Vehicle and corresponding method

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine (8) having a work chamber (30), each work chamber being formed by a cylinder (32), a cylinder head (34), a piston (36), an inlet valve (38) and an outlet valve (40). The internal combustion engine comprises one injection nozzle (62) and one spark plug (72) for each work chamber. The injection nozzle (62) is suitable for injecting hydrogen into the work chamber. The spark plug (72) is a spark plug designed to ignite a hydrogen-air mixture in the work chamber, which mixture results from the hydrogen injected by the injection nozzle. The invention can be used in rail vehicles (2) having a retrofitted diesel engine.

Description

Vehicle and corresponding procedure The invention relates to a vehicle according to the preamble of patent claim 1 and a corresponding method for conversion. From US2013 / 0220270, a vehicle is known which includes an internal combustion engine that has been converted from exclusively liquid fuel use (diesel) to a bi-fuel use of liquid fuel and gas fuel (e.g., hydrogen). When exclusively running on gas, the internal combustion engine can only operate at a basic power level. For high-performance operation, gas and liquid fuel are combusted together in the working chamber (see

[0068] ). The vehicle US2013 / 02200270 is a road motor vehicle. Converted bi-fuel vehicles have the disadvantage that they are not locally emission-free, still consume hydrocarbons at least temporarily and / or only deliver relatively low performance. Based on the known state of the art, the invention has the object of providing a vehicle that allows environmentally friendly transport with high operating performance and, at the same time, low costs. The basic idea of ​​the invention is based on a diesel rail vehicle whose drive engine is converted from diesel combustion to preferably exclusively hydrogen combustion and which can thereby provide a power that is close to the original rated power of the drive engine with diesel combustion or is identical to this rated power. By converting existing diesel rail vehicles to hydrogen operation, the investment costs are very low. The conversion also results in very low emissions compared to the production of a new vehicle. Because the engine's power when running on hydrogen is closer to the rated power of the original diesel engine, the rail vehicle can be used consistently, eliminating the need to adjust operating schedules, for example. To achieve this object, a vehicle is designed according to patent claim 1. A corresponding method according to the invention is specified in claim 8. The individual disclosed features of the invention and the embodiments can each be used individually or jointly in the disclosed combination or in any other technically possible sub-combination and are therefore to be regarded as disclosed. Further developments of the invention are the subject of the corresponding subclaims. If a functional device feature is disclosed below, the corresponding method feature is also explicitly considered to be disclosed. Each of the features disclosed together is to be considered as disclosed individually or in any technically possible combination. The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment of the figures. They show: Fig. 1 : a perspective view of a rail vehicle according to the invention; Fig. 2: a schematic view of a diesel engine of the rail vehicle of Figure 1 before conversion; Fig. 3: a schematic view of the internal combustion engine of a rail vehicle according to the invention from Fig. 1; Fig. 4: a schematic view of part of the internal combustion engine of Figure 3; Fig. 5: an enlarged side view of a section through part of the internal combustion engine of Figure 3; Fig. 6: an enlarged detail of Figure 5; Fig. 7: a perspective view of a part of the internal combustion engine of Figure 3 with injection jets shown; Fig. 8: an enlarged view from below of a detail of Figure 7 with the injection jets; and Fig. 9: a cross-section through part of the internal combustion engine of Figure 3. Figure 1 generally depicts a rail vehicle 2 according to the invention. In this case, the rail vehicle is a shunting locomotive. Alternatively, the rail vehicle can also be a traction locomotive or a railcar. The rail vehicle 2 has a chassis 4 and drive wheels 6. The rail vehicle comprises an internal combustion engine 8 and an associated fuel tank 10, which is designed to contain the fuel for the internal combustion engine. The rail vehicle comprises a supply device 12, indicated only schematically, e.g., with lines, valves, pumps, and a control device for supplying the internal combustion engine with the fuel from the fuel tank. According to the invention, the fuel tank 10 is a hydrogen tank 20, which is designed to store hydrogen (H2), e.g., in liquid form and / or gaseous form under pressure. The supply device 12 is designed to remove the hydrogen from the fuel tank and deliver it to the internal combustion engine 8. Combustion engine 8 is designed to burn hydrogen and is therefore a hydrogen engine 22, in particular a converted diesel engine. The