Dual Fuel Engine Control System Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dual fuel internal combustion engines face challenges in maintaining continuous operation when malfunctions occur in the electronic control modules, particularly in switching between liquid and gaseous fuel modes, leading to potential engine shutdown.
Innovation Solution
A self-redundant control system comprising a first electronic control module for liquid fuel mode and a second electronic control module for gaseous fuel mode, with a monitoring connection line to detect malfunctions and provide backup control signals, allowing seamless transition between modes to ensure continuous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single electronic control module is used for liquid fuel mode control, then the control system is simple, but the reliability decreases when malfunction occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into two independent electronic control modules: a first control module for liquid fuel mode and a second control module for gaseous fuel mode. Each module can independently control the fuel rack actuator, allowing the system to maintain operation even if one module fails. This segmentation directly resolves the contradiction by distributing control functions to improve reliability while keeping each module's internal structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters by switching between liquid fuel mode (controlled by first control module) and gaseous fuel mode (controlled by second control module). When a malfunction is detected in one control module, the system transitions to the other fuel mode with its corresponding control module, thereby maintaining continuous operation. This parameter change approach allows the system to achieve high reliability without requiring complex redundant systems for each mode.
2Reliability
If redundant control modules are added for backup, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Both the first and second control modules are designed with multi-functionality - each module can control both the fuel rack actuator and work with both fuel types. The first control module primarily handles liquid fuel but can control the gaseous fuel admission valve, and vice versa for the second module. This universality reduces the need for completely separate redundant systems, as each module can serve as backup for the other, thereby improving fault tolerance while limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Reliability
If monitoring systems are implemented to detect malfunctions, then operational continuity is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system implements feedback mechanisms where each control module monitors the operational status of the other module and the overall system. When a malfunction is detected in the first control module, the second control module receives feedback and automatically takes over control of the fuel rack actuator. This feedback-based monitoring improves malfunction detection capability while keeping the monitoring system integrated into the existing control architecture rather than adding separate complex monitoring infrastructure.
Data Source
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AI summary
Control systems comprising electronic control modules (104, 106) may be configured to control operation of a dual fuel internal combustion engine (1). In case of a failure of an electronic control module (104, 106), the dual fuel internal combustion engine (1) may interrupt operation. The disclosed control system and method may maintain operation of the dual fuel internal combustion engine (1) when a malfunction within an operation mode of the dual fuel internal combustion engine (1), particularly when an electronic control module (104, 106) fails, is detected.