CRDI Engines

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 FUEL INJECTION IN DIESEL ENGINES

Mechanical and electronic injection

Older engines make use of a mechanical fuel pump and valve assembly which is driven by
the engine crankshaft, usually via the timing belt or chain. These engines use simple
injectors which are basically very precise spring-loaded valves which will open and close at
a specific fuel pressure. The pump assembly consists of a pump which pressurizes the fuel,
and a disc-shaped valve which rotates at half crankshaft speed. The valve has a single
aperture to the pressurized fuel on one side, and one aperture for each injector on the other.
As the engine turns the valve discs will line up and deliver a burst of pressurized fuel to the
injector at the cylinder about to enter its power stroke. The injector valve is forced open by
the fuel pressure and the diesel is injected until the valve rotates out of alignment and the
fuel pressure to that injector is cut off. Engine speed is controlled by a third disc, which
rotates only a few degrees and is controlled by the throttle lever. This disc alters the width
of the aperture through which the fuel passes, and therefore how long the injectors are held
open before the fuel supply is cut, controlling the amount of fuel injected.

This contrasts with the more modern method of having a separate fuel pump (or set of
pumps) which supplies fuel constantly at high pressure to each injector. Each injector then
has a solenoid which is operated by an electronic control unit, which enables more accurate
control of injector opening times depending on other control conditions such as engine
speed and loading, resulting in better engine performance and fuel economy. This design is
also mechanically simpler than the combined pump and valve design, making it generally
more reliable, and less noisy, than its mechanical counterpart.

Both mechanical and electronic injection systems can be used in either direct or indirect
injection configurations.

Indirect injection

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An indirect injection diesel engine delivers fuel into a chamber off the combustion chamber,
called a prechamber, where combustion begins and then spreads into the main combustion
chamber.

Direct injection

Modern diesel engines make use of one of the following direct injection methods:

1) Distributor pump direct injection

The first incarnations of direct injection diesels used a rotary pump much like indirect
injection diesels, however the injectors were mounted directly in the top of the
combustion chamber rather than in a separate pre-combustion chamber. Examples are
vehicles such as the Ford Transit and the Austin Rover Maestro and Montego with their
Perkins Prima engine. The problem with these vehicles was the harsh noise that they
made and particulate (smoke) emissions. This is the reason that in the main this type of
engine was limited to commercial vehicles (the notable exceptions being the Maestro,
Montego and Fiat Croma passenger cars). Fuel consumption was about 15% to 20%
lower than indirect injection diesels which for some buyers was enough to compensate
for the extra noise.

2) Common rail direct injection

In older diesel engines, a distributor-type injection pump, regulated by the engine,

supplies bursts of fuel to injectors which are simply nozzles through which the diesel is
sprayed into the engine's combustion chamber.

In common rail systems, the distributor injection pump is eliminated. Instead an

extremely high pressure pump stores a reservoir of fuel at high pressure - up to 1,800 bar
(180MPa) - in a "common rail", basically a tube which in turn branches off to computer-
controlled injector valves, each of which contains a precision-machined nozzle and a
plunger driven by a solenoid.

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Most European automakers have common rail diesels in their model lineups, even for
commercial vehicles. Some Japanese manufacturers, such as Toyota, Nissan and recently
Honda, have also developed common rail diesel engines.

1) Unit direct injection

This also injects fuel directly into the cylinder of the engine. However, in this system the
injector and the pump are combined into one unit positioned over each cylinder. Each
cylinder thus has its own pump, feeding its own injector, which prevents pressure
fluctuations and allows more consistent injection to be achieved. This type of injection
system, also developed by Bosch, is used by Volkswagen AG in cars (where it is called
Pumpe Düse - literally "pump nozzle"), and most major diesel engine manufacturers, in
large commercial engines (Cat, Cummins, Detroit Diesel). With recent advancements,
the pump pressure has been raised to 2,050 bar (205 MPa), allowing injection parameters
similar to common rail systems.

1.2 CRDI (COMMON RAIL DIESEL INJECTION)

CRDI stands for Common Rail Direct Injection meaning, direct injection of the fuel into the
cylinders of a diesel engine via a single, common line, called the common rail which is
connected to all the fuel injectors.

Whereas ordinary diesel direct fuel-injection systems have to build up pressure anew for
each and every injection cycle, the new common rail (line) engines maintain constant
pressure regardless of the injection sequence. This pressure then remains permanently
available throughout the fuel line. The engine's electronic timing regulates injection pressure
according to engine speed and load. The electronic control unit (ECU) modifies injection
pressure precisely and as needed, based on data obtained from sensors on the cam and
crankshafts. In other words, compression and injection occur independently of each other.
This technique allows fuel to be injected as needed, saving fuel and lowering emissions.

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More accurately measured and timed mixture spray in the combustion chamber significantly
reducing unburned fuel gives CRDi the potential to meet future emission guidelines such as
Euro V. CRDi engines are now being used in almost all Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Hyundai,
Ford and many other diesel automobiles.

