Multifuel closed-loop thermal cycle piston engine, system and method

Abstract

A multifuel closed-loop thermal cycle piston engine, system and method. A motor vehicle system includes an externally-fired continuous combustion piston-driven engine including a drive stage, a compression stage including a pressure-operated exhaust valve, a combustion stage, a water-injection stage between an outlet of the combustion stage and an inlet of the drive stage, and a programmable electronic control unit programmed to control an exhaust gas temperature including instructions that obtain a temperature of the exhaust gas, and turn on the post-combustion water injectors when the temperature exceeds a pre-programmed set point. A method of operating a closed-loop thermal cycle piston engine includes burning fuel in a combustion stage, measuring a temperature of exhaust gas; and controlling the temperature of the exhaust gas by injecting water into a water-injection stage between an outlet of the combustion stage and an inlet of the drive stage.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.