MAN Diesel & Turbo, HHI-EMD Invest in New Test Facility
As the global maritime industry steams toward ever-stricter fuel and emission rules, industry leaders such as MAN Diesel & Turbo and Hyundai continue to invest in facilities and technologies. In the most recent case, MAN D&T said today it will build a new test-engine facility in collaboration with its two-stroke licensee, HHI-EMD, the engine and machinery division of Hyundai Heavy Industries. The new venture -- located in Ulsan, Korea at HHI-EMD’s works and scheduled to open in 2019 -- will expand MAN Diesel & Turbo’s R&D test capacity and strengthen its development of dual-fuel gas engines.
“The testing of our engine technology is an essential part of our continued pursuit of delivering the marine segment's best two-stroke engines," said Lars Juliussen, Senior Manager and Head of MAN Diesel & Turbo's Diesel Research Center, Copenhagen. "This new test set-up will enable us to further advance our pursuit of highly reliable and environmentally-friendly technology with a strong focus on cost-competitive gas engines and related equipment.”
Significantly, it will be the first test engine with online remote control, supporting MAN’s digitization strategy. In this respect, the test engine will also be connected to MAN Diesel & Turbos research and control center in Copenhagen, enabling the company’s research engineers to closely follow and enhance the testing of future engine technologies.
ME-GI Pump Vaporizer Unit
The new test engine set-up will also feature MAN Diesel & Turbo’s own ME-GI Pump Vaporizer Unit (ME-GI PVU), touted as a cost-efficient high-pressure LNG supply unit that makes FGSS installations significantly more compact – reducing both cost and weight. The ME-GI PVU is designed to pressurise and vaporise the LNG fuel to the exact pressure and temperature required by ME-GI engines. Gas pressure is controlled via control of hydraulic oil flow to the pump, ensuring a very quick and precise control of the LNG supply to the engine. Separate control of each pump head provides full redundancy. Furthermore, the ME-GI PVU is governed by a control system – including supervision and safety functions –that feature a high degree of integration with the ME-GI engine control system. The ME-GI PVU was recently launched by MAN PrimeServ, Copenhagen and is available in five different sizes covering MAN Diesel and Turbo’s two-stroke ME-GI engine program.