You will find the figures mentioned in this article in the German issue of

MTZ 02/2006 beginning on page 80.

Die neue Dieselmotorenbaureihe 890 von MTU

The New Diesel Engines Series 890

by MTU

MTU Friedrichshafen is currently working on the develop-

ment of a family of extremely high-performance diesel en-
gines: the 890 model series. At less than 1 kg/kW, these en-
gines have the best power/weight ratio of any series-pro-
duced diesel engine in the world today. The 6-cylinder en-
gine is 590 mm high, 700 mm wide, and 760 mm long. It
weighs just 520 kg, but delivers 550 kW (750 HP). Such low
power/weight ratios are ideal for engines that drive air-
portable military wheeled and tracked vehicles.

1 Introduction operation on sloping terrain, a dry-sump oil

MTU has been recognized as the leading
manufacturer of high-power drive systems
for tracked vehicles for many years.
The 880 model series is currently used in
the power range from 800 kW to 1100 kW, in
8- and 12-cylinder variants. The bore and
stroke for the 880 engine is 144/140 mm,
with rated speeds up to 2700 / 3000 rpm.
The 12-cylinder engine is also available in an
up-rated version, delivering 2030 kW at
3300 rpm in an amphibian vehicle.
Authors: At present, the 150 kW to 600 kW power
Rüdiger Demark, Michael Groddeck range is covered by commercial vehicle de-
and Georg Ruetz rivative engines. The rated speed and power
ratings are increased for use on tracked vehi-
cles, and the air-to-air charge-air cooler nor-
mally used in commercial vehicles is re-
placed with a water-to-air charge-air cooler.
To meet the performance requirements for
system is used in some cases. These vehicles
also require a larger oil heat exchanger and
a significantly more powerful generator to
provide the necessary electrical energy.
The goal of the development project for
the new 890 engine model series is to come
up with drive train and engine concept de-
signs for future vehicle generations (diesel-
electric and diesel-mechanical) with further
major enhancements in terms of power den-
sity and power/weight ratios. The objective is
to cover the entire power range from 350
kW to 1100 kW with a single engine family.
2 Implementation of Development
Objectives
The first step was to determine the opti-
mum cylinder dimensions and cylinder
number allocation for the required power

