Caterpillar Inc.

Joel D Hiltner

Martin Leo Willi

Scott Byron Fiveland

Wade James Robel

Jaswinder Singh

David Ginter

Darryl Dean Baldwin

Weidong Gong

William Christopher Boley

Min Wu

Gary N Boyer

Jorge R Agama

Anand Srinivasan

A system for reforming a fuel may include a first sensor configured to measure an operating parameter of an engine. The operating parameter may correlate to a NOemission level of the engine. The system may also include a controller in communication with the sensor and a reformer. The controller may be configured to determine a target NOemission level for the engine. The controller may be also configured to determine a target value of the operating parameter corresponding to the target NOemission level. The controller may be further configured to control the reformer to reform at least a portion of the fuel based on a difference between the measured value and the target value of the operating parameter.

Feedback control of fuel reformer-engine system

A natural gas compression system is provided. The system may include a natural gas compressor configured to compress, and thereby pump, natural gas through a pipeline. The system may also include a natural gas burning engine, operatively coupled to the gas compressor, the engine being supplied with air by an induction system. The induction system may include a supercharger driven by the engine and configured to compress intake air and a turbocharger downstream from the supercharger and driven by exhaust gases produced by the engine. The induction system may also include a supercharger compressor bypass configured to selectively recirculate a portion of the compressed output of the supercharger upstream of the supercharger.

Natural gas compression system

An internal combustion engine has at least one combustion chamber and a piston slidably disposed within the at least one combustion chamber. The piston is configured to reciprocate between a top-dead-center position and a bottom-dead-center position. The internal combustion engine also has an air supply in selective fluid communication with the at least one combustion chamber and a fuel supply in selective fluid communication with the at least one combustion chamber. The internal combustion engine further has a supply of non-combustible gas and at least one injector in fluid communication with the at least one combustion chamber and the supply of non-combustible gas. The at least one injector is configured to inject non-combustible gas from the supply into the at least one combustion chamber.

Combustion control system of a homogeneous charge

A method and apparatus for providing a hydrogen enriched fuel to a combustion prechamber. The method and apparatus includes reforming a quantity of fuel to produce a hydrogen enriched fuel, delivering the reformed fuel to the combustion prechamber, and combining the hydrogen enriched fuel with a fuel/air mixture to less than stoichiometric.

Method and apparatus for providing a hydrogen enriched fuel to combustion prechamber

A rapid compression device for use in initiating combustion within an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The rapid compression device employs a prechamber adapted to be in fluid communication with a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. A piston is provided within a cylinder of the prechamber and compresses natural gas therein to a degree sufficient to auto-ignite the gas when mixed with air. The auto-ignition of the gas and air mixture results in combustion gases which are communicated to the main combustion chamber for ignition of the air and gas mixture provided therein as well.

Rapid compression prechamber for internal combustion engine

A method and apparatus for injecting pilot fuel in a combustion engine. The method and apparatus includes determining a load of the engine, determining a desired injection timing of the pilot fuel and a desired quantity of pilot fuel to be injected as a function of a desired homogeneous distribution of the pilot fuel based on the engine load, and adjusting the injection timing and quantity of the pilot fuel to the desired values.

Distributed ignition method and apparatus for a combustion engine

A method of controlling detonation in an internal combustion engine is provided with the steps of: combusting a fuel and air mixture within a combustion cylinder; sensing a plurality of pressures at discrete points in time within the combustion cylinder; determining a pressure profile of the plurality of pressures; detecting detonation within the combustion cylinder; and acting upon the detonation, dependent upon where said detonation occurs on the pressure profile.

Method of controlling detonation in an internal combustion engine

A Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine and operating method having ignition timing controlled on a cycle to cycle basis by adding to a primary fuel, which is typically greater than 95% and is a gas such as natural gas with a relatively slow burn rate, varying amounts of high cetane number fuel, typically diesel fuel, before or early in the compression stroke. The amount of high cetane fuel that is injected depends on engine speed and load, and is selected to insure that combustion is phased properly with crankshaft position. The ignition delay is thus controlled substantially independently of the burn duration, which is controlled by varying the amount of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) in conjunction with the air to fuel ratio so as to maintain a near constant crank angle burn duration over a wide range of engine speeds. Because of the relatively slow burn rate of the natural gas after ignition, relatively low EGR levels and high boost levels are practical with the subject HCCI engine so that its power density is greater than that of previous HCCI engines. The load and speed of the subject HCCI engine may be controlled over a wide range by varying the overall air to fuel ratio or the boost pressure. The high cetane liquid fuel may be injected together with the gas and early in the compression stroke so that the gas atomizes the liquid upon injection.

Homogeneous charge compression ignition dual fuel engine and method for operation

A method of controlling generation of nitrogen oxides in an internal combustion engine is provided with the steps of: combusting a fuel and air mixture within a combustion cylinder; determining a pressure in the combustion cylinder and a position of a piston within the combustion cylinder; calculating an amount of nitrogen oxides generated with the combusting step, dependent upon the determining step; storing a history of the calculated amount of nitrogen oxides in a memory device; and controlling an output action, dependent upon the calculated amount of nitrogen oxides, the stored history of nitrogen oxides and a threshold value of the nitrogen oxides.

Method of controlling generation of nitrogen oxides in an internal combustion engine

An internal combustion engine includes a precombustion member which has a number of first ignition orifices defined therein. The precombustion member further has a precombustion chamber defined therein. The precombustion member is positioned relative to the head of the engine such that the precombustion chamber is in fluid communication with the engine's main combustion chamber via the first ignition orifices. The internal combustion engine further has a spark plug for igniting a gaseous fuel. The spark plug includes an encapsulating member which has a number of second ignition orifices defined therein. The encapsulating member defines a plug combustion chamber. The spark plug further includes a center electrode and a ground electrode which are both positioned within the plug combustion chamber. The encapsulating member is positioned relative to the precombustion member such that the plug combustion chamber is in fluid communication with the precombustion chamber via the second ignition orifices. The encapsulating member shelters the spark generated by the spark plug from turbulence within the precombustion chamber and the main combustion chamber. Such a configuration facilitates use of leaner gaseous fuel mixtures relative to fuel combustion assemblies which have heretofore been designed.

Growing community of inventors

Powell, OH, United States of America

Joel D Hiltner