Gas Engine Transient Controller Fuel Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Natural gas fueled engines used in generator sets experience slow transient response due to larger turbochargers, leading to inefficiencies in ramping up load quickly to meet demand, despite having lower emissions and fuel efficiency advantages over diesel engines.
Innovation Solution
An internal combustion engine system utilizing a controller to manage the transition between hydrogen and gaseous fuel supplies, adjusting air/fuel ratios dynamically to enhance transient response, with hydrogen providing a lean mixture at low load and gaseous fuel enriching the mixture during load increases, allowing for faster power output adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If larger turbochargers are used in gas fueled engines to achieve high power density, then power output is improved, but transient response deteriorates due to increased rotational inertia
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-mixes hydrogen and gaseous fuel in specific proportions before combustion to create a charge with optimized burn characteristics. This preliminary preparation of the fuel mixture allows the engine to respond faster to load changes without requiring a smaller turbocharger, thus maintaining high power density while improving transient response.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters of the fuel mixture by incorporating hydrogen at controlled ratios (e.g., 10-50% of total fuel). This parameter change modifies the combustion characteristics and burn rate of the charge, enabling faster transient response while maintaining the high power output capability provided by the larger turbocharger.
2Speed
If hydrogen fuel is used to improve transient response, then burn rate is improved, but air/fuel ratio control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a hydrogen injection system as an intermediary component that blends hydrogen with gaseous fuel in a controlled manner. This intermediary mechanism allows precise control of the effective air/fuel ratio by adjusting hydrogen injection timing and quantity, thereby managing combustion speed without overly complicating the overall fuel control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically adjusts the proportion of hydrogen to gaseous fuel based on real-time operating conditions and load demands. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the engine to optimize burn rate for transient response while maintaining appropriate air/fuel ratios across different operating points, managing complexity through adaptive control rather than fixed ratios.
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 approach enables the engine to quickly increase load output during transient events, maintaining near-constant engine speed and reducing turbocharger lag, thereby improving the engine's responsiveness to sudden electrical power demands.
Implementation Method 1
a first air/fuel ratio in which a majority of fuel is hydrogen fuel... a second air/fuel ratio in which a majority of fuel is gaseous fuel
Data Source
AI summary
A controller for an internal combustion engine of a generator set operates the engine at a first, low load condition at a lean air/fuel ratio using hydrogen fuel, and at a second, high load condition at a richer air/fuel ratio using gaseous fuel. The controller transitions from the first condition to the second condition by adding gaseous fuel to achieve the richer air/fuel ratio during a transient event.