2 MTZ 02/2006 Volume 67


range, Table. The limit values used were as
follows: maximum mean piston speed of
15.3 m/s, mean effective pressure at maxi-
mum power of 26 bar, and a maximum peak
pressure of 210 bar.
The specified power values of 92 to 102.5
kW / cylinder apply to diesel-electric drive
systems. For a diesel-mechanical drive, the
cylinder power is 80 kW at 4250 rpm, with
torque curve adjusted to the gears, Figure 1.
2.1 Basic Engine Concept
Along with excellent power/weight ratios
and high power densities, further require-
ments include straight-line outer contours,
to make it easier to integrate the engine into
a compact power pack with the gearbox
and/or generator, an air filter system, and a
cooling system. Thus, the basic engine (with-
out turbocharger) was designed with a cubic
or rectangular parallelepiped outline. De-
pending on the engine placement (at the
front or rear of the vehicle), the turbocharg-
er is located so as to provide suction and ex-
haust connections according to customer re-
quirements. Accordingly, the exhaust out-
lets of the cylinder heads and exhaust ducts
are in the engine V. The charge-air ducts are
integrated into the outer crankcase at the
side, and the charge-air inlet can be placed
at either end of the crankcase. A dry oil
sump reduces the structural depth of the ba-
sic engine to a minimum, and also helps to
meet the requirements for operation on
sloping terrain.
2.2 Drive Train
Along with the choice of stroke, bore, and
engine speed, the drive train design also has
a major impact on the achievable engine
housing dimensions. Piston speed, piston
weight, piston underlength, con-rod length,
and counterweight radius form a directly re-
lated chain of design decisions.
The piston is an aluminium solid-skirt
piston with a cast-cooling channel and rein-
forced ring groove for the first piston ring.
Bronze bushes are provided for the gudgeon
pin.
The con-rod is made from tempering
steel, machined on all sides, and then shot-
peened. The small con-rod eye is shaped as a
trapezium, and the bearing cap of the large
con-rod eye is secured in position with a
ground-serrated finish, and mounted with
four bolts. The upper and lower bearing
shells are three-compound sputtered struc-
tures.
The crankshaft is also made of tempering
steel, and is machined on all sides. All main
and con-rod journals are hardened at the
transition radii to the crank web. The coun-
Diesel Engines
terweights are made of heavy metal and are
secured to the crank web with two bolts.
The fact that the con-rod and crank webs
are machined on all sides provides better
strength values and also lower individual
mass tolerances. The use of solid heavy met-
al counterweights allows a significant re-
duction in counterweight radius and con-
rod length. The crank web on the output
side and the power take-off flange are opti-
mized so that, for diesel electric drive sys-
tems, the large, heavy rotor of the crank-
shaft starter generator can be flange-mount-
ed as a cantilever structure, without any ad-
ditional support bearing.
2.3 Cylinder Crankcase
In today’s series-production engines the
crankcase normally only houses the crank
mechanism itself. Other components, such
as the lubrication oil reservoir, oil heat ex-
changer, and oil filter, are attached to the
outside of the crankcase.
To obtain an even more compact design,
savings at the level of the case wall surface
area were achieved by integrating the oil
reservoir into the crankcase. By using all the
empty space available, we were able to ac-
commodate the required oil volume, and
other oil system components such as the
pump, oil heat exchanger, and oil filter,
within the crankcase.
The result is a box-shaped, very rigid
structure, sealed below with a flat, double-
walled crankcase base.
The crankcase case contains the media
line for the oil system and also acts as the
backplate for the oil pump, oil cooler, oil fil-
ter, and the engine bearing, considerably
simplifying the assembly process, Figure 2.
Figure 1: Performance map for the 6V 890 engine series
COVER STORY
For reasons of weight, the crankcase and
crankcase base are cast aluminium struc-
tures. The crankcase is HIP-treated for in-
creased strength.
2.4 Cylinder Head / Liner / Valve Timing
Gear
The design selected for the 890 engine mod-
el series features individual cylinder heads
and an overhead camshaft. The cylinder
heads are each fastened to the crankcase
with four bolts.
The combustion chamber is sealed to the
wet liners used in the crankcase with a steel
sealing ring, with a separate reinforced seal-
ing ring groove to seal the water and oil re-
turn passages. Austenitic steel rings are used
to support the surface pressure forces be-
tween the bush and crankcase.
The four-valve cylinder head is cooled by
means of bored cooling ducts in the base-
plate, with cooling water drawn off via over-
spill holes in the side walls, so that the cylin-
der heads also act as cooling water collector
ducts.
A continuous camshaft housing contain-
ing the camshaft and inlet rocker arms is
placed on the individual cylinder heads. The
outlet rocker arms are attached to the cylin-
der head. The oil supply to the bearing
points and valve drive system with valve
play compensation elements is via holes in
the camshaft housing.
The overhead camshafts are driven via a
gear drive on the opposite side of the clutch
mechanism. We plan to replace the interme-
diate gear wheels required for the camshafts
with a chain drive system, which will bring
further weight savings. On the basis of suc-
cessful results from basic experiments on
MTZ 02/2006 Volume 67 3
COVER STORY
the V6 engine, the 4-cylinder series produc-
tion engine has already been designed with a
chain drive system for the camshaft, Figure 3.
2.5 Injection System
A third-generation common rail system has
been selected as the fuel injection system,
with an individual reservoir integrated in
each injector. These individual reservoirs
perform the same storage function as the