combustion engine or the rail vehicle does not have a supply device for supplying the combustion engine with other types of fuel, i.e., the rail vehicle 2 or the combustion engine 8 is designed to be operated exclusively with hydrogen. The rail vehicle according to the invention is preferably the result of a conversion process for a diesel rail vehicle 202, which may also be a diesel-electric rail vehicle. The elements of the known diesel rail vehicle that correspond to the elements in the converted rail vehicle 2 are indicated by references increased by 200 and indicated in parentheses in Figure 1. The diesel rail vehicle 202 comprises an internal combustion engine 208, which is a diesel engine 222 for driving the diesel rail vehicle, and a fuel tank 210, which is a diesel tank 220. The diesel rail vehicle 202 further comprises a diesel supply device 212, which is configured to extract diesel from the diesel tank 220 and supply it to the diesel engine 222. The diesel engine 222 is shown schematically in Figure 2 as a 4-cylinder engine. The diesel engine typically has more than 4 cylinders and is, for example, a 12-cylinder engine. The diesel engine has a rated power of, for example, between 250 kW and 500 kW. The diesel engine 222 has at least one working chamber 230, each working chamber being formed by a cylinder 232, a cylinder head 234, a piston 236, and at least one intake valve 238 and at least one exhaust valve 240. In the present case, the diesel engine 222 has two intake valves and two exhaust valves per working chamber, one of which is shown in each case. The cylinders 232 each have a cylinder wall 242 and can be formed in a manner known per se by an engine block 244. Each piston 236 comprises a piston crown 246, which in this case has a piston recess 248. The diesel engine further comprises a diesel injection nozzle 250 per working chamber, which is designed to inject the diesel fuel into the working chamber 230. The cylinder head 234 has a diesel injection receiving opening 274 for this purpose. The diesel injection nozzle 250 is connected to the diesel supply device 212. In the present case, the diesel injection nozzle 250 is arranged coaxially to a working chamber center axis AA. The diesel engine 222 may also have a glow plug (not shown) for each working chamber, which is also removed during the conversion process. The diesel engine 222 also includes a cooling device 252 configured to remove combustion heat from the working chambers 230. The cooling device 252 includes a coolant channel 254 formed in the or each cylinder head 234, and coolant 256 configured to circulate through the coolant channels. Each inlet valve 238 and outlet valve 240 has a valve plate and a valve stem, wherein the surface of the valve plate defines part of the working chamber. Figure 3 shows the internal combustion engine 8 or the hydrogen engine 22 of the rail vehicle according to the invention. The internal combustion engine 8 has features or components of the diesel engine 222 described above. Corresponding features of the hydrogen engine are indicated by reference numerals reduced by 200 compared to the diesel engine of Figure 2. The features of the hydrogen engine 22 that are identical to the diesel engine 222 are shown below. The hydrogen engine 22 is shown schematically in Figure 3 as a 4-cylinder engine. The hydrogen engine typically has more than 4 cylinders and is, for example, a 12-cylinder engine. The hydrogen engine has a rated power ranging, for example, from 225 kW or 247.5 kW or 250 kW to 450 kW or 495 kW or 500 kW. The hydrogen engine 22 has at least one working chamber 30, each working chamber being formed by a cylinder 32, a cylinder head 34, a piston 36, and at least one inlet valve 38 and at least one exhaust valve 40. In the present case, the hydrogen engine 22 has two inlet valves and two exhaust valves per working chamber, one of which is shown in each case. The cylinders 32 each have a cylinder wall 42 and can be formed in a manner known per se by an engine block 44. Each piston comprises a piston crown 46, which in this case has a piston recess 48. The hydrogen engine 22 also includes a cooling device 52 designed to remove combustion heat from the working chambers 30. The cooling device 52 includes a coolant channel 54 that extends into the or each cylinder head 34 is introduced, as well as coolant 56 which is designed to circulate through the coolant channels. Each inlet valve 38 or outlet valve 40 has a valve plate and a valve stem, wherein the surface of the valve plate defines part of the working chamber. The internal combustion engine 8, or hydrogen engine 22, has the following modifications to the diesel engine 222 described above. Corresponding features of the hydrogen engine are again indicated by reference numerals reduced by 200 compared to the diesel engine in Figure 2. The internal combustion engine 8 or hydrogen engine 22 comprises an injection assembly 60 per working chamber (see Figures 5 and 6), which has an injection nozzle 62 and an injection nozzle cap 64. The injection nozzle 62 has an injection nozzle body 66 in which an injection nozzle needle (not shown) is movably