Caterpillar Inc.

Naga Krishna Chaitanya Kavuri

Jonathan William Anders

Bobby John

Kenth I Svensson

Chad Palmer Koci

William J Barnes

Hyderuddin Mohammad

Eric Lee Schroeder

Jaswinder Singh

Andrew J Loetz

Yongxian Gu

Chao Xu

Prithwish Kundu

An engine system includes an engine housing forming a plurality of intake ports, and a plurality of fuel admission tubes each forming a fuel passage and at least one mixing air opening fluidly connected to the fuel passage between a first tube end and a terminal end surface of a second tube end. The mixing air opening may be formed in an end cap of the fuel admission tube. A plurality of mixing air openings in a fuel admission tube may have at least one of a circumferential distribution or an axial distribution that is biased in a direction of an incoming flow of intake air. Related apparatus and methodology is also disclosed.

Fuel admission tube for enhanced mixing in gaseous fuel engine and engine operating method

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 gaseous fuel engine includes an engine housing having a cylinder block with a combustion cylinder therein, and an engine head including an intake port, an exhaust port, a fuel port, and an igniter bore, each extending to a fire deck. The gaseous fuel engine includes a fuel admission valve movable to close and open the fuel port. A non-axisymmetric clearance is defined between an inner port surface and the fuel admission valve and directionally biases a flow of gaseous fuel from the fuel port. Related methodology is also disclosed.

Gaseous fuel engine having non-axisymmetric fuel admission valve and method

Operating a gaseous fuel engine includes spark-igniting gaseous hydrogen fuel and air, and propagating combustion gases of the spark-ignited mixture outwardly from a spark gap. The propagating combustion gases are impinged upon a cone surface of a piston so as to limit a flame area of the propagating combustion gases. Additional gaseous hydrogen fuel and air is ignited in the combustion cylinder by way of the propagating combustion gases to urge a piston toward a bottom-dead-center position.

Gaseous fuel reciprocating engine and operating methodology for reduced hydrogen flame speed

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

An engine system includes an engine housing having a cylinder block and a cylinder head. An intake opening and an exhaust opening and an igniter opening are formed in a fire deck surface of the cylinder head. A plurality of always-open fuel admission ports are fluidly connected to a combustion chamber and arranged in at least one of the cylinder block or the cylinder head. The always-open fuel admission ports convey a gaseous fuel such as a gaseous hydrogen fuel, a gaseous hydrocarbon fuel, or still others, to the combustion chamber.

Gaseous fuel engine configuration and method using always-open fuel admission ports

An internal combustion engine system includes an engine housing having a combustion cylinder, and a piston movable within the combustion cylinder to increase a pressure therein to an autoignition threshold for injected fuel. The piston includes a piston crown having a combustion face forming a combustion bowl, and varied in profile to form jet-jet interaction limiters at locations offset from fuel spray jet paths from a fuel injector. The jet-jet interaction limiters include a bowl component and a step component protruding, respectively, within the combustion bowl and a step located transitioning between the combustion bowl and a circumferential rim of the piston. Limiting jet-jet interaction limits soot production in exhaust produced by the engine.

Internal combustion engine and piston having stepped combustion bowl with non-axisymmetric profile

A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a piston having a bowl surface forming a combustion bowl, a rim surface forming an annular rim, and a gallery surface exposed to a backside cooling gallery of the piston. The bowl surface forms a bowl profile varied circumferentially around a piston center axis, and the gallery surface forms a gallery profile that is varied circumferentially around the piston center axis and is congruous with the bowl profile. The gallery surface is concave to the combustion bowl, convex to the backside cooling gallery, and forms no edges exposed within the backside cooling gallery. A wall formed between the combustion bowl and the backside cooling gallery has a heat-dissipation wall thickness defined by the varied bowl profile and the varied gallery profile.

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Peoria, IL, United States of America

Naga Krishna Chaitanya Kavuri