharger
location is often at the engine’s driving end.
To ensure indisputable reliability, most of the Other typical causes for engine size-dependent
design concepts of the X-engines were derived solutions are the applicability of simpler con-
from the very popular RT-flex50 and cepts on smaller engines only – the oil-cooled
RT-flex82C/T engines. As of June 2015, some piston is such an example – or weight and size
418 RT-flex50 and 129 RT-flex82C/T engines limitations in workshops – the biggest crank-
have been ordered and around 400 of these en- shafts can only be produced in two parts.
gines are already in service, accumulating a to-
tal of approximately 6 million running hours. The availability of technical solutions can also
be a limitation to their application. It is possible
The new time-controlled “flex” fuel injection sys- that a certain technology is not yet developed to
tem is derived from Wärtsilä’s four-stroke me- the required level of maturity for the whole en-
dium speed diesel engine designs. Before its gine range and therefore “older”, proven tech-
implementation on large two-stroke engines, it nology has to be applied until the end of the val-
was tested extensively under typical operating idation process. Such an example is the fuel in-
conditions on dedicated test rigs and on an jection system. The new time-controlled injec-
RT-flex60C engine in vessel operation. tors were validated up to the W-X72. For the
bigger W-X82 and W-X92 engines the technol-
The proven concepts then have to be custom- ogy is currently still in the validation phase. This
ised for the respective engine type and size. is why the proven ICU (Injection Control Unit)
The use of state-of-the-art simulation tools like technology can be found on these two engine
the Finite Element Method (FEM) for stress and types. Table 1 gives an overview of the main en-
temperature calculation, vibration, hydraulic or gine components.
bearing calculations, ensures that all relevant
parameters and loads stay within proven design

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 Components
W-X35/X40 W-X52/X62/X72 W-X82 W-X92

Crankshaft Single piece; different executions Single or double Single or double

piece; different exe- piece; different exe-
cutions cutions; dual cylin-
der distance
Running gear

Crosshead Straight crosshead pin, single piece guide shoe with white metal lining

Main bearings Thin shell, alu. lining Thin shell, white-metal lining

Crosshead bearings Wide shell, white-metal lining; white-metal lining in cover

Piston cooling Knee lever

Piston rod gland box Four oil scraper, two dirt scraper and two gas-tight rings; hardened piston rod

Bedplate Single wall, double Single wall, single tie rod with Ikea nut, integrated thrust bearing
Engine structure & scavenge

tie rod, integrated (X82 with double wall bedplate)

thrust bearing

Column Single wall, inte- Double wall, separate gear housing

system

grated gear housing

Cylinder jacket Cast cylinder jacket with inspection door to piston underside

Turbo charger location Aft end Lateral side (or aft Lateral side
end)

Water separation Charging unit with underslung design, 3-nose water separator
Fuel injection, valve drive &

Fuel injection Time controlled electronic Injectors Injection Control Unit

Fuel pumps Multi-element Single element, cam-shaft driven fuel pumps

pumps
automation

Servo oil system 300 bar servo oil pressure, cast VCU 200 bar SO pres- 200 bar SO pres-
sure, machined sure, cast VCU
VCU

Drive of supply unit Direct gear drive from crankshaft

Control system UNIC-flex WECS

Cylinder liner Self-supported slim Self-supported liner with bore cooled collar (X52 with slim type liner)
type liner
Combustion chamber &

Cylinder cover Forged or cast execution, 6 elastic studs Forged or cast exe- Forged or cast exe-
cution, 8 elastic cution, 10 elastic
piston running

studs studs

Piston Through-flow oil Jet-shaker oil cooling

cooling

Piston rings Three chromium-ceramic plated, pre-profiled piston rings

Exhaust valve Electronically controlled operation, hydraulically actuated, pneumatically closed

Cylinder lubrication Electronically controlled Pulse Lubricating System (PLS)

