Methods and systems for a series gap igniter with a passive prechamber

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for a series gap igniter having a passive pre-chamber. Methods and systems are provided for operating an engine having a series gap igniter. In one example, a system may include a series gap igniter. The series gap igniter is connected to a cylinder cover of the cylinder; the series gap igniter includes a first spark gap in an interior volume of the series gap igniter and a second spark gap of the series gap igniter; the second spark gap is external to the internal volume of the series gap igniter and within a clearance volume of the cylinder. In this manner, a cylinder with a series gap igniter may be operated to efficiently and reliably initiate combustion under a range of engine operating conditions.

Description

technical field [0001] The present description generally relates to methods and systems for engines having passive pre-chamber ignition systems. Background technique [0002] Internal combustion engines combust an air / fuel mixture within cylinders to produce torque, which can be used to propel a vehicle. In some such engines, an ignition source is used to ignite the air-fuel mixture within each cylinder during the compression stroke. For example, in a conventional spark ignition engine, each cylinder includes a spark plug for directly igniting the air-fuel mixture within the cylinder. In other examples, the air-fuel mixture within the cylinder may be ignited by a jet of hot gas and flame from a pre-combustion chamber (referred to herein as a pre-chamber). A passive prechamber may be a walled chamber located in the clearance volume of the cylinder, and may contain a spark plug. During engine operation, an air-fuel mixture is introduced into the cylinder, and a portion of t...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

As an example, in a system with an active pre-chamber system, adding a pre-chamber fuel injector and a pre-chamber air injector can add cost and complexity to the system and can introduce significant packaging constraints

As another example, in a system with a dual-spark pre-chamber system, adding a second spark plug may also add cost and complexity to the system as well as packaging constraints

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