Caterpillar Inc.

Mack Trucks, Inc.

Ab Volvo

Kenth I Svensson

Jonathan William Anders

Chad Palmer Koci

David Todd Montgomery

Eric Lee Schroeder

Bobby John

Glen Clifford Martin

Arnold Myoungjin Kim

Eric Donald Wiebrecht

Yongli Qi

Christopher Ronald Gehrke

Ronald Graham Silver

Jaswinder Singh

David Ginter

Joshua Lynn Ratts

Chun Tai

Michael Bardell

Timothy Bazyn

Naga Krishna Chaitanya Kavuri

Russell P Fitzgerald

William J Barnes

Abhay Gupta

Adam Dempsey

Hoisan Kim

Robert Michael Campion

Jason Jon Rasmussen

Carl Anders Hergart

Richard Christopher Kulaga

Charlie Chang-Won Kim

Suresh Babu Chennagowni

Steven C Zoz

Nikolas Karl Landin

Marchione Thierry Andre

Moataz Ali

Paul S K Wang

Venkatesan Veeriah

Chaitanya Kavuri

Qingzhong Li

Jeffrey A Huber

An internal combustion engine system is described herein. The system uses a pilot fuel to assist in the ignition of the primary fuel or uses a pilot fuel rather than a primary fuel in some instances. The pilot fuel is stored in one or more pilot fuel storage tanks that are actively managed to maintain a desired physical state of the pilot fuel stored in the one or more storage tanks. A controller detects conditions within the one or more pilot fuel storage tanks and issues control commands depending on the detected conditions. The conditions can include a temperature, a pressure, or a level of the pilot fuel stored in the pilot fuel storage tanks.

Systems and methods for actively managing pilot fuel storage tanks

An internal combustion engine system is described herein. The system uses an additive added to the exhaust of the internal combustion engine to maintain a range of NO2 to NO within a range that provides for a fast SCR reaction in a selective catalyst reduction unit. The additive and the exhaust enter a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), whereby the NO2 undergoes a two-stage process. In the first stage, the NO2 from the exhaust is adsorbed onto the precious metal catalyst of the DOC and an atomic oxygen is removed from the NO2, reducing the NO2 to NO. Because of the higher reactivity of the additive, the additive scavenges a portion of the atomic oxygen from the catalyst. During the second stage of the DOC process, the NO is oxidized over the catalyst to form NO2.

Aftertreatment for alcohol fuel substituted diesel engines

Operating an engine system includes calculating a crank angle timing term corresponding to an in-cylinder temperature sufficient for autoignition of a first fuel injected at a first injection location. Operating an engine system further includes calculating, based on the crank angle timing term, at least one of an injection amount or an injection duration, to increase the in-cylinder temperature sufficiently via burning of the first fuel to ignite a second fuel injected into a mixture of the first fuel and pressurized intake air. The first fuel may include a blend of dimethyl ether (DME), methanol (MeOH), and water. Based on expected progression of in-cylinder temperatures, and fuel injection amount and/or duration based thereon, desirable controllability of combustion phasing and/or other combustion properties may be realized.

Dual fuel operating strategy for engine based on expected in-cylinder temperature progression

A gaseous fuel engine system includes an engine housing forming a plurality of intake ports, and a plurality of fuel admission tubes oriented to admit a gaseous fuel into the plurality of intake ports. The fuel admission tubes include mixers having flow-impinged surfaces exposed to at least one of a flow of gaseous fuel or a flow of intake air and each including a detachment edge. The mixers may include fins, wedge structures, and/or a contoured outer surface of the fuel admission tube. Related apparatus and methodology is also disclosed.

Fuel admission tube for gaseous fuel engine and engine operating method

A fuel injector includes a nozzle needle movable within an injector housing and including a flow guiding tip. The flow guiding tip includes an outer ramp surface, defining, in profile, a concave curve and a fuel trajectory line tangent to the concave curve and extending through a spray orifice inlet to direct fuel into the same. Related methodology is also disclosed.

Fuel injector nozzle assembly including needle having flow guiding tip for directing fuel flow

An internal combustion engine system is described herein. The system uses a reactor to create pilot fuel from the primary fuel to assist in the ignition of the primary fuel. The system uses one or more heaters to increase the temperature of the primary fuel to an operational temperature of a reactor used to convert the primary fuel in a dehydration reaction. The heaters use waste heat generated by the operation of the engine. The waste heat can be lubricant used to remove heat from components of the engine as well as heat from the exhaust of the engine, for example. A controller is used to maintain an operational range of a level of the pilot fuel in an accumulator. The accumulator acts as a buffer to allow the engine to continue to receive the pilot fuel during dynamic and changing conditions of the engine.

