Airless Fuel Delivery System for Diesel Particulate Filter Regeneration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial vehicles with diesel engines often lack onboard high-pressure air needed for fuel atomization in burners, limiting the application of fuel-fired burners for regenerating diesel particulate filters, and the addition of a high-pressure air system increases costs.
Innovation Solution
An airless nozzle and fueling system that uses a source of pressurized fuel, a first fuel injector, a check valve, and a controller to generate pulse width modulation signals to control the spray of fuel droplets for combustion, eliminating the need for a high-pressure air system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air-assisted atomization is used to spray fuel droplets, then fuel ignitability and combustion efficiency are improved, but the system requires high-pressure air which increases device complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the air assistance system from the traditional air-assisted atomization process. By removing the high-pressure air requirement, the system achieves fuel atomization through fuel pressure alone, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining combustion efficiency through optimized nozzle design and dual-stage injection control
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the pneumatic system (high-pressure air) with a purely mechanical/fuel-pressure-based system. The fuel injection system uses mechanically controlled injectors and pressure regulation to achieve atomization without requiring a separate air compression and delivery system, thus substituting a complex pneumatic system with a simpler fuel-pressure system
2Manufacturing precision
If high-pressure air system is added for fuel atomization, then fuel spray quality is improved, but overall system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the existing fuel system perform multiple functions: it provides both fuel delivery and fuel atomization that traditionally required a separate air system. The fuel injection system is designed to control spray quality through injection timing and pressure regulation, allowing the same fuel infrastructure to serve dual purposes and eliminate additional cost-intensive subsystems
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses readily available components from the existing fuel system (fuel injectors, pressure regulators, fuel lines) to achieve atomization, rather than installing expensive specialized high-pressure air generation and delivery equipment. By repurposing existing fuel system components for dual functionality, the system avoids significant additional investment
3Quantity of substance
If air-assisted atomization is used, then fuel droplet size is reduced for better combustion, but the system becomes inapplicable to vehicles without onboard high-pressure air
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using air to atomize fuel (traditional approach), the invention inverts the approach by using fuel pressure alone to achieve atomization. This reversal eliminates the dependency on high-pressure air systems, making the technology applicable to a broader range of vehicles including those with standard diesel fuel pressure systems but without onboard high-pressure air generation capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient regeneration of diesel particulate filters without the need for a high-pressure air system, reducing costs and providing a cost-effective method for regenerating exhaust components, with applications in other vehicle emissions systems requiring fine and accurate sprays.
Implementation Method 1
A check valve, or other similar flow control valve, is downstream of the first fuel injector 22. The check valve 26 has a first predetermined set pressure to open and a second predetermined set pressure to close
Implementation Method 2
Fuel at the correct pressure is supplied to the first fuel injector 22, and when the first fuel injector 22 is opened, fuel is directed toward the check valve 26
Data Source
AI summary
An airless nozzle and fuel deliver system for a fuel-fired burner sprays fuel droplets for ignition to increase heat for regenerating an exhaust component. A source of pressurized fuel delivers pressurized fuel to a first fuel injector. In response to a first control signal, the first fuel injector is opened and fuel pressure is increased to a desired level to open a valve such that the fuel can be delivered to the airless nozzle. The airless nozzle sprays fuel droplets for a period of time that the first fuel injector is open. In response to a second control signal, the first fuel injector is closed and a second fuel injector is opened such that fuel is vented to decrease fuel pressure between the valve and the first fuel injector to stop the spray of fuel droplets by closing the valve.