former common rail and are arranged
lengthwise along the engine. The actual fu-
el rail consists of the connector lines be-
tween the individual reservoirs. This
arrangement significantly reduces pressure
fluctuations in the fuel line, thereby pre-
venting short-term under- or over-supply of
fuel to the injectors.
The injectors are suitable for multiple in-
jection with diesel and kerosene as fuel op-
tions (F-54).
The pressure boost of a system pressure
of up to 1800 bar is carried out with two
pump elements in a V configuration, with a
maximum pump speed of 3100 rpm. This
pump design allows optimum use of the
space at the engine face, Figure 4. In-line en-
gines have single-cylinder pumps running
with the engine revolutions.
2.6 Turbocharging
The 890 engine model series has a single-
stage turbocharger system, with the ZR 125
MTU exhaust turbochargers reaching com-
pressor pressure ratios of up to π = 5. An ad-
justable nozzle control ring is provided on
the turbine side for diesel-mechanical drive
systems.
2.7 Water and Oil Circuits
The special demands placed on engines driv-
ing armoured vehicles include the ability to
operate in extreme climatic conditions,
from -50 °C up to +52 °C. The required pre-
heating for very low temperatures is normal-
ly carried out with diesel-driven cooling wa-
ter preheating systems, with flame starting
systems used for the start and warm-up
phases.
To meet customer specifications for a
guarantee of rated engine power delivery at
environment temperatures of up to +52 °C,
the design and construction of the cooling
system becomes a particularly important as-
pect. Because of the limited space available,
the engine cooling system, comprising the
charge-air, engine oil, gearbox oil, and basic
engine cooling systems, needs to be very
compact.
The optimum configuration has proved
to be a circuit split into high-temperature
and low-temperature sub-circuits. The basic
4 MTZ 02/2006 Volume 67
Diesel Engines
engine heat is drawn off via the high-tem-
perature circuit (connected in parallel to the
radiator), and the heat of the engine oil and
gearbox oil is drawn off via the low-tempera-
ture circuit. Raising the basic engine cooling
water temperature up to 130 °C reduces the
quantity of heat to be drawn off and increas-
es the efficiency of the heat exchange
process, thus allowing a very compact con-
struction for the heat exchangers.
Because of the high turbocharging pres-
sure ratio (up to 5), the cooling of the charge
air is a particularly important considera-
tion. In order to minimize structural size,
the charge-air cooler is provided with both
high-temperature and low-temperature cool-
ing water. The charge air flows first through
the high-temperature block, then the low-
temperature block.
The heat discharged is given off into the
surrounding air via a high-capacity radiator.
This radiator also features a split design
with a low-temperature cooling network fol-
lowed by a high-temperature network, Figure
5.
The radiator cooling system is normally
designed as a suction cooling system. At an
engine power rating of 800 kW (Puma ar-
moured personnel carrier), the power
drawn by the electrically operated radial
fans is 2 x 65 kW when the radiator is oper-
ating at maximum capacity.
To provide the required coolant circula-
tion, MTU has developed a highly compact
dual-circuit water pump. The pump has a
pump gear with vanes on both sides, with a
surrounding flow of high-temperature cool-
ing water on one side, and low-temperature
water on the other, Figure 6.
Figure 8: Power pack of the Puma armoured personnel carrier (engine 10V 890)
The expansion tank to which charge air
pressure is applied via a pressure maintain-
ing valve is used to provide the high basic
pressure level (2.5 bar) required for the en-
tire cooling system. In this way, the system is
able to cope with the high coolant tempera-
ture.
2.8 CDS/CR 05 Engine Management
System
A new engine management system – the
CDS/CR 05 system – has been developed for
the 890 engine model series. The rigorous
specifications required for military use are
also reflected in the engine management de-
sign. Innovative CAN field bus technology,
based on the CANOpen and SAE J1939 stan-
dards, has also been provided for the vehicle
interface.
The robust construction and spatial di-
mensions of the system are optimized for fit-
ting to the engines of this model series. The
design of the control devices is based on the
latest SMD technology, and meets rigorous
specifications in terms of vibration-, temper-
ature-, and impact-proof characteristics and
electromagnetic compatibility. Considerable
importance was assigned to the effective use
of potential cost savings and an optimized
manufacturing process.
At the heart of the engine management
system is a multiprocessor system for opti-
mum management of injection/multiple in-
jection, control, communication, and pow-
er-pack management functions. As an op-
tional extra, it is also possible to provide a
digital signal processor (DSP) for measure-
ment and analysis of rapid signals, e.g. cylin-
der pressure curves.
 The CDS/CR 05 engine management sys-
tem meets the rigorous specifications for
placement in the engine environment, and
is fitted directly on the engine itself. It also
meets all military specifications of national
and international customers, e.g. EMC (VG
95373/MIL STD 461E), vehicle power supply
(VG 96916/MIL STD 1275B), NEMP, and TREE
(AEP4).
In view of the tactical requirements for
vehicle deployment, many customers now
demand anti-nuclear protection of the sys-
tem (“TREE stability”). CDS/CR 05 uses a “by-
pass” technology, whereby, on the occur-
rence of a nuclear event, the system will be
switched off within a very short time, pre-
venting the destruction of electronic compo-
nents. MTU provides its own circuitry tech-
nology for this purpose.
A significant part of the engine manage-
ment functionality is the vehicle system in-
terface based on CAN-Bus and SAE J 1939 for
the vehicle electronics, gearbox control,
