RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENT
INNOVATION
“W
e started to develop gas-diesel
(GD) technology in 1985,” says
Mikael Troberg, Director,
Technology Development Programs, Wärtsilä.
“The primary benefit is that as it is fuel-sharing
technology, engines can be run on gas of any
quality and quantity.”
Wärtsilä GD engines utilize the diesel com-
bustion process in all operational modes. In
gas mode, gas is injected at high pressure after
the pilot fuel and ignited by the flame from the
pilot fuel injection. The amount of pilot fuel
is equivalent to approximately 5% of the fuel
energy input at full engine load. GD engines can
be switched instantly to operate on liquid fuel,
which can be LFO, HFO or crude oil. NOx levels
are similar to those generated in a diesel engine.
In fuel-sharing mode, the ratio between the
amounts of liquid and gas fuel can be varied
during operation. The GD process can tolerate
large variations in gas quality and is especially
suitable for use with “fuel of the well” such as
associated gas in oil fields. “It’s a typical require-
ment when developing a new well as gas of var-
ying quality can be produced over different peri-
ods,” says Troberg. “With GD technology, the gas
to diesel ratio can be 0-100%, which means that
you use the gas you have available and then inject
diesel fuel to achieve the output you need.”
AN ENGINE RUNNING ONLY ON GAS
“Ten years later, in 1995, the focus on emission
levels was increasing and we could see a future
market need for an engine with high efficiency
and low levels of NOx - a pure gas engine with
lower emissions, a simple system running only
on gas,” says Troberg. “So we took the strate-
gic decision to launch the spark-ignited engine
R&D
MASTERS OF
GAS ENGINE
TECHNOLOGY
Gas engines were initially
developed for use on
offshore oil and gas
production platforms
because they offered
high levels of reliability
with any type of gas fuel.
Technological development
by Wärtsilä has resulted in
a range of products offering
three types of gas engine
technology, all of them
efficient, cost-effective and
environmentally sound.
T E X T: R I C K M CA RT H U R P H OTO S : WÄ RTS I L Ä
technology we had been developing since 1992.”
Wärtsilä SG engines are spark-ignited lean-
burn Otto cycle gas engines. The gas fuel is
mixed with air before the inlet valves and dur-
ing the intake period, gas is also fed into a small
prechamber where the gas mixture is rich com-
pared to the gas in the cylinder. At the end of
the compression phase the gas/air mixture in
the prechamber is ignited by a spark plug and
the flames from the nozzle of the prechamber
ignite the gas/air mixture in the cylinder.
With leaner combustion, peak temperatures
are reduced and less NOx is produced. “As the
gas is injected into the inlet port, the air and
the fuel are mixed before they reach the com-
bustion chamber,” says Troberg. “This means
that levels of NOx generated during combustion
are negligible because each gas molecule is sur-
rounded by the optimum amount of air.”
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 01 2013
[ I NNOVATI ON ]
Working principle
of spark-ignited
engines (SG)
SETTING STANDARDS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
When optimising engines to meet customer needs,
environmental issues are becoming increasingly
important. Public opinion is also an increasing source
of influence on operations, particularly regarding
emissions. This is challenging because in contrast to
engineers, who work with specific measurable targets
(g/kWh for fuel consumption, g/kWh for NO emissions,
X are negligible, emissions of unburnt methane, also
€/kW for engine cost etc.), public opinion seldom
defines concrete performance requirements.
“In shipping, the lack of measurable requirements
complicates the situation,” says Mikael Troberg,
Director, Technology Development Programs, Wärtsilä.
“For example, while people do not want to see smoke
from an engine in Miami, whether smoke is visible
44 Twentyfour7. 1.13
DUAL-FUEL ENGINE TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES
REDUNDANCY
“By 1997, we could see that future emission regula-
tions affecting shipping would be more stringent,
and that the requirements would be tough,” says
Troberg. “And we knew that gas engine technol-
ogy can offer a competitive solution. But we also
understood that shipping customers would proba-
bly not accept pure gas engines as that would make
