The new M 43 V-type engine - a reliably based innovation

In the growth strategy of Caterpillar Motoren, substantial impor- electric power generation market and the petroleum industry
tance is attributed to covering a large power range with medium- market. The 12, 16 and 18 cylinder versions were defined as the
speed diesel engines, as well as meeting the requirements of dif- basis for the development work.
ferent markets, such as the marine market, stationary applica-
tions in electrical power generation or use in the petroleum The first engine of the M 43 V-version, a 12-cylinder engine, is
industry. The M 20, M 25, M 32 C and M 43 ranges of the new currently being assembled at the Rostock works. The assembly
generation of medium-speed long-stroke engines currently of the 12-cylinder engine will be completed by the beginning of
cover a power range between 1020 and 8100 kW, using in-line January 2002. The engine will then be made ready for series
engines. In addition, the V-version of the M 32 C range has been production in a comprehensive program of tests. Because of the
available since 1996 in the 12 and 16 cylinder variants with differing conditions of the sales markets to be served, the engine
outputs between 6 MW and 8 MW. In addition, it was the basis is generally being offered in two turbocharger configurations.
for the development of the new G CM 34 gas engine, which has For marine application, the turbochargers are mounted at the
been available to the market since the beginning of 2000 and has coupling end, whereas it is installed at the opposite end for the
already achieved initial market successes in the electric power electric power generation market, the petroleum industry and
generation application. This engine, furthermore, is currently the also for auxiliary operation on ships.
most efficient gas engine of its power class.

The basic principle in the development of the new series of en-

The development of a compact, powerful engine based on the gines at Caterpillar Motoren is to retain as many components as
characteristics of the M 43 in-line engine was a logical step to possible from the in-line engine version. This has, on the one
meet market requirements above 10 MW. Good sales possi- hand, the advantage of shortening the development times and,
bilities were seen for a V-type engine in the power range from on the other, of permitting the utilization of operating experience
10 MW to 16 MW as a result of thorough market investigations in gained in core components of the in-line engines and achieving,
the areas of ferry and cruise shipping, high-speed RoRo ships from the outset, the maximum possible reduction in the teething
and container ships of the new generation - not forgetting the troubles associated with new developments.

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In order to take account of the different market requirements - series manufacture of the in-line engine in the M 43 range in
and of environmental requirements to which increasing attention 1998, they are nevertheless presented here despite the large
must be paid - the long-stroke principle was retained in the number of similar parts in the in-line and V-versions.
M 43 V-engine. The long-stroke design of an engine has the
advantage that it both permits lower fuel consumptions and The cylinder head
reduces the NOx emission figures relative to conventionally de-
signed medium-speed engines. The stroke/bore ratio of 1:1.42 The cylinder head, which is taken over as a complete sub-
was therefore retained, as in the in-line engine. On introduction assembly from the in-line engine, is of the proven double-ended
to the market in 2002, the fuel consumption for the marine design which ensures a high level of shape retention. It is a
application will be 176 g/kWh. The emissions will be less than the nodular cast iron design which is held on the cylinder liner by
IMO emission limit of 12 g/kWh NOx. In order to meet legal means of six hydraulically tightened studs. All the bolts are
requirements for lower NOx emission figures, to be expected in tightened simultaneously. The simple and reliable assembly and
the future, Caterpillar Motoren is currently pursuing an optimi- dismantling of the cylinder head is also ensured by insertion tube
zation program for "Low Emission Engines" using measures connections for all the media. Each cylinder head has two inlet
internal to the engine, the target being an NOx reduction to less valves and two exhaust valves. The exhaust valves are designed
than 8 g/kWh (on this point, see also the article on Page 17 of this to rotate. The valve seating rings and the ducts are
issue). This means that in the event of more severe IMO aerodynamically optimized.
regulations in future, there will still be a margin which will allow
these engines to be employed without additional investment or
re-equipment measures.

A PTO drive is being offered as an option. This is designed in

such a way that a maximum power of 10 MW can be taken off at
the end opposite from the coupling. Further main points in the
design of the engine were the directly mounted cooling water
and lubricating oil pumps and a twin-circuit cooling system. As
mentioned initially, attention had already been paid, in the
component optimization during the design of the in-line engine,
to ensuring that as many engine components as possible could
also be used in the V-engine. If the critical engine parameters
are compared, the substantial use of the M 43 in-line machine as
basis can be recognized (Table 1).

Number of cylinders 12, 16, 18

Bore mm 430
Stroke mm 610
Cylinder rating kW 900
Speed rpm 500/514
Mean piston speed m/s 10,2
Mean effective pressure bar 24,4/23,7

The significant components and components groups which are

installed in both the in-line engine and the V-engine are as
follows:
• Complete cylinder head
• Valve drive
• Cylinder liner with flame ring
• Exhaust gas system (without compensator)
• Camshaft bearings
• Injection pump
• High-pressure connection
• Injection nozzles
• Cooling water distributor housing
• Cooling water distributor line (without insertion tube)
• Connecting rod, connecting rod bearings, vibration damper

Even if many components have already been comprehensively

described and published several times due to the introduction to

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The piston facilitates maintenance work and operational care. At this point,
it should also be mentioned that all the hydraulic tools for
The two-part piston consists of a steel upper part and a steel tightening the waisted bolts on the engines operate with 2500 bar
skirt. The upper part has two compression rings and an oil-strip- technology. They can therefore be easily handled because of
per ring. The piston rings are asymmetrically crowned. The first their small mass and dimensions.
piston ring is chromium plated on the flanks. The oil-cooled
shaker space of the piston ensures effective cooling at high Special features of V-type M 43
mean effective pressure and this contributes to long piston life.
Even though there is a large number of similar parts between the
in-line engine and the V-engine, there are also special features
in the V-version and these will be considered in the following
description of the engine. The essential components of the
engine are:

The crank case

The crank case is a nodular cast-iron design, no matter, whether

planned for resilient or rigid mounting. It is stiff in bending and
torsion. This is achieved by strong base strips, which permit rigid
and resilient mounting, as well as by integration of the boost air
and camshaft casings. Due to their design as a box profile or
strong ribbing, the three casings contribute to increasing the
bending and torsional stiffness. The transverse bolting of the
basic cover also contributes.

