EA044585B1 - INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

State of the art priority

The priority of this application is claimed based on Indian Patent Application No.202041031788 entitled System and Method for Heating Holes filed on July 24, 2020.

Field of technology

Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein relate to internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to cylinder heating outlets.

State of the art

Various engines may contain lubrication systems in which pressurized oil may be used to lubricate and/or cool engine valvetrain components, camshaft assemblies, pistons, and related engine components. Such oil systems are designed to supply sufficient oil to both lubricate and cool the engine at full load.

In some engines, such as large bore engines designed for heavy duty full load operation, oil from the lubrication system may be retained in grooves in the cylinder wall and may eventually flow into the exhaust system or exhaust pipe of the engine. In particular, unburned combustion fuel under light load conditions can contribute to the accumulation and deposition of unburned fuel and oil in the exhaust system, especially at reduced exhaust port temperatures.

One approach to eliminating such deposits involves regular exhaust system maintenance. In one example, servicing an exhaust pipe requires maintenance personnel to climb to the top of the locomotive and manually clean the exhaust system. However, the need for frequent exhaust system maintenance, coupled with complex manual manipulations, can cause unnecessary delays in operation. Another approach involves, while heating the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, operating at least one donor cylinder at a load sufficient to increase the exhaust gas temperature to a level at which individual oil and fuel deposits are burned. However, this approach requires the use of exhaust gas recirculation without taking into account engine life or engine buildup caused by prolonged idling. Thus, this method of heating the holes leads to undesirable fuel consumption. There is a need for a system and method that differs from currently known systems and methods.

The essence of the invention

In one embodiment, the system includes a high-speed diesel engine comprising cylinders that are arranged in rows and each of which has at least one opening, and a controller that is configured to control operation of the engine in at least two modes, wherein at least one mode is the hole heating mode. The controller is also configured to change the heating mode of the openings depending on at least one of the following: a function of time, engine life, and measured or calculated megawatt-hours of the engine, such that the mode change is reduced based on one or more of the following: the frequency of heating events holes, the duration of the hole heating event, the target temperature of the hole heating event, and the amount of fuel used by at least one of the cylinders during the hole heating event.

In one embodiment, the system includes a high-speed diesel engine comprising cylinders that are arranged in rows and each of which has at least one hole, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the motor in at least two modes, wherein at least one mode is a hole heating mode. The controller is also configured to reduce the heating behavior of the orifices based at least in part on the calculated or measured level of engine deposits.

Brief description of the figures

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a diesel-electric locomotive;

Fig. 2 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a method for an engine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a high-level flowchart illustrating a hole heating algorithm for a high-speed motor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 depicts a high-level flow diagram for a preparation flow that may be performed to prepare a high-speed motor for a subsequent port heating procedure, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a non-limiting example in the form of a graph illustrating the advance angle during heating of the holes when implementing the algorithm shown in FIG. 3 and 4, in comparison with normal engine operation; And

Fig. 6 is a non-limiting example graph illustrating rail pressure during orifice heating when implementing the algorithm shown in FIG. 3 and 4, in comparison with normal engine operation.

- 1 044585

Detailed description

Engines may include a lubrication system that provides oil to lubricate valve trains, pistons, and other related engine components. Unburnt oil and/or fuel may accumulate in the engine exhaust manifold while the engine is running. The lubrication system is configured to cooperate with an engine controlled by the control system to burn unburned oil and/or fuel and thereby reduce contamination of the engine exhaust system. One example of such a configuration is illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows how the lubrication system interacts with the locomotive engine to provide lubrication during engine operation while allowing regular maintenance of the outlets to be performed through the engine controller.

In one embodiment, the engine controller is configured to switch the engine between different operating modes. Examples of operating modes may include normal operating mode, light load, heavy load, high heat mode, startup mode, oxygen limited mode, and the like. Under normal operating conditions, the oil used to lubricate the piston may be discharged into the combustion chamber and into the exhaust system. During extended periods of light load operation, the exhaust gas temperature is not high enough to burn this removed oil. Leakage, accumulation and/or excessive soot production can result in wet oil or soot being carried out of the exhaust system and deposited near the engine, such as on the exterior of the vehicle body and/or back into the air intake system through the exhaust gas recirculation system (if soot is present). use). In one embodiment, the technical result may include heating the holes to reduce oil leakage. Heating of the ports can be accomplished, for example, by over-priming one or more cylinders to raise the exhaust gas temperature and locally burn off any oil deposits before it travels downstream of the exhaust ports. As shown further in FIG. 2, 3 and 4, control algorithms can be executed to start heating of the ports without restarting the EGR cooler, where the heating of the ports is completed over time, wherein compared to known methods, heating is performed depending on the life of the engine /deposit level. In this way, fuel losses associated with heating the cylinder bores can be minimized, providing the benefit of reduced deposits over time as the engine is broken in.

