Caterpillar Inc.

Venkat Vijay Kishore Turlapati

Arvind Sivasubramanian

Jason Jon Rasmussen

Brett A Zook

Christopher F Gallmeyer

Andrew J Loetz

Deepti Bhosekar

A reformer system may include a reformer device having a fuel inlet, an air inlet and a gas outlet, a first valve set coupled to the fuel inlet and configured to selectively supply a reformer fuel flow from an engine fuel flow to the fuel inlet, a second valve set coupled to the air inlet and configured to selectively supply a reformer air flow from a compressor outlet air flow to the air inlet, and a controller in electrical communication with the first valve set and the second valve set. The controller may determine a target reformer fuel flow based on a target gas flow, determine a target reformer air flow based on the reformer fuel flow and a target air-to-fuel ratio, adjust the reformer fuel flow according to the target reformer fuel flow, and adjust the reformer air flow according to the target reformer air flow.

Natural gas fuel reformer control for lean burn gas engines

A method for controlling an air-fuel ratio (AFR) in an engine powered by a gaseous fuel having an unknown composition may comprise receiving an assumed gas species composition for the gaseous fuel, and determining an assumed lower heating value (LHV) for the assumed gas species composition. The method may further comprise determining a perceived lower heating value (LHV) for the gaseous fuel based on a perceived gas mass flow and a gas energy flow for the gaseous fuel, and updating the assumed gas species composition until the assumed LHV and the perceived LHV are aligned. The method may further comprise determining a desired AFR and an airflow necessary to provide the desired AFR using the aligned gas species composition and a desired lambda (&#x3bb;), and adjusting an air system controller of the engine to provide the airflow.

Method and system for controlling an air-fuel ratio in an engine using a fuel source with an unknown composition

The disclosure relates to a system and method for determining the specific gravity of a fuel used in a dual fuel engine. The system includes a fuel rail, at least one sensor, and a processor. The method includes sensing and recording, with the at least one sensor and the at least one memory, a first pressure profile of a first fuel in the fuel rail and a second pressure profile of a second fuel in the fuel rail. The first fuel has a known specific gravity and the second fuel has an unknown specific gravity. The method further includes calculating the second specific gravity of the second fuel, with a processor, based on the first pressure profile, the second pressure profile, and the first specific gravity.

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Peoria, IL, United States of America

Venkat Vijay Kishore Turlapati