Table 1: Concept overview of the main engine components on the X-engines

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 5 / 13

 THE B VERSIONS OF W-X35 & 40 AND The introduction of the B-version is also used to
W-X82 implement two proven features from other en-
gine types. The first is the bypass cooling of the
W-X82-B cylinder liner and the second is the latest crank
angle sensor technology, known as “Angela”.
The design of the W-X82 is very much based on The bypass cooling system was introduced on
the successful RT-flex82T and the RT-flex82C. the W-X62 & 72 engines as a measure against
Some 130 RT-flex82T&C engines are in opera- low temperature corrosion on the cylinder liner
tion today, the earliest ones since 2008. running surface and the piston rings. The liner
temperatures are increased by a combination of
In 2011 the RT-flex82T became a member of reduced cooling water flow and increased inlet
the Generation X family and it was renamed the temperature of the liner cooling water, as shown
W-X82. But not only was the name changed in schematically in Figure 4.
order to indicate that the RT-flex82 was already
a very modern engine. A number of updates Crank angle detection was implemented on all
was also implemented. The most significant the RT-flex engines by means of a sensor lo-
change for the market was the considerably big- cated at the free end of the crankshaft. The new
ger rating field, which required a number of “Angela” system fulfils the same function, which
modifications. In addition, some improvements is to give at all times the exact position and
were implemented, of which two were the intro- speed of the crankshaft, in order to the control
duction of the Pulse Jet cylinder lubricating sys- system. Four standard proximity sensors
tem and the FAST (Fuel Actuated Sacless “count” the teeth of the intermediate gear wheel
Technology) fuel injection valves. and twice per crankshaft revolution two addi-
tional sensors are used to detect the Top Dead
Due to requirements from the market for even Centre (TDC) and Bottom Dead Centre (BDC)
lower engine speeds and further de-rating pos- positions of cylinder no. 1. The rationale for the
sibilities, WinGD recently decided to upgrade introduction of “Angela” was improved cost effi-
the W-X82 to the B version, with an even larger ciency. “Angela” was first introduced on the RT-
rating field. flex48T-D in 2012.

Figure 3: Extended rating field of W-X82-B

(dark blue)

The only change which is needed due to the

larger rating field is the introduction of cross-
head booster pumps. An increase in oil-feed
pressure is needed for the reliable operation of
the crosshead and crankpin bearings at lower
engine speeds with today’s high maximum firing
pressures. Thanks to the higher oil pressure,
the oil film thickness is increased and the maxi-
mum oil film pressure is reduced, while addition-
Figure 4: Diagram of the bypass cylinder liner
ally the bearings benefit from improved oil re-
freshment (cooling). cooling system

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W-X35-B & W-X40-B

As with the W-X82, there was also increasing The cylinder block, liner and cover will receive a
demand for enlarged rating fields for the smaller re-design as a measure against repeated is-
W-X35 and W-X40 engines. Shown in Figure 5, sues with leakages from the combustion cham-
the relative increase in the rating field is slightly ber. With the updated design it will also be pos-
bigger since this is the first time that it has been sible in future to increase the maximum firing
adapted to the latest market trends. pressures for further reduced BSFC. The ex-
haust valve cage will be equipped with opti-
mised cooling, as some issues were reported
with the insulation applied in the current solu-
tion. The regulation of the fuel and servo-oil
pumps will be optimised to improve stability and
the conditioning tank for the cylinder lubricating
system will be omitted. This measure and other
re-design work will lead to simpler and more
service-friendly pipework and cabling around
the engines.

Figure 5: Extended rating field of W-X35-B and

W-X40-B (dark blue)

As with the X82-B, crosshead booster pumps

are also needed for the extension of the rating
field. To have sufficient space for the additional
piping on the exhaust side of the engine and to
keep stress levels within prescribed limits, the
oil supply to the main bearings has been re-de-
signed.

