Internal Combustion Engine Fuel Control for Injector Drift
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Solution Overview
Problem
Improper fuel injection due to fuel injector drift causes engine damage and decreased performance in internal combustion engines, particularly in dual fuel engines where different fuels with varying energy densities are used.
Innovation Solution
A control system with sensors and a controller that estimates actual fueling amounts and determines compensation amounts for fuel injectors based on cylinder conditions, adjusting fueling commands to account for injector drift.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fuel injector drift is not compensated, then the system structure remains simple, but engine performance decreases and engine damage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors actual fueling amounts through cylinder sensors and compares them with commanded fueling amounts. This feedback loop enables the system to detect injector drift and automatically compensate by adjusting subsequent fueling commands, thereby maintaining engine performance without requiring complex mechanical modifications to the injectors themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system performs self-diagnosis and self-correction by monitoring its own fueling commands versus actual fueling amounts. When drift is detected, the system automatically generates compensation amounts and adjusts its control signals, enabling the system to maintain optimal performance without external intervention or complex additional hardware.
2Manufacturing precision
If actual fueling amount estimation is implemented, then fuel injection accuracy improves, but measurement and detection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses cylinder sensors as intermediaries to indirectly measure fueling amounts. Rather than directly measuring fuel mass or volume, the sensors detect cylinder conditions (such as pressure or ionization) that correlate with actual fuel combustion, providing an indirect but accurate measurement of fueling amounts without requiring complex direct measurement equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical fuel measurement devices with electronic sensing and computational estimation. Instead of using mechanical flow meters or mass flow sensors in the fuel line, the system uses electronic cylinder sensors combined with algorithmic estimation to determine actual fueling amounts, simplifying the measurement system while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A control system for an internal combustion engine structured to operate using at least a first fuel includes at least one sensor configured to sense a condition within at least one cylinder of the internal combustion engine, and a controller operably connected to the at least one sensor. The controller is configured to receive at least one fueling request corresponding to at least the first fuel, send at least one fueling command to at least one injector within the internal combustion engine system corresponding to the at least one fueling request, receive at least one signal from the at least one sensor corresponding to the condition, estimate an actual fueling amount within the internal combustion engine based on the at least one signal, and determine at least one compensation amount corresponding to the at least one injector based on the actual fueling amount.