Spark-Ignited Work Vehicle Fuel Delivery With Bypass Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maintaining fuel temperatures within specific ranges to prevent boiling and ensuring efficient delivery to spark ignited engines in work vehicles, particularly when fuel tanks are proximate to heat-emitting vehicle components.
Innovation Solution
A fuel delivery system with a fuel cooler device that cools a portion of the fuel before returning it to the tank and a fuel regulator device that controls fuel pressure and flow rate for efficient delivery to the engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If fuel is stored in tanks proximate to heat-emitting vehicle components, then space utilization is improved, but fuel temperature increases causing potential boiling and performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel delivery system segments the fuel flow into multiple paths: a primary fuel delivery line for engine supply and a bypass line connected to a fuel cooler device. This segmentation allows portion of the fuel to be cooled separately before returning to the tank, enabling temperature control without changing the overall system layout or space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
A fuel cooler device is introduced as an intermediary component in the bypass line. This mediator cools the fuel by allowing heat exchange with the surrounding environment or a cooling medium, thereby reducing fuel temperature without requiring relocation of the fuel tank from its space-efficient position near vehicle components.
2Reliability
If fuel cooling is implemented to maintain temperature within safe limits, then fuel safety is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cooling the entire fuel volume continuously, the system applies partial cooling action by cooling only a portion of the fuel that is circulated through the bypass line and fuel cooler device. This partial action approach provides sufficient temperature control for safety while minimizing the added complexity of the cooling system.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel cooler device utilizes the natural heat exchange between the fuel and the surrounding environment or available cooling sources. The system leverages existing thermal conditions in the vehicle environment rather than requiring an independent, complex active cooling system, thereby maintaining fuel safety with minimal added complexity.
3Temperature
If fuel is cooled before delivery to the engine, then fuel temperature control is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system cools only a portion of the fuel that circulates through the bypass line rather than cooling the entire fuel volume in the tank. This partial cooling action reduces the total heat exchange required, thereby minimizing energy consumption while still achieving effective fuel temperature control for engine delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel cooling occurs periodically as fuel circulates through the bypass line and fuel cooler device rather than continuously. This periodic cooling action allows the system to maintain temperature control while reducing overall energy consumption by utilizing available thermal conditions at appropriate intervals in the fuel delivery cycle.
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
Effectively maintains fuel temperature within safe limits and ensures regulated fuel delivery to the engine, preventing boiling and optimizing engine performance.
Implementation Method 1
a fuel cooler device operable to receive bypass fuel delivered to the fuel cooler device from the fuel regulator device via the fuel bypass line, cool the bypass fuel received by the fuel cooler device, and deliver the cooled bypass fuel to the fuel tank via the fuel return line
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel delivery system includes a fuel tank, a primary fuel pump disposed in the fuel tank, a fuel regulator device connected with the primary fuel pump by a primary fuel delivery line, and a fuel cooler device coupled with the fuel regulator device by a fuel bypass line and with the fuel tank by a fuel return line. The fuel regulator device receives unregulated supply fuel from the primary fuel pump via the primary fuel delivery line, controls a property of the unregulated supply fuel for output as regulated fuel, and delivers the regulated fuel via a regulated fuel delivery line to a secondary fuel pump of the work vehicle. The fuel cooler device receives bypass fuel from the fuel regulator device via the fuel bypass line, cools the received bypass fuel, and delivers the cooled bypass fuel to the fuel tank via the fuel return line.