starter generator, coarse dust fans, and elec-
trical fans of the drive train. A detailed
analysis of possible failure mechanisms was
carried out in order to optimize overall sys-
tem availability even in a failure situation.
Only by networking all drive train electron-
ics components in this way is it possible to
create an integrated power pack manage-
ment system with the diagnostic and fore-
casting capabilities demanded by our cus-
tomers. Via “engine CAN,” intelligent actua-
tors and sensors on the engine can be acti-
vated with the CANOpen standard.
The data storage concept based on the
EDM (engine data module), which is perma-
nently fitted to the engine, makes it possible
to change CDS/CR devices in fleet vehicles
without loss of the individual engine set-
tings data such as engine standard and life
record data, e.g. driving profile or error
recorders. Thanks to the integrated self-test-
ing capability of the CDS/CR 05, when a
fault occurs, maintenance staff is easily able
to locate the defective component, and thus
restore operational capability as soon as pos-
sible. This guarantees very high availability
for the electronics system.
3 Drive System Concepts with the
New 890 Model Series
Along with the development and construc-
tion of high-performance engines, MTU’s
other strengths lie in the systems integra-
tion of such engines into complete drive
trains, which, in addition to the engine,
may also comprise the clutch, gearbox, air
filter units and other components. In the
case of drive trains for armoured vehicles,
the crucial requirements, along with per-
formance, are the power/weight ratio and
power/volume ratio, minimum service ex-
pense, and the ability to replace the com-
plete drive train quickly and easily. In this
context, there are real benefits in integrat-
ing several drive system components in a
single structure, known as the “power
pack.”
After choosing a suitable gearbox, MTU
typically develops a cooling and air filter sys-
tem that is specifically tailored to the oper-
ating requirements. These may involve envi-
ronment operating conditions between -50
°C and +52 °C, use at altitudes of up to 4000
m, or dust hazards to the point of multiple
“zero visibility.” Wading and diving capabil-
ity are also important features.
With its new 890 engine model series,
MTU’s aim is to provide a range of engines
that are ideally suitable for diesel-mechani-
cal and diesel-electric drives, and also for hy-
brid drive systems. For the diesel-mechani-
cal version, the required excess torque is pro-
vided with a variable-nozzle turbocharger.
For straight diesel-electric drive systems, a
normal propeller curve in the performance
map is sufficient.
For the new German Puma armoured
personnel carrier, MTU is currently develop-
ing a power pack based on a 10-cylinder 890
motor delivering 800 kW, with a 6-speed
tracked vehicle gearbox, a cooling system
with power take-off fan, and a high-perform-
ance air filter system, Figure 7 and Figure 8.
Between the engine and the gearbox,
there is a flywheel starter generator with an
electric power rating of 170 kW. A water-
cooled power electronics system is used to
provide the fan motors with 2 x 65 kW at
600 V, and the vehicle power supply system
with 20 kW at 24 V. For starting the engine,
a separate voltage transformer supplies the
crankshaft starter generator with approx.
150 V from the 24-V vehicle power supply.
The 6-speed gearbox comprises the steer-
ing system, brake system, and a retarder.
The air filtration system is a high-effi-
ciency, pressurized fine-mesh filter system
comprising a two-stage cyclone providing 99
% separation before the compressor, and a
high-performance fine-mesh filter after the
charge-air cooler. This fine-mesh filter con-
figuration permits a significantly more
compact system design.
The Puma drive system is around 26 %
lighter and 23 % smaller than previous drive
trains with comparable power ratings.
A highly compact design has also been
achieved for diesel-electric systems, since, in
the new 890 model series, MTU provides the
possibility of using flywheel starter genera-
tors that deliver power of up to 550 kW as an
engine/generator unit. The generator rotor
is flanged onto the crankshaft as a can-
tilever structure, dispensing with the re-
quirement for a counter-bearing, and there-
by saving space. The power electronics sys-
tem is flexible, and can be adapted accord-
ing to the interfaces of other electrical com-
ponents, as the customer requires, Figure 9.
The new model series also meets the re-
quirements for a parallel hybrid system.
With a parallel hybrid drive system, the
power flow in the drive train can be either
purely mechanical, electrical (via batteries),
or a combination of the two.
Among the various solution options
available, MTU offers a design concept in
which the flywheel starter generator can be
separated from the crankshaft via a clutch
mechanism. Since the permanently excited
flywheel starter generator can also be oper-
ated as a drive engine, the advantage of this
concept is that the engine/generator unit
can be used either as a booster to support
the diesel engine, or as the sole drive system
(“bumper-to-bumper” operation), Figure 10.
4 Conclusion
The new 890 model series represents a sig-
nificant advance in diesel engine technolo-
gy. These engines open up completely new
possibilities for military vehicle construc-
tion. Since drive systems generally take up
30 to 40 % of the inside volume of a tank, the
use of compact, light drive units becomes
particularly important for smaller, light-
weight vehicles that can be transported by
air when required. Diesel engines as com-
pact as 890 series engines have never been
available previously, and they will therefore
play a key role in the development of such
vehicles. In terms of power, these new en-
gines are far ahead of all previous drive sys-
tems. With this product range, MTU
Friedrichshafen again demonstrates its posi-
tion as engine technology pioneers. ■
MTZ 02/2006 Volume 67 5