8V 4000: Cleanest Locomotive Engine on European Rails

• “Green Engine“: Less than 8 grams of nitric oxides per kilowatt hour
• Planned for use in 400 Series V290 locomotives

Friedrichshafen - MTU Friedrichshafen has achieved another important success in the optimization of anti-pollutant diesel engines: In a new exhaust-optimized version of the 8V 4000 engine nitric oxide emissions have been reduced to less than 8 grams per kilowatt hour (according to ISO 8178-4 cycle F). This value was recently demonstrated officially to Deutsche Bahn AG during various runs on the test stand. With this outstanding value the engine meets the exhaust emissions limits according to the currently valid UIC 2 standards for use in rail applications, which will remain in force until 2008. This makes the 8V 4000 the cleanest locomotive engine currently in use on German rails. Furthermore, it also has the potential to comply with the follow-up standard UIC 3.

The great importance which this exhaust-optimized version has already acquired for the rail market is evidenced by the fact that the test-stand measurements on the 8V 4000 were performed in connection with a large-scale order from Deutsche Bahn AG. Over the coming years the company will retrofit 400 heavy V290 Series shunting locomotives and the radio-remote-controlled version V294 with these engines for DB Cargo. The 80-tonne locomotive is used across the country for moving larger train units on shunting yards and in their vicinity. The demand for a particularly clean propulsion system which already complies with the UIC 2 standards was a decisive factor in the placement of this large-scale order. Furthermore, before the contract was awarded, the German Federal Environment Ministry and the German Environmental Protection Agency jointly emphasized that the environmental protection is to be promoted by implementing all technically feasible measures.

In the final test runs with several production engines mtu demonstrated that the 8V 4000 complies with the exhaust emissions limits agreed with Deutsche Bahn AG under the terms of the large-scale contract. In addition to the discharge of nitric oxides (NOx), the tests also measured the emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulates. These also fall below the limits agreed in the contract, some of which even go beyond the UIC 2 standards. The reduction of the NOx values was achieved exclusively by means of in-engine measures. The 12-, 16-, and 20-cylinder versions of the 4000 Series will also be available in this exhaust-optimized form. Yet even before these measures were taken, the 4000 Series stood out with its particularly low emission values in all applications. This is largely due to the Common Rail injection system, which is controlled electronically and thus also independently of the engine speed. At the time of their launch in 1996, the engines were the first heavy-duty series in the world to be offered with this injection system as standard equipment.

In the V290 locomotive the 8V 4000 provides sufficient reserves of power which are suitable for continuous-duty propulsion solutions. Thus, the new 1000 kW engine will replace the previously used 810 kW 12V-652 engine which has already reached its performance limit due to the increased cargo volume and the competition from road transport. Equipped with the Series 4000 engine the V290 is capable of moving heavier trains at the same speed. By now some V290 locomotives have already been retrofitted and delivered to the work platforms.

Emission values of the mtu traction motor 8V 4000 (figures in g/kWh)

	Current standard according to ERRI 2003 (=UIC 2)	Measured emission values of the mtu traction motor 8V 4000
NOx	9,5	7,0
CO	3,0	0,46
HC	0,8	0,39
Carbon particles	0,25	0,086