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PTNSS2011-SC-046

Marek SUTKOWSKI

Wrtsil 18V50SG the worlds biggest four-stroke spark-ignited


gas engine
Abstract:
In 2010 Wrtsil introduced brand new four-stroke spark-ignited lean-burn gas engine to its portfolio. The
new engine generates close to 19MW of power with efficiency about 46%. The product follows market needs and
expectations for decentralised power generation combined with reliable and flexible operation.
In this paper technical specification of the Wrtsil 180V50SG will be presented. The description will include
development background as well as the engine operation performance, emission levels and fuel requirements.
The main components of the engine and applied technology will be also described.
Finally, some typical applications of the Wrtsil 18V50SG will be shown including the newest power plant
concept for high-efficency decentralised power generation. The most significant operational features of the
engine will be also covered in this paper.
Key words: four-stroke spark-ignited lean-burn gas engine

Wrtsil 18V50SG najwikszy na wiecie czterosuwowy silnik gazowy o zaponie


iskrowym
Streszczenie:
W 2010 roku Wrtsil wprowadzia do oferty nowy czterosuwowy silnik gazowy o zaponie iskrowym
spalajcy mieszanki ubogie. Nowy silnik ma moc nominalna prawie 19MW i charakteryzuje si sprawnoci
46%. Ten nowy produkt jest odpowiedzi na zapotrzebowanie rynku silnikw gazowych oraz rosncych
oczekiwa brany zdecentralizowanej energetyki charakteryzujcej si wysoka pewnoci dziaania oraz
elastycznoci pracy obiektw.
Artyku zaprezentuje dane techniczne silnika Wrtsil 18V50SG. Opis bdzie rwnie zawiera to caego
procesu rozwoju nowego silnika oraz parametry operacyjne silnika takie jak osigi, emisje oraz wymogi
odnonie paliwa gazowego, ktrym silnik moe by zasilany. Dodatkowo najwaniejsze komponenty silnika oraz
zastosowana technologia zostan uwzgldnione w artykule.
Ponadto artyku przedstawi tez typowe zastosowania silnika Wrtsil 18V50SG obejmujc rwnie
najnowsza elektrownie koncepcyjna dla zdecentralizowanej wysokosprawnej energetyki. Ta cz obejmuje
rwnie gwne aspekty pracy tego silnika.
Sowa kluczowe: czterosuwowy silnik gazowy o zaponie iskrowym zasilany mieszanka uboga

1. Introduction
The history of Wrtsil gas engines starts in
1987 when the first gas-diesel engine was introduced. This technology was mainly dedicated to
offshore applications, although it also could be used
for power generation.
In 1992 the development of the lean-burn sparkignited gas engine has started and the first sparkignited gas engine was released in [5, 6]. The engine offered very good performance and clean
combustion (lean gas mixture) with self-learning
and self-adjustable functions in control system.
At the end of 20th century, the high-efficiency
lean-burn Wrtsil 34SG engine family based on
the new Wrtsil 32 diesel engine frame was introduced. This new engine family has replaced the old

one and is dedicated to very efficient Wrtsil gas


power plants.
New trends in power generation require combined high-efficiency, high-flexibility and highreliability technology. Decentralised power generation stations are getting bigger and they have to
have several functions in energy system: grid stability, peak power generation, base-load operation etc.
This creates many challenges and out-dated technology needs to be replaced. The Wrtsil
18V50SG, the worlds biggest four-stroke sparkignited gas engine is a response for these requirements. The engine introduced in 2010 provides
power around 19 MW combined with highefficiency and flexibility. A huge experience gained
by Wrtsil over many years of gas engines devel-

opment results in high reliability and operation


availability.

