Internally cooled exhaust gas recirculation system for internal combustion engine and method thereof

A method for operating an internal combustion engine comprising:

• determining current engine operating parameters;
• calculating air/fuel mixture based on the operating parameters, the air/fuel mixture having a stoichiometric ratio of air to fuel (λ) greater than 1;
• obtaining desired EGR level based on the operating parameters and air/fuel mixture;
• sense temperature of exhaust gases;
• determine water injection volume based on the EGR level, sensed exhaust gases temperature and calculated air/fuel mixture;
• controlling a valve to recirculate an amount of exhaust gases equivalent to the desired EGR level, from an exhaust track to a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine;
• controlling a water injector to inject the determined water volume into the recirculated exhaust gases;
• and
• controlling a fuel injector to introduce the calculated air/fuel mixture into the combustion chamber,
• wherein the controlling of the valve, water injector and fuel injector occur at a interval prior to a piston reaching a top-dead-center position within a cylinder forming the combustion chamber, the piston providing a mechanical compression ratio greater than 13:1.