Systems and methods for diagnosing an engine
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsBret Dwayne Worden, Milan Karunaratne, Benedict George Lander
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Presently disclosed are methods and systems for diagnosing a coolant leak of an engine. A method may include diagnosing a coolant leak of an engine based on identified fill signatures of a measured engine coolant pressure. A vehicle system is also disclosed, including an engine, a coolant system operatively connected to the engine, a coolant pressure sensor configured to measure engine coolant pressure during operation of the engine, and a controller, including instructions configured to create a coolant pressure profile corresponding to a given engine speed, and diagnose a condition of the engine based on the coolant pressure profile.
Claims23
A method for an engine including a coolant pump comprising:
- receiving engine speed data from the engine over a period of time;
- receiving coolant pressure data from at least one coolant pressure sensor over the period of time;
- correlating the engine speed data and the coolant pressure data using a computer controller to produce a pressure-speed relationship;
- identifying one or more fill signatures using the computer controller based at least in part on the coolant pressure data over the period of time and the pressure-speed relationship, wherein the one or more fill signatures are identified based on an increasing pressure varying discontinuously along a pressure curve over the period of time indicating coolant has been added to the engine;
- and
- generating a signal based at least in part on the one or more fill signatures.
A method for an engine including a coolant pump comprising:
- receiving an engine coolant pressure over a time period at a computer controller to produce engine coolant pressure data;
- receiving one or more rotational speeds of the engine over the time period at the computer controller to produce rotational speed data;
- correlating the engine coolant pressure and the one or more rotational speeds using the computer controller to produce a pressure-speed relationship;
- generating at least one coolant pressure profile corresponding to each of the one or more rotational speeds based at least in part on the pressure-speed relationship;
- diagnosing a coolant leak of the engine based on a comparison of the engine coolant pressure data and the at least one coolant pressure profile;
- and
- transmitting a signal based at least in part on the coolant leak of the engine,
- wherein a computer controller is used to perform at least one of receiving the engine coolant pressure, receiving the one or more rotational speeds, correlating the engine coolant pressure and the one or more rotational speeds, generating the at least one coolant pressure profile, diagnosing the coolant leak, and transmitting the signal, and
- wherein the computer controller is located at a distance from the engine such that the computer controller is not aboard a vehicle mechanically coupled with the engine.
A vehicle system having an engine, comprising:
- a coolant pressure sensor configured to measure engine coolant pressure of an engine coolant system during at least a first period of operation of the engine and a second period of operation of the engine;
- an engine speed sensor configured to measure an engine speed during at least the first period of operation of the engine and the second period of operation of the engine;
- and
- a computer controller including instructions configured to:
- create a coolant pressure profile that describes one or more pressure characteristics corresponding to the engine speed during the first period of operation of the engine;
- identify a fill signature based on a comparison of the engine coolant pressure during the second period of operation of the engine and the coolant pressure profile, wherein the fill signature is identified at least in part based on a change in pressure associated with coolant added to the engine coolant system;
- and
- provide a signal based at least in part on the fill signature.
A test kit comprising:
- a computer controller including instructions configured to:
- receive a coolant pressure associated with an engine system;
- receive an engine speed corresponding to the coolant pressure;
- compare the coolant pressure and engine speed to historical data to identify one or more fill signatures, the one or more fill signatures correspond to a discontinuous change in a pressure curve based at least in part on adding coolant to the engine system;
- determine a condition of the engine system based on the one or more fill signatures of a measured engine coolant pressure;
- and
- provide a signal based at least in part on the condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.