Story by: Team CV

Following hot on the heels of the announcement that Force Motors will manufacture Series 1600 Roll-Royce engine family at a dedicated facility at Pune, starting next year, through a joint venture company – Force MTU Power Systems, Goa Shipyard Limited and Roll-Royce Power Systems have announced the manufacture of Series 8000 engines in India. A premier defense shipbuilding yard in India under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Goa Shipyard would assemble Roll-Royce Power Systems’ MTU 8000 Series engines through the transfer of technology. As per the agreement signed at the Defexpo, Chennai, recently, Goa Shipyard and Rolls-Royce have announced that the 16-cylinder and 20-cylinder Series 8000 engines will be manufactured at Goa Shipyard’s facility (in Goa).

Involving the localisation of engine components, engine assembly, testing, painting and major overhauls as part of technology transfer, the assembly and manufacture of Series 8000 engines by Goa Shipyard marks a significant step ahead by a PSU enterprise under MoD. Expressed RAdm (Retd) Shekhar Mital, NM, Chairman & Managing Director, Goa Shipyard Limited, “In-line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the MoD, Government of India, to drive indigenisation, the collaboration (with Rolls-Royce) will aid to significantly increase the local content of ships constructed in India.” Largest exporter of warships from India, Goa Shipyard, sources claim, is at the forefront of increasing the local content of onboard vessels the organisation constructs. Since diesel engines constitute the heart of a ship and account for a major chunk of the high-value imported equipment onboard a ship, the local assembly and manufacture of the Series 8000 engines should significantly add value.

The assembly and manufacture of Series 8000 engines, which are said to be the largest and the most powerful (Rolls-Royce) MTU diesel engines with a power output of up to 10 mega-watts, by Goa Shipyard is termed as a big stride for a public enterprise. By associating with Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the MTU brand of which is considered as a worldwide leader in large diesel and gas engines, and complete propulsion systems, Goa Shipyard will provide a strategic edge to the Indian Defence sector claim sources. They mention that the know-how and infrastructure for such niche technology will add to the capabilities of the PSU Shipyard, and be gainfully utilised by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. Said Admiral Mital, “For some time we have been on the lookout for acquiring such a technology of marine propulsion engines. We are glad that our partners Rolls-Royce and MTU Friedrichshafen have chosen to associate with us. Under the agreement, we will cater to marine propulsion requirements within the country in the range of seven to 10 megawatt.” “The new facility being created by Goa Shipyard Limited will also undertake all major overhauls of these engines,” he mentioned.

Fitted on-board all Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) recently constructed or currently under construction in India, and including the eleven Coast Guard OPVs by Goa Shipyard (six completed and five under construction), five Naval OPVs under construction at Reliance Defence Engineering and seven Coast Guard OPVs by Larsen & Toubro, the Series 8000 engines will overtime gain in local content. According to Sources, plans are in place to progressively increase the local content of the engines significantly. Averred Praveen Mohan, Director & CEO, MTU India, “The development marks a significant milestone. We have been working with the Indian defence sector for several decades. Our well-proven MTU engines have come to propel and power many vessels of both the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy.” Claimed to be the top-selling propulsion engines in their power class for marine application, the MTU Series 8000 engines have also found use in ferries and yachts with many units completing over one million operating hours. Offering low overall operating costs, high power density and environmental compatibility, the Series 8000 engines, are claimed to delivers low fuel consumption at all speeds and complies with the strictest emission limits. Offering maximum reliability and economical life-cycle costs, the Series 8000 engines make optimum use of turbocharging technology obtaining an effective mean pressure of 27.3 bar inside the cylinder. The Series 8000 engines, through single-stage turbo-charging, deliver a charge pressure of 4.1 bar.

Employing common-rail injection technology and electronic governance system, the Series 8000 engines can be run in air temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius and seawater temperatures as high as 32 degrees without power reduction. The four turbochargers and the inter-cooler are water cooled to keep the surface temperatures safely within the limits. With sequential turbocharging systems, two, three or four turbos are working in parallel. For acceleration from basement speeds, two of the four turbochargers work in tandem, delivering the charge-air pressure. The advantage of this arrangement results in excellent engine responsiveness, high torque and high mean cylinder pressures at low speeds. By employing four comparatively small, low-mass turbochargers, the Series 8000 engines display better acceleration characteristics. At higher speeds, the third and fourth turbos cut in to support optimum cylinder charging at full power. Internal development of the entire turbocharging system at MTU has also enabled to achieve low fuel consumption and minimal smoke levels at low speeds.

Displacing 728-litres (16V 8000), the Series 8000 engines can also be integrated into a comprehensive control and monitoring system for the entire propulsion plant and other ship systems. Certified as marine engines in accordance with all accepted classification standards worldwide, the Series 8000 engines were awarded Naval Vessel Rules (NVR) certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in 2014, and are subsequently the first advanced technology engines in this power class to meet the stringent requirements of this certification.