Integration of a Common Rail Injection System for a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine
Primary Faculty Mentor’s Name
Dr. Valentin Soloiu
Proposal Track
Student
Session Format
Poster
Abstract
Diesel engine performance and efficiency continues to advance, but as stricter regulations are enforced for emissions on the engines, the need for more advanced control of the combustion cycle is needed. Emission regulations limit the amount of NOx, soot, and CO produced by the combustion process in the engine. To cope with the demands for lower emissions, diesel engines are now designed to use a common rail injection system, which allows for the best atomization of the air & fuel mixture, which yields better engine efficiency. The common rail system also has better control of ignition timing and can use multiple injection events to control cylinder temperatures, which will lead to reduced harmful emissions and also lower noise output of the engine.
To allow for better emission and efficiency control the Renewable Energy Lab will focus on converting a mechanically injected engine to a common rail system. The system will be controlled through the use of a standalone data acquisition and injection driver unit, and will allow for a near unlimited control of parameters for the system, giving future researchers the flexibility to develop the system to suit their particular area of research. The data acquisition and driver unit utilize Lab-View architecture, and allow for simultaneous control of both the direct injection fuel system, and the port fuel injection system. It also uses control loop feedback principles to regulate the pressure of the fuel rail, which helps to produce accurate and repeatable data.
The common rail systems allows the best control of the injection cycle of an internal combustion engine through the use of highly pressurized fuel, injectors with extremely fast response time, and accurate control of fuel flow, throughout the range of engine operation. All of these attributes are possible, because the common rail utilizes a high-tech injector, which works off the principle of piezoelectricity, where mechanical stress produces an electric charge. The principle also works in reverse. The injector houses a piezo-sensitive material, and short bursts of electrical current cause the material to contract and expand, opening the injector. Because the system is electronically controlled, it can open and close the injector up to eight times during an injection cycle, and vary the open and close times for each event. This is far beyond what a mechanically injection system can do, and it is for that reason that common rail diesel systems far surpass mechanically injected combustion engines in terms of efficiency.
Keywords
Efficiency, Combustion engine, Direct injection, Common rail, Emissions, Soot, NOX
Location
Concourse/Atrium
Presentation Year
2014
Start Date
11-15-2014 2:55 PM
End Date
11-15-2014 4:10 PM
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Santangelo, Michael P., "Integration of a Common Rail Injection System for a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine" (2014). Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (2014-2015). 132.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gurc/2014/2014/132
Integration of a Common Rail Injection System for a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine
Concourse/Atrium
Diesel engine performance and efficiency continues to advance, but as stricter regulations are enforced for emissions on the engines, the need for more advanced control of the combustion cycle is needed. Emission regulations limit the amount of NOx, soot, and CO produced by the combustion process in the engine. To cope with the demands for lower emissions, diesel engines are now designed to use a common rail injection system, which allows for the best atomization of the air & fuel mixture, which yields better engine efficiency. The common rail system also has better control of ignition timing and can use multiple injection events to control cylinder temperatures, which will lead to reduced harmful emissions and also lower noise output of the engine.
To allow for better emission and efficiency control the Renewable Energy Lab will focus on converting a mechanically injected engine to a common rail system. The system will be controlled through the use of a standalone data acquisition and injection driver unit, and will allow for a near unlimited control of parameters for the system, giving future researchers the flexibility to develop the system to suit their particular area of research. The data acquisition and driver unit utilize Lab-View architecture, and allow for simultaneous control of both the direct injection fuel system, and the port fuel injection system. It also uses control loop feedback principles to regulate the pressure of the fuel rail, which helps to produce accurate and repeatable data.
The common rail systems allows the best control of the injection cycle of an internal combustion engine through the use of highly pressurized fuel, injectors with extremely fast response time, and accurate control of fuel flow, throughout the range of engine operation. All of these attributes are possible, because the common rail utilizes a high-tech injector, which works off the principle of piezoelectricity, where mechanical stress produces an electric charge. The principle also works in reverse. The injector houses a piezo-sensitive material, and short bursts of electrical current cause the material to contract and expand, opening the injector. Because the system is electronically controlled, it can open and close the injector up to eight times during an injection cycle, and vary the open and close times for each event. This is far beyond what a mechanically injection system can do, and it is for that reason that common rail diesel systems far surpass mechanically injected combustion engines in terms of efficiency.
