Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki

Osaka University

Yoshitaka Takeuchi

Hidehito Kubo

Hiroyasu Kawauchi

Takayuki Homma

Shohei Matsumoto

Hideaki Suzuki

Norinosuke Nakatani

Makoto Koike

Tadashi Takeuchi

Fumiteru Akamatsu

Ryuichi Murai

Yu Imahashi

An engine system includes: a reformer including a catalyst for decomposing fuel into hydrogen and configured to reform the fuel to generate a reformed gas containing the hydrogen; a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature of the reformed gas; a rotation fluctuation detection unit configured to detect an amount of rotation fluctuation of an engine; and a deterioration detection unit configured to detect whether reforming performance of the catalyst of the reformer is deteriorated based on detection values of the temperature detection unit and the rotation fluctuation detection unit, wherein when, in an idling period of the engine, the amount of rotation fluctuation of the engine is equal to or greater than a second threshold in a state where the temperature of the reformed gas is equal to or higher than a first threshold, the deterioration detection unit determines that the reforming performance of the catalyst is deteriorated.

Engine system

A combustor includes: a housing having an annular shape of which one end side is open and of which the other end side is closed; at least one introduction portion that introduces a fuel and an oxidizing gas into the housing to generate a tubular flow; and an ignition unit that ignites the fuel introduced into the housing. The ignition unit includes a discharge electrode and a ground electrode. A space that the fuel and the oxidizing gas reach is provided between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode.

Combustor

An engine system includes: a combustor including an ignition unit configured to ignite the fuel gas and configured to generate combustion gas that heats a catalyst; an outside air temperature detection unit configured to detect an outside air temperature; a catalyst temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature of the catalyst; an operating environment detection unit configured to detect an operating environment of the combustor; a combustion time determination unit configured to determine combustion time of the combustor; and a start control unit configured to, at a time of starting the engine, perform ON control on a starter and the ignition unit and control a third fuel supply valve, a first flow rate control valve, and a second flow rate control valve to open, and thereafter when the combustion time elapses, perform OFF control on the ignition unit and control the third fuel supply valve to close.

An engine system includes an engine having a combustion chamber, an intake gas passage through which air to be supplied to the combustion chamber flows, an exhaust gas passage through which exhaust gas generated from the combustion chamber flows, a reformer configured to reform the fuel to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen, a gas supply passage through which air to be supplied to the reformer flows, a bypass passage connected to the gas supply passage and the exhaust gas passage so as to bypass the reformer and through which the fuel having passed through the reformer is circulated to an upstream of the reformer, and a switching valve switched between a normal position that does not allow the fuel having passed through the reformer to flow to the bypass passage and a circulating position that allows the fuel having passed through the reformer to flow to the bypass passage.

An engine includes a reformer, a reforming-air adjuster, a reforming-fuel supply unit, a reformed-gas adjuster, and a control unit. The reformer is configured to reform fuel into a reformed gas. When a start signal is input, the control unit controls the reforming-air adjuster and the reforming-fuel supply unit to a reformable state in which the fuel is reformable in the reformer, and the control unit controls the reformed-gas adjuster so that the reformed gas flows through the reformed-gas adjuster with a degree of opening smaller than a normal degree of opening that is a degree of opening of the reformed-gas adjuster when composition of the reformed gas is in a stable state before the composition of the reformed gas becomes in the stable state, for a given period of time including at least a period immediately after the engine starts.

Engine

An engine system includes: an ammonia engine; a reforming device that has a reforming catalyst for cracking ammonia gas into hydrogen and configured to reform ammonia gas to generate reformed gas containing hydrogen; and a control unit. The control unit includes: a purge controller configured to control a reforming injector so as to be closed and control a reforming throttle valve so as to be opened, after an ignition switch gives an instruction of a stop of the ammonia engine; and an engine stop controller configured to control main injectors so as to be closed, after the ignition switch gives the instruction of the stop of the ammonia engine.

A reforming system includes a vaporizer configured to vaporize liquid fuel to produce fuel gas; a reformer configured to reform the fuel gas produced by the vaporizer to produce a reformed gas containing hydrogen; an air supplier configured to supply air to the reformer; a fuel gas supplier configured to supply the fuel gas to the reformer; a heater configured to increase a temperature of the reformer; a reformed gas flow passage through which the reformed gas produced by the reformer flows; a cooler disposed in the reformed gas flow passage and configured to cool the reformed gas; a circulation passage connecting the vaporizer with the cooler and through which refrigerant flows through the vaporizer and the cooler; and a circulation pump disposed in the circulation passage and configured to circulate the refrigerant through the circulation passage.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Yoshitaka Takeuchi