Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Motoren Gmbh & Co. Kg

Arvind Sivasubramanian

Christopher F Gallmeyer

Eike Joachim Sixel

Daniel Wester

Jason Jon Rasmussen

David James Lin

Scott Byron Fiveland

Travis E Barnes

Eric Lee Schroeder

Shivangi Wagle

Karthik Jayasankaran

Brett A Zook

Liangtao Zhu

Adam Stubbs

Venkat Vijay Kishore Turlapati

James Jay Cress

Craig Phillip Hittle

Shawn M Damm

Jeremy Byrd

Kevin J Sergott

Baoyang Deng

Ryan Thomas Sunley

Andrew Neaville

Andre Schmidt

Aaron L Robinson

Bert Ritscher

Hauke Holst

Joshua T Annin

Hannes Marscheider

Thorsten Tuexen

Robert Charles Calderwood

Hendrik Johannes Lange

Marius Wolfgramm

Aradhita Chakrabarty

Stefan Haas

Chris Gallmeyer

Hendrik Herold

Jeffrey A Howard

Keith A Intveld

Michael Andrew Snopko

Rodney Stazicker

Lingqian Yuan

Jedediah A Frey

Andy Pierpont

Andrew J Neaville

Jedediah Frey

Robert Calderwood

Aradhita Subirkumar Chakrabarty

Christian Hohenwald

Rodney G Stazicker

A method for controlling and engine system with a plurality of turbochargers. At least one of the plurality of turbochargers has a turbine valve, a compressor valve, and actuators operable to change the position of the turbine valve. The method comprises controlling the actuator based on the presence of a transient event or a steady state event. During a transient event an engine control module can control the actuators to change the turbine valve to opened and closed positions and the turbine valve to a closed position based on the comparison between a corrected mass flow per turbocharger to a mass flow threshold.

Method for sequential turbo control

A control system for controlling pilot fuel injection in a dual fuel engine is disclosed. The control system may determine, using measurements from one or more sensors, one or more combustion parameters associated with the dual fuel engine during operation of the dual fuel engine. The control system may determine an estimated nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions level based on the one or more combustion parameters, and may determine a NOx error based on a comparison between the estimated NOx emissions level and a desired NOx emissions level. The control system may control a quantity of pilot fuel injected into the dual fuel engine based on the NOx error.

Controlling pilot fuel injection in an engine

A controller for an internal combustion engine is configured to operate the engine at a desired output power and at a desired air/fuel ratio provided in the cylinder, the desired air/fuel ratio depending on an amount of air, the primary fuel, and the secondary fuel provided to the cylinder selectively; gradually increase a power output of the engine during a transient event from an initial power output, to an intermediate power output, and then to a final power output; during the transient event, simultaneously with the power output increase, increase the amount of the primary fuel and the secondary fuel to produce a rich air/fuel ratio in the cylinder.

Transient controller and method for dual fuel engine

An internal combustion engine having an exhaust log structure onto which a plurality of turbochargers is connected, each turbocharger having a turbine connected to the exhaust log structure and having an inlet fluidly connectable to a respective one of the plurality of outlet ports, an exhaust valve disposed at a turbine outlet such that the flow of exhaust gas out of the turbine is fluidly blocked, and an actuator associated with the exhaust valve and operating to move the exhaust valve from a closed position to an open position and vice versa. An electronic controller provides a command to the actuator to move the exhaust valve between the open and closed positions and is programmed to selectively open two one or more exhaust valves based on an operating condition of the engine.

Inline turbocharger arrangement and method

An engine speed control system for an internal combustion engine includes a throttle, and a sensor that monitors a parameter indicative of pressure or density of fuel and air in an inlet manifold of the engine. The electronic control unit is coupled with the throttle and the sensor and structured to calculate a target mass flow through the throttle, a feedforward control term based on the target mass flow, and a feedforward control term based on data produced by the sensor. The electronic control unit is further structured to vary a position of the throttle based on the feedforward and feedback control terms to adjust a mass flow through the throttle toward the target mass flow. The control system is applicable in throttle governed as well as fuel governed systems.

Engine speed control strategy with feedback and feedforward throttle control

A method of evaluating operability of a gaseous fuel admission valve of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The method includes operating the internal combustion engine on gaseous fuel by repeatedly actuating the gaseous fuel admission valve. The method further includes measuring a sequence of temporal developments of an electrical operation parameter respectively associated with an actuation of the gaseous fuel admission valve. The sequence includes a first temporal development to be evaluated and a plurality of temporal developments preceding the first temporal development. The method also includes evaluating operability of the gaseous fuel admission valve based on the first temporal development of the measured sequence and at least one of the plurality of preceding temporal developments of the measured sequence.

Electrical monitoring of gaseous fuel admission valves

A control system and method to control cold transient response of an engine. The control system can provide compressed air from a compressed air source to a turbocharger to boost speed of a turbine of the turbocharger, based on determined desired operating characteristics associated with upstream or downstream operation of the engine relative to the turbocharger. The control system can receive data corresponding to actual operating characteristics associated with the upstream or downstream operation of the engine relative to the turbocharger, compare the desired operating characteristics with the data corresponding to actual operating characteristics, and control the air assist from the compressed air source based on the comparison.