In addition, the W-X35-B and W-X40-B will also

benefit from a number of improvements com-
pared to their predecessors. Some of the im-
provements are adopted from the W-X62 and
72, namely:

· Fuel injection nozzles with FAST technol-

ogy, leading to cleaner combustion and re-
duced fuel consumption
· Pilot valve in the fuel injection nozzles with
increased clearance
· Optimised fuel drain from the Pressure Con-
trol Valve
· Improved design of the Valve Control Unit
(VCU) with integrated Parker control valve
· Hardware and base software of the UNIC
control system identical to W-X62/72
· Integration of the control system power sup-
ply into the rail unit, leading to a simplifica-
tion for shipyards and reduced cost
· Offering the Integrated Injection Control
(ICC) as an option.

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 7 / 13

 THE NEW W-X52 PROTOTYPE TESTING AND SERVICE
EXPERIENCE

The W-X52 is the latest member of the X-engine

family and is currently under development. Alt- Before the very first engine of a new type is de-
hough it has a slightly increased stroke-to-bore livered from the engine builder to the shipyard,
ratio of 4.45 compared to 4.29 on the W-X62, it undergoes an extensive testing programme.
the W-X52 is mostly scaled down from the big- The first target of this prototype testing is the
ger 62 cm bore engine. Due to its smaller size, optimisation of all the relevant parameters to
there are three changes which are worth men- achieve optimum engine performance. Even in
tioning: times when almost everything can be simulated,
it is still necessary to carry out fine tuning on the
· For bore sizes below 580 mm, typically only real engine. The second important reason for
two instead of three fuel injection valves are testing is to verify the simulation results. As de-
being used. scribed earlier in this paper, WinGD is applying
· The already well-established supply unit the latest simulation technologies, but verifying
from the RT-flex50 fits perfectly on the W- the results on the engine it is still an unavoidable
X52. The only change is the increase in part of the process and also confirms the cor-
servo oil pressure from 200 to 300 bar. rectness of all the boundary conditions. Typical
· While the bigger engines need a bore- measurements and tests during prototype test-
cooled collar on the cylinder liner to ensure ing are:
efficient cooling and the required rigidity,
· Fuel consumption
smaller engines can be equipped with a sim-
· Emissions (NOX)
pler, slim type cylinder liner, as show in Fig- · Stress & strain
ure 6 · Temperatures
· Pressures
· Vibrations
· Flows
· Starting behaviour and air consumption

In some cases it is possible that on one of the

following engines, additional tests have to be
performed, based on the findings from proto-
type testing. The Type Approval Test (TAT) with
all relevant Classification Societies is typically
done on the third or fourth engine produced, to
ensure smooth operation during this important
event.

Figure 6: Slim type cylinder liner, shown using

the example of RT-flex50

According to the project schedule, the delivery

of the first W-X52 from the engine builder is due
by the end of June 2016. Of the engines cur-
rently on order, the first W5X52 will be delivered
from the engine builder in September 2016.

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 8 / 13

Service experience – W-X82

The first 82 cm bore engines entered service

operation in the year 2008 and since then the
population has increased to 165 engines (RTA
and RT-flex versions). Another 60 engines are
currently on order. In total, the 82 cm bore en-
gines have accumulated about 3 million running
hours with very positive service experience. In
particular, all the white metal bearings (see Fig-
ure 7) have close to a zero failure rate over the
whole engine population, which is a great
achievement when considering past issues, es-
pecially on the main bearing.

