Guangming Daily — Reporter Zhang Shiying learned from Harbin Engineering University that a research team at the university has successfully developed China’s first integrated high-load intake waterproofing and filtration device for marine engines. The device can efficiently filter salt mist aerosols in the marine environment and withstand high-pressure seawater impact, providing key technical support for solving the long-standing problem of salt mist corrosion in marine engines.

Salt mist aerosols formed by sea spray, dust, salt particles, and other substances in the marine environment pose a serious threat to marine engine intake systems. Professor Wang Zhongyi from the Purification and Separation Technology Team of the College of Power and Energy Engineering at Harbin Engineering University said, “Calculations show that under an average intake salt mist concentration of 100 ppm, without protective equipment, a high-power engine would ‘ingest’ about 0.75 kilograms of salt after operating for one day, greatly shortening its service life.” Once salt mist enters the engine, the resulting deposition and corrosion not only cause performance degradation, but also keep equipment maintenance costs high.

To address this industry challenge, the research team, through the efforts of three generations of researchers including Cheng Yuanlong, Sun Hai’ou, and Wang Zhongyi, carried out more than 30 years of technical research. They conducted in-depth studies on the flow and separation mechanisms of salt mist aerosols and successfully achieved breakthroughs in several core technologies, including static centrifugal separation, inertial turning separation, and coalescence-based salt mist separation. The integrated high-load intake waterproofing and filtration device can efficiently filter more than 99% of salt mist aerosols from intake air, significantly improving engine reliability.

Through structural optimization, the research team also enabled the device to provide waterproofing and filtration for large-flow engine intake under extreme conditions such as heavy rain, while also ensuring convenient maintenance and good economic performance. According to Wang Zhongyi, the device reduces operation and maintenance costs by more than 50% compared with existing technologies. It has now been applied on more than 1,000 sets across 11 types of vessels, demonstrating strong promotion value and promising market prospects.

Original Link: https://news.gmw.cn/2026-04/17/content_38713653.htm?