In one embodiment, the system may comprise a high speed diesel engine comprising cylinders that are arranged in rows and each of which has at least one opening, and a controller that is configured to control operation of the engine in at least two modes, wherein at least one mode is the hole heating mode. The controller is configured to switch to a hole heating mode based on one or more trigger signals. Suitable trigger signals may include a time function, engine life, and measured or calculated megawatt (MW)-hours (h) of the engine such that the variation of the orifice heating mode can be reduced based on one or more of the following: frequency of orifice heating events, duration of the event aperture heating, a target temperature during the aperture heating event, and an amount of fuel used by at least one of the cylinders during the aperture heating event. The maximum power output of a high speed diesel engine can be approximately 5 MW. By way of non-limiting examples, the high speed motor may be used to power vehicles, trucks, buses, cars, yachts, marine vessels, compressors, pumps and/or generators.

In another embodiment, the system includes a high-speed diesel engine comprising cylinders that are arranged in rows and each of which has at least one hole, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the operation of the engine in at least two modes, wherein at least one of the modes is a hole heating mode. The controller is also configured to reduce the port heating function based at least in part on the calculated or measured level of engine deposits. In fig. 5 and 6 show example graphs showing the difference between the advance angle phase and fuel rail pressure, respectively, during normal operation and when the ports are heated using the algorithm described based on FIG. 3 and 4.

The approach described in this document can be applied to a variety of engine types, sizes and speeds, and to a variety of engine driven systems. Some of these systems may be stationary, while others may be located on semi-movable or movable platforms. Semi-movable platforms are designed to be movable between periods of operation, for example when they are mounted on flatbed trailers. Movable platforms include self-propelled vehicles. Such vehicles may include on-road vehicles (eg, automobiles), mining equipment, marine vessels, rail vehicles, and other off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The locomotive is given as an example of a moving platform supporting a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Suitable applications other than vehicles may include a station power generator.

In one embodiment, a platform for an engine located in a vehicle is described. In fig. 1 is a diagram of an example vehicle system that is a rail vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle is depicted as a locomotive 100 with a main engine body 102 that is movable along a track 104. In addition, the locomotive is a diesel-electric vehicle driven by a diesel engine 106 that is located within the engine housing . In alternative embodiments, a suitable engine may be configured to consume or use a variety of fuels and oils other than diesel fuel and lubricating oil. Other suitable fuels may include gasoline, kerosene, alcoholic fuel, natural gas, biodiesel, and mixtures of two or more of these. The engine may include cylinders 107. In one example, the engine may include twelve cylinders (two banks of six cylinders each). In addition, the cylinders in the engine may comprise various groups and subsets of cylinders, for example, a first subset of cylinders 109a and a second subset of cylinders 109b. In some embodiments, each subset of cylinders may comprise one or more donor cylinders and one or more non-donor cylinders. In other embodiments, for example, said first subset of cylinders may contain only donor cylinders, and said second subset of cylinders may contain only non-donor cylinders. The various groups and subgroups of cylinders may contain one or more groups of cylinders for selected operating modes, as described herein. In alternative embodiments, alternative engine configurations may be used, such as a gasoline engine, a biodiesel engine, or a natural gas engine.

Operating and electronic components contained in vehicle control and monitoring systems may be located in the locomotive cabin 108. In one example, controller 110 may include a computer control system and/or an engine control system. The locomotive control system may include a computer-readable storage medium containing code for providing ongoing monitoring and control of the operation of the locomotive. The controller is configured to monitor vehicle control and control systems and is configured to receive signals from various sources to evaluate the operating parameters of the vehicle. The controller may be coupled to a display (not shown) to provide a display of operating components of the vehicle to the user. In one embodiment, the controller may be configured to operate an automatic engine start/stop (AESS) control system on the vehicle 100 when idling, thereby allowing the vehicle engine to automatically start and stop when AESS is performed. -criteria set using the AESS control algorithm.