1. Valve seat
2. Valve sleeve ICV
3. Valve spindle (injection control valve)

Figure 8: Injection Control Unit (ICU) W-X82

Initially, the new design led to some new chal-

lenges with stress factors and material selection
in combination with particles in the Heavy Fuel
Oil (HFO). Via minor design and material
changes at the injection control valve, it was
possible to drastically improve both lifetime and
performance.
Figure 7: Crosshead bearing from a
RT-flex82C engine after 29’008 running hours Since 2012, service experience has been out-
standing, with components showing much less
The good bearing performance is a result of sensitivity to HFO impurities. Today, mainte-
long experience in development and design, as- nance on board by the crew is possible, offering
sisted by very accurate calculation methods. higher flexibility and lower Operational Expend-
However, shaft alignment calculation methods itures (OPEX). For details see the relevant
have also been further improved since they Technical Bulletin.
have an extremely strong impact on bearing
load and, thus, lifetime. Unfortunately, even to- FAST fuel injectors are standard on all new
day it is still difficult, in some cases, to convince W-X82 deliveries. Service experience gathered
some shipyards to follow our alignment specifi- over the past three years indicates an effective
cation. lifetime of up to 18,000 running hours for com-
ponents such as the nozzle tip, which is more
The Injection Control Unit (ICU) for the than double that achieved with the previous de-
RT-flex82T/C was launched with a new design sign. WinGD’s field testing experts observe that
(see Figure 8) which differs from the RT-flex84T- the fuel injection components show almost no
D and RT-flex96C-B. The injection control valve sensitivity to fuel quality. On field testing ves-
had been completely redesigned with a new sels, no cavitation and no wear could be found
housing, which is integrated into the main block after 12,600 hours in operation.
and enables the use of smaller parts and easier
maintenance. The core part of the FAST injection valve and
the needle with needle seat showed no wear at
all (see Figure 9).

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 Service experience W-X35/40

At the end of 2012 the first W-X35 engine went

into commercial operation. Today, ten W-X35
and two W-X40 engines are in operation and
Figure 9: Needle and needle seat without wear have accumulated more than 125,000 running
after 12,600 running hours hours (as of June 2015). The engines delivered
have different cylinder numbers, Fixed Pitch
On the nozzle tip, neither erosion on the spray and Controllable Pitch Propellers (FPP and
holes nor hot corrosion could be seen (see Fig-
CPP), and operate with and without shaft gen-
ure 10).
erators.

What has been highlighted even by the most de-

manding owners is the very good fuel consump-
tion at all loads in comparison to competitors’
engines of similar size.

The W-X35 and the W-X40 were the first Wärt-

silä two-stroke engines with the new time-con-
trolled fuel injection valves from L’Orange and
with the new UNIC engine control system.

Generally there has been very good feedback

regarding the effective lifetime and performance
of the L’Orange injectors. The initial estimate of
8000 hours TBO has been confirmed and might
be even increased further if current test running
show no deterioration in the injector control
components.
Figure 10: FAST nozzle tip of RT-flex82T after
12,600 running hours The UNIC control system, which was derived
from Wärtsilä four-stroke engines, revealed a
Service experience with piston running is the number of issues, which after several visits
source of high levels of satisfaction among en- aboard ships are now mostly resolved.
gine owners and operators since the introduc-
tion of the Pulse Jet lubricating system; gas-
Repeated issues are reported with leakages be-
tight top piston rings and lower piston rings with
a chromium ceramic layer; increased liner wall tween cylinder liners and covers at higher loads.
temperature; plus zig-zag and umbrella lubricat- WinGD is working on permanent solutions for
ing oil distribution grooves. Those ship owners engines already on vessels. This point is also
who strictly follow the fuel sulphur-dependent being addressed in the redesign of the B-ver-
cylinder lubrication feed-rate and use the re- sion of the W-X35/40, see chapter “W-X35-B &
spective Base Number of the cylinder oil, as rec- W-X40-B”.
ommended in our Technical Bulletins RT-138
and 161, will benefit from the best piston run-
ning performance. On W-X82 engines a specific
cylinder liner wear as low as 0.04 mm/1000 is
readily achievable, as proven on several en-
gines.

Today the W-X82 engine – and its RT-flex82T

predecessor – is a reliable workhorse with very
good service experience, fulfilling the time-be-
tween-overhaul (TBO) expectations of the ship
owners and offering low OPEX.

