Cryogenic fuel injection and combustion
AssigneeCummins Inc.
InventorsLester L. Peters, Paul Douglas Free, John Robert Pendray
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A combustion engine and a method of operating the combustion engine are disclosed. The method comprises supplying a charge gas to the combustion chamber through an intake port; discharging a cryogenic fuel in a liquid state from a fuel injector in fluid communication with the combustion chamber; closing an intake valve to close the combustion chamber; and actuating a piston during a compression cycle to compress the charge gas and the cryogenic fuel. At least a portion of the cryogenic fuel evaporates in the closed combustion chamber.
Claims15
A combustion engine for combusting cryogenic fuel, the combustion engine comprising:
- a block having a cylindrical bore;
- a valve header having an intake port structured to receive a charge gas and guide the charge gas to a combustion chamber through a valve throat of the valve header;
- a piston structured to move axially within the cylindrical bore toward the valve header in a compression cycle of the combustion engine, the piston, the cylindrical bore, and the valve header forming the combustion chamber;
- an exhaust valve;
- an intake valve fluidly connecting the intake port with the combustion chamber, wherein closing the intake valve and the exhaust valve closes the combustion chamber, wherein the intake valve comprises a valve head seat and the intake valve is closed when the valve head seat mates with the valve throat;
- a fuel injector positioned to discharge the cryogenic fuel in a liquid state into the intake port and through the intake valve, the fuel injector having an injector tip;
- and
- a controller configured to
- determine a position of the intake valve;
- and
- actuate the fuel injector in relation to the position of the intake valve to discharge the cryogenic fuel in the liquid state through the injector tip into the intake port and through the intake valve and thereby form a spray plume of the cryogenic fuel in the combustion chamber without the spray plume impinging on a cylindrical surface of the combustion chamber, such that the combustion engine evaporates at least 60% of the cryogenic fuel in the closed combustion chamber during the compression cycle.
A method of operating a combustion engine, the method comprising:
- supplying a charge gas to a combustion chamber through an intake port and a valve throat;
- discharging a cryogenic fuel in a liquid state from an injector tip of a fuel injector through the intake port and an intake valve into the combustion chamber thereby forming a spray plume of the cryogenic fuel in the combustion chamber without the spray plume impinging on a cylindrical surface of the combustion chamber;
- closing the intake valve and an exhaust valve to close the combustion chamber, wherein the intake valve comprises a valve head seat and the intake valve is closed when the valve head seat mates with the valve throat;
- and
- actuating a piston during a compression cycle to compress the charge gas and evaporate at least 60% of the cryogenic fuel in the closed combustion chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.