Holding Down Engine Starting L58/64 Air Start System Start Air Valve Start Air Explosions Timing Chain Lost Motion Exhaust Valve Timing MAN B&W Reversing Turbocharger Construction & Principles Scavenge Fires Crankcase Explosions Material Fatigue Marpol Annex VI Purifiers and Clarifiers Bearing Materials Hydrodynamic Lubrication MAN B&W VIT Fuel Pump Camshaftless Electronic Engine Dual Fuel Engines Dual Fuel Engines (2) Miller Cycle and Variable Inlet Closing The Semi Built Crankshaft EU Sulphur Limits Slow Steaming   IN MEMBERS SECTION Piston Ring Manufacture Cooling Water Treatment The Power Card or Indicator Diagram Crankshaft Deflections Lubrication of a 2 stroke crosshead engine Cylinder lubrication Microseizure in cylinder liners Exhaust emissions & Pollution Control The Sulzer Fuel Pump The Simple Governor The Rotocap The Turnomat

Sulzer RTA 96C Operating Parameters

CLICK ON SPECIFIC AREA IN PICTURE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH COMPONENT

The Two Stroke Crosshead Engine has long been the favoured main propulsive power unit for most types of merchant vessels. As the price of oil rose, developments in the design of these engines allowed them to burn the poorer residual fuels. This combined with major improvements in turbocharger design and waste heat recovery, raised their efficiency and power output, so they were able to supercede the steam turbine plants which operated at much lower efficiencies.

The number of companies which design and build these engines (along with their licensees) have reduced over the years due to take overs, amalgamations, and closure. Three companies still in business are MAN B&W ( formed by the amalgamation of those two giants of the industry); The Wartsila Corporation (formally Wartsila NSD) who design and build the Sulzer engines.  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan also design and build their own two stroke engine, the UE .

Due to the longevity of these engines and the professionalism of the engineers in charge of them, there are still ships sailing the globe powered by engines which are no longer built. Doxfords, Gotaverkens, Fiats are names which may bring back memories as well as the older designs of  Burmeister and Wain, Sulzer, and MAN

Although the picture shown is of a Sulzer RTA engine, this website is intended to give a general insight into the design of the 2 stroke crosshead engine, and it is not my intention to pick out any particular engine for criticism, constructive or otherwise. I chose this particular picture because it was simple and clear. As a matter of fact, since this picture was published, further modifications have been made to this particular engine.

Click here for a cutaway labelled drawing of a MAN B7W S60MC