The engine can be started using the engine starting system. In one example, starting may be accomplished by a generator, wherein the electrical energy generated by the generator or alternator 116 may be used to start the engine. Alternatively, the system may use a motor to start the engine. Suitable motors may include an electric starter and an air motor. The engine may be started using energy from an energy storage means, such as a battery or other suitable energy source.

The diesel engine produces torque, which is transmitted to the alternator 116 through a drive shaft (not shown). The resulting torque is used by the alternator to generate electricity for subsequent movement of the vehicle. Electricity obtained in this way can be called primary motive energy. Electrical power may be transmitted via electrical bus 117 to downstream electrical components. Depending on the nature of the electrical energy generated, the electrical bus may be a direct current (DC) bus (as shown) or an alternating current (AC) bus. Various power electronic components can be used to control electrical current.

The engine is configured to operate at different load levels and/or engine speeds. Such load levels can range from idle as a lower limit to peak engine power as an upper limit. Light engine load may involve operating at the lower end of the engine load range. Medium engine load may include operation at a range of medium loads greater than light load. Heavy engine load may involve operating at the upper end of the engine load range with a load greater than the average engine load. The engine is designed to operate at a given load, and each cylinder can have a variable load. These cylinder loads may vary

- 3 044585 from light load to heavy load. Engine load and cylinder load may be the same in some cases, but not the same in other cases. For example, the engine may be generally configured to operate at light load, but some cylinders are configured to operate at substantially no load (e.g., off), while other cylinders are configured to operate at moderate or heavy load, depending on the number cylinders operating under different loads. In addition, the amount of fuel injected into the cylinder can determine the load on the cylinder. For example, a cylinder operating without fuel injection may be considered to be off (in which case this may be referred to as a misfire mode, which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2), and a cylinder operating with little fuel injection may be considered to be operating with low load.

The alternator may be connected in series to power electronics comprising one or more rectifiers (not shown) that are configured to convert electrical power from the alternator to DC electrical power prior to transmission on the DC bus. Depending on the configuration of the downstream electrical component receiving power from the DC bus, one or more inverters 118 may be configured to invert electrical power from the electrical bus before supplying electrical power to the downstream component. In one embodiment, only one inverter is configured to supply AC power from the DC bus to multiple components. In an alternative embodiment, each of the individual inverters is configured to supply electrical power to a specific component. The vehicle may include one or more inverters connected to the switch, which is configured to be controlled to selectively supply electrical power to different components connected to the switch.

The traction motor 120, mounted on the truck 122 under the main engine housing, is configured to receive electrical power from an alternator through a DC bus to provide traction to move the vehicle. As described herein, the traction motor may be an AC motor. In addition, the inverter connected to the traction motor is configured to convert the DC input into a corresponding AC input signal, for example, a three-phase AC input signal, for subsequent use by the traction motor. In alternative embodiments, the traction motor may be a DC motor directly utilizing the output of the alternator after rectification and DC bus transmission. One embodiment of a vehicle may include one inverter/traction motor pair for each wheel axle 124. As shown in the drawing, there are six inverter/traction motor pairs for each of the six pairs of vehicle wheel axles. In alternative embodiments, the vehicle may include four pairs of inverter/traction motors. In alternative embodiments, only one inverter is used in conjunction with multiple traction motors.

The traction motor 120 is configured to operate as a generator to provide dynamic braking to stop the vehicle. In addition, during dynamic braking, the traction motor provides torque in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation, thereby generating electricity, which is dissipated as heat through a network of resistors 126 connected to the busbar. In one example, the network may contain sets of resistive elements connected in series directly to an electrical bus. Arrays of resistive elements may be located near the ceiling of the main engine housing to provide air cooling and heat dissipation from the mains. In some embodiments, air brakes (not shown) using compressed air may be used in a vehicle as part of a braking system. Compressed air can be obtained from the intake air using a compressor 128.

A variety of engine-driven airflow means may be used to control the temperature of vehicle components. Air flow means may include, but are not limited to, blowers, radiators, and fans. Various blowers (not shown) may be provided to force air cooling of various electrical components. For example, a traction motor blower may be designed to cool the traction motor during periods of heavy work, an alternator blower to cool the alternator, and a network blower to cool the resistor network. Each blower is configured to be driven by an AC or DC motor and, accordingly, to receive electrical energy from the DC bus through a corresponding inverter.

The engine temperature may be partially maintained by a radiator 132. Water may be circulated around the engine to remove excess heat and maintain the temperature within a desired range for efficient engine operation. The heated water can then pass through

- 4 044585 radiator 132, while the air blown through the radiator fan ensures cooling of the heated water. The radiator fan can be positioned horizontally, near the rear floor of the vehicle, so that as the blade rotates, air is drawn in from below and expelled. A cooling system containing a water-based coolant can be used in conjunction with a radiator to provide additional engine cooling.