Systems and methods for pilot fuel synthesis using engine waste heat

A boot in a fuel system includes an injector portion receiving a fuel injector, and a conduit portion receiving a double-walled fuel conduit. The injector portion includes a window therein receiving an electrical connector of the fuel injector. The conduit portion includes a radially outward grasping protrusion for installing the conduit portion over the electrical connector.

Fuel system having fuel injector boot assembly configured with grasping protrusion

Operating an engine system includes autoigniting a first fuel including a plurality of liquid fuels premixed with air, to trigger ignition of a direct-injected main fuel in a first engine cycle, and receiving data indicative of an undesired heat release of combustion of the first fuel. The undesired heat release may include an undesired heat release rate (HRR) modality such as a multistage combustion. Relative amounts of the plurality of the liquid fuels are varied and admitted to the cylinder in a second engine cycle, and the first fuel having the varied relative amounts autoignited to trigger ignition of the direct-injected main fuel in the second engine cycle. The undesired heat release can be limited in the second engine cycle based on the varied relative amounts of the liquid fuels. The first fuel may include a blend of dimethyl ether (DME), methanol (MeOH), and water. The direct-injected main fuel may include MeOH and water. Related apparatus and control logic is also disclosed.

Dual fuel engine operating method and control strategy for optimized heat release

Operating an internal combustion engine system includes feeding a stream of pressurized intake air to a plurality of cylinders in an engine for combustion with a methanol fuel. An engine parameter indicative of at least one of an exhaust NOx level or a change to the exhaust NOx level of the engine is monitored, and water injected into an intake conduit for the engine based on the monitored engine parameter to limit the exhaust NOx level of the engine. Related apparatus and control logic is disclosed.

NOx mitigation strategy in methanol internal combustion engine

An engine component comprises one or more thermal barrier coatings applied to one or more areas of the engine component. The thermal barrier coatings reduce the temperature rate of change of the areas to which the thermal barrier coating is applied. Reducing the temperature rate of change can help reduce lattice structure damage caused by different temperatures in different areas of the engine component. The thermal barrier coating can be applied as a monolithic layer on a surface of the engine component or can be applied in different areas using patterns. The patterns allow for the tuning of the performance characteristics (temperature rate of change) of the areas of the engine component and can help reduce defect propagation, such as cracks, in the thermal barrier coating from one area of the thermal barrier coating to other areas of the thermal barrier coating.

Systems and methods for thermal barrier coatings to modify engine component thermal characteristics

A fuel injector includes a nozzle body having spray orifices formed therein each defining a spray orifice diameter dimension (d), and a plurality of spray ducts each in spray path alignment with one of the plurality of spray orifices and including a duct outlet defining a duct exit diameter dimension (D). Each of the spray ducts defines, together with the respective one of the spray orifices, a relative spray area reduction (SAR) at the duct outlet. The ratio of D/d is at least 14, and the SAR is 80% or greater. The configuration provides reduced soot production. Related methodology is disclosed.

Fuel injector having spray ducts sized for optimized soot reduction

A system may include a first methanol tank and a second methanol tank connected to the first tank. The system may include a first valve fluidly connected to the first methanol tank and the second methanol tank. The system may include a heat exchanger connected to the second methanol tank and a turbine of a turbocharger. The system may include a second valve fluidly connected to an intake system of an engine.

Vaporizing methanol using exhaust gas and an electrical heating component

Making a piston includes receiving a piston crown including a combustion face forming a combustion bowl. The piston includes a base material, and a thermal barrier coating (TBC) material forming at least a portion of the combustion face including a bowl edge. Making a piston further includes advancing a polishing tool into contact with the combustion face, spinning the polishing tool such that a positive piston profile is polished via contact with a negative tool profile, and removing some of the TBC material based on the spinning the polishing tool relative to the piston.

Method of making piston using polishing removal of thermal barrier coating (TBC) material

An exhaust heater system includes an exhaust heater and an air supply tube disposed within the exhaust heater. Relatively hot exhaust gas from an engine is directed into the exhaust heater, whereby heat from the exhaust heats the interior of the air supply tube. The heat partially vaporizes liquid methanol injected into the air supply tube. To control the amount of heating, the exhaust can be directed to the air supply tube as well as an exhaust bypass, whereby exhaust directed to the exhaust bypass does not heat the interior of the air supply tube.

Systems for methanol vaporization

Growing community of inventors

Peoria, IL, United States of America

Kenth I Svensson