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of CRDI

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 A method for Combustion Phasing Control use Cylinder Pressure measurement in a
CRDI Diesel Engine

The start of combustion (SOC) in the combustion chamber has a considerable influence
upon all performances of the engine. In this paper, cylinder pressure was investigated as a
means for the closed-loop SOC control of a common-rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel
engine. In order to detect the SOC, the crank angle position where the difference pressure
became 10 bar was selected as the pressure variable. Using this pressure variable as a
feedback variable, an adaptive feed forward control was proposed. The feed forward
controller consisted of the radial basis function network (RBFN) and the feedback error
learning method, which was used for the training of the network. The proposed SOC control
strategy showed a far better regulation performance than that of the linear feedback
controller. A further extension of the strategy based on the individual cylinder pressure
feedback, the individual cylinder SOC control strategy, effectively reduced cylinder-by-
cylinder SOC variation in steady and transient engine operations.[1]

2.2 New Direct Fuel Injection Engine Control Systems for Meeting Future Fuel Economy
Requirements and Emission Standards

Recently, the need to reduce CO2 levels has made increased fuel economy an urgent matter
in Japan and Europe. Use of the highly efficient diesel engine is expected to increase and
measures against emissions such as soot are a major problem. Gasoline engines, on the
other hand, are more sustainable in terms of exhaust emissions, and are steadily approaching
the diesel engine in terms of fuel economy as well. Since introducing a direct fuel injection
engine control system in 1997, the Hitachi Group has continued to develop and manufacture

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system control and the main components for it, and now we are expanding into Europe as
well. [2]

CHAPTER 3: BASIC PRINCIPLE OF CRDI

3.1 OVERVIEW

Compared with petrol, diesel is the lower quality fuel from petroleum family. Diesel
particles are larger and heavier than petrol, thus more difficult to pulverize. Imperfect
pulverization leads to more unburned particles, hence more pollutant, lower fuel efficiency
and less power. Common-rail technology is intended to improve the pulverization process.

To improve pulverization, the fuel must be injected at a very high pressure, so high that
Figure 2 Basic Structure and components of Direct Fuel Injection System

normal fuel injectors cannot achieve it. In common-rail system, the fuel pressure is
implemented by a very strong pump instead of fuel injectors. The high-pressure fuel is fed
to individual fuel injectors via a common rigid pipe (hence the name of "common-rail"). In
the current first generation design, the pipe withstands pressures as high as 1,600 bar or
20,000 psi. Fuel always remains under such pressure even in stand-by state. Therefore
whenever the injector (which acts as a valve rather than a pressure generator) opens, the
high-pressure fuel can be injected into combustion chamber quickly. As a result, not only
pulverization is improved by the higher fuel pressure, but the duration of fuel injection can
be shortened and the timing can be more precisely controlled.

Solenoid or piezoelectric valves make possible fine electronic control over the fuel injection

time and quantity, and the higher pressure that the common rail technology makes available
provides better fuel atomisation. In order to lower engine noise, the engine'selectronic
control unit can inject a small amount of diesel just before the main injection event ("pilot"
injection), thus reducing its explosiveness and vibration, as well as optimising injection
timing and quantity for variations in fuel quality, cold starting and so on. Some advanced
common rail fuel systems perform as many as five injections per stroke.

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In common rail systems, a high-pressure pump stores a reservoir of fuel at high pressure up
to and above 2,000 bars (29,000 psi). The term "common rail" refers to the fact that all of
the fuel injectors are supplied by a common fuel rail which is nothing more than a pressure
accumulator where the fuel is stored at high pressure. This accumulator supplies multiple
fuel injectors with high-pressure fuel. This simplifies the purpose of the high-pressure pump
in that it only has to maintain a commanded pressure at a target (either mechanically or
electronically controlled).

The fuel injectors are typically ECU-controlled. When the fuel injectors are electrically
activated, a hydraulic valve (consisting of a nozzle and plunger) is mechanically or
hydraulically opened and fuel is sprayed into the cylinders at the desired pressure. Since the
fuel pressure energy is stored remotely and the injectors are electrically actuated, the
injection pressure at the start and end of injection is very near the pressure in the
accumulator (rail), thus producing a square injection rate. If the accumulator, pump and
plumbing are sized properly, the injection pressure and rate will be the same for each of the
multiple injection events.

3.2 PRESSURE CIRCUITS

LOW PRESSURE FUEL CIRCUIT

Low pressure Fuel pump

Low pressure Fuel pump is either an electric fuel pump with pre-filter or a gear type fuel
pump. The pump draws the fuel from the fuel tank and continually delivers the required
quantity of fuel in the direction of high pressure fuel pump.

Fuel Sender

It is located into the fuel tank and measures amount of fuel contained in fuel tank.

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Fuel Filter

It is located between low pressure fuel pump and high pressure fuel pump and filters the fuel
delivered from the fuel tank.

HIGH PRESSURE FUEL CIRCUIT

High pressure Fuel Pump

It compresses fuel up to 1600 bar and delivers the compressed fuel to common rail.

Common Rail

It is connected with the high pressure fuel pump and the injectors by the high pressure fuel
pipes. This rail stores the fuel compressed by the high pressure pump. The ECM controls the
fuel pressure of the common rail by using the rail pressure sensor and the rail pressure
regulator valve installed on the common rail.

Injector

The injector injects the high pressure fuel stored into the common rail into the cylin der by
the ECM control signal.

High pressure fuel pipe

High Pressure Fuel Pipe is a channel in high pressure Fuel Circuit consisting of the high
pressure fuel pump, the common rails, and injectors. It is a steel tube which can withstand
high frequency generated when the fuel pressure the maximum pressure or fuel injection
stops.

3.3 INJECTION STAGES

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Due to extremely quick reactions in millisecond range upto five separate injection process
can be achieved per cycle. In addition to main injection process, pre and post processes are
also possible.

Pre Injection/Pilot Injection

During this stage a small amount of diesel is injected just before the main injection event thus
reducing vibration as well and optimising injection timing and quantity for variation in fuel
quality and cold starting. It moderates the acoustic hardness so called racking in the
combustion process.

Main Injection

It is the main event during which compression occurs and charge is ignited thereafter.

Post Injection

It injects small amount of fuel during the expansion phase thus creating small scale
combustion after the normal combustion takes place. This further eliminates the unburned
particles and also increases the exhaust flow temperature thus reducing the pre-heat time of
the catalytic converter. In short, "post-combustion" cuts pollutants.

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