Saturday, 14 November 2015
Battle tank application surfaces for CGI
For the first time, a diesel engine in a main battle tank (MBT) is using a compacted graphite iron (CGI) vee cylinder block.
The South Korean K2 Black Panther MBT is powered by a new engine, the Doosan DST DV27K, which is a 27-litre V12 twin-turbocharged and intercooled diesel with a CGI cylinder block.
The engine can develop nearly 1,500bhp and offer the battle tank a range of 450km. Top speed of the vehicle is 70km/h, although all-terrain speed of 50km/h.
Doosan says the DV27K, with its fully electronically-controlled common rail fuelling system, has a ”high-strength cylinder block and a twin-deck cylinder head for efficient cooling. There are separate cooling circuits in order to permit high temperature operation. The engine also has dry-sump oil supply and two-stage air filtration, the former assisting all-terrain operation”.
The DV27K engine brings to three the number of industrial engines with SinterCast process-controlled CGI cylinder blocks – the others being the General Electric locomotive engine and the latest Cummins power unit, the QSK95.