Cummins Advanced Combat Engine (AUSA 2018)

Shaun Connors speaks to Cummins inc about their Cummins Advanced Combat Engine (ACE) on display at AUSA 2018.

[klesmer]

Opposed pistons, a blast from the past and the wave of the future. I don't know why it has taken so long for this design to be rediscovered.

[wazzaracer]

25% better fuel economy is very important, that makes a big difference in the logistics.

[OUMagMan]

Dear Cummins, I would be most happy to test your 4-cyl (or, ESPECIALLY the 1, 500hp 6!!) in my ol' RV ... Thank you!

[shonafox]

The Opposed Piston 2-stroke design provided much fewer points of failure than in a conventional engine design:

No cylinder head(s).
No cylinder head gasket(s).
No cam box / rocker cover gaskets
No valves.
No camshaft.
No valve gear (cam followers, push-rods, cam timing gears, valve springs, keepers and collets, cam bearings etc).
Six pistons, but only 3 cylinders and 3 diesel injectors.

The Opposed Piston, twin Rocker Lever architecture also provided less than 5 degree conrod angularity at the pistons, so there was virtually no side thrust generated on each firing stroke.

This meant the levels of cylinder bore and piston skirt wear, plus the related motoring losses (friction losses generated when the engine is running) were substantially less than all conventional design diesel engines.

These combined qualities produced:

High power density.
High levels of mechanical reliability under adverse / overload operating conditions.
Impressive engine life.
Very low fuel consumption (.37 lbs per HP per hour)..
Low overall operating costs.

Known variously as:

Rootes TS3.

[sportytone]

There are various opposed-piston engines used in trains and ships over the years. They are known for durability, reliability, and simplicity.

[MickeyMishra]

I loved going down to the engine room to see the Fairbanks do its start up routine. Its amazing how such a big engine runs so smooth. It really was not that loud in operation either for such a big engine.

[joshadama]

It's really cool how the pump is directly mated to one of the flywheels no belt at all. Neato

[johnnytyler]

The six cylinder, 1500HP variant that he talks about at the end of this video has recently been confirmed to be the powerplant inside of the newly announced "AbramsX" tank by General Dynamics. The tank is just a tech demonstrator for right now, but it is definitely using the six cylinder, 1500HP version of this Cummins engine in addition to battery packs for a hybrid type of design. I can't wait to see what happens in the future with our military armored vehicles.

[michaelbenoit]

The sad part is that we will probably never see this engine in a new truck for civilian use. Thanks EPA!

[Thoroughly_Wet]

"Electric vehicles are the way of the future"

Maybe, but there's still Heck of A lot of advancement to be made in internal combustion engines that they'll stick around in most industrial and military applications for decades

[sadelsor]

Deltic had triangular opposed pistons on their locomotive engines back in the 1960's.

[daveblack]

A modern version of the British Leyland L60 power unit produced in the 1950's / 60's and used as a mulrifuel engine in the Chieftain Tank. 6 Cyl, 12 piston, 19 Litre, 750 HP @2100 RPM and 1, 460 lb⋅ft of torque (1, 980 N⋅m) at 1, 320 rpm . 60 Years to make a comeback. Happy days!

[edwinccrisp]

for all you engine guys, check your history, cylinder opposed configuration was first designed by a company called Tilling Stevens, (commonly known as the TS3) Commer trucks part of the Rootes group used them in the 1960`s mainly two stroke cycles,

[medicineinyourkitchen]

I didn’t see where they explained the cooling system or water jacket locations. That would be interesting to see how it circulates.

[Farmer_]

Talk about a Cummins swap in the future?

[normandong]

Cummins is on the right track to make durable engines more compact to fit more types of vehicles. What we don’t know yet is how well they
Work or accelerate in actual field conditions. It would be nice to see some videos where these engines are installed and demonstrated.

[notyou]

Great improvement in diesel deltic variant.

[irnwkrkev]

Great 2018 video linked in a 2023 article!

[thewomble]

Interesting engine. As many will know, the Leyland L60 engine that cursed the Chieftain tank was six cyl, 19ltr opposed piston design.

[terrycrowell]

Id like to know if such a motor would work in a marine environment. More engine room more power more distance = win win win.