them completely dependent on gas. To be success-
ful, there would have to be redundancy, so if there
was any issue with gas availability ships would still be
able to sail and manoeuvre. The result was our dual-
fuel (DF) technology, the third type of gas engine in
Wärtsilä portfolio, engines that can run on both gas
and diesel fuel.”
When operating on gas, Wärtsilä DF engines uti-
lize a lean-burn Otto combustion process. The gas
fuel is mixed with air before the intake valves and
the gas/air mixture is ignited by a small amount of
liquid pilot fuel. DF engines are equipped with a
backup fuel system. Should the gas supply be inter-
rupted, the engine transfers from gas to liquid fuel
operation at any load instantaneously and automati-
cally. When operating on liquid fuel, DF engines uti-
lize the conventional diesel process.
Wärtsilä DF engines offer the high efficiency of
gas engine technology combined with possibil-
ity of using a backup fuel - at the end of the 1990s
it was LDO (light diesel oil). “We are now able to
use any kind of fuel, even HFO,” says Troberg. “Our
DF engines offer owners and operators full fuel
flexibility.”
A SOLID BASIS FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
A key issue when developing engine technology is
having a good basic engine design. “This is one of
depends on many things, including the fuel being used,
the layout of the vessel’s exhaust stack, humidity, the
air temperature and the position of the sun in relation
to the observer’s eye. Only some of these can be
controlled.”
In connection with gas engines, while NO emissions
X engines in two ways,” he continues. “By continuous
called “methane slip” are a subject of increasing atten-
tion. As well as being a cost, unburnt methane emitted
from an engine is a greenhouse gas that contributes to
global warming.
“The amount of unburnt gas following combustion
in a Wärtsilä gas engine is small,” says Troberg. “It is
trapped in clearances in the combustion chamber
the keys to our success,” says Troberg. “The Wärt-
silä diesel engine is a solid foundation and we turn
it into a good gas engine by adapting the required
technologies to it.”
Wärtsilä has all the core competences required
in-house. “We know how to inject the gas, how to
ignite the gas and how to control the combustion
process with the engine automation system,” he con-
tinues. “We’re strong in all three areas. And as we
have the base engine already validated and in good
shape, only having three components to be devel-
oped means we’re quick in getting to market.”
GAS ENGINES FOR ALL CUSTOMER APPLICATIONS
Since the development of SG gas engines by Wärtsilä
began in in the 1990s, thermal efficiency has been
raised by almost five percentage points and engine
output (Brake Mean Effective Pressure, BMEP) has
been increased from 15 bar to 22 bar.
“We also have a wide range of outputs in gas
engines - from 2 MW to 18.81 MW, says Troberg.
“No-one else has such an extensive range. A recent
addition is the Wärtsilä 20DF, which means we can
supply our shipping customers with a total engine
room, including auxiliary engines, that operate on
gas. And the latest addition to the family is the Wärt-
silä 50SG. Available in an 18-cylinder version, this
spark-ignited gas engine enables highly-efficient and
reliable power plants as large as 300 MW with the
operational flexibility required to support sources
of renewable energy.”
“All engines represent a balance between out-
put, NOx levels and thermal efficiency,” he contin-
ues. “With our good base engine and comprehen-
sive in-house expertise, we’re confident about meet-
ing future challenges with gas engines that meet the
demands of any customer application.”
(piston rings, the anti-polishing ring, valve seats etc.)
where the air-fuel ratio means that the gas does not
burn during combustion but is released unburnt with
exhaust gases during cylinder scavenging.”
“We ensure that methane slip is minimised in our
development of the combustion chamber technology
to improve the combustion process - new Wärtsilä
products have to be the reference in terms of engine
efficiency, output and greenhouse gas emissions - and
by the oxidation of unburnt methane using a catalyst.
This well-proven technology is commonly featured in
Wärtsilä solutions packages and we’re working hard to
further reduce its size and cost.“
 R&D

WÄRTSILÄ HAS BEEN

DEVELOPING GAS-DIESEL
TECHNOLOGY FOR ALMOST
THREE DECADES.

1.13 Twentyfour7. 45