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English   MAN celebrates 150 years Rudolf Diesel
14.03.2008 von admin



In 1898 Maschinenfabrik Augsburg and Maschinenbau-Actiengesellschaft Nürnberg agree to combine their activities -- the newly established Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg AG soon afterwards becomes Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg or M.A.N. In 1915 the Armed Forces Administration is pressuring the production of trucks because of the enormous war requirements. The Nuremberg works is contracted for something that president Anton Rieppel had long wanted: "MAN must be put on wheels". On July 12, 1915 MAN concludes a license agreement with the Swiss automobile factory Adolph Saurer and becomes a truck manufacturer. A diesel engine is still out of the question, because it is too heavy and its fuel compressor injection makes it too complicated. The first truck manufactured in Nuremberg goes onto the market under the double name MAN-Saurer. A 37-hp gasoline engine propels the chain drive and gate-type gear control of the solid rubber tyres on wooden wheels -- its load capacity is four to five tonnes.

1923 already -- the world's first direct injection engine

After the end of World War I the engineers at the Augsburg works resume development of the diesel engine. The focal problem, the injection of the fuel with compressed air and the necessary high-pressure compressor, is solved by MAN technicians through direct injection. Fuel is injected straight into the combustion chamber under high pump pressure. This very much simplifies the engines and their maintenance. At the same time the way is opened for small engines and higher engine speeds. While other manufacturers stick to the concept of the precombustion chamber engine, MAN decides to go its own way. At the German Automobile Show 1924 in Berlin MAN presents the first diesel truck, which is soon being manufactured in small series. The four-cylinder, now produced by the Nuremberg works, delivers 45 hp at 1050 crank shaft revolutions, consumes only 200 g/hph, and is barely heavier than a conventional carburettor engine. The first customers trust in MAN's good reputation and its new engine design -- Bavaria's postal administration for instance, which orders a number of engines for its autobuses ahead of the Berlin show.


In 1924 MAN put the first series-produced diesel truck on show at the Berlin Automobile Exhibition.


In 1925 the MAN trucks are again among the special attractions of the show in Berlin. The most modern diesel truck is without doubt presented by MAN -- engine, clutch and gearbox for the first time in a single block, and the engine power transmitted to the rear axle by a propeller shaft. In 1927 already -- the diesels are now being developed in Nuremberg -- MAN answers the demand for high engine power with a six-cylinder diesel. Multiple-jet nozzles, an optimized piston head and four valves per cylinder achieve 110 hp. At the same time, specific fuel consumption drops from 200 to 180 g/hph (244 g/kWh). In 1930, in the course of its basic research, MAN develops the K principle with an oblique combustion chamber, air accumulator and 400 bar injection pressure. That allows the use of a piston with a smooth head.

The master stroke -- direct injection

1923 sees the breakthrough -- fuel is injected direct under high pump pressure into the combustion chamber, the highly complex compressed-air injection by compressor is no more. Smaller engines and higher engine speeds are now possible. While competitors choose the precombustion chamber technique of the engineer Prosper L'Orange for their heavy-oil engines, MAN sticks to the principle of direct injection for its diesel engines. Typical features of the direct injection diesel are undivided combustion chambers and, compared to precombustion chamber or swirl chamber engines, the smaller combustion chamber surface. This is accompanied by lower losses of heat and flow, resulting in less consumption and higher efficiency. Today virtually all diesel engines in commercial vehicles worldwide use direct injection.

The 1930s -- stronger, heavier, more economical

MAN develops a series of trucks that, in a two-axled version, is capable of handling payloads of three, four, five, six and a half and -- for export -- eight tonnes. 1926 already saw the first MAN three-axle truck, extending the system of type rating to 10 tonnes. However the long bonnet still conceals a 150 hp six-cylinder gasoline engine, which is not replaced by an equally powerful diesel engine until 1932. The three-axle heavy-duty S 1 H 6 is the most powerful diesel truck in the world, its six-cylinder engine with 16.6 liters capacity producing 150 hp -- ideal for long distances and heavy loads. Its power plant is not cast but consists of a welded sheet steel construction. Even the cylinders are of sheet steel with cast iron liners allowing simple replacement. Despite its imposing dimensions, the six-cylinder and its accompanying units weighs only 920 kilograms. But the presentation of the world's most powerful three-axle diesel comes at the time of the Great Depression, which is also a difficult time for the commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN. Consequently only few examples of the impressive heavy-duty truck appear on the roads.

Truck production does not really get going again until after 1933 -- the construction of motorways and various procurement programs create heavy demand. The legislature increases admissible vehicle weights -- two-axled trucks may now weigh up to 15 tonnes. In 1934 MAN attracts attention through a triumph of a special kind: the International Automobile Diesel Engine Rally, conducted through large areas of the Soviet Union, is won by a vehicle with a MAN engine in the face of tough competition. Before long, diesel trucks from Nuremberg have gone into use in all European and even in numerous overseas countries. In 1937 the engine designers in Nuremberg come up with a revolutionary innovation in the spherical combustion chamber and the flat-seat jet. MAN speaks of the G principle (G standing for globe) -- the eccentric hollow sphere in the piston head reduces the heat losses, the rugged flat-seat jet, offset from center, avoids the elaborate multiple-jet nozzle. More fuel burns in a short time, performance improves from the 100 hp of the forerunner six-cylinder to 120 hp. Plus, the new engine manages with one inlet valve and one outlet valve per cylinder. Despite the simplified construction, the G engine is impressive for its consumption of 155 g/hph (210 g/kWh) and improved cold starting. MAN builds four-, six- and eight-cylinder models that produce 25 to 160 hp at 1500 to 2400 rpm -- meaning a weight/horsepower ratio of only 4.5 to 6 kg.


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