guided. The injection nozzle body defines an injection nozzle outlet 70, which is covered by the injection nozzle cap 64. The injection nozzle cap is a separate component from the injection nozzle body 66. The injection nozzle 62 can advantageously be a standard hydrogen injection nozzle. Such injection nozzles are sold, for example, by BOSCH. The injection nozzle 62, or the injection assembly 60, is designed to inject gaseous hydrogen into the associated working chamber. The internal combustion engine 8 or hydrogen engine 22 comprises a spark plug 72 per working chamber 30, which is designed to ignite a hydrogen-air mixture in the working chamber 30, which is created by the hydrogen blown in by the injection nozzle / injection assembly 60. The diesel engine injection nozzle 250 has been removed, so there is no injection nozzle for diesel or any other fuel except hydrogen. The cylinder head 34 contains an injection receiving opening 74 for the injection assembly and a spark plug receiving opening 76 for the spark plug 72. Advantageously, the injection assembly, and thus the injection nozzle 62, is thus also arranged in the cylinder head 34. Advantageously, the spark plug is also arranged in the cylinder head 34. This is the result of minimal machining steps in the diesel engine. Depending on the spatial conditions, one or more recesses have been introduced into the cylinder head 34 and / or the piston recess 48 of the piston crown 46, which promote the mixing of the hydrogen with the atmospheric oxygen. The working chamber 30 is essentially cylindrical with a circular cross-section and has a working chamber center axis AA. The spark plug 72 has a spark plug center axis BB, and the injection nozzle 62 has an injection nozzle center axis CC. Figures 7 and 8 show details of the combustion engine 8 which show the injection conditions in more detail. The combustion engine 8 defines for each working chamber 30 an injection jet pattern 80 of hydrogen generated during operation into the working chamber. In the present case, the injection jet pattern 80 is defined by the injection nozzle cap 64. The injection jet pattern 80 differs from a jet pattern defined by the injection nozzle 62 and adapts the jet pattern to be introduced into the working chamber 30 to the geometric conditions of the working chamber 30. In the present case, the injection jet pattern 80 comprises four separate or disjoint injection jets E1 to E4, each of which is defined or formed by one of four injection openings 82, 84, 86, 88 present in the injection nozzle cap. A first injection jet E1 is directed with its central axis M1, for example, onto the piston crown 46 or onto the piston recess 48 of the piston 36. Second, third, and fourth injection jets E2, E3, E4 are each directed, for example, toward the cylinder wall 42 of the cylinder 32. The second, third, and fourth injection jets E2, E3, E4 each have a central axis M2, M3, M4. These central axes preferably lie in a plane or on a truncated cone surface. These central axes advantageously enclose an injection angle range a (Figure 4) which can be between 80° and 100°. The number, direction, and / or shape of the injection jets can vary depending on the geometric conditions in the hydrogen engine 22. Advantageously, the injection jet pattern comprises at least two injection jets. The injection openings 82, 84, 86, and 88 may differ accordingly in size and / or shape. For example, the injection opening of injection jet E1 may be larger than the injection openings of injection jets E2 to E4. Each injection opening 82, 84, 86, 88 is located with respect to the working chamber center axis AA essentially axially at the level of the inlet valves 38 or outlet valves 40, or at the level of the valve plates of these valves. The geometric relationships are shown schematically in Figure 4. Figure 4 is an axial view along the working space center axis AA. Visible as circles are the plates of the intake and exhaust valves 38, 40, the cylinder wall 42, the injection nozzle cap 64 of the injection assembly 60 and the spark plug 72. The injection assembly 60, or injection nozzle 62, is radially spaced from the working chamber center axis AA and is located closer to the cylinder wall 42 than to this center axis. The spark plug 72 is centered on the working chamber center axis. The injection assembly 60, or injection nozzle 62, is radially spaced from the spark plug 72. The relatively large radial distance of the injection assembly or the injection nozzle from the spark plug 72 reduces the risk of misfires and contributes to low pollutant emissions. The injection jets E2 to E4 define a fan whose main direction runs between the working chamber center axis AA and the cylinder wall 42. Thus, the injected hydrogen is swirled around the center axis in the cylinder (see arrow P) and forms a homogeneous hydrogen-air mixture without any significant dead spaces. Figure 9 shows a cross-section through cylinder head 34, which essentially corresponds to the view in Figure 4. Parts of the intake and exhaust ports are visible. Also shown is the direction of air flow through the intake valves into the working chamber