Integrated fuel and cooling circuit for an internal combustion engine

A cooling system for an internal combustion engine, the cooling system comprising:

• an engine block at least partially defining a combustion chamber and a cooling passage, the cooling passage having an inlet and an outlet and extending through the engine block;
• a heat exchanger having an inlet and an outlet;
• a cooling circuit including a first conduit, a second conduit, and a third conduit, the first conduit being coupled to the inlet of the cooling passage, the second conduit being coupled to the outlet of the cooling passage and the inlet of the heat exchanger, the third conduit being coupled to the first conduit and the outlet of the heat exchanger;
• a fuel tank configured to hold a volume of a fuel;
• a supply conduit coupled to the fuel tank and the first conduit;
• a first pump configured to circulate the fuel through the cooling circuit;
• and
• a fuel delivery device in fluid communication with the cooling circuit and configured to deliver the fuel to the combustion chamber, wherein the fuel delivery device is fluidly coupled to the cooling circuit at a location downstream of the cooling passage and upstream of the first pump.

A method of cooling an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:

• circulating fuel through a cooling circuit including the steps of:
• sending the fuel through a cooling passage using a first pump to transfer heat from the engine to the fuel, the cooling passage being defined by at least one of an engine block and a cylinder head of the engine;
• flowing the fuel from the cooling passage to a heat exchanger to release heat from the fuel;
• and
• flowing the fuel from the heat exchanger to the cooling passage;
• diverting a portion of the fuel from the cooling circuit to a fuel delivery device, wherein the portion of the fuel is diverted from the cooling circuit at a location downstream of the cooling passage and upstream of the first pump;
• delivering the portion of the fuel to a combustion chamber of the engine using the fuel delivery device;
• and
• combusting the portion of the fuel in the combustion chamber.