Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 49 No.

1 (March 2012)
29

Application of a Large Hybrid Turbocharger

for Marine Electric-power Generation

YOSHIHISA ONO*1 KEIICHI SHIRAISHI*2

YUKIO YAMASHITA*3

The function of our new marine hybrid turbocharger, which has a generator on its rotor
shaft, is to supply electric power for consumption onboard a ship and to supercharge the ship’s
diesel engine. The generator is driven by the turbocharger shaft, which is rotated by exhaust-gas
energy; thus, the generator is an exhaust-heat-recovery device, and energy savings can be
expected. A high-speed, high-efficiency, small, high-power generator is required. Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has developed the hybrid turbocharger MET83MAG for a large marine
diesel engine in collaboration with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), the Monohakobi
Technology Institute (MTI), and the Universal Shipbuilding Corporation and installed it in a
Capesize bulk carrier. This is the world’s first practical application of a large hybrid marine
turbocharger.

|1. Introduction
A turbocharger consists of a single-stage turbine and a compressor on a shaft. The
compressor is driven by engine exhaust gas directed to the turbine, and it supplies pressurized air
for combustion to the engine. With recent increases in the efficiency of diesel engine turbochargers,
sufficient air can be fed to the engine with partial exhaust-gas capture for electricity generation. A
practical use of this technology is for a waste heat-recovery system, feeding approximately 10 % of
the exhaust gas to a power turbine to drive the generator. An electric power-recovery system with a
generator directly connected to a turbocharger was developed in 2009 by Mitsui Engineering &
Ship Building Co., Ltd., using a large turbocharger.1
Our hybrid turbocharger comprises a generator in the turbocharger body, but it only needs a
space as wide as a conventional turbocharger and requires only small changes to a conventional
diesel engine. The turbocharger can be used as a generator and also as a motor through the
application of bidirectional frequency converters. We reduced the size of the generator and
designed it to fit inside the turbocharger structure to realize these functions. The turbocharger was
installed onboard a ship, and operations were started after successful completion of a turbocharger
engine-matching test and sea trials. This report describes the electric power generation effect on the
engine performance when the turbocharger is coupled to the engine as well as the results of official
trials.

|2. Advantages of Our Hybrid Turbocharger

A hybrid turbocharger integrated with a generator uses exhaust-gas energy at the
turbocharger inlet port to generate electricity, just as a conventional gas power turbine does.
However, compared with a conventional power turbine, our hybrid turbocharger has the following
advantages:

*1 Marine Machinery & Engine Division, Power Systems

*2 Manager, Marine Machinery & Engine Division, Power Systems
*3 Nagasaki Research & Development Center, Technology & Innovation Headquarters
 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 49 No. 1 (March 2012)
30
(1) Only a few modifications to the engine are required to install the turbocharger, and
retrofitting is relatively easy, resulting in only a slight increase in the external dimensions
because exhaust-gas piping and valve controls are not required.
(2) The system is free from thermal and piping losses, and the turbocharger turbine provides
high efficiency.
(3) The turbocharger can be accelerated by utilizing the generator as a motor.
The power output of the resulting three-phase alternating current (AC) electricity cannot be
directly utilized on a ship, as the frequency depends on the turbocharger rotation speed. The AC
from the generator is rectified to a direct current (DC) and transferred to the ship electricity voltage
and frequency through an inverter. The type of our converter is an active rectifier based on an
insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). These power converters are bi-directional. The electric
power supply from the ship allows the use of a generator as a motor to accelerate the turbocharger.
A two-cycle low-speed diesel engine is usually assisted by an electric blower to enhance the
combustion airflow rate from the turbocharger during low-load operations. The motoring function
of our turbocharger can be used as an assisting blower, and the high-efficiency compressor in the
turbocharger can be used to reduce the required electric power.

|3. Construction of Our Hybrid Turbocharger

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the first MET83MAG hybrid turbocharger. The
generator was downsized so that it could be installed in the silencer. The main problem
encountered during the design was the cooling structure of the generator. The passage of cooling
water and air, and lubricating oil from outside were integrated in the housing during the
downsizing. The time-proven sliding bearing of the MET53MA turbocharger was adopted for the
generator bearing without modification. The generator seal structure with the sealing air and
labyrinth seal prevented lubricating oil from leaking into the input shaft and stator.
The electricity generated from the hybrid turbocharger supplied the entire electrical demand
of the ship during normal cruising. Therefore, the DC/AC inverter was required to maintain the
correct output power frequency and voltage as well as to ensure the power factor of the ship power
source and to maintain capacity to supply the required short-circuit current. Figure 2 shows views
of the frequency converters (AC/DC converter and DC/AC inverter).