around the working chamber center axis (clockwise in Figure 9). The injection jet pattern is designed to primarily induce a swirl of the gas mixture in the working chamber around the working chamber center axis, which corresponds to the direction of air flow. Also visible are parts of the coolant channels 54, which can carry coolant 56. The working chamber center axis AA and the spark plug center axis BB preferably form an angle of at most 45°, preferably at most 40°, at most 30°, or at most 25°. In the present exemplary embodiment, the spark plug center axis is arranged coaxially with the working chamber center axis, and this angle is therefore 0°. Alternatively, the spark plug center axis can be arranged parallel to, but spaced from, the working chamber center axis. The working space center axis AA and the injection nozzle center axis CC, or their directions, enclose an angle ß of at most 45° (Figure 5), preferably of at most 40°, at most 30° or at most 25°. As can be seen particularly in Figures 6 and 9, the injection nozzle 62 is arranged in the cylinder head 34 such that the coolant channel 54 extends around the injection assembly or the injection nozzle. In general, the injection assembly or the injection nozzle is in the Cylinder head 34 is advantageously arranged so that coolant 56, or cooling fluid, circulating in the coolant channel cools the injection nozzle 62. This helps prevent misfires. The method for converting the rail vehicle comprises the following steps: First, the diesel vehicle is provided. This vehicle has the diesel engine 222. The diesel engine is designed to drive the diesel vehicle and has a rated power. The diesel engine has the features described above, i.e., a working chamber 230, each working chamber being formed by a cylinder 232, a cylinder head 234, a piston 236, and at least one intake valve 238 and at least one exhaust valve 240. An injection nozzle 62 is also provided, which is suitable for injecting hydrogen into a working chamber 30. The injection nozzle is the injection nozzle described above and is possibly part of the injection assembly 60 above. A spark plug 72 is provided, which is designed to ignite a hydrogen-air mixture in the working chamber, which mixture is created by the hydrogen injected from the injection nozzle. The spark plug is the spark plug described above. Then, an injection receiving opening 74 is introduced into the diesel engine to accommodate the injection nozzle 62. This is done, for example, by drilling or milling. Then, a spark plug receiving opening 76 is introduced into the diesel engine to accommodate the spark plug 72. This is done, for example, by drilling or milling. Thereafter, the injection nozzle 62, or the injection assembly 60, is inserted into the injection receiving opening 74, and the spark plug 72 is inserted into the spark plug receiving opening 76. Thus, the hydrogen engine 22 is obtained. The resulting hydrogen engine 22 has a rated power of at least 90%, preferably at least 99%, of the rated power of the diesel engine 222. Depending on the configuration of the diesel engine, the conversion process can include the following advantageous steps: The diesel injection nozzle 250 is removed from the diesel engine, specifically from the diesel injection receiving opening 274. The step of inserting the spark plug receiving opening 76 into the diesel engine includes the step of inserting the spark plug receiving opening 76 into the diesel injection receiving opening 274. This is done, for example, by drilling or enlarging the diesel injection receiving opening 274 by milling. The step of introducing the injection receiving opening 74 comprises the step of introducing the injection receiving opening through a or the coolant channel 54. The invention has been described above with an injection assembly. Alternatively, the injection nozzle cap can be omitted, and an injection nozzle without an injection nozzle cap can be installed in the internal combustion engine. In this case, the injection nozzle defines the injection jet pattern. The injection nozzle then replaces the injection assembly. In this case, the injection jet pattern is formed entirely by the injection nozzle or the injection nozzle body. If necessary, the injection nozzle is then not a standard injection nozzle, but has a jet pattern specifically adapted for the internal combustion engine. The invention is not limited to the illustrated and described embodiments, but also encompasses all equivalent embodiments within the meaning of the invention. It is expressly emphasized that the embodiments are not limited to all features in combination; rather, each individual partial feature can also have an inventive significance in itself, independently of all other partial features. Furthermore, the invention is not yet limited to the combination of features defined in claim 1, but can also be defined by any other combination of specific features of all the individual features disclosed as a whole. This means that, in principle, practically every individual feature of claim 1 can be omitted or replaced by at least one individual feature disclosed elsewhere in the application.