2. Engine technology & design


The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine benefits from
well-proven Wrtsil lean-burn spark-ignited gas
engine concept as well as from the Wrtsil
18V50DF dual-fuel engine technology. The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine is built on the same frame
like the Wrtsil 50DF and the Wrtsil 18V46
diesel engine.
The Wrtsil 18V50SG is turbo-charged fourstroke medium-speed engine with ported gas injection and a spark ignition system with a prechamber. The engine stroke is 580 mm (the same
like in the Wrtsil 18V46) and bore is 500 mm
(increased from 460 mm like in Wrtsil
18V50DF). The main engine data are presented in
the Table 1.
Table 1. The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine data [9]
Cylinder configuration
18V
Cylinder bore / stroke
500 / 580 mm
Speed
500 or 514 rpm
Mean piston speed
9.7 or 9.9 m/s
Compression ratio
11:1
V-angle
45
Engine length
12 460 mm
Engine width
4 420 mm
Engine height
5 160 mm
Engine weight
217 000 kg
A nodular cast has been chosen for the engine
block due to its strength and stiffness. Advanced
foundry technology results in a pipe-free engine
block with integrated oil and water channels. The
engine block has large crankcase covers for easy
maintenance access. The crankshaft design provides
very good bearing conditions and very high stiffness, since the cylinder spacing is only 1100 mm.
Each cylinder liner is equipped with two sensors for
continuous temperature monitoring. Typically for
Wrtsil engines, pistons are made of the lowfriction composite type with aluminium skirt and
forged steel top.
The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine has been designed for optimal cooling and heat recovery. The
open-interface cooling system has four circuits:
cylinder cooling (jacket), charge-air hightemperature cooling, charge-air low-temperature
cooling and lube-oil cooling. The lubricating oil
system includes a wet oil sump, an engine-driven
main pump as well as an electrically driven prelubricating pump, cooler and filters. The prelubricating system is used before engine starting; it
helps to reduce wear of engine components.
A specially designed pre-chamber combines low
NOx emission, extended spark plug life, rapid igni-

tion and stable combustion with high combustion


efficiency. Its shape was developed from smaller
spark-ignited gas engine i.e. Wrtsil 20V34SG,
optimized with 3-dimentional CFD simulations and
then verified during many hours of engine test runs.
The ignition module is integrated into the Wrtsil
Engine Control System (WECS), which sets the
global ignition timing. The module itself sets individual ignition timing for each cylinder to provide
the most efficient combustion and to avoid knock.
The spark plug was developed together with spark
plug suppliers to withstand high cylinder pressures
and temperatures which negatively affect typical
spark plug lifetime.
In the Wrtsil 18V50SG, engine ported-gasadmission technology is used which is identical to
the one from Wrtsil 18V50DF and eliminates the
risk of backfire in the air intake manifold, gives a
good load response and enables a different delivery
of gas fuel to each cylinder. The main gas admission valves are located right upstream of the inlet
valves. Each cylinder is controlled separately by
WECS, which is continuously monitoring parameters like engine load and speed, exhaust temperatures and pressure inside each cylinder. The prechamber receives gas via mechanically-driven hydraulically- controlled valve. This solution has
proven to be very reliable and provides excellent
ignition properties of pre-chamber mixture.
All Wrtsil 18V34SG engines are equipped
with two turbo-chargers, which were chosen for
their minimum flow losses and very good efficiency. A charge air pressure reaches 450 kPa at
full load operation. The engine has a pneumatic
starting system with starting valves in the cylinder
heads on one bank only. Valves are operated by an
air distributor while starting limiter valves switch
off the starting system as soon as the engine runs.
The Table 2 presents typical life time for main
the Wrtsil 18V50SG engine components. The
components life time is based only on total operating hours and the engine starts, stops or loading
history have no influence on maintenance schedule.
Table 2. The Wrtsil 18V50SG main components
life time [9]
Typical life time
Engine component
(operating hours)
Piston
72 000
Piston rings
18 000
Cylinder liner
96 000
Cylinder head
72 000
Inlet valve and valve seat
36 000
Exhaust valve and valve seat
36 000
Crankshaft bearings
36 000
Camshaft bearing
72 000
Main gas admission valve
24 000
Pre-chamber valve
18 000
Pre-chamber
36 000
2

Ignition coil on plug

18 000

3. Engine operation & performance


In lean-burn engines, the peak temperature is
kept low which results in a low NOx emission,
reduces the knock tendency and enables a high
thermal efficiency. Unfortunately, too lean mixture
can lead to misfiring and high emission of unburned
hydrocarbons. The WECS is designed to control
every cylinder separately and to keep each cylinder
in its optimal operating window (Fig.1).

