Chinese land-vehicle engine development

sequ

Captain
Registered Member
Don't now is there is a land-engine thread open but I'll start a thread on it anyways. Mods can merge this thread if they see fit.

One can drop all of the Chinese land-engine developments in this thread if they see fit. Chinese sources translated in English are welcome of course.
 

sequ

Captain
Registered Member
150HB series 16.9 litre V12 engine manufactured by Huabei Group. Base model rated for 1200 hp but there is also an improved 1500 hp variant, both engines are for Type 99(A). Rated for 2200 rpm, maximum 2450 rpm, so if we apply the appropriate calculations, the engine should produce around 4800 N.m of torque. Bore diameter 142mm, stroke length 130mm. Total weight of powerplant is around 2100 kg.

I used a very basic source, maybe these numbers are true, maybe not. If you'd like to verify them, you will have to learn Chinese. Or at the least, learn to navigate Chinese sites and forums using translation tools. This will help you a lot when it comes to PLA watching.

Let's get back on topic. Unlike AFV powerplants, aircraft engines are a closely guarded secret.
Thank you for the effort, but is there any official source for these numbers? I see you use 'appropriate calculations', how did you exactly come up with all these specific and detailed numbers?

Could you also post the link to this 'basic source'?
 

Mirabo

Junior Member
Registered Member
Thank you for the effort, but is there any official source for these numbers? I see you use 'appropriate calculations', how did you exactly come up with all these specific and detailed numbers?

Could you also post the link to this 'basic source'?

Power (kW) = Torque (N.m) x Speed (RPM) / 9.5488

So if you know the RPM and the power output, you can calculate torque.

I just did a quick search and found some numbers in a Sina Mil article, and some on Baidu Baike.

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Some extra digging will probably be required for an official source.
 

The Observer

Junior Member
Registered Member
is anyone still active in this thread? any new development on Chinese land vehicle engine, especially in more exotic engine configurations like opposed piston diesel or even OPOC?

US army has
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Cummins to do development on opposed piston diesel for quite some time. I wonder if PLA had done the same and asked their domestic suppliers to do some development.

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on OPOC engine
 
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The Observer

Junior Member
Registered Member
is anyone still active in this thread? any new development on Chinese land vehicle engine, especially in more exotic engine configurations like opposed piston diesel or even OPOC?

US army has
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Cummins to do development on opposed piston diesel for quite some time. I wonder if PLA had done the same and asked their domestic suppliers to do some development.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
on OPOC engine
New thought about OPOC:

What if people develop OPOC (look at GIF below), then change the structure from flat to V. Now we have an Opposed-Piston V engine with a single output crankshaft, so no complicated gearing to combine crankshafts like other opposed piston designs. It'll also be more compact compared to the original OPOC layout (especially in width because I don't know if you can put OPOC on vertical orientation).

Imagine integrating that into a power pack. It could have a high power-to-weight ratio, and have high fuel efficiency. Sounds like a perfect engine for AFV hybrid to me. The original OPOC might be adaptable to use as a Helicopter/Aircraft/UAV engine.

twostroke-loop.gif



Getting excited yet? Now comes the bummer.

The main problem that I could see is that this layout is not proven. The startup that invented this layout had gone bankrupt, so we might never know the full potential of this engine. Then there's the question of maintenance and durability. What is the cylinder/piston wear going to be like? If there's something wrong with the cylinder/piston, how complicated will the maintenance be? Will it be highly strung and therefore reduce durability? We still don't know...

And from the manufacturer's perspective, there are several issues. Is this engine design going to be modular? How easy is it to increase power output by just stacking cylinder numbers so we can save on development costs? How difficult is it to produce this thing? What does the production cost look like?

And even more importantly, since the world is going electric, who else is going to use this engine in a new design aside from the military? Will we get into the mass production stage where individual unit costs can go down sufficiently enough to be competitive with incumbent engines? So many different questions...

TL;DR: Sounds interesting, until reality kicks in...
 

broadsword

Brigadier
The problems are that it needs two crankshafts, high in oil consumption, high in emissions and not very efficient as most are two-strokers. It needs assistance with air intake at the start of combustion because of lack of suction stroke.
 

The Observer

Junior Member
Registered Member
The problems are that it needs two crankshafts, high in oil consumption, high in emissions and not very efficient as most are two-strokers. It needs assistance with air intake at the start of combustion because of lack of suction stroke.

Well if you see the GIF I attached, there is only 1 crankshaft for the OPOC engine, and there are single crankshaft opposed-piston engines of other designs, like
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. Usually they use connecting rods of some sort to connect the "free" piston to the crankshaft.

For the other disadvantages, I believe that's for old opposed piston engine. Nowadays we have CFD software that is capable of simulating the best piston head design to create more complete combustion (something like
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), significantly reducing/eliminating oil consumption and emission problem.

For assistance with air intake at the start of combustion, wouldn't turning the crankshaft move the pistons and basically make it a suction stroke? I think just add a supercharger after the first few rich combustion strokes and you're good to go.
 
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