Marine | MTU REPORT 2/2008 | 55

With seconds to go before the start in Kilua-Kona on Hawaii, a tense silencedescends. The 1,700 men and women who have entered the race fidgetimpatiently on the spot, hardly able to wait for the gun. Ahead of them are

more than eight hours of physical effort and pain: swimming, cycling and running.Among them is Faris Al Sultan, winner of the Hawaii Ironman in 2005, and deter-mined to win the world’s hardest race again this year. The working-vessel enginesmade by MTU have been called “Ironmen” too. They are built for the toughest jobsin shipping. For harbor tugs, fire ships, ferries and inland waterway vessels. Ships likethose have to do their jobs 24 hours a day, day after day, regardless of heavy seas,gale force winds and treacherous weather. That sort of duty profile places extremedemands on the propulsion units. Dependability and durability, low fuel and oilconsumption, and ease of maintenance are the absolute minimum requirements toensure safe and economical operation. In order to satisfy those requirements evenbetter in the future, MTU has further improved the “Ironmen” and optimized themspecifically for merchant shipping applications.

Faris Al Sultan is very confident before the start. He has trained for years with thismoment in mind. On average four hours a day, and as much as eight hours a day inthe base fitness phase. The MTU Ironmen have years of preparation behind them too.The Series 4000 engine has been on the market since 1996, not just as a marineengine but also for rail and mining applications. Since then, 16,000 of them havebeen sold. “This advanced working-vessels engine now incorporates the accumulatedexperience and expertise from several million hours of service completed by Series4000 engines over the past 12 years,” explains Christian Beiner who, as Head ofPropulsion Systems Applications, was in charge of the design enhancements to the“Ironmen”. The engine develops 2,240 kW of power at 1,600 to 1,800 rpm and isavailable as an 8, 12 or 16-cylinder version.

A 3.8-kilometer swim, a 180.2 kilometer bike ride and a 42.195 kilometer run– the Ironman triathlon on Hawaii demands the ultimate in endurance fromits participants. Only those who can perform to the highest levels in all threedisciplines stand a chance of winning one of the toughest races in the world.Like the triathletes, the Series 4000 for commercial applications is a true all-rounder. It powers working vessels, propels trains to new speed records anddefies the tough working conditions in mining trucks. The Series 4000 enginefor working-vessel applications has fittingly been marketed under an adver-tising campaign entitled “Ironmen” and an advanced version of it has recent-ly been unveiled at the world’s biggest shipping industry show, the SMM. Itembodies MTU’s accumulated expertise in diesel engine design. It shares thesame engine platform with its sister models, the Series 4000 for rail and min-ing applications but also benefits from a whole host of refinements developedfrom MTU’s vast experience in the marine sector. Toug

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1 They’re off! The first part of thetriathlon is the swim. The fastestfinishers complete the event in a

little over eight hours. 2 Faris Al Sultan is a past winner ofthe Ironman and has only one aim:

“To be at the front of the race.” Fire-fighting at sea: four MTUSeries 4000 “Ironmen” engines

propel the fire boat of theLos Angeles Fire Department.

54 | MTU REPORT 2/2008 | Marine

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Bang!! The race is on and the 1,700 competitors dive into the Pacific to begin thefirst part of the triathlon. With over eight hours of effort ahead of them, they surelydon’t give it everything from the start? “The tactics depend entirely on the individualathlete,” Faris Al Sultan explains. “Good swimmers obviously try to get as much of alead as they can after the first discipline. But as someone who is equally good in allthree disciplines, my aim can only be to stay at the front of the race the whole time.”The aim for the MTU Ironmen is exactly the same – to always stay in front. With over16,000 units sold and availability figures of over 99 percent at up to 8,000 hours ofduty a year, the Series 4000 has undoubtedly proven its exceptional reliability andendurance in all disciplines. Extremely low failure rates, long service intervals andfrugal fuel consumption are the engine’s outstanding features. The advanced working-vessels engine requires less than 195 grams of diesel per kilowatt, due in part to itssecond-generation common-rail fuel injection system. “The common-rail system hasproven itself absolutely,” states Christian Beiner. “It is extremely efficient and reliable,and those are precisely the qualities that we require in the working vessels sector.”The engine also meets the tough EPA Tier 2 emissions standard. And it is designed tobe upgradable to the future EPA Tier 3 standard without altering space requirements.

The competitors have completed the 3.8-kilometer swim. Any averagely fit athletewould now emerge from the water pretty well worn out and look forward to anafternoon’s relaxation in the Hawaii sun. But not Faris Al Sultan and his Ironman adver-saries. After the swim, the event continues with the cycling section – 180 kilometersthrough the lava fields of Hawaii. Likewise, the sister model of the MTU “Ironmen” isnot content to rest on its laurels. The Series 4000 is also available as a version tailoredspecifically to rail applications for use as a reliable, economical and environmentallyfriendly power unit for locomotives and multiple unit trains. Continuous duty in railwaytrains places enormous demands on an engine: regional trains, for instance, arerequired to provide reliable and punctual services connecting villages, towns and citiesin all kinds of weather, and sometimes around the clock. The stop-start duty profiletypical of local services with its continual alternation between acceleration and brakingsubjects the engine and all other components to constant load changes involving highthermal and mechanical stresses.