The built-in electrical energy storage means, shown in this example as battery 134, may be coupled to a DC bus. A DC/DC converter (not shown) may be located between the DC bus and the battery to provide a gradual reduction of the high DC bus voltage (e.g. in the 1000V range) to a usable battery voltage (e.g. in the 12-75V range) . In the case of a hybrid vehicle, the built-in electrical energy storage means may be in the form of high-voltage batteries, so that installation of an intermediate DC-DC converter may not be necessary. The battery is designed to be recharged from a running engine. The electrical energy stored in the battery can be used during engine standby mode or when the engine is turned off to control various electronic components such as lighting, built-in tracking systems, microprocessors, processor displays, climate control, etc. It is possible to use the battery to provide the initial charge to start the engine when it is turned off. In alternative embodiments, the electrical energy storage means may be, for example, a super-capacitor.

The lubrication system 140 may include a pressurized oil supply system including a crank-driven oil pump for lubricating the engine crankshaft, valves, and pistons. The oil reservoir may be located in the oil sump under the engine. The valves are lubricated with oil by spray, and the cylinder liners are lubricated with oil under pressure supplied to the piston, from the crankshaft, for cooling and lubrication. Control of oil release into the combustion chamber is ensured using piston rings. Thus, the piston rings can be shaped to ensure that sufficient oil flows to the top piston ring to keep that ring lubricated when the cylinder is running at full load. The balance of gas pressure in the piston ring grooves also controls the release of oil into the combustion chamber. Oil is drawn under the oil relief ring, and as the piston moves up and down the cylinder liner, the oil relief ring allows more of this oil to be removed by scraping. The remaining oil is carried away by the remaining piston rings, providing the lubrication they require. If the oil gets hot as it passes around the engine, it can be cooled as it passes through the radiator. The exhaust pipe 142 is configured to receive exhaust gas from the engine and discharge it from the engine. Tubes or conduits (not shown) may be provided between the crankcase (containing the lubricating oil) and the exhaust pipe to ventilate the crankcase, for example to remove leaking gases from the crankcase.

The lubrication system is designed to supply sufficient oil to operate at full load. However, under light loads, excess oil may be supplied. Some excess oil may be discharged into the cylinder chamber and outlet. The oil in the combustion chamber can be obtained from oil remaining in the grooves on the walls of the cylinder liner. In this way, some oil can be retained in the engine in these grooves to provide lubrication to the pistons and rings. Valve lubrication oil can also be added to the oil discharged into the combustion chamber. Oil moves down the valves to provide lubrication between the valve and its guide and on to the valve mounting surface on the cylinder head. In some cases, when the engine has accumulated several hours of operation, the oil carryover condition may be more severe and may be exacerbated by bleeding excess lubricating oil into the associated turbocharger over a period of time. Thus, the controller in communication with the engine system is configured to run the hole heating algorithm, as further explained in FIG. 2 and 3, to ensure combustion of unburned oil and prevent deterioration of engine performance due to accumulation of unburned oil. It should be understood that this algorithm can also ensure the combustion of unburned fuel that may have accumulated in the combustion chamber due to insufficient fuel combustion under low load conditions. Alternatively, to reduce the risk of deposits, the engine can be broken in after a period of use and before it becomes worn out. In such cases, with the help of a controller, the hole heating algorithm is reduced or eliminated from use. It is possible to use different control algorithms based on, for example, measurements of actual deposit amounts in various locations, indirect factors (such as soot formation or exhaust opacity) or calculations based on engine life, duty cycle or megawatt-hours generated.

In fig. 2 illustrates a method 200 for determining whether an engine port heating regime can be implemented without exhaust gas recirculation means.

- 5 044585 and/or in a high-speed internal combustion engine. The method may be implemented by a control system or controller in communication with the engine to cause the exhaust ports to heat and subsequently burn the unburnt oil and/or fuel. The control system is configured to operate in at least two modes, wherein at least one of the modes is a port heating mode, wherein the controller is configured to change an operating parameter of the port heating mode based at least in part on a calculated or measured engine deposit level and /or engine service life.

