Egg-Shaped Fuel Injector Air Entrainment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel injectors fail to sufficiently prevent soot production under stringent emissions standards, leading to increased manufacturing costs and the need for particulate filters in diesel and gasoline engines.
Innovation Solution
A fuel injector system with an egg-shaped nozzle featuring an annular venturi passage that promotes air-fuel mixing by admitting combustion chamber gases and receiving fuel from a sac, creating a swirling effect to enhance air entrainment and combustion efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If air is drawn into the combustion chamber and fuel is injected, then combustion occurs to produce power, but fuel may not mix evenly with air leading to soot formation and increased emissions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces air entrainment passages and a swirl generator that mix air with fuel before the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. This preliminary mixing action occurs in the fuel injector itself, ensuring homogeneous air-fuel mixture formation prior to combustion, which prevents soot formation while maintaining combustion efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an intermediary air entrainment system within the fuel injector that introduces combustion chamber air into the fuel stream. This intermediary air acts as a mediator between the fuel and the main combustion chamber air, facilitating better mixing and preventing dense fuel pockets that lead to soot.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If particulate filters are added to the exhaust passage to reduce soot, then emissions are controlled, but manufacturing costs and packaging constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of fuel injection (which can create dense fuel pockets) into a benefit by using the injection process itself to draw in and mix air with the fuel through entrainment passages. This transforms the injection act from a soot-producing event into a fuel-air mixing event, eliminating the need for additional emission control devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the air-fuel mixing function from the combustion chamber and relocates it to the fuel injector itself. By taking out the mixing process and performing it upstream in the injector with dedicated air entrainment passages, the system prevents soot formation before it enters the combustion chamber, eliminating the need for downstream particulate filters.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing fuel injectors are used, then fuel injection is simple, but soot production increases under stringent emissions standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fuel injector into distinct functional zones: a fuel delivery section, air entrainment passages, and a swirl generator section. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - fuel delivery, air introduction, and mixing - while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that can be manufactured using conventional techniques.
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 reduces soot production by ensuring more complete combustion, potentially eliminating the need for particulate filters and improving fuel economy while maintaining emissions control.
Implementation Method 1
an opening is shaped to admit combustion chamber gases into a hollow interior of the egg-shaped nozzle forming an annular venturi passage between it and an outlet surface of the fuel injector
Implementation Method 2
features for entraining air with the fuel prior to injection. One or more passages may be arranged in the injector body
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a fuel injector. In one example, a system may include forming an annular venturi passage between an outlet surface of the fuel injector and a nozzle. The nozzle may further comprise one or more air entraining features that may work in concert with the annular venturi passage to promote air-fuel mixing.