The triathletes now have two disciplines behind them – time for a break maybe? Nochance! This is where the fun really starts. For the last section, the competitors leavetheir bikes behind to tackle the final 42 kilometers on foot. No sprinting for theserunners now though. Staying the distance is what it’s all about. And staying thedistance is certainly something the MTU Series 4000 engines for mining trucks are

capable of. They defy the toughest conditions to transport rock frommines in some of the world’s most inhospitable places. They

have to be able to do the job whether they are 3,000 meters

1, 2 180 kilometers over the roads ofHawaii: the cycling is the second discipline

in the Hawaii Ironman. The Series 4000engines are multi-skilled too, with versions

optimized for marine, mining and railapplications.

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above sea level or in freezing temperatures of minus 30 degrees. But the MTU miningengine has three big advantages:

1. A water-cooled exhaust pipe minimizes the fire risk. It keeps the surface tempera-tures below 200 degrees Celsius and so prevents any oil that leaks out of the vehicle’shydraulic system from igniting in contact with the engine.

2. The engine delivers optimum performance at altitudes up to 3,600 meters. Thepowerful turbochargers compress the intake air to pressures up to five bar and adjustto the atmospheric conditions of the deployment site with the aid of the electronicengine management.

3. The fuel injection system adjusts automatically to the optimum combustionsettings as directed by the electronic engine management. That ensures efficient fuelconsumption at the same time as low emission levels.

Marine | MTU REPORT 2/2008 | 57

THE SERIES 4000 M63: THE MOST IMPORTANT ENGINE SPECS

Cylinder configuration 8V 12V 16V

Revolutions 1,600 rpm / 1,600 rpm / 1,600 rpm /1,800 rpm 1,800 rpm 1,800 rpm

Power output 746 kW / 1,140 kW / 1,520 kW /1,000 kW 1,500 kW 2,240 kW

Fuel consumptionat rated output 195 g/kwh 195 g/kwh 195 g/kwh

Marine | MTU REPORT 2/2008 | 59

1, 2 The last of thetriathlon disciplines, themarathon, demands the ulti-mate in endurance. As dothe conditions to whichMTU Series 4000 mining-truck engines are subjected.

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Done it. Only a few more meters to cross the finish line and win the Hawaii Ironman for thesecond time. Faris Al Sultan runs down the finishing straight towards the tape and theunbounded exhilaration that follows. For the next few minutes, the torture of the last fewhours is forgotten. But it really is only for a few minutes, because the recovery starts rightaway. “I feel the effects of what I have put my body through for three weeks after theevent, and it takes me six weeks to recover completely and be ready for the next challenge,”Faris Al Sultan relates. Recovery periods are unknown to the MTU “Ironmen”. They have tokeep on working incessantly as idle periods cost their owners thousands of euro a day. Soreliability and ease of maintenance are essential design criteria – an availability rate of 99percent has to be guaranteed. At 34,000 hours, the periods between scheduled mainte-nance are also extremly long. It works out at only once every four years – even if the engineis working 24 hours a day.

Lucie Dammann

Taste of victory: Faris Al Sultan wonthe Hawaii Ironman in 2005.

58 | MTU REPORT 2/2008 | Marine

Ô Christian Beiner

christian.beiner@mtu-online.comTel. +49 7541 90-3451

www.mtu-ironmen.com

“The engines really are ironmen. That’s no exaggeration.”Christian Pawliczek, MS Michaela

Faris Al Sultan has been a triathlete for 11 years – he com-pleted his first Ironman at 18. He has been in the grip of itsfascination ever since. His greatest success was winning theHawaii Ironman in 2005.

How do you prepare for a triathlon? Up until two weeksbefore the event, the training is very hard; then comes thetapering phase in which I do carefully planned shortersessions so my body doesn’t become unused to physicaleffort. But generally it is a recovery phase. Then, it’scomplete rest the day before the event; I take a look at thestart area, collect my race number and go through the racein my head.

And what about the practical preparations on the dayof the race? I get up three hours before the start, have alight breakfast (white bread and Nutella), and go down tothe start area. I do a short warm-up swim and then it’s reallyjust a case of waiting for the gun.

What thoughts go through your mind before andduring the event? Well, it varies. Firstly, I just concentrateon the “here and now” and go over the race and the indi-vidual phases of the event once more. But during the raceI think about all sorts of things. From “Did I switch thelights off in the apartment?” to “Where are my oppo-nents?”, “How are my relatives?” and “Who is where onthe course?”, all sorts of things flash through your mind.

FARIS AL SULTAN ON THE LEAD-UP TO A TRIATHLON