8V 4000: cleanest locomotive engine

• Less than 8 grams of oxides of nitrogen per kilowatt hour
• Planned for use in 400 Series V 290 locomotives

Berlin - MTU Friedrichshafen has achieved a further, important advance with regard to the optimization of environment-friendly diesel engines: the emissions of oxides of nitrogen from a new, exhaust-optimized version of the 8V 4000 engine have been reduced to below 8 grams per kilowatt hour. This value was recently for the first time officially verified by the company during operation on the test stand for a rail application. With this outstanding value, the engine complies not only with the exhaust emissions limits according to the UIC 1 standards currently in force for rail applications, but also with the UIC 2 standards, which will be valid until 2008. This means that the 8V 4000 is currently the cleanest locomotive engine. It also has the potential to comply with the follow-up standard UIC 3.

The great importance for the rail market, already today, of this emissions-optimized version becomes clear from the fact that the test-stand measurements on the 8V 4000 were performed as part of a large-scale order from Deutsche Bahn AG: the company will, over the coming years, use this engine to re-engine 400 V290 multi-purpose locomotives as well as the radio-remote-controlled version V294 for DB Cargo. The 80-tonne locomotive is used across Germany for moving large train units at switchyards and in the vicinity of switchyards. The requirement stipulating an especially clean drive unit already capable of meeting the UIC 2 standards played an important role in mtu being awarded this large-scale contract. Furthermore, ahead of the awarding of the contract, the German Federal Ministry of the Environment stressed how important it was to implement all technologically feasible measures in terms of environmental protection in the rail sector.

In the trials on the test stand involving several production engines, mtu demonstrated that the 8V 4000 complies with the exhaust emissions limits agreed with the customer under the terms of the large-scale contract. In addition to the discharge of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), the tests also measured the emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulates. These values, too, already today comply with the future UIC 2 guidelines. The reduction of the NOx values was achieved exclusively by means of in-engine measures. The 12-, 16- and 20-cylinder versions of the Series 4000 are available in this emissions-optimized version. Yet even before these measures were taken, Series 4000 engines were distinguished in all their applications by especially low emissions values. A crucial part in this has been played by the Common Rail injection system, which is controlled electronically and therefore independently of the engine speed. Since their launch in 1996, Series 4000 engines have, as the first large-sized engines in the world, been equipped as standard with the Common Rail injection system.

In addition, the 8V 4000 provides reserves of power in the V290 locomotive, this making the engines suitable for meeting the requirements of demanding continuous-duty drive solutions. A good example of this is the re-engining project of Deutsche Bahn AG, in the course of which the 1000 kW engine is replacing the previously used 12V-652 engine, which, with a power output of 810 kW, has reached its performance limit owing to the increase in the volume of freight traffic and because of competition from road transport. Equipped with Series 4000 engines, on the other hand, the V290 is capable of moving heavier trains at the same high speed. In the meantime, 12 V290 locomotives have already been converted.

Emissions measured at the mtu 8V4000 locomotive engine (Figures in g/kWh)

	Current Limits according to UIC	Values measured at 8V 4000
NOx	9,5	7,0
CO	3,0	0,46
HC	0,8	0,39
Particles	0,25	0,086