Just back from other sea trial
It's amazing how boat builder's still can't figure out how to build a proper exhaust system for there clients in this day and age when a very well known solution has been available and well proven since the late 1990s and fro all Engine Companies requirements for back pressure and cylinder head temperatures. And now takes up 80% less real estate aboard.
Plus it's better for our overall environment both boat and ocean.
I am often asked what I consider the best feature of my design for me that's a very hard question to answer at times. I look at this design from a number of different design objectives everything from the look to space saving and performance to a number of environmental benefits as to our health and ocean.
If I look at it from the benefits as to engine and performance then I would say number one longer engine life due to lower cylinder temperatures.
Ask any pilot about high cylinder head temperatures and engine life ,we figured that out during world war II and its has been an on going problem with marine diesel engines since the first exhaust system was put behind the engine and still is.
As to the benefits to our boat environment I would have to say our own health by eliminating the very fine diesel particulates you really can't see them that much in our new engines are much cleaner but due to some of the additives the don't totally burned off but mixed with a very fine mist you are breathing in the particles that has been linked to possible cancer causing elements this was one of my most important things I was looking to fix with marine exhaust systems. So that would was my number on objective in the design of this exhaust system. And we have fixed it .
As to the benefit to our ocean's : I would have to say reducing exhaust exit water temperatures. During the early development of this design with the first two MTU engine application's with the new MTU 2000 series the 12V2000 @ 1450 hp and the 16V2000 @ 1950 hp in 2000 & 2001 due to the amount of raw water almost double of other engine systems. We had something very unique in exhaust system's this design liked water unlike other exhaust systems using mufflers. We understood we could use 100 % of the cooling water on both engines we did not have to remove any cooling water from the exhaust. And Rill keep back pressure very low on the 12V & 16 V engine we were at zero back pressure.
And we eliminated all the steam from the exhaust and exhaust temperatures were very low the 350 plus gallons of water per minute was doing the job of cooling the exhaust water temperature.
With such low back pressure reading on the engine systems specially on our larger motor yachts with both the MTU 2000 series and the 4000 series we understood we had something very special. An exhaust system design that like's water and has no issues with engine back pressure. Now we understood we could do more cooling with the exhaust by introducing outside ocean water to further reduce exhaust exit temperatures to close to outside ambient ocean temperatures. In 2017 we demonstrated this ability on the motor yacht Serenity 140' power Caterpillar C-32 Acer 12V1950 hp .
By introducing out side sea water we had a reduction of 70°. With the MTU 20V & 16 V engines we took 100 % of the 1100 gallons of water.
On the sea trial of the MY Lady M our engine back pressure was in the negative reading throughout the rpm range at wide open throttle we maxed out at 5 inch's on the starboard engine and 2'' H2O on the port power the new MTU M-93 16V4000 series at 4600 hp.
We now know we can introduce an additional 1000 gallons per minute of outside sea water to being exhaust temperatures down to very close to outside ambient ocean water temperature.
With Thousands of motor vessels in this class being built every year the reduction in ocean temperatures could be a benefit overtime but even more important is with our ability to reduce exhaust temperatures we can also eliminate heat signature.
High exhaust heat on any military vessel whether a aircraft, tank, or military vessel it creates one detection and becomes a target.
In 2017 we pointed this out in a meeting at Coast Guard headquarters and Baltimore-Washington that we could fix a design flaw in the new Sentinel Class Coast Guard cutters and also pointed out a number of other benefits of our proposal.
I will have more on this subject in future blogs.
My next blog will be the sea trial of the MY Serenity.
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