The multi-functionality of the crank case is increased by the

integration of gearing space and damper space. This contributes
due to the avoidance of numerous bolted connections likewise to
vibration and noise damping. The integration of the oil pipes in
the crank case also acts in this direction and substantially
facilitates maintenance work and operational care.

The large mechanism space openings have a maintenance-

friendly design and permit good accessibility to the main
bearings and connecting rod bearings.

The first main bearing is of tandem design, which ensures short

engine length. The crank case is also, of course, free from
cooling water and is therefore well protected against corrosion.
The connecting rod

The connecting rod is of split-shaft type. This ensures low piston

installation heights. The connecting rod bolts and shaft bolts are
tightened by hydraulic tools. This leads to reliable assembly and

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The crankshaft two exhaust pipes, the engine can have a substantially more
compact design, a fact which is also reflected in the small
The crankshaft is manufactured from heat-treated, alloyed steel. engine installation height. This also makes the exhaust gas
The trunions and the concave fillets are not hardened. This has cladding smaller and it can be installed closer to the engine. This
the advantage that, in case of necessity, reworking can be overall concept of the exhaust gas installation and cladding
carried out without difficulty on board or at the station. The permits a reduction in the vibration level.
powerful bearing trunions and the generous width of the
bearings ensure low bearing loads and long bearing lives. The
crankshaft has the acceptance flange for the vibration damper at
the end opposite to the coupling. The crankshaft gearwheel for
the gear drive is flanged onto the coupling end.

The flywheel

The flywheel consists of the flywheel hub, which is

manufactured from heat-treated steel and is shrunk onto the
crankshaft with an oil pressure bandage, and of the flywheel
ring, which is flanged onto the hub and is manufactured from
nodular cast iron. The flywheel ring has mechanically machined
teeth for the barring machine drive.

The camshaft

Both the camshafts are of ready-built design and are provided

with a vibration damper. The pieces can be displaced for bearing
inspection by means of a simple appliance and can be rotated
out of the camshaft depression. The camshaft bearing itself is of
floating design, which likewise ensures simple installation and
removal. The camshaft end pieces at the coupling end have
double bearings and the camshaft gearwheels are shrunk onto a
cone by oil pressure bandage.

The gear drive

The camshaft gearwheels are driven by stepped gearwheel and

intermediate gearwheel. In this form, likewise ensures a
compact construction of the engine with gearwheel dimensions
which can be easily handled. A further special feature of the
gear drive is the symmetrical arrangement of the camshaft
gearwheels, the intermediate wheel and the stepped wheel rela-
tive to one another. This concept permits a simple axially
symmetrical exchange of the intermediate wheels and the
stepped wheel, which can be employed in the case of different
designs of the engines with respect to the direction of rotation of
the similar camshafts. All the gearwheels are case hardened. No
tooth clearance adjustment is necessary in the gear drive, which
permits simple assembly and dismantling.

The exhaust gas installation

The exhaust gas installation is designed as a single-pipe system

with gas outlets and pipe cross-sections optimized for efficiency.
The exhaust gas pieces used are the same as those used in the
in-line engine. The different distance between cylinders is made
possible by the use of compensators of varying length. In
addition to the advantage of using the same parts, the single-
pipe system offers the useful feature that, because there are only

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The turbocharger Separation points and attachment groups

In this form, the turbocharger attachment represents a new and Separating points and attachment groups are appropriately
basic concept. The turbocharger attachment is characterized by applied and designed to DIN. The oil safety and fuel filters, like
the fact that, for the first time, a turbocharger bracket with block the barring machine, are bolted in a low-vibration manner to the
cooler is used. This has the advantage that the cooler can also crank case. As an option, an oil-pressure pump and water pump
be dismantled in the engine longitudinal direction, which was can be flanged onto the end opposite to the coupling. This
impossible in the case of earlier designs with insert coolers. In permits simple connections for all media to be achieved.
consequence, the center distance in the case of double-engined
installations is no longer determined by the cooler and can be Summarizing, it can be stated that in the M 43 V-engine, a power-
kept small. In the present design, the different turbochargers for ful, compact engine has been developed for the power range
12 cylinder ABB TPL73 and 16 and 18 cylinder ABB TPL77 can be between 10 MW and 16 MW. This engine has included many
mounted onto the turbocharger attachment. proven components from the M 43 in-line engine but there are
also many new features which can be expected to make this
engine economical to procure and use. These features include
the fuel consumption of 172 g/kWh (EPG) or 176 g/kWh (IMO), the
oil consumption of 0.6 g/kWh, the markedly reduced mainte-
nance requirements, the high component lives and the small
installation requirements.

Since its introduction to the market at the end of 1998, the M 43

in-line engine has found unusually great acceptance in the
market. More than 150 engines with a total power of more than
one million kW have already been ordered. It is, therefore, the
market leader in the power class between 5 and 8 MW.

The V-version is based on the essential engine characteristics of

the in-line machine, such as stroke/bore and kW per cylinder,
and includes many of its components. As compared with an
engine which has been developed completely from scratch, this
provides advantages with respect to operational reliability. A ro-
bust, compact machine, developed in accordance with state-of-
the-art knowledge, is therefore being offered to the market.

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