Fig.1. The Wrtsil 18V50SG cylinder optimal


operating window [8]
The system is based on cylinder pressure measurements supported by exhaust gas temperature
measurements, engine speed measurements and
turbocharger speed measurements. The engine can
operate at 500 rpm or 514 rpm and the brake mean
effective pressure is equal to 2.2 MPa, which provides 1045 kW (at 500 rpm) or 1070 kW (at 514
rpm) of power per cylinder with a maximum firing
pressure of 17.8 MPa. The engine has 90% mechanical efficiency and over 47% overall efficiency.
The engine is usually integrated with an electrical generator on a common frame base with electricity generating efficiency of the set 46%, which
results in 18320 kW of electrical power at 500 rpm
[8, 9]. The gas fuel requirements for continuous
engine operation at full load are presented in the
Table 3 and the engine performance data are presented in the Table 4.
The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine is design according to the newest requirements regarding flexible
power generation. The engine is able to reach full
load within 10 minutes from start signal. The engine efficiency doesnt change much over very
wide load range (from 50% to 100% load), which is
very beneficial when part load operation is required
for a longer time. In emergency situation the engine
can start-up and load-up even quicker. The start-up

and loading procedures are shown in the Figures 2


and 3.
Table 3. The Wrtsil 18V50SG gas fuel requirements for continuous full load operation [9]
Lower heating value
Min.
28 MJ/m
Methane number
Min.
70
Methane contents, CH4
Min.
70%
Hydrogen sulphide, H2S
Max.
0.05%
Hydrogen, H2
Max.
3%
Condensates
Not Allowed
Ammonia
Max.
25 mg/m
Chlorine + Fluorine
Max.
50 mg/m
Particles or solids
50 mg/m
Max.
(content and size)
5 m
Gas inlet temperature
Range
0 60 C
Table 4. The Wrtsil 18V50SG performance
data at full load [9]
Mean effective pressure
2.20 MPa
Maximum firing pressure
17.8 MPa
1045 kW (500 rpm)
Power per cylinder
1070 kW (514 rpm)
Engine mechanical effi90%
ciency
Engine overall efficiency
47.4%
Electricity generating set
46.2%
efficiency
NOx emission
1.2 g/kWh
CO emission
1.06 g/kWh
HC emission
3.2 g/kWh
Typical CO2
414 g/kWh
Particulates emission
0,064 g/kWh
Formaldehyde
0,27 g/kWh
Total sound power level
129 dBA

Fig. 2. The Wrtsil 18V50SG start-up procedure (514


rpm nominal speed) [9]
The successive loading can be combined with
load steps, if the engine is operating in island mode
(speed control). The minimum continuous load is
30%. The maximum permissible load step which
may be applied at any given load is presented in the
Figure 4. Furthermore the stated values are limited
to a running engine that has reached nominal oper3

ating temperatures, or for an engine which has been


operated at above 30% load within the last 30 minutes.

Fig. 3. The Wrtsil 18V50SG loading and unloading


curves [9]

Fig. 4. The Wrtsil 18V50SG instant loading steps [9]

4. Typical applications
All Wrtsil gas engines can be used as a power
source in pumping stations for pipelines and the
dual-fuel engines can be also used for marine purposes. The Wrtsil spark-ignited gas engines and
dual-fuel ones are mainly dedicated for power generation applications. Wrtsil gas power plants can
operate in parallel to the grid or in island mode.
They can be controlled at site or remotely and can
be connected to condition based maintenance centre
where Wrtsil service personnel has access to
plant operation system, as well as engine operation
system and they even check signals from particular
sensors mounted on the engine.
The Wrtsil has delivered already more than
700 spark-ignited engines to more than 200 gas
power plants and their total power is more than
5000 MW. Also the Wrtsil 46 and the Wrtsil
50DF that share frame and components design with
Wrtsil 50SG have impressive reference record:
more than 700 engines and more than 10 GW of
their total power.
The Wrtsil 18V50SG engine is meant to replace the Wrtsil 20V34SG in new gas power
plants projects with plant output over 150 MW. The
engine can operate on pipeline quality natural gas