At step 202, engine operating conditions may be determined. Engine operating conditions may include idle state, idle time, engine load, engine load time, and the like. At step 204, the engine load is determined. The engine load described above can vary from idle at the lower end to peak engine power output at the upper end. At step 206, the method determines whether there are any conditions for heating the holes. Possible conditions may include the following: when the engine load is less than a threshold (for example, light load); after the engine has been subjected to an impact that could cause oil to enter the exhaust (for example, after the engine has been operated at low load for a relatively long period of time); when the engine was idling or during dynamic braking. When the engine is operated under a load less than a specified first load threshold, selected cylinders are operated under a greater load (eg, due to port heating), so that service life exhaust port temperatures and deposits can be eliminated.

In another example, the controller is configured to determine one or more of the accumulated engine speed at low or no load, the magnitude of the load, and the engine speed in megawatt hours as at least one factor in determining whether to start heating the orifices. For example, RPM, engine load, megawatt-hours, and time can be taken into account to provide different vent heating at different RPMs (e.g., different levels of vent heating can be triggered at different RPM levels). In one embodiment, an idle timer may be used to determine whether conditions exist for heating the orifices. Idle timer data can be based on different engine speeds (e.g. first, second, third, high, medium, low, etc.) as well as engine life, and can be normalized by engine RPM ( for example, from a two-dimensional (2D) table). The normalized limit of the engine rev counter can be used as a threshold to ensure that the holes are heated. The counter limit can be expressed as a one-dimensional (1D) vector considering the engine life in megawatt-hours compared to the normalized engine rev counter limit.

If conditions for heating the ports are not met, ongoing engine operation may continue at step 208. If conditions for heating the ports are met, the method may continue at step 210, where the engine life and deposit level are determined. When diesel engines are idled for long periods of time, deposits can develop where a significant portion of the engine's emissions are not removed but are retained as a "mash" (such as semi-volatile hydrocarbons and lubricating oil) that will be removed later when the engine is restarted. work with a greater load. Such deposits can accumulate and form unwanted deposits downstream of the cylinder exhaust ports. At step 212, heating of the ports in the cylinder stack may be triggered based on engine age, deposit levels, and/or the presence of port heating conditions. In one embodiment, the control system may be configured to operate in at least two modes, wherein at least one mode is a hole heating mode, wherein the controller is also configured to reduce the operating parameter of the hole heating mode based on one or more of the following : Frequency of orifice heating events, duration of orifice heating event, target temperature during the orifice heating event, and amount of fuel used during the orifice heating event.

In fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary algorithm 300 executed by a control system, such as a controller, coupled to a high speed diesel engine to cause heating of the exhaust ports and subsequent combustion of unburned oil and/or fuel. As a non-limiting example, the above algorithm is executed on a railway vehicle system. When executing, the operating conditions of the engine, such as the engine idling state, engine life, engine speed, idling time, engine load, engine load time, can be taken into account, and the hole heating procedure is started accordingly. The heating mode of the holes can be changed depending on the age of the engine, the level of deposits and the speed of the engine. Thus, since there is less need to heat the ports during engine break-in, the fuel consumption associated with heating the ports can be reduced over time. For example, the change in the heating of the holes can be reduced based on the frequency

- 6 044585 and/or the duration of orifice heating events over time and engine use, with different orifice heating patterns provided in response to different thresholds or ratios (eg, different speeds, rail pressures, or advance angle ratios/ranges).

In one example, the port heating procedure may involve sequential operation of individual subsets of cylinders when the cylinders are loaded, or injection of fuel sufficient to raise the exhaust gas temperature of the subset to burn unburned fuel and/or oil remaining in the subset of cylinders and/or in the exhaust system when the engine is running at general low load mode or idle mode. During such a process, each sequentially controlled subset of cylinders may contain at least two cylinders simultaneously from the same bank in the engine. Cylinders that are not currently involved in the specified subgroup operate in low or zero fuel consumption mode. Sequential operation may include first operating a subset of cylinders in the hole heating mode, and then operating another subset of cylinders in the hole heating mode, and so on. In addition, individual subgroups may have common cylinders, but each subgroup differs from the others in at least one cylinder. This makes it possible to remove hydrocarbon deposits from the exhaust ports of all cylinders.

