100 years of the marine diesel engine

摘要

When the 7S50ME-C, the first purpose-built, electronically controlled ME engine debuted earlier this year, MAN B&W must have taken great pride in the knowledge that it was almost 100 years to the day that Rudolf Diesel unveiled the first marinised version of his combustion engine Today, 96% of the 90 000 merchant vessels of 100gt or more that navigate the world's seas are powered by engines based on Diesel's original concept. But then things were different. Despite the fact that Diesel had successfully introduced his innovation six years earlier, in 1897, the diesel-engined ship was still considered improbable: the first diesel engines were initially far too heavy for marine use and they lacked sufficient power and reliability. They were also complicated to use, remaining on land until 1903.