Current State and Development Trends in the Field of Large Diesel and Gas Engines

Abstract

Large Diesel and gas engines with power higher than approximately 1 MW play a major role in the sea and land transport of people and goods, but also in the production of electrical energy in remote areas, for peak load balancing, and backup systems. While their total installed power and fuel consumption are vastly smaller than with their road transport counterparts, the vehicles they propel (ships and trains) represent the most efficient freight transport modes in existence. It is thus their importance for the world economy that has been driving their development, resulting in these engines belonging to the group of the most efficient thermal machines available to the mankind. Presented in the paper is a survey of the current development state of the large Diesel and gas engines in terms of their thermodynamic performance, emission levels and the means for achieving them, and fuels used. Due to its indispensability for achieving the high performance of these engines, turbocharging is given a particular treatment in the paper. Based on the study of the contemporary literature, an attempt is made to identify main development trends in this area. With regard to the latter, special attention is devoted to the so-called dual-fuel engines (Diesel and gas), which appear to have enjoyed a rapid development in the last decade.