Diesel Fuel Feed System with Active Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Diesel fuel tanks made of conductive materials, located near the engine compartment, absorb significant heat, causing fuel to be returned to the engine at elevated temperatures, which can damage engine components.
Innovation Solution
A diesel fuel feed system incorporating a fuel cooler, makeup valve, and temperature sensors, with an electronic control unit (ECU) to manage the flow of excess fuel, ensuring it is cooled before reuse, and a bypass valve to direct excess fuel back to the tank when necessary, thereby controlling fuel temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the fuel tank is made of conductive material and disposed in or adjacent to the engine compartment, then the fuel tank can be easily manufactured and installed, but the fuel tank absorbs significant heat from the engine compartment causing fuel temperature to rise
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful heat absorption function is extracted from the fuel tank by introducing a separate fuel cooler into the fuel return circuit. The fuel cooler specifically removes heat from the fuel, separating this cooling function from the fuel tank's primary function of fuel storage and supply.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel cooler acts as an intermediary component between the hot fuel returning from the engine and the fuel tank. It mediates the heat transfer process by providing a controlled pathway for heat removal, preventing direct heat absorption by the conductive fuel tank while still allowing the tank to be made of conductive material for manufacturing ease.
2Temperature
If excess fuel is continuously cooled in the fuel cooler, then fuel temperature is reduced, but fuel flow through the cooler causes energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts fuel cooling based on actual engine needs. The control unit monitors fuel temperature and engine operating conditions, varying the degree of cooling applied to match demand. This prevents continuous full-capacity cooling that would waste energy, while still maintaining fuel temperature within acceptable ranges when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (fuel flow rate through cooler, cooler activation state) based on temperature thresholds and engine load conditions. By adjusting these parameters dynamically rather than maintaining constant cooling, the system reduces energy loss while still achieving the necessary temperature reduction when fuel temperature becomes excessive.
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
The system effectively reduces the temperature of the fuel provided to the engine, preventing damage to engine components and ensuring consistent fuel supply under varying power demands.
Implementation Method 1
a fuel cooler having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, the fuel inlet of the fuel cooler being coupled to the fuel outlet of the diesel engine to receive the excess fuel from the engine, to cool the excess fuel
Implementation Method 2
a makeup valve having a first fuel inlet, a second fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, wherein the first fuel inlet of the makeup valve is coupled to the fuel outlet of the fuel cooler to receive substantially all of fuel therefrom
Data Source
AI summary
A diesel fuel feed system comprises a diesel engine (100); a fuel cooler (102); a fuel tank (106); and a makeup valve (104).