3416results about "Engine operations" patented technology

Fuel management system for enhanced operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder. It is preferred that the direct injection occur after the inlet valve is closed. It is also preferred that stoichiometric operation with a three way catalyst be used to minimize emissions. In addition, it is also preferred that the anti-knock agents have a heat of vaporization per unit of combustion energy that is at least three times that of gasoline.

A method and apparatus is disclosed for increasing combustion efficiency in internal combustion engines and external combustors resulting in increased fuel economy and reduced exhaust pollutants. The same principles and apparatus of the invention are used in the exhaust stream to further reduce pollutants.

An internal combustion engine, in which multiple kinds of fuels are fed to a cylinder from multiple fuel injectors each corresponding to each of multiple kinds of fuels at a target mixing ratio determined according to a running condition, includes an actual fuel mixing ratio calculator calculating an actual fuel mixing ratio of fuel fed to cylinder. The actual fuel mixing ratio calculator at first calculates actual fuel injection quantity of each fuel injection by adding or subtracting predetermined stuck-on-wall fuel to or from each quantity of fuel injected from each fuel injector, and then calculates an actual fuel mixing ratio of fuel fed to cylinder on the basis of the calculated actual fuel injection quantity of each fuel injector.

Improved exhaust gas recirculation system and methods that use one or more of the engine's cylinders as dedicated EGR cylinders. All of the exhaust from the dedicated EGR cylinders is recirculated back to the engine intake. Thus, the EGR rate is constant, but the EGR mass flow may be controlled by adjusting the air-fuel ratio of the dedicated EGR cylinders or by using various variable valve timing techniques.

Fuel management system for enhanced operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder. It is preferred that the direct injection occur after the inlet valve is closed. It is also preferred that stoichiometric operation with a three way catalyst be used to minimize emissions. In addition, it is also preferred that the anti-knock agents have a heat of vaporization per unit of combustion energy that is at least three times that of gasoline.

Fuel management system for efficient operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder of the engine. A fuel management microprocessor system controls injection of the anti-knock agent so as to control knock and minimize that amount of the anti-knock agent that is used in a drive cycle. It is preferred that the anti-knock agent is ethanol. The use of ethanol can be further minimized by injection in a non-uniform manner within a cylinder. The ethanol injection suppresses knock so that higher compression ratio and / or engine downsizing from increased turbocharging or supercharging can be used to increase the efficiency of the engine.

A water injection amount control system for a fuel and water injection engine, comprises running state detecting unit for detecting the running state of the engine; an EGR system for recirculating part of exhaust gas of the engine to a combustion chamber of the engine; EGR system operating state detecting unit for detecting or estimating the operating state of the EGR system; water injection amount regulating unit for regulating an amount of water to be injected to the combustion chamber of the engine; and control unit for controlling the operation of the water injection amount regulating unit: wherein the system is arranged to have water injection amount setting unit for deciding a water injection amount based on information from the running state detecting unit and on the operating state of the EGR system detected by the EGR system operating state detecting unit, so that the control unit controls the operation of the water injection amount regulating unit based on the water injection amount decided by the water injection amount setting unit.

A remedial pollution control system for treating volatile organic compounds that may include a vapor concentrator connected to a line that is laden with volatile organic compounds, the concentrator has an organic condensate output line and a vapor output line; a mixing chamber adapted to receive air provided from an air supply line, combustible fuel from an alternate fuel supply line, and a vapor stream from the vapor output line to produce a mixed fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine, a control mixing system with a controller for producing a proper air to fuel ratio in the mixed fuel supply, and power generated to operate other devices used to more efficiently abate volatile organic compounds and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The present invention provides systems and methods to improve the performance and emission control of internal combustion engines equipped with nitrogen oxides storage-reduction (“NSR”) emission control systems. The system generally includes a NSR catalyst, a fuel processor located upstream of the NSR catalyst, and at least one fuel injection port. The fuel processor converts a fuel into a reducing gas mixture comprising CO and H2. The reducing gas mixture is then fed into the NSR catalyst, where it regenerates the NSR adsorbent, reduces the NOx to nitrogen, and optionally periodically desulfates the NSR catalyst. The fuel processor generally includes one or more catalysts, which facilitate reactions such as combustion, partial oxidation, and / or reforming and help consume excess oxygen present in an engine exhaust stream. The methods of the present invention provide for NSR catalyst adsorbent regeneration using pulsed fuel flow. Control strategies are also provided.

Fuel management system for efficient operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder of the engine. A fuel management microprocessor system controls injection of the anti-knock agent so as to control knock and minimize that amount of the anti-knock agent that is used in a drive cycle. It is preferred that the anti-knock agent is ethanol. The use of ethanol can be further minimized by injection in a non-uniform manner within a cylinder. The ethanol injection suppresses knock so that higher compression ratio and / or engine downsizing from increased turbocharging or supercharging can be used to increase the efficiency of the engine.

