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Originally Posted by Buzz
Back to the opposed piston diesel which is what perked my interest initially - I wonder if the better power to weight ratio will make them viable in the marine industry. Not sure if they come with inherent size/shape/configuration issues, but the prospect of a lighter, more powerful diesel powerplant is always an exciting to the sportfish/large express cruiser crowd.
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I read, a long time ago, where there were several large scale opposed piston 2 cycle diesels designs for large electrical power generation back in the day. Also the Germans built one huge 24 cylinder version. It had four crankshafts, with four cylinders forming a square with the crankshafts located at the corners. There were six rows of the four cylinder squares.
The most efficient marine diesels engines are 2 strokes. Somewhere in the neighborhood or 3 foot bore by 9 foot stroke. The rod is a complicated design to allow the long stroke not to hit the cylinder walls, with out being ridiculously long. The opposed piston would allow two 4.5 foot strokes. This would simplify the rod design and cut the piston speed in half, thus allowing a doubling of the rpm. I would think this would be revolutionary in large marine engines.