Wärtsilä RT-flex82T engine meets success

Wärtsilä, Finland, has reported considerable sales success with its newly introduced Wärtsilä RT-flex82T low-speed engine.

Orders for a total of 30 seven-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex82T engines have been received in recent months, including: 

• Six engines for VLCCs to be built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, China
• Six engines for VLCCs to be built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, China
• Two engines for VLCCs to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea
• Sixteen engines for VLOCs to be built by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, China

During the past two years, orders for 140 of the company's 82cm bore marine engines have been placed. Of these, some 120 are for the RT-flex common-rail version.

Testing programme successfully completed

The new 82cm bore, Wärtsilä RT-flex82T low-speed marine engine completed the type approval test carried out at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Korea. This test was carried out in the presence of representatives from the major classification societies. The first engine was installed in a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) built by HHI. The tested seven-cylinder RT-flex82T has a maximum continuous power of 31,640kW at 76rpm.

The Wärtsilä RT-flex82T is the ideal prime mover for VLCCs and ULCCs, as well as for very large bulk carriers of between 200,000 and 400,000DWT.

The Wärtsilä RT-flex82T, being a low rpm engine, is also an attractive alternative to the higher rpm engines normally used in container ships. The lower rotational frequency offers fuel cost savings for projects where fuel efficiency is a priority.

Four 82cm bore engine types available

There are four 82-cm bore engine types in Wärtsilä's portfolio, the RT-flex82C, RTA82C, RT-flex82T and RTA82T. These are designed to offer the same economic and environmental benefits to different vessel types, according to their operating requirements.

RT-flex common-rail technology

The Wärtsilä RT-flex engines feature common-rail technology. This technology offers greater parameters for propulsion plants with optimum cost efficiencies for large tankers and very large bulk carriers.

The flexibility in engine setting is an integral feature of the RT-flex common-rail system. It includes optimised fuel injection pressures and timing for all loads. It is employed in special tuning regimes to optimise brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC).

The concept has now been extended to low-load tuning, which provides the lowest possible BSFC in certain operating engine loads. This not only allows fuel cost savings, but also enables lower exhaust emissions of carbon dioxide.

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