MINING ENGINES
Paul Moore spoke to Dr Ingo Wintruff, Managing Director of Liebherr-Components,
Colmar about its new D98 mining engine family
Q You are launching the new D9812, 12-cylinder engine first before the 16
or 20 cylinder engines in the D98 series. Why did you choose to release
this engine first?
A To get the order of the D98 series right in terms of the market, we
started with the production of the D9812, with the D9816 and D9820
engines following it. The D9812 covers the power range from 1,250-2,000
kW in mining. There is a large population of mining trucks within this
power range. Furthermore, most of the bigger mining excavators are using
engines of this power rating, either as single or as double engine
installation. Therefore, fo r our first engine in the mining market, in terms
of market demand as well as in terms of return on investments, it made
sense to go with the D9812 first.
Q Where are you in the testing phase of the D9812?
A Of course, we have to prove the maturity of the product. The mining
industry is a conservative industry – customers ask for references,
meaning successful long-term operation under real mining conditions.
Therefore, we focussed on an intense qualification concept from the very
beginning in this project.
We have already finalised the initial post design bench testing of the
engine, with several thousands of hours completed on a number of D9812
engines. Currently, we have one D9812 engine on a Liebherr R9400
hydraulic excavator in a French quarry under intensive testing, which is
about to achieve approx. 500 operating hours. In parallel, we have another
D9812 engine on a Liebherr T264 mining truck operating at our Liebherr
proving grounds in the US, also reaching 500 hours of testing within the
next weeks. Subsequently, the final phase of field-testing at a customer's
mining site will begin. We will operate the engine in a truck and in an
excavator 12,000 hours each. The programme will last about 18-24
months. We will be offering some engines as a pre-series after 6,000
hours of successful operation, but higher volume sales will be possible
only after a successful termination of the total testing programme.
Liebherr’s D9812 will be used both in Liebherr Mining trucks and
excavators as well as other OEM machines
Q Is the aim to ultimately have D98 series engines as the standard engines
in all relevant Liebherr Mining trucks and excavators? And why offer your
technology to other OEMs?
A In general, Liebherr’s strategy is that we are aiming, where possible, to
have our own high performance components in our own equipment. In our
mining machines, other engine options, such as Cummins and MTU, are
offered, where the customer wants that.
It is important to highlight that Liebherr Components, as an
autonomous Liebherr division and engine manufacturer, is pursuing other
routes to sell our products. We will follow up all potential opportunities in
mining as well in other markets outside of the mining industry, such as
power generation, oil & gas, railway and others industries.
Following this philosophy, we have already set up a partnership with
Kohler/SDMO in order to power most of their gensets. These gensets – by
the way – are also offered to mines using gensets for temporary power, for
example.
Q So when can the market expect to see the engine available?
Q And the timeline for the D9816 and D9820?
A Following the programme described above, we expect the D9812 to be
ready for serial production in 2020. This is in line with our target to launch
this engine as a serial engine at MINExpo 2020. We will also offer
repowers for existing trucks. A first repowering prototype project has
already started with a D9812 engine in a Komatsu truck.
‘plug-and-play’ system that will make life easy
for OEMs,” says Carlsson.
For each Stage V model, common rail fuel
injection and a fixed geometry turbo contribute
to excellent fuel efficiency. An air inlet throttle,
together with uncooled exhaust gas recirculation
(EGR), and the electrical exhaust pressure
governor (EPG), enable the system to function
without the need to inject fuel into the exhaust
stream to raise the temperature. With this
approach, the exhaust gas has an optimal
temperature when it passes through the EATS.
The EATS includes: Diesel Oxidation Catalyst
28 International Mining | JULY 2018
A The first tests for D9816 will start mid-2019 in a Liebherr 360 t truck -
shortly after the D9812. The D9820 will come to the market in approx. 18-
24 months after the launch of the 12 and 16 cylinder variants, respectively,
and cover the power range of over 3,000 kW.
(DOC); Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF; for D5-D13
models); Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR); and
Ammonia Slip Catalyst (ASC). (The D16 model
does not require a DPF.)
“The smart heat management of our engines
saves fuel, thereby reducing the total cost of
ownership for customers,” adds Carlsson. “The
engines and EATS work together to maximise
passive regeneration and eliminate stand-still
regeneration. Sulphur regeneration in the SCR
catalyst isn’t required, and only soot
regeneration is needed to clean the DPF. Overall,
prolonged ash service intervals naturally
maximise uptime for operators.”
Caterpillar currently is developing productive,
fuel-efficient, power-dense, EU Stage V-compliant
engines across its industrial product line, from
the two-cylinder C0.5, to the 12-cylinder, 32-litre
C32. Goals for Cat ® Stage V engines include
developing more efficient after-treatment
systems, simplifying installation in OEM-
customer machines, and providing added value
for end users of OEM machines- through
increased productivity, increased fuel efficiency,
and exceptional reliability.
The Cat C9.3B engine, for example, has been