Westport Power Inc.

Jian Huang

Sandeep Munshi

Gordon P McTaggart-Cowan

Philip G Hill

Duran Cheung

Richard J Ancimer

David Kalu Mumford

Michael C Wickstone

Kenneth R Mann

Dale W Goudie

David R Wagner

Kevin Lee

A method and apparatus for in situ operating an internal combustion engine comprising determining at least one combustion characteristic for a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, comprising an actual heat release signal for the combustion chamber; and inputting the actual heat release signal into a diagnostic logic tree for diagnosing changes in combustion characteristics due to at least one of: a malfunctioning fuel injector, a start of combustion timing error; and a change in fuel quality; and performing a mitigation technique to compensate for the changes in combustion characteristics.

Fuel system diagnostics

Premixed engines including dual fuel engines can experience abnormal combustion characteristics including misfire, pre-ignition and knock. A method for detecting and mitigating abnormal combustion in an engine comprises sensing frequency components of an acoustic signal associated with a combustion chamber during a combustion cycle, the frequency components representative of at least one of a normal and an abnormal combustion characteristic; determining an in-cylinder pressure signal as a function of the acoustic signal; calculating as functions of the in-cylinder pressure signal at least one of a knock index, a gross indicated mean effective pressure and a start of combustion timing; detecting the abnormal combustion characteristic is at least one of (a) a misfire event when the gross indicated mean effective pressure is less than a predetermined mean effective pressure value; (b) a pre-ignition event when the start of combustion timing is advanced of a start of ignition timing; and (c) an engine knock event when the knock index is greater than a predetermined knock value; and performing a mitigation strategy for the detected abnormal combustion characteristic.

Detecting and mitigating abnormal combustion characteristics

A method for introducing a gaseous fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine includes forming a non-ignitable mixture of the gaseous fuel and a gas including oxygen in a predefined mixture mass ratio within a predetermined range of tolerance having a pressure suitable for directly introducing the non-ignitable mixture into the combustion chamber during at least the compression stroke; and introducing the non-ignitable mixture directly into the combustion chamber.

Air-enriched gaseous fuel direct injection for an internal combustion engine

A method for operating a gaseous-fuelled internal combustion engine by directly injecting the gaseous fuel into the combustion chamber is disclosed wherein the gaseous fuel is injected at injection pressures higher than 300 bar and the pressure ratio between the gaseous fuel injection pressure and the peak cylinder pressure is between 1.6:1 and 3:1, and preferably between 2.5:1 to 2.8:1. The injection pressure is selected to be between 300 and 540 bar and preferably between 300 bar and 440 bar. The injection pressure can be selected based on a preferred range for the pressure ratio.

Method and system for operating gaseous-fuelled direct injection internal combustion engine

Gaseous fuel injection pressures are normally less than liquid fuel injection pressures, resulting in reduced gaseous fuel jet momentum and mixing. A combustion system for an internal combustion engine comprises an intake port and valve, a cylinder and a piston that cooperate to provide a quiescent combustion chamber. The piston includes a re-entrant type piston bowl comprising an outer periphery and a protuberance emanating from the outer periphery. A fuel injector is configured to directly introduce a gaseous fuel into the combustion chamber and an ignition source is provided for igniting the gaseous fuel. A controller actuates the fuel injector such that a gaseous fuel jet is directed towards and splits upon impacting the protuberance forming first and second fuel plumes. The first fuel plume is redirected towards a first mixing zone adjacent a cylinder head and the second fuel plume redirected towards a second mixing zone adjacent the piston bowl.

Combustion system for gaseous fueled internal combustion engine

An apparatus and method for igniting a gaseous fuel directly introduced into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine comprises steps of heating a space near a fuel injector nozzle; introducing a pilot amount of the gaseous fuel in the combustion chamber during a first stage injection event; controlling residency of the pilot amount in the space such that a temperature of the pilot amount increases to an auto-ignition temperature of the gaseous fuel whereby ignition occurs; introducing a main amount of the gaseous fuel during a second stage injection event after the first stage injection event; and using heat from combustion of the pilot amount to ignite the main amount.

Apparatus and method for igniting a gaseous fuel in a direct injection internal combustion engine

A dual fuel injection valve with concentric needles comprises an inner needle and an outer needle surrounding the inner needle, both needles being located inside the injection valve body. The valve is provided with a first set and a second set of orifices for separately injecting two different fuels directly into the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. The outer needle is fixed against rotation with respect to the injection valve body such that an interlace angle between the centerlines of the first series of orifices and second series of orifices is set at different predetermined angles to reduce methane emissions.

Dual fuel injection valve

A method comprises steps for reconstructing in-cylinder pressure data from a vibration signal collected from a vibration sensor mounted on an engine component where it can generate a signal with a high signal-to-noise ratio, and correcting the vibration signal for errors introduced by vibration signal charge decay and sensor sensitivity. The correction factors are determined as a function of estimated motoring pressure and the measured vibration signal itself with each of these being associated with the same engine cycle. Accordingly, the method corrects for charge decay and changes in sensor sensitivity responsive to different engine conditions to allow greater accuracy in the reconstructed in-cylinder pressure data. An apparatus is also disclosed for practicing the disclosed method, comprising a vibration sensor, a data acquisition unit for receiving the vibration signal, a computer processing unit for processing the acquired signal and a controller for controlling the engine operation based on the reconstructed in-cylinder pressure.

Method and apparatus for reconstructing in-cylinder pressure and correcting for signal decay

The method comprises operating an engine and collecting a real-time accelerometer signal from an accelerometer sensor. The real-time accelerometer signal is digitized and filtered to isolate data in a frequency range associated with combustion to produce a filtered signal data set. The filtered signal data set is integrated to produce an integrated signal data set, and misfire is detected by comparing the integrated signal data set with a predetermined reference data set associated with the same operating point. The apparatus is a control system for an engine that comprises an accelerometer sensor mounted to the engine; a look-up table in which is stored predetermined reference data sets, in association with predetermined operating conditions; and an electronic controller programmed to carry out the foregoing method.

Method and apparatus for using an accelerometer signal to detect misfiring in an internal combustion engine

The method comprises operating a calibration engine, and collecting combustion characteristic data and reference accelerometer signals, which are correlated with each other and stored in a calibration table. The calibration table can be used by an engine to determine a real-time normal combustion characteristic when the engine is operating by collecting a real-time accelerometer sensor signal and cross correlating with the correlated data stored in the calibration table. Accordingly, the apparatus comprises a calibration engine comprising a calibration sensor, a reference accelerometer sensor and a data storage device for storing the collected calibration data that is correlated with the collected reference accelerometer signals, and an engine equipped with an accelerometer sensor, a calibration table and an electronic engine controller programmed to receive real-time accelerometer signals and cross correlate them with reference accelerometer signals to determine a real-time normal combustion characteristic.

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Richmond, CA, United States of America

Jian Huang