Allen 5000 - Rolls-Royce launches world-beating diesel engine

Citation

(1998), "Allen 5000 - Rolls-Royce launches world-beating diesel engine", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 50 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.1998.01850eab.005

Allen 5000 - Rolls-Royce launches world-beating diesel engine

Allen 5000 ­ Rolls-Royce launches world-beating diesel engine

Keywords: Diesel engine, Rolls-Royce

Last March Rolls-Royce announced it had successfully produced the most advanced, efficient and powerful medium-speed diesel engine of its size in the world.

At 500kw/cylinder output ­ 1mW per cylinder pair and with respective bore and stroke of 320 × 410 mm, it will undoubtedly provide a benchmark for the medium speed engine industry for some time to come. The Allen 5000 series is designed primarily for the power generation market, is available in units from 3-10mW and incorporates revolutionary technology.

The 500kW per cylinder Allen 5000 enables independent power producers, public authorities and large industrial companies to generate power reliably and at low cost. It provides maximum reliability in operation, low capital cost, low through life costs and, most importantly in our environmentally conscious world, low emissions. A unique digitally controlled fuel injection system, developed with Bosch, provides total control of power, emissions and fuel consumption. A solenoid allows optimum fuel injection through a servo system to provide high efficiency and low emissions at any load. Every cylinder is calibrated for immediate optimum performance at efficiency levels beyond traditional mechanical systems.

To achieve the required high pressure ratios for optimum combustion and fuel consumption efficiency, the single-entry turbocharger system selected for the Allen 5000 is also one of the most advanced available, providing pressure ratios of up to 4.7:1.

Operational reliability has been a core part of the Allen 5000 programme. The design team used computer aided analysis of cooling metal flows to design the casting of the main engine block. While stronger materials such as compacted graphite cylinder heads, spheroidal graphite crankcases, intensively-cooled valve seats and underslung crankshaft design have been incorporated to ensure minimum component wear rates, increased strength and thermal performance.

In order to reduce customer operation and maintenance costs the simple construction has reduced the parts count by 35 per cent. Sectioned camshafts can easily be removed through the engine's side and three-piece connecting rods keep downtime to a minimum by simplifying piston removal. There is also a comprehensive range of support options available to cut engine downtime.

In 1996, the stated aim of Rolls-Royce was to build a comprehensive diesel product portfolio based on both the company's own design engines and its alliances with other leading engine builders. Today, the company is capable of providing total power systems up to 100mW for electrical power generation, oil, gas and marine applications, powered by diesel engines.