Dual fuel combustion control based on covaried spark production and pilot shot delivery
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsBobby John, Jonathan Anders
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Operating a dual fuel engine system includes igniting a main charge of gaseous fuel in response to combustion of an early pilot shot of liquid fuel and production of a spark. Operating the system also includes covarying a spark timing parameter and a pilot shot delivery parameter, and reducing an error in a phasing of combustion of another main charge based on the covarying of the spark timing parameter and the pilot shot delivery parameter.
Claims20
A method of operating a dual fuel engine system comprising:
- igniting a main charge of gaseous fuel within a cylinder in a dual fuel engine in a first engine cycle in response to combustion of an early pilot shot of liquid fuel and production of a spark;
- igniting a main charge of gaseous fuel within the cylinder in the dual fuel engine in a second engine cycle in response to combustion of an early pilot shot of liquid fuel and production of a spark;
- covarying a spark timing parameter and a pilot shot delivery parameter from the first engine cycle to the second engine cycle;
- and
- reducing an error in a phasing of combustion from the first engine cycle to the second engine cycle based on the covarying of the spark timing parameter and the pilot shot delivery parameter from the first engine cycle to the second engine cycle.
A combustion control system for a dual fuel engine system comprising:
- a sparkplug having spark electrodes forming a spark gap and structured for producing an electrical spark within a cylinder in a dual fuel engine;
- an electrically actuated liquid fuel injector structured to directly inject an early pilot shot of liquid fuel into the cylinder in the dual fuel engine;
- and
- a combustion control unit coupled with the sparkplug and with the liquid fuel injector, the combustion control unit being structured to covary a spark timing parameter of the spark plug and a pilot shot delivery parameter of the liquid fuel injector, and to reduce an error in a phasing of combustion in the dual fuel engine system based on the covarying of the spark timing parameter and the pilot shot delivery parameter.
A method of operating a dual fuel engine system comprising:
- commanding injection of an early pilot shot of liquid fuel and production of a spark to ignite a main charge of gaseous fuel within a cylinder in a dual fuel engine;
- covarying a spark timing parameter and an early pilot shot delivery parameter based on a phasing of combustion of the main charge of gaseous fuel;
- and
- reducing an error in a phasing of combustion of another main charge of gaseous fuel ignited by combustion of an early pilot shot of liquid fuel and production of a spark, based on the covarying of the spark timing parameter and the pilot shot delivery parameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.