as well as on liquefied natural gas (LNG). Typical


Wrtsil gas power plants are used as power source
for industry (mining, cement, petroleum etc.), for
local utilities (airports, hotels etc.) or as part of an
electrical grid system.
The engine can be core part of combined cycle
gas power plant. This solution requires exhaust gas
steam boilers and a steam turbine. By implementing
this power generation capacity of plant can be increased by 8% to 10% and electricity generation
efficiency can reach totally over 50%.
The Plains End power plant is excellent example of the Wrtsil spark-ignited engine application
as important part of an electricity generation system
(Fig. 5). The plant is located in Denver in USA.
The first phase (Plains End I) was delivered in 2002
and has twenty Wrtsil 18V34SG engines generating together 111 MW with 41% of electricity generation efficiency. Originally plant was meant to be
peaking power plant started once per day only for
covering peak power demand. Soon after plant
operation started client (PG&E National Energy
Group) discovered great potential for flexible gas
fired power plants and has changed operation profile by providing grid stability service as support for
growing wind power plants capacity in that region.
The client also ordered the extension of existing
power plant (Plains End II) with fourteen Wrtsil
20V34SG engines providing additional 118 MW
with 44% of electricity generating efficiency. The
Plains End gas power plant can generate up to 230
MW and full power of the plant can be reached in
less than 5min. The plant is started and ramped-up
when wind generated electricity decreases as a
result of wind behaviour. This kind of operation
requires over 1000 starts and stops per year on
average. The short start-up time or frequent starts
has no influence on the maintenance schedule.

Fig. 5. Examples of Wrtsil power plants as typical


applications of the Wrtsil 18V50SG. Top: 230 MW
flexible grid stability gas power plant Plains End I &
II (Denver, USA); bottom: 308 MW base load gas
power plant Sangachal (Azerbaijan) [1]

Another potential application example for the


Wrtsil 18V50SG comes from the Caspian Sea
area. The largest so far Wrtsil gas power plant is
located in Azerbaijan. The plant is based on eighteen Wrtsil 18V50DF gas engines and is located
near the biggest oil terminal in that region. This 308
MW gas power plant started operation at the end of
2008 and is a very important component of the
country power generation system.

5. Summary
The Wrtsil 18V50SG gas engine is the newest
Wrtsil lean-burn gas engine dedicated to the most
efficient large Wrtsil gas power plants. The engine is the worlds biggest 4-stroke spark-ignited
gas engine and its design is based on advanced
technology and sophisticated solutions providing
excellent performance, reliable operation, easy
maintenance and long life of engine components.
The Wrtsil 18V50SG is a very efficient
(47.4% overall efficiency) and powerful (over 19

MW) engine suitable for flexible power generation.


The engine can operate on pipeline quality natural
gas or on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The engine maintenance schedule is based on
operating hours and is independent from the number of start and stops. The multi-unit design enables
high part-load plant efficiency, excellent plant
availability and reduced need for back-up capacity.
A start-up procedure and engine loading-up to full
load takes all together only 10 minutes.
Wrtsil gas power plants with Wrtsil
18V50SG engines offer also combined cycle solution which increases plant efficiency to the level of
50%. It provides also stepwise investment with
smaller risk and optimized profit generation. Wrtsil gas power plants provide full integration and
excellent flexibility and high performance in all
ambient conditions, which is a valuable characteristic for modern decentralized power generation.

Nomenclature / Skrty i oznaczenia


WECS Wrtsil Engine Control System / silnikowy
system automatyki i sterowania wrtsil

WOIS Wrtsil Operators Interface System / interfejs systemu operacyjnego Wrtsil

Bibliography / Literatura
[1]
[2]

[3]

[4]

Gas power plants, Wrtsil Corporation


brochure
Klimstra J.: The road to obtaining the ultimate
performance of gas engines opportunities
and challenges, 5th Dessau Gas Engine Conference proceedings, 2007
Kuurio H.: Wrtsil large gas power plants a
modular approach offering a wide range of
capabilities, Twentyfour7 Wrtsil Quarterly
Magazine 03.2006, pp. 44-45, 2006
Sutkowski M.: The combustion systems in the
high-power stationary internal combustion
engines, XX International Symposium on
Combustion Process proceedings, 2007

[5]

[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]

Sutkowski M., Latvasalo T.: The 20V34SG


a high-efficiency lean-burn gas engine for
highly efficient Wrtsil gas power plants
combustion systems in the high-power stationary internal combustion engines, Combustion Engines PTNSS-2007-SC1, pp. 27-38,
2007, PL ISSN 0138-0346
Wrtsil 34SG engine technology, Wrtsil
Corporation brochure
Wrtsil 50DF engine technology, Wrtsil
Corporation brochure
Wrtsil 50SG engine technology, Wrtsil
Corporation brochure
Wrtsil 50SG performance manual, Wrtsil report

Mr Marek Sutkowski, PhD, MSc, Eng. Senior


Development Manager in Gas Plants at Wrtsil
Finland.
Dr in. Marek Sutkowski starszy kierownik
ds. rozwoju w dziale elektrowni gazowych,
Wrtsil Finland.

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