Fuel Injection in the CI

Engine
For the compression ignition engine, it
is very important to promote a means of
injecting fuel into the cylinder at the
proper time in the cycle. This is so
because the injection system starts and
controls the combustion process.
Objectives of the Injection System
The injection system of the compression ignition
engine should fulfil the following objectives
consistently and precisely:
1. Meter the appropriate quantity of fuel, as
demanded by the speed of, and the load on, the
engine at the given time.
2. Distribute the metered fuel equally among
cylinders in a multi-cylinder engine.
3. Inject the fuel at the correct time (with respect
to crank angle) in the cycle.
4. Inject the fuel at the correct rate (per unit time
or crank angle degree).
5. Inject the fuel with the correct spray pattern
and sufficient atomization as demanded by the
design of the combustion chamber, to provide
proper penetration also.
6. Begin and end injection sharply without
dribbling or after injection.

To accomplish these objectives, a number of
functional elements are required. These constitute
together, the fuel injection system of the engine.
These elements are as follows.
1. Pumping elements to transfer the fuel from the
tank to the cylinder, along with the associate
piping and hardware.
2. Metering elements to measure and supply the fuel
at the rate as desired by the speed and load
conditions prevailing.
3. Metering controls to adjust the rate of the
metering elements for changes in load and speed
of the engine.
4. Distributing elements to divide the metered fuel
equally among the cylinders in a multi cylinder
engine.
5. Timing controls to adjust the start and stop of
injection.
6. Mixing elements to atomize and distribute the fuel
within the combustion chamber
Function of fuel injection equipment
The function of fuel injection equipment is to supply
the engine with fuel in qualities exactly metered in
proportion to the power required and timed with
utmost accuracy, so that the engine will deliver
that power within the limits prescribed for fuel
consumption, exhaust smoke, noise and exhaust
emissions.
The fuel must be injected through suitable nozzles at
pressures high enough to cause the required
degree of atomization in the combustion chamber
and to ensure that it mixes with sufficient air for
complete combustion in the cycle time available.
In multi cylinder engines the periods of injection, the
timing and the delivered quantity must be
accurately metered to ensure an even balance
between the cylinders.
For an engine developing 3kW at 60rev/s, of
cylinder capacity 0.2 liter the fuel delivery at
full load would be approximately 10mm
3
in
1.2ms, repeating this 30 times every second.
At no load the quantity will be reduced to
approximately to 3mm
3
.
In general terms the injection period and the
pressure increase with engine size: small
direct injection (DI) engines will have a
period about 25 degrees crank travel and an
injection pressure exceeding 400bar whilst
large engines may have periods
approximating 40degrees with pressures in
excess of 1000 bar. Engines required to meet
future limits of exhaust NOx emissions will
need shorter injection periods with
corresponding higher injection pressures.
The equipment for a six cylinder medium-
sized high speed turbo charged vehicle
engine developing 110kW at 43.3rev/s will
have a full load delivery of 65mm
3
with an
injection period of approximately
26degrees crank travel. The nozzle will
have a total orifice area of approximately
0.247mm
2
(equivalent to four holes of
0.28mm diameter) and the peak injection
pressure will be about 450 bar. To meet a
NOx emission standard of 10g/kWh the
injection period will have to be reduced to
about 23 degrees crank angle for the same
hole diameter. This will increase the
probable peak line pressure to 650 bar.
Fuel Injection Systems
There are two main classifications for
fuel-injection systems, namely
1. air injection which had become
obsolete but now some interest has
been shown by researchers
(however very high pressure is
required for air) and
2. solid (or airless) injection systems.
The airless, mechanical, or solid injection
systems consist of three types.
1. Individual pump system: This consists of
a separate metering and compression
pump for each cylinder.
2. Distribution system: This consists of a
single pump for compressing the fuel
(which may also meter), plus a delivery
device for distributing the fuel to the
cylinders (which may also meter).
3. Common rail system: A single pump for
compressing the fuel, plus a metering
element for each cylinder.
p A C m
f n D
f
A =
-
2
N
p A C m
f n D
f
360
2
u

A
A =
Spray Structure
The Sauter Mean Diameter
If N
i
is the fraction of droplets counted in
size interval d
i
, then the Sauter Mean
Diameter SMD is given by
( )
( )

=
A
A
=
1
2
1
3
i
i i
i
i i
d N
d N
SMD
Fuel Filters
A low pressure (2.5 bar) transfer pump or fuel feed
pump is required to lift the fuel from the tank, to
overcome the pressure drop in the filters, and to
charge the metering or pressuring unit. Three
filters are recommended, namely,

1. A primary stage (a metal- edge filter to remove
coarse particles, larger than 25 microns).

2. A secondary stage (a replaceable cloth, paper or
lint element to remove fine particles from about 4
to 25 microns) and

3. Final stage (a sealed, non-replaceable element) to
remove fine particles that escaped the secondary
stage.
Quantity of Fuel and the Size of
Nozzle Orifice
The quantity of fuel injected per cycle is
dependent on the power output of the engine.
The size of droplets depend on the velocity
which should be of the order of 400 m/s. As
mentioned earlier, this velocity is given by


where h is the pressure difference between
injection and cylinder pressures, measured in
meters of fuel column.


gh C V
d f
2 =
The volume of fuel injected per second, Q, is given by
|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|
=
60
60
360 4
2
.
i
f
N
N
V d Q
u t
where d is the diameter of one orifice in m,
N
i
is the number of injections per minute, = N/2
for a 4-stroke engine,
N is the engine speed in rev/min,
is the duration of injection in crank angle
degrees,
Q is expressed usually in mm
3
/degree crank
angle/liter cylinder displacement volume