WinGD to install VCR on CMA CGM dual-fuel engine

WinGD has embarked on a pilot project to retrofit the RT flex50DF dual-fuel engine of a CMA CGM vessel, thought to be the Cyprus-flagged 1,380 TEU Containerships Arctic, with its variable compression ratio (VCR) system during a September drydocking.

VCR uses a hydraulic piston inside each crosshead pin, which extends or reduces the length of the piston, thereby increasing or diminishing the cylinder volume at top-dead centre and the stroke length. The system can optimise WinGD dual-fuel engines for operation in both diesel and LNG mode, Marcel Ott, GM Application Engineering, told SRN.

“The system can go from minimum to maximum compression ratio… in 1.5–2 minutes. It adjusts continuously, during operation of the engine,” he said. “Now, in diesel mode, we have the opportunity to select the highest possible compression ratio.”

Another benefit, Ott explained, is the ability to adapt more efficiently to part-load scenarios, for example, for slow-steaming applications, improving efficiency over a wider range of loads than engines are normally capable.

WinGD has already surpassed 100 firm orders for VCR on newbuilds, but this will be the first retrofit, explained Ott. “Retrofit of the system is limited to the main engine components only; it doesn’t require any of the normal modifications to the ship, engine room, auxiliary systems.”