Pre-Chamber Ignition Device for Gas Engine Power Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas engine feed and ignition systems struggle to efficiently operate with non-self-igniting fuels, such as gaseous fuels, due to limitations in igniting fuel-air mixtures under engine-relevant conditions, leading to suboptimal power density and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A feed and ignition device with a pre-combustion chamber and spark ignition system, where a fuel-air mixture is ignited in the pre-combustion chamber, generating flare jets that ignite high-pressure fuel gas jets in the main combustion chamber, mimicking diesel-like diffusion combustion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a pre-combustion chamber with spark ignition is used to ignite non-self-igniting fuels, then thermal efficiency and power density are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The combustion system is divided into two separate chambers: a pre-combustion chamber for igniting the fuel-air mixture and a main combustion chamber for the actual combustion process. This segmentation allows the spark ignition device to operate in the pre-chamber while the main chamber handles the high-energy combustion, thereby improving power density without requiring the spark plug to directly handle the high-pressure combustion environment.
Solution Approach 2:
A transfer opening serves as an intermediary channel between the pre-combustion chamber and the main combustion chamber. This intermediary structure allows the ignited fuel-air mixture to transition from the pre-chamber to the main chamber, enabling the spark ignition system to operate at lower pressures while still achieving high power output in the main combustion chamber.
2Reliability
If separate fuel systems are used for pre-combustion and main combustion, then reliability of ignition is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel injection system is designed with multi-functionality: the same fuel supply system provides fuel to both the pre-combustion chamber and the main combustion chamber. The fuel injection device can control fuel delivery to the pre-chamber for reliable ignition, while the same system supports the main combustion process, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining ignition reliability.
3Productivity
If high-pressure fuel injection is used directly into the combustion chamber, then productivity is improved, but difficulty of igniting non-self-igning fuels increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel-air mixture is prepared and ignited in the pre-combustion chamber before being transferred to the main combustion chamber. This preliminary ignition action creates a controlled flame front that can then reliably ignite the high-pressure fuel injection in the main chamber, solving the difficulty of igniting non-self-igning fuels while maintaining high productivity.
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 high power density and thermal efficiency for gas engines using non-self-igniting fuels, reducing CO2 emissions by over 20% compared to diesel engines and simplifying the injector design by eliminating the need for separate fuel systems.
Implementation Method 1
a spark ignition device (33), by means of which a fuel-air mixture which comprises at least the fuel introduced, in particular via the feed channel, into the pre-combustion chamber, in particular directly, can be ignited
Implementation Method 2
the ignition flares result from the ignition of the fuel-air mixture, the ignition flares, for example, flowing out of the pre-combustion chamber via the overflow openings and into the combustion chamber (main combustion chamber) as a result of an increase in pressure in the pre-combustion chamber resulting from the ignition of the fuel-air mixture
Implementation Method 3
a combustion chamber fuel gas quantity is blown into the combustion chamber as high-pressure fuel gas jets by means of the injector, and the high-pressure fuel gas jets are ignited by the flare jets
Data Source
AI summary
A feed and ignition device for a gas engine has an injector for the direct blowing-in of a combustion gas into a combustion chamber of the gas engine. The device also has a pre-combustion chamber into which a fuel can be introduced and a plurality of overflow openings distributed in the peripheral direction of the injector over the periphery of the feed and ignition device via which the pre-combustion chamber can be directly connected fluidically to the combustion chamber. A spark ignition device ignites a fuel-air mixture including at least the fuel introduced into the pre-combustion chamber. The pre-combustion chamber, the overflow openings, and the spark ignition device are formed by a first structural unit and the injector is formed by a second structural unit formed separately from the first structural unit.