ABB Power2 Completes Type Testing
ABB Turbocharging recently celebrated a milestone in its two stage turbocharging systems. Having equipped the first gas engine to enter commercial service with “Power2” two stage turbocharging equipment, ABB Turbocharging has now carried out Type Testing on a Power2 system in the presence of the Classification Societies on a hot gas test rig at its Technical Center in Baden, Switzerland. In this way, Power2 has passed a major milestone on its way to gaining Type Approval for use on 4-stroke, medium speed marine diesel engines.
The Type Test of Power2 took place in early March 2011. It consisted of running a two stage turbocharging system consisting of a high and low pressure turbocharger connected in tandem on the hot gas test rig for one hour at its maximum operating speed and maximum operating temperature. Subsequently the turbochargers were dismantled and their components inspected.
The tests and component inspection were witnessed by representatives from Lloyd`s Register (LR), Germanischer Lloyd (GL), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), Registro Italiano Navale (RINa), Russian Register (RS), Polish Register (PRS), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK), Korean Register (KR), Det Norske Veritas (DNV) und China Classification Society (CCS), in addition to a representative of the Japanese Government Ministry for Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (JG/MLIT).
Power2 two stage turbocharging technology is capable of producing pressure ratios as high as 8 and above. It is one of the major enabling technologies of strong Miller Cycles, which can substantially reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from diesel engines, while also making possible enhanced power densities and fuel efficiencies.
On 4 stroke diesels it has been demonstrated that the turbocharger pressure ratios produced by ABB Turbocharging’s Power2 technology are high enough to achieve Miller Cycles capable of giving very high double digit NOx reduction percentages on 4-stroke diesel engines. Simulations for Power2’s potential made by ABB Turbocharging’s development engineers using advance software indicate that, for example, the 80 % reduction in NOx values vis-à-vis IMO Tier I required under IMO Tier III for ships operating in designated Emissions Control Areas (ECAs), is a prospect.