In another example, heating the ports may involve operating the engine in at least two modes, a first mode with less fuel injected and a second mode with more fuel injected. In particular, the operation may include causing at least two cylinders from a row in the engine (for example, the right bank) to operate in a second mode, while at least another cylinder of the opposite row (for example, the left bank) is operated in the first mode to increase the temperature exhaust gases of at least said at least two cylinders in said second mode after engine operation at a given low load and when the engine is operated at low load. Thus, even though the overall engine load is low, it is possible to operate individual cylinders with a high load, so as to ensure sufficient exhaust port temperatures to remove deposits from at least a given cylinder. Then, by changing the operating mode of each cylinder, the corresponding exhaust systems of different cylinders are cleaned of deposits. This process may continue until all cylinders have fired with the bores warm, or until the engine load increases from idle or light load operation (for example, due to vehicle travel conditions). ). In such cases, if the engine is operating satisfactorily at the higher load, the bore heating may be discontinued (for example, any cylinders that have not already been operated in said second mode will be cleared at the higher load, and thus resumption of bore heating may not be necessary) . However, if the load conditions were not high enough or lasted for a short period of time, heating of the holes can be resumed from the point where it was suspended.

Examples of the above work, together with variations and additional works, are described with reference to FIGS. 3. At step 302, the idle timer is started and an initial setting of zero time is specified. The idle timer is configured to measure the amount of time the engine is in idle conditions. In one example, idling conditions may include a vehicle parked in a driveway for an extended period of time with the engine idling. At step 304, the idle timer is incremented based on the time spent in idle mode. At step 306, it is determined whether the time spent in idle mode exceeds a predetermined maximum idle time. In one example, the specified maximum idle time is 6 hours. If so, then at step 308 the engine may be prepared to heat the holes. It should be noted that the idle operating time may be a continuous period of time, without interruption of other operating modes, or may include idle operating conditions that combine to obtain the maximum idle operating time.

Additionally, while the illustrated example ensures that the idle timer criteria for triggering the heating of the holes are met, alternative embodiments may use criteria other than the idle timer requirements. As one example, the idle speed of the engine may be determined, and if the speed exceeds a certain hole heating speed limit, the hole heating operation may be disabled. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the preparation procedure may include determining the first target cylinder in which orifice heating can be initiated and the order of the cylinders for subsequent actions. The process may then include determining the injection parameters, ramp rate, and orifice heating rate. Once the engine has been properly prepared, the port heating routine can be initiated at step 310. Alternatively, if the algorithm is restarted after a previously interrupted hole heating procedure, the procedure may be resumed at step 310.

After the port heating procedure has been completed (or resumed), it is determined at step 312 whether the engine is idling. If the engine is idling, it may be determined at step 314 whether the orifice heating procedure has completed. If the port heating procedure is completed, further heating of the ports may be stopped at step 316 and the idle timer may be reset to zero at step 318. However, if it is determined at step 312 that the engine is not idling, i.e. . determining that the engine is operating under higher load conditions, heating of the ports may be suspended at step 320. The algorithm may then continue at step 322 to determine whether the engine load conditions satisfy the load timer criteria, as described in more detail below. Thus, accumulation of unburnt oil and/or fuel may occur when the engine is idling for an extended period of time. However, when the engine is running under non-idling conditions, the engine exhaust manifold may experience a rise in temperature such that accumulated unburnt oil and/or fuel may suddenly burn. Thus, when the engine is not idling, the port heating procedure may not be necessary and can therefore be stopped. Thus, the specified algorithm provides regulation of the hole heating procedure, which is started when the engine is idling, i.e. when there is a higher chance of unburned oil accumulating. The specified algorithm accordingly ensures the suspension of the hole heating procedure when the engine operates under heavy loads, i.e. when unburned oil can be burned under normal engine operating conditions. Although heavy load operation is one example, various operating conditions may cause the orifice heating to be suspended (e.g. operator demand via controller, low ambient temperatures, additional load effects, etc.)

If at step 306 the amount of time spent in idling conditions does not exceed the maximum idling time, at step 322 it is determined whether the engine has been loaded during the minimum load time. In addition, after suspending the engine port heating procedures under load at step 320, the algorithm at step 322 may continue to determine whether the minimum duration of the load timer has been met. If the engine has been loaded for at least a minimal amount of time, further heating of the ports may not be necessary with the expectation of raising the exhaust gas temperature sufficiently to burn off any accumulated unburnt oil and/or fuel. Thus, at step 323, heating of the holes may not occur, and the idle timer may be reset to zero.

