SLOW-SPEED MARINE DIESEL ENGINE IN REVIEW

Today, for the first time, some naval architects and marine engineers are faced with specifying a diesel-propelled ship with a large-bore engine. The recent quadrupling in the price of fuel oil has catalyzed the search for alternate propulsion systems and greater attention has been accorded the diesel in the continental United States. The worldwide increasing trend to selection of the slow-speed diesel as the preferred marine propulsion plant is based on its inherently good thermal efficiency and on its ever-increasing power capacity. The operational economy derives simply from the 10-percentage-point advantage in thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle over the Rankine steam cycle. In these days many ships are running at reduced speeds, either to conserve fuel or because the environment for charters is not conducive to use of vessels with high consumables. With this in mind, a comparison is made of the part-load performance of a diesel plant with that of a steam turbine propulsion plant of similar rating. Although this subject has been covered in much detail in Europe, one of the most recent economic evaluations substantiating diesel preference was performed in the United States. No matter what the conclusions of each such discussion, owners worldwide are buying more diesel-propelled vessels and applying them to more diverse high-powered and specialty hulls. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework from which information may be extracted as an aid in the preparation of diesel specifications and as a catalyst in the search for other useful data, without great emphasis upon engine details.

• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

  601 Pavonia Avenue
  Jersey City, NJ  United States  07306-2907
• Authors:
  • MacMorran, J R
  • Commerford, H
• Publication Date: 1977-5-12

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 51 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Diesel engines; Economic analysis; Fuels; Performance; Propulsion; Thermal efficiency; Vehicle power plants
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fuel costs
• Old TRIS Terms: Diesel performance; Diesel propulsion; Propulsion plant selection; Slow speed diesels
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Finance; Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00164854
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 29 1977 12:00AM