Digital twin for locomotive diesel engines
Sinara Group, a major engineering holding in Russia, completed the validation tests of a digital twin of the 6DM-185T locomotive diesel engine. It is the first stage of the virtual trials of the technology. The obtained data will be also applied in the development of the new types of diesel engines.
The digital twin of the locomotive diesel engine was created by a team of the Ural Diesel Engine Plant (UDMZ), which is a part of Sinara Group. It is able to simulate more than 70 parameters of engine systems, including thermometric and strain gauge characteristics, and shows the prospect of wear for certain components. Within the virtual trials, there were examined the correspondence of the indicators calculated by the programme to the real ones. The findings will be used by Sinara Group for the further improvement of the digital twin technology.
Further development
Currently, the Ural Diesel Engine Plant is developing a new series of diesel engines. It is classified as the 16DM-185 modification and will be based on the 6DM-185T type. The manufacturer intends to apply the digital twin technology to facilitate this process. “The most important direction in engineering is the creation of digital twins. They help to reduce the time for introducing a product in the market, to improve the quality of design solutions and, ultimately, to more fully meet the customer requirements,” noted Yakov Kop, the First Deputy General Director of Sinara-Transport Machines Holding (part of Sinara Group).
Popular shunters
The 6DM-185T diesel engines are installed in the shunting locomotives of the TEM14M type, which is popular in Russia. Around 150 vehicles are owned by several regional divisions of Russian Railways. They are equipped with an intelligent engine control system, a system for automatic diesel start when the engine load increases and the dedicated pre-heaters. The planned new modification of the diesel engine will be also installed in these shunters.
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