However, if the maximum idle time is not provided at step 306 and the minimum load time is not provided at step 322, then at step 324 it is determined whether the engine is still in the idle mode. If the engine is still idling, the algorithm may return to step 304 to continue incrementing the idle timer, and thereafter continue the port heating procedure when the idle time criteria are met. If the engine is not idling at step 324, the algorithm continues to increment the load timer at step 326. At step 328, it is checked whether the hole heating procedure was paused in a previous iteration of the algorithm. If so, according to the algorithm, the hole heating procedure may be resumed at step 330. If the previous heating of the holes has not been interrupted, the algorithm may return to step 322 and continue to increment the load timer until the minimum load time is reached, at which point the need for the heating of the holes procedure may cease, and therefore the idle timer may be reset to zero.

Thus, when determining whether to continue the hole heating procedure, two criteria can be evaluated. These criteria may be the time spent idling (can be determined by the idle timer) and the engine load conditions (can be determined by the load timer and/or the state of the engine under load or the engine not idling). It should be understood that the accumulation of unburnt oil and/or fuel can be a potential problem during idle or light engine load conditions, whereby running the engine under sufficient load for a sufficiently long period of time may cause the exhaust manifold temperature to rise sufficiently to ensuring combustion of unburnt fuel and oil while the engine is running under load.

In one example, the engine is idled and idled for a sufficient time to allow the ports to warm up to prevent the adverse effects of accumulated unburned oil. In this situation, when the idle timer criterion is met, a hole heating procedure may follow. Once the job is complete, the idle timer can be reset to perform a new iteration for the subsequent procedure. In another example, the engine is not idling, but rather is under load. A given engine may be loaded enough time to meet the load timer criteria and achieve high exhaust manifold temperatures so that the port heating procedure may not be necessary. In this case, provided that the engine is not idling and the load timer criterion is met, the idle timer can remain at zero.

In yet another example, the engine is idling, but not long enough for the idle timer criterion to be met. In addition, the engine's idling mode may be interrupted by sudden operation of the engine under load. If the engine interruption under load continues long enough for the load timer criterion to be met, then it is assumed that the exhaust manifold temperature may reach the required high values to allow combustion of unburned oil, so that when returning to idle conditions, the port heating procedure may not be needed, so the idle timer can be reset to zero. However, if the interruption of engine load operation is not of sufficient duration to satisfy the load timer criterion, the engine may be returned to idle after the engine load condition has ended and the idle time determination will resume.

In another example, the engine was idled long enough for the idle timer criterion to be met and the orifice heating routine to begin. However, the heating procedure of the holes may be interrupted by sudden operation of the engine under load. First of all, interrupting the engine at idle speed leads to a suspension of the heating procedure of the holes. Further, if the engine is run long enough that the load timer criterion is met, unburned oil and/or fuel can be removed and thus the port heating procedure can be interrupted and the idle timer can be reset to zero pending a new iteration. However, if the engine is only running for a short period of time (eg, not long enough to meet the load timer criterion) and then idles again, the port heating procedure may be resumed with the expectation that unburned oil and/or fuel will need to be removed. Thus, the control system may be configured to predict the accumulation and/or combustion of unburnt oil in the engine exhaust manifold based on the amount of time the engine has been operating under idle conditions compared to starting (or under load) conditions. Thus, due to the required regulation of the execution of the hole heating algorithm, possible problems associated with deposits of unburned oil can be prevented. Details of the preconditioning procedure, as well as the start and resumption of the hole heating procedure, are disclosed in the example of algorithm 400 in FIG. 4.

In fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary algorithm 400 that may be executed by the control system to prepare the engine for subsequently starting (or resuming) the port heating routine. Thus, the algorithm may be executed as part of the preparation step in the algorithm of FIG. 3 at step 308. According to the specified algorithm, the procedure for cleaning the cylinders from unburned oil deposits is determined. According to the specified algorithm, the heating of the holes is regulated depending on the service life of the engine, engine speed and deposit level. At step 402, it is determined whether the hole heating means is in the RUN mode (or in the HOLD mode). The specified algorithm can be continued if an operating mode is selected in which all criteria for the hole heating procedure must be met. If the specified tool is not in running mode, the specified algorithm may terminate.

At step 404, a target set of cylinders is selected from the row of cylinders to initiate the hole heating procedure. In addition, the subsequent order of the cylinder cleaning procedure can be determined. For example, depending on different engine configurations, the engine may be divided into heated and unheated ports depending on the rows in the engine. In one example, the engine may be a V-twin twelve-cylinder engine with two banks of six cylinders with a one-piece exhaust manifold for each bank. The target set of cylinders may be selected from a first row (eg, right row) with cylinders from said second row (eg, left row) with unheated ports. In this configuration, the order of heating the holes may include starting the process in the target set of cylinders of the assigned row and then heating the holes of the remaining sets of cylinders in the same row. In addition, sets of cylinders may be selected to take advantage of previously heated adjacent cylinders, so that the cylinder that may have the greatest accumulation of exhaust hydrocarbon gases is exposed to the highest temperature exhaust for the longest duration. In some examples, heated ports may be provided throughout the entire row, as opposed to sets of cylinders in a row, which may require conventional refueling of the unheated row.