A system for an engine, comprising of a cylinder located in the engine, a fuel delivery system for varying relative delivery amounts of a first and second injection type into said cylinder, and a controller configured to adjust a parameter affecting flow through the engine in response to said relative delivery amounts of said first and second injection type.

A system for an engine, comprising of a cylinder located in the engine, a first injector configured to inject gasoline fuel into said cylinder, and a second injector configured to inject a fluid into said cylinder, said fluid containing at least some water.

During operation with part load, a gasoline internal combustion engine is operated with a lean air / fuel mixture by auto-ignition. During operation with full load, spark-ignition is used to operate the engine. The internal combustion engine is operated in three auto-ignition combustion modes depending upon magnitude of a predetermined operating parameter. The operating parameter is indicative of the engine load or the engine speed. The three auto-ignition combustion modes are a gasoline reform auto-ignition combustion mode, an auto-ignition stratified charge combustion mode, and an auto-ignition homogeneous charge combustion mode. In the gasoline reform auto-ignition combustion mode that may be selected during operation with low part load, a first fuel injection during an exhaust gas retaining phase produces sufficient amount of active fuel radicals for promotion of auto-ignition of air / fuel mixture produced by a second fuel injection during the subsequent compression phase. In the auto-ignition stratified charge combustion mode that may be selected during operation with intermediate part load, a fuel injection during compression phase supports auto-ignition. In the auto-ignition homogeneous charge combustion mode that may be selected during operation with high part load, a fuel injection during intake phase supports auto-ignition.

The present invention is directed to a dual fuel supply system for supplying fuel to a direct-injection system of a diesel engine. The dual fuel supply system includes a diesel supply system to supply diesel to the direct-injection system; and a mixed fuel supply system that is operatively able to supply a liquid fuel premixture of diesel and liquefied gaseous fuel to the direct-injection system at a supply pressure within a fuel demand pressure range of the direct-injection system and at a corresponding temperature range that retains the fuel premixture below its vapor temperature as it flows through the fuel path of the direct-injection system and the diesel engine. The dual fuel supply system is configured to permit selective change over between the diesel supply system and the mixed fuel system to supply the direct-injection system selectively with either diesel or liquid fuel premixture respectively.

A system for an engine of a vehicle, comprising of at least one combustion chamber located in the engine, a delivery system configured to deliver a fuel and a fluid to the combustion chamber, an ignition system including a spark plug configured to ignite the fuel within the combustion chamber, a spark plug heating system configured to supply heat to the spark plug, and a control system configured to vary an amount of heat supplied to the spark plug by the spark plug heating system responsive to a condition of the ignition system.

A method of controlling an engine, the method comprising of providing fuel having a blend to a cylinder of the engine, actively varying said fuel blend in response to at least an operating condition, and where during a transient operating condition, said blend is adjusted to increase a heat capacity of said fuel to reduce a tendency for knock.

Methods and systems for low emission power generation in combined cycle power plants are provided. One system includes a gas turbine system that stoichiometrically combusts a fuel and an oxidant in the presence of a compressed recycle stream to provide mechanical power and a gaseous exhaust. The compressed recycle stream acts as a diluent to moderate the temperature of the combustion process. A boost compressor can boost the pressure of the gaseous exhaust before being compressed into the compressed recycle stream. A purge stream is tapped off from the compressed recycle stream and directed to a C02 separator which discharges C02 and a nitrogen-rich gas which can be expanded in a gas expander to generate additional mechanical power.

An EGR equipped internal combustion engine is controlled to maximize the beneficial effects and minimize the detrimental effects of EGR on engine operation. Specifically, at least one parameter indicative of the O2 concentration in the intake mixture and / or at least one parameter indicative of the H2O concentration in the intake mixture is monitored, and the monitored parameter is relied on to control one or more aspects of engine operation by open loop adjustment of other control strategies and / or by a separate closed loop control strategy. These controls are applicable to virtually any engine, and are particularly beneficial to lean burn engines such as diesel (compression ignition) engines, spark ignited natural gas engines, and dual fuel or other compression ignited natural gas engines. The engine may be equipped with either actively controllable EGR or passive and uncontrolled EGR.

A fuel system for on-board vehicle fuel separation to supply engine fuel compositions formulated as a function of driving cycle conditions. The invention results in improvements in one or more of feed efficiency and combustion emissions.

Part load operating point for a controlled auto-ignition four-stroke internal combustion engine is reduced without compromising combustion stability through load dependent valve controls and fueling strategies. Optimal fuel economy is achieved by employing negative valve overlap to trap and re-compress combusted gases below a predetermined engine load and employing exhaust gas re-breathing above the predetermined engine load. Split-injection fuel controls are implemented during low and intermediate part load operation whereas a single-injection fuel control is implemented during high part load operation. Split-injections are characterized by lean fuel / air ratios and single-injections are characterized by either lean or stoichiometric fuel / air ratios. Controlled autoignition is thereby enabled through an extended range of engine loads while maintaining acceptable combustion stability and emissions at optimal fuel economy.

