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11 December 2008
ORBITAL COMMISSIONS NEW SINGLE
CYLINDER HEAVY DUTY ENGINE R&D FACILITY
Orbital has commissioned
it's new heavy duty Single Cylinder Research Engine (SCRE) to support
combustion evaluation and development for compression ignition (such
as diesel fuelled) engines. The engine can also be configured as
a large spark ignited engine as required.
The new test facility is planned to provide
a platform for evaluating alternative fuels / fuel blends for customers,
in line with the growing demand for cost effective alternative fuels
and greenhouse gas reduction from the heavy duty engine fleets.
It is also a key part of providing a combustion development tool
for the heavy duty engine market.
To develop the 1.8 litre displacement SCRE,
a multi-cylinder engine was converted to operate on one cylinder
by disabling all but one cylinder to remove any pumping work and
oil control issues. The standard inlet and exhaust systems have
been replaced with test facility controlled inlet pressure and temperature,
and exhaust backpressure. Engine vibration resulting from the single
cylinder operation is isolated by an air-mount supported bed and
rigid mounting, which also assists to minimise engine speed fluctuation.
This new capability enables quick turn
around combustion and alternative fuel investigation that will be
used to compliment the 600 kW heavy duty engine facility that is
currently under construction at Orbital.
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