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 10 / 13

Service experience W-X62/72 defect was a pressure transmitter failure at the
flex-lube cylinder lubricating pumps. To solve
In mid 2014 the first W6X72 entered commer- this issue, the sensor membrane was reinforced
cial operation and early in 2015 the first W6X62 and the installation optimised.
engine. Today, eleven W-X72 and four W-X62
engines are in operation. The W-X72 population A few further piston running failures occurred at
in service is set to grow to about 40 engines the free end cylinder number 6, which with nor-
soon and the W-X62 to 20 engines. So far most mal vessel trim stand the highest. All indications
of the sea trials and maiden voyages were at- show that air was entrapped in the cylinder lu-
tended by Wärtsilä service engineers. bricating system and countermeasures involv-
ing improved venting are under preparation.
General feedback
Cracked VCUs were found on one engine. The
· Good piston running behaviour (see Figure root cause for the crack was found to be insuffi-
11) cient induction hardening of the cast housing.
· Reliable cylinder lubrication
· Good operation of fuel injection and servo The W-X62 and 72 are the first engines with the
systems combination of a double-walled column and sin-
· Spotless condition of gear wheels gle-wall bedplate. Both are manufacturing-
· Superb engine performance friendly, allow a high quality of welding and re-
quire no heat post-treatment. Assembly experi-
ence with the new design of tie-rod with a
rounded nut is positive (see Figure 12).

Figure 11: Good piston running behaviour

W6X72 Figure 12: Single wall bedplate with holes for
the tie rod’s rounded nut
However some challenges on the new engines
required the closest attention and immediate
action. On a few engines the new time-con-
trolled L’Orange fuel injection valves, basically The long term advantage will be that the lower
already familiar from W-X35/40, stopped work- tie rod thread is located in the crankcase and
ing after changing over from Heavy Fuel Oil not exposed to corrosion due to condensation.
(HFO) to Marine Diesel Oil (MDO) due to stick-
ing pilot valves. The issues were resolved via The first engines in service have accumulated
the implementation of increased clearances in 6000 running hours. Only minor issues are
the pilot valve and by reducing injector cooling. pending and the ship owners have a good opin-
ion of the high performance of these new mem-
The UNIC engine control system required opti- bers of our two-stroke engine family.
misations for engine start-up and crash ma-
noeuvres. This was achieved by parameter
changes in the software. Finding the solution
took some time and several onboard visits by
our experts were required. Another recurring

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 11 / 13

Service experience W-X92

As illustrated in Figure 13, in February and

March 2015 the first W8X92 engines were shop
tested at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). Two
further engines were tested at HHI in the sum-
mer of 2015.

Figure 13: First 8X92 engine during shop-test

at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)

On the first engine extensive prototype testing

took place, carried out by WinGD experts.

All stress, temperature and vibration values

were found to be within permissible limits. The
BSFC figures were confirmed to be within the
published values. The component inspection
taking place after the tests on all engines
showed faultless condition of the inspected
parts. The Type Approval Test (TAT) was suc-
cessfully passed on the fourth engine in August
2015.

The first vessel with a W8X92 engine is ex-

pected to enter commercial service in Novem-
ber 2015.

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 12 / 13

 NOMENCLATURE AUTHORS

BSFC Brake Specific Fuel Consumption Marc Spahni

Senior Project Manager
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
Project Management
DF Dual Fuel Research & Development
EEDI Energy Efficiency Design Index [email protected]

EGR Exhaust Gas Recirculation

FAST Fuel Actuated Sacless Technology
FEM Finite Element Method
HFO Heavy Fuel Oil Beat Schumacher
General Manager Medium
MDO Marine Diesel Oil
Bore
OPEX Operating Expenditure Product Management
[email protected]
SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction
VCU Valve Control Unit
WinGD Winterthur Gas & Diesel

BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexandros Karamitsos

General Manager Business
development
Sales & Marketing
‘THE NEW X GENERATION LOW-SPEED EN- alexandros.karmitsos
@wingd.com
GINES FROM WÄRTSILÄ’, Marc Spahni, An-
dreas Kyrtatos, Ronald de Jong, CIMAC 2013,
Shanghai

Licensees Conference 2015, Interlaken 13 / 13