Introducing the World's Most Powerful Diesel Engine, the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C. A turbocharged two-stroke diesel, it's the largest of its kind, and perhaps the most powerful and efficient engine ever engineered.
The engine is designed to serve super-sized vehicles and vessels, such as supertankers and container ships. Current production of this particular engine outputs 6 cylinder in-line versions-all the way up to a hefty 14 cylinder version.
The cylinder's bore measure 38 inches with a stroke around 98 inches. Each cylinder in the engine measures over 111,000 cubic inches, producing an astounding 7,780 horsepower. The total amount of displacement measures about 1,556,000 cubic inches for the 14 cylinder version.
3263_08As the largest and most powerful diesel engine in the world, it's also the heaviest. The total weight of the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C is 2,300 tons; to put that into perspective, the crankshaft of the entire engine weights just 300 tons alone. It measures, too, about 89 feet across and 44 feet high.Speaking of the power, it can achieve a maximum power output of 108,920 hp at 102 rpm. The engine's maximum economy exceeds 50 percent thermal efficiency, meaning around 50 percent of the fuel gets converted to motion. The fuel consumption peaks at 0.260 lbs/hp/hour, at its maximum economy.
3263_05What's the reason behind all of this power?
The owners of super-sized ships simply needed, well, more power to power their ships. These ship owners operate ships with single engine-propeller designs and/or newer generation super-container ships. The older engines simply couldn't keep up with the demands of the aforementioned ship requirements.
Although engine cylinder configurations for larger containers were ‘discussed' in the past, the 14-cylinder version of the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C is pretty much the first of its kind.
The design and development process of this engine was actually fostered through a collaboration with several other companies, including parent company Wartsila-Sulzer. The collaborating partners included Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co Ltd, P&O Nedlloyd BV and Diesel United Ltd. The initial steps of the project started in early 1997, depicting the building of the first engine (an 11-cylinder unit) at the test bed of Diesel United Ltd.
Since its initial production, 86 of these engines (with eight through 12 cylinders in-line) remain in service and/or on order. Around 25 of these engines, in fact, are actively running