Claims

CLAIMS 1.- Vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle (2), comprising an internal combustion engine (8) comprising at least one working chamber (30), each working chamber being formed by a cylinder (32), a cylinder head (34), a piston (36), at least one inlet valve (38) and at least one outlet valve (40), the internal combustion engine comprising an injection nozzle (62) for each working chamber, characterized in that the injection nozzle (62) is suitable for injecting hydrogen, in particular instead of diesel, into the working chamber, in particular characterized in that the internal combustion engine is a converted diesel engine, and characterized in that the internal combustion engine comprises a spark plug (72) for each working chamber, which spark plug is designed to ignite a hydrogen-air mixture in the working chamber which is produced by the hydrogen injected by the injection nozzle.

2. Vehicle according to claim 1, wherein - for each working chamber of the combustion engine, an injection jet pattern (80) of hydrogen into the working chamber (30) is defined, wherein - either the injection jet pattern comprises an injection jet (E1) directed towards the piston, or the injection jet pattern comprises at least two injection jets (E1; E2, E3, E4), of which one injection jet is directed towards the piston and one injection jet is directed towards a cylinder wall of the cylinder; and wherein either - the injection jet pattern is formed by the injection nozzle (62); or - the vehicle has an injection assembly (60) for each injection nozzle, which includes the injection nozzle and an injection nozzle cap (64) covering an injection nozzle outlet (70) of the injection nozzle, and the injection nozzle cap defines the injection jet pattern.

3. Vehicle according to claim 2, wherein: - the working chamber has a working chamber central axis (A - A), and the spark plug has a spark plug central axis (BB) and the working chamber central axis and the spark plug central axis form an angle of at most 45°, preferably of at most 40°, at most 30° or at most 25°, or the spark plug center axis is arranged parallel or coaxially to the working chamber center axis; and / or - the injection nozzle has an injection nozzle central axis (CC) and the working chamber central axis and the injection nozzle central axis form an angle of at most 45°, preferably of at most 40°, at most 30° or at most 25°.

4. Vehicle according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein at least the injection nozzle (62) is arranged in the cylinder head (34) or, if the vehicle has an injection assembly (60), the injection assembly is arranged in the cylinder head.

5. Vehicle according to claim 4, wherein each injection jet is defined by an injection opening (82, 84, 86, 88) and the or each injection opening is located substantially axially at the level of the inlet valves or outlet valves with respect to the working chamber center axis (AA).

6. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cylinder head (34) has a coolant channel (54) and wherein the injection nozzle is arranged such that coolant (56) circulating in the coolant channel cools the injection nozzle, or wherein the injection nozzle is arranged such that the coolant channel extends around the injection nozzle.

7. Vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rail vehicle is a shunting locomotive, a traction locomotive or a railcar.

8. Method for converting a vehicle, comprising the following steps: - Providing a diesel vehicle with a diesel engine (222) for driving the diesel vehicle, wherein the diesel engine has a rated power and wherein the diesel engine has at least one working chamber (230), each working chamber being formed by a cylinder (232), a cylinder head (234), a piston (236), and at least one inlet valve (238) and at least one outlet valve (240), - providing an injection nozzle (62) which is suitable for injecting hydrogen into a working space (30), and - Providing a spark plug (72) designed to ignite a hydrogen-air mixture in the working chamber, which mixture is produced by the hydrogen injected by the injection nozzle; - introducing an injection opening (74) into the diesel engine to accommodate the injection nozzle, - introducing a spark plug receiving opening (76) into the diesel engine to accommodate the spark plug, - Inserting the injection nozzle into the injection receiving opening and inserting the spark plug into the spark plug receiving opening and thereby obtaining a hydrogen engine (22), wherein the vehicle is in particular a rail vehicle, and wherein the hydrogen engine has a rated power of at least 90% of the rated power of the diesel engine.

9. A method for converting a vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the following step: - removing a diesel injection nozzle (250) from the diesel engine from a diesel injection receiving opening (274); and wherein - the step of inserting the spark plug receiving opening into the diesel engine comprises the step of inserting the spark plug receiving opening into the diesel injection receiving opening.

10. A method for converting a vehicle according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the step of introducing the injection receiving opening comprises the step of introducing the injection receiving opening through a coolant channel (54).

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