A fuel separation apparatus includes a fuel tank storing the material fuel fed to a separation membrane, a fuel tank storing a separated low-octane fuel, and a fuel tank storing a separated high-octane fuel. An electronic control unit of the separation apparatus calculates the flow rate (amount of formation) of the high-octane fuel flowing into the high-octane fuel tank based on a change in the liquid level in the tank and on the amount of fuel fed to an engine from the tank, and so judges that an abnormal condition is occurring due to the breakage of the separation membrane when the amount of forming the high-octane fuel is larger than a predetermined upper limit value and that an abnormal condition is occurring due to a drop in the function of the separation membrane when the amount of formation is smaller than a predetermined lower limit value.

Various systems and methods are described for controlling an engine in a vehicle which includes an exhaust passage and an exhaust gas recirculation system. One example method comprises adjusting an engine operating parameter based on an exhaust gas recirculation amount, the exhaust gas recirculation amount based on a first humidity and a second humidity, the first humidity generated from a first humidity sensor at a first location and the second humidity generated from a second humidity sensor located in the exhaust passage of the engine.

There is provided an internal combustion engine that uses a blended fuel consisting of hydrocarbon and alcohol, and can efficiently operate relative to a wide range of required load. The internal combustion engine includes: intake ports 4a and 4b and two injectors 5a and 5b. The injectors include a first injector 5a that injects a hydrocarbon fuel and a second injector 5b that injects an alcohol fuel. An optimum combustion mode is selected according to an operation state, and the ratio of the alcohol is properly adjusted according to the combustion mode. The intake ports includes a first intake port 4a that guides the hydrocarbon fuel to an inner peripheral portion of a combustion chamber, and a second intake port 4c that guides the alcohol fuel to an outer peripheral portion of the combustion chamber to control octane number distribution in a cylinder. The internal combustion engine further includes separating means 8 for adding water to a blended fuel consisting of alcohol and hydrocarbon to separate into the alcohol fuel consisting of the alcohol and the water and the hydrocarbon fuel.

Improved exhaust gas recirculation system and methods that use one or more of the engine's cylinders as dedicated EGR cylinders. All of the exhaust from the dedicated EGR cylinders is recirculated back to the engine intake. Thus, the EGR rate is constant, but the EGR mass flow may be controlled by adjusting the air-fuel ratio of the dedicated EGR cylinders or by using various variable valve timing techniques.

This invention relates to a fuel filter for use with internal combustion engines. The fuel filter includes a fuel additive that can be released into fuel. The rate of release for the fuel can be controlled. In one form the fuel additive can be mixed with a matrix material and released at a substantially constant rate to maintain a uniform level of fuel additive in the fuel. Use of the present invention provides a fuel filter having an extended life span that is longer than fuel filters typically used with combustion engines.

A method for reducing required octane number and a spark ignition gasoline engine system with hydrogen-enhanced knock resistance. The method for reducing required octane number of gasoline needed to prevent knock includes the addition of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas containing carbon monoxide to gasoline. Octane number can be improved by 5 or more for a hydrogen energy fraction of 10%. The spark ignition gasoline engine system includes a spark ignition gasoline engine and a source of gasoline and hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas. Apparatus is provided to supply the gasoline and the hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas to the engine at a varying hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas to gasoline ratio selected both to prevent knock and to ensure a desired level of combustion stability throughout a full range of engine operation. The engine system may be normally aspirated or boosted; the compression ratio may be high such as greater than 11 or below 11, and EGR may be added. The hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas to gasoline ratio may be controlled as a function of boost pressure, torque, engine speed, or air / fuel mixture ratio.

A heat engine system includes a fuel reforming system for supplying a reformed gas to be combusted in an internal combustion engine or used to generate electricity in a fuel cell. An alcohol-containing fuel and water are mixed in a tank and separated into a hydrocarbon based fuel and the fluid mixture of alcohol and water. A reformer uses an endothermic reaction, such as a water vapor reforming process, to obtain the reformed gas from the fluid mixture.

An onboard fuel separation apparatus separates a material fuel (gasoline) into a high-octane fuel having a higher octane value than the material fuel and a low-octane fuel having a lower octane value than the material fuel using a separation membrane which selectively allows high-octane value components (such as aromatic components) permeate through the membrane. The apparatus increases the ratio of the amount of the high-octane value components permeating through the membrane to the amount of the high-octane value components contained in the material fuel by, (A) Controlling the temperature of the material fuel supplied to the membrane (B) Increasing partial pressure of the low-octane value components on the high-octane fuel side of the membrane and removing volatiles from the permeate, and (C) Bypassing volatiles in the material feed around the membrane.