Figure 1 Cross-sectional view of the Figure 2 External views of frequency converters

MET83MAG hybrid turbocharger

|4. First Hybrid Turbocharger Test Results

4.1 Bench tests
The development of the first MET83MAG hybrid turbocharger (without a motoring
function) was started at the beginning of 2008. Bench tests were conducted at MHI in May 2010 to
verify the turbocharger’s performance.2 In these bench tests, the generator characteristics were
verified through various generator performance tests, including its load characteristics, governor
characteristics, and temperature rise, as well as the turbocharger performance. The sudden load
change (increase/decrease) and temperature rise test results are shown in Figure 3, 4, and 5
respectively. In Figure 3 and 4, the transient frequency fluctuation at sudden load change was
10% or less, as specified by the Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Ships, and the
 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 49 No. 1 (March 2012)
31
frequency recovered to 1% or less of the rated frequency within 5 seconds. In the temperature-rise
test, the temperature at each part was verified to be within the designed values at an environmental
o
(atmospheric) temperature of 35 C.

Figure 3 Results of the sudden load change (decrease) bench test

Figure 4 Results of the sudden load change (increase) bench test

Figure 5 Results of the temperature-rise bench test

(560-kW generating power)

4.2 Engine-matching Test

After the bench tests at MHI, the MET83MAG hybrid turbocharger was installed in a
low-speed 7S65ME-C diesel engine developed by the engine builder, and an engine-matching test
was conducted in December 2010. A photograph of the turbocharger installed on the main engine is
shown in Figure 6, and the results of the turbocharger performance tests are shown in Figure 7.
Verification tests were conducted to determine whether power generation started at 60% or more of
the main engine rated load and whether independent operation was available to supply all of the
ship’s electrical demand at 75% or more of the engine load. The predetermined generation power
was attained while satisfying the required turbocharger efficiency at a main engine load of 75 % or
more, as shown in Figure 7. The operating points on the compressor map are shown in Figure 8.
The effect of the turbocharger on the engine operating points with and without power generation
was checked on the compressor map, and a sufficient surge margin was confirmed.
 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 49 No. 1 (March 2012)
32
Also, sudden load change tests were conducted to confirm the effect of transient
generator-load changes on the turbocharger operation. The results are shown in Figure 9. The
turbocharger rotational speed became stable approximately 30 seconds after the sudden load
change, and surging was not observed.
4.3 Results of sea trials
Sea trials of the ship in which the MET83MAG was installed were conducted at the
Universal Shipbuilding Corporation in April 2011. During the sea trials, parallel operation of the
hybrid turbocharger and diesel generator and stand-alone operation of the hybrid
turbocharger–generator were tested. A stable and continuous power supply was verified when all of
the ship’s power demand was supplied by the hybrid turbocharger, even after a sudden change in
the ship’s power demand.
Currently the bulk carrier with the MET83MAG hybrid turbocharger (Figure 10; ship name:
SHIN KOHO) is in service, and NYK Line is verifying practical operation of the turbocharger in
collaboration with Fukujin Kisen.

Figure 6 Engine-matching test using

a Hitachi Zosen Corporation Figure 7 Results of the engine-matching test
7S65ME-C engine

Figure 8 Engine operating points

on the compressor map

Figure 9 Sudden load change (decrease/increase) test

results with the turbocharger installed on a ship

Figure 10 Picture of a ship with

the installed hybrid turbocharger
 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 49 No. 1 (March 2012)
33

|5. Conclusion
MHI has developed the hybrid turbocharger MET83MAG in collaboration with NYK Line,
MTI, and Universal Shipbuilding Corporation. This is the world’s first practical application of a
marine hybrid turbocharger. The turbocharger not only recovers electric power from excessive
energy in the engine exhaust gas but also controls the air sent to the engine for combustion by
controlling the power-generation rate. These characteristics are quite different from those of
conventional turbochargers, whose operation depends on the engine output. These characteristics
allow us to apply various energy-saving measures to meet environmental regulations. We would
like to expand the available turbocharger sizes to match additional practical operation conditions.
We extend our gratitude to Fukujin Kisen, Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Taiyo Electric Co.,
Ltd., and Calnetix, Inc., which provided advice and technical guidance for developing the hybrid
turbocharger. We received support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and
Tourism as part of the “Support for CO2 Emission Reduction Technology Development for Ships”
project and from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai through a cooperative study “Research Development for
Reduction Technology of the Green House Gas (GHG) from International Shipping Industry.”

References
1. Kondo, M. et. Al., Development of Large-Scale Turbocharger Generator Unit，Mitsui Zosen Technical
Review No. 199 (2010-2)
2. Shiraishi, K. et al., Development of Large Marine Hybrid Turbocharger for Generating Electric Power
with Exhaust Gas from the Main Engine, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 47 No. 3
(2010)