Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Michael C Drake

Andreas M Lippert

Yangbing Zeng

A spark-ignition, direct injection internal combustion engine includes a fuel injector effective to produce a fuel spray pattern which is relatively compact at low loads and relatively large at high loads.

Method and apparatus for a spark-ignited direct injection engine

A spark ignition enhancer is provided in a combustion chamber of a spark ignition direct injection engine. The combustion chamber includes a fuel injector operable to spray a fuel plume into the chamber near a spark gap. The ignition enhancer includes a diversion element that extends into the fuel plume, between the fuel injector and the spark gap, to divert some of the fuel spray toward the spark gap to provide a spark ignitable air-fuel mixture at the spark gap, located outside of the spray plume. The diversion element may be mounted on a spark plug or on an adjacent element. The ignition enhancer improves ignitability by breaking up droplets in the spray plume, enhancing fuel vaporization, and diverting some fuel vapor to a spark gap outside the spray plume or away from a spark gap in the spray plume, so that liquid fuel at the gap is reduced, small scale turbulence is increased and gradients in fuel vapor distribution at the gap are reduced.

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Rochester Hills, MI, United States of America

Michael C Drake