Systems and methods to control cold transient response via air assist

A method for controlling an internal combustion engine operating on at least partly gaseous fuel is disclosed. The method may include providing a desired burn rate profile corresponding to a desired operation of the internal combustion engine. The method may further include selecting first operating parameters such that an operation of the internal combustion engine with a first gas composition produces a first burn rate profile that corresponds to the desired burn rate profile. The method may also include operating the internal combustion engine with the first operating parameters using a second gas composition. The method may include determining that the second burn rate profile differs from the desired burn rate profile. In addition, the method may include adjusting an operating parameter from among the first operating parameters of the internal combustion engine to approach the desired burn rate profile.

Controlling an internal combustion engine operated on gaseous fuel

A method for controlling an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The method may include receiving knock data corresponding to knock levels over a time period. The method may also include determining from the knock data whether the knock levels change over the time period. Further, the method may include determining that a variation in the gas composition of the gaseous fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine has occurred when the knock levels change over the time period. In addition, the method may include adjusting an operating condition of the internal combustion engine to adapt a knock susceptibility of the internal combustion engine to the varying gas composition.

Method for controlling an internal combustion engine

A method of operating a gas or dual fuel engine having a plurality of cylinders, includes monitoring a characteristic of each of the plurality of cylinders during operation of the gas or dual fuel engine. The method also includes detecting a pre-ignition condition associated with one or more cylinders of the plurality of cylinders based on the monitored characteristic. The method further includes reducing fuel supply to the one or more cylinders having the pre-ignition condition. The fuel supply to remaining cylinders of the plurality of cylinders is increased, to maintain a constant power output of the gas or dual fuel engine. The method further includes adjusting an amount of air supplied to each of the plurality of cylinders based on the increased amount of fuel supplied to the remaining cylinders, to maintain an air-to-fuel ratio within a desired range.

Gas or dual fuel engine

A method for controlling fuel flow in a multi fuel engine is disclosed. An input power for operating the multi fuel engine at a desired engine speed is determined and a fuel flow rate based on the input power, one or more fuel properties and a specified fuel substitution ratio for apportioning the plurality of fuels is determined. Also, a correction factor for the fuel flow rate based on a desired charge density, wherein the desired charge density is based at least on a relationship between an engine load and charge density is determined and a corrected fuel flow rate, based on the determined correction factor, is output to a corresponding actuator of a fluid flow control device for the one of the fuels to cause the corresponding actuator to provide the one of the plurality of fuels at the corrected fuel flow rate.

Fuel apportionment for multi fuel engine system

A method for controlling an air-fuel ratio (AFR) in an engine powered by a gaseous fuel having an unknown composition may comprise receiving an assumed gas species composition for the gaseous fuel, and determining an assumed lower heating value (LHV) for the assumed gas species composition. The method may further comprise determining a perceived lower heating value (LHV) for the gaseous fuel based on a perceived gas mass flow and a gas energy flow for the gaseous fuel, and updating the assumed gas species composition until the assumed LHV and the perceived LHV are aligned. The method may further comprise determining a desired AFR and an airflow necessary to provide the desired AFR using the aligned gas species composition and a desired lambda (&#x3bb;), and adjusting an air system controller of the engine to provide the airflow.

Method and system for controlling an air-fuel ratio in an engine using a fuel source with an unknown composition

A method for estimating a specific gravity of a gaseous fuel is described. The gaseous fuel may power an engine and the engine may include a cylinder, a gas valve configured to supply an intake port of the cylinder with the gaseous fuel, a gas rail configured to deliver the gaseous fuel to the gas valve, and a microprocessor adapted to perform the method. The method may comprise establishing a pressure wave in the gas rail by opening and closing the gas valve, wherein the pressure wave travels at the speed of sound in the gaseous fuel. The method may further comprise determining a frequency of the pressure wave in the gas rail, and estimating the specific gravity of the gaseous fuel based on the frequency of the pressure wave.

Method and system for estimating the specific gravity of an unknown fuel source in a multi-fuel engine

The disclosure relates to a system and method for determining the specific gravity of a fuel used in a dual fuel engine. The system includes a fuel rail, at least one sensor, and a processor. The method includes sensing and recording, with the at least one sensor and the at least one memory, a first pressure profile of a first fuel in the fuel rail and a second pressure profile of a second fuel in the fuel rail. The first fuel has a known specific gravity and the second fuel has an unknown specific gravity. The method further includes calculating the second specific gravity of the second fuel, with a processor, based on the first pressure profile, the second pressure profile, and the first specific gravity.

System and method for determining the specific gravity of a gaseous fuel

A control system for a dual gaseous and liquid fuel engine includes an electronic controller configured to receive data from a plurality of sensing mechanisms indicative of an error in a plurality of different engine operating parameters. The electronic controller is further configured to determine a highest priority one of the errors, and limit substitution of the gaseous fuel responsive to a normalized value thereof.

Control strategy for dual gaseous and liquid fuel internal combustion engine

Growing community of inventors

Peoria, IL, United States of America

Arvind Sivasubramanian