At step 406, port heating parameters for the target set of cylinders may be determined. The heating parameters of the orifices may be determined based on at least one of the following: engine speed, engine life, deposit levels, accumulated megawatt hours, and idle time. For example, target temperature and heating duration

- 9 044585 holes can be determined based on the engine's current requirement for set speed, rail pressure (RP) and/or advance angle ranges or ratios (AA). In addition, the operating parameter (e.g., duration, temperature, amount of excess fuel, etc.) of heating the ports can be further reduced at least in part based on the calculated or measured level of engine accumulations, thereby reducing the corresponding excess fuel consumption with over time. For example, a first set of port heating parameters may be defined for high speed engine operating conditions, a second set of port heating parameters may be defined for medium speed motor operating conditions, and/or a third set of port heating parameters may be defined for low speed motor operating conditions. speed or in idle mode.

In one example, high speed engine operating conditions may include speeds in the range of 1200 to 1800 rpm, advance angle in the range of 17 to 24 degrees, and/or rail pressure in the range of 80 to 100 MPa (800 to 1000 bar ). Medium speed engine operating conditions may include speeds in the range of 600 to 1200 rpm, advance angles in the range of 5 to 17 degrees, and/or rail pressures in the range of 60 to 80 MPa (600 to 800 bar). Low speed engine operating conditions may include speeds up to 600 rpm, advance angles up to 5 degrees and/or rail pressures up to 60 MPa (up to 600 bar). Alternatively, the orifice heating parameters may be changed based on different speed, megawatt-hours, rail pressure, and/or advance angle ratios (e.g., the orifice heating temperature or duration may be increased by a given amount at a given increase in speed, given the timing engine service in megawatt-hours). For example, if the motor is running at high speed, it is possible to control the motor to reduce the RPM level below the high speed setting as part of the parameters for heating the holes. At medium or low engine speeds, the port heating parameters may not include changing RPM levels. The duration and target temperature of the orifices can be reduced at higher speeds compared to their idle or medium speed values.

In one example, the heating of the orifices may be modified if the high speed exceeds a threshold value, depending on megawatt-hours, motor life, and/or a function of time, whereby when the high speed decreases below a threshold, the heating of the orifices may be detected. For example, at speeds above 1200 rpm, the temperature, duration, frequency, and/or amount of fuel used by at least one cylinder may change while the bore is heating. For speeds less than 1200 rpm, the temperature, duration, frequency, and/or amount of fuel used during port heating can be set to fixed values that are independent of megawatt hours, engine life, and/or a function of time. In one example, heating of the orifices may be performed for 18 minutes every 60 minutes of operation for all speeds less than 1200 rpm, and the duration of heating of the orifices may vary depending on operating time and/or other factors at speeds of 1200 rpm or higher.

The controller is configured to cause the orifice heating mode operating parameter to be reduced at least in part based on the calculated or measured level of engine deposits. In one example, the engine deposit level may be calculated by subtracting the emissions during the deposit baseline test from the value obtained during the deposit test, and then dividing by the number of minutes of idling between the two tests. The calculated amount of deposits can be used to adjust the orifice heating rate to increase efficiency/reduce cleaning variations, as well as to reduce excess fuel consumption when the orifices are heated over time. For example, the temperature and duration of heating of the ports for each threshold (eg, speed ranges) can be reduced at lower deposit levels (eg, during engine break-in).

In one example, a port heating event may involve over-fuelling (eg, when firing the fuel injector of at least two cylinders to increase the amount of fuel injected into the cylinders) to a set of cylinders in the bank of cylinders where the port heating is occurring. The amount of excess fuel (e.g., amount of extra fuel injected) depends on the initial port heating parameters and can be further adjusted based on engine age, deposit levels, fuel injector health, fuel injector wear, environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, altitude, humidity etc.), time since the last major engine overhaul and/or etc. Once the parameters are set, they can be transmitted to the target set of cylinders, and at step 408, heating of the holes in the target set of cylinders can be performed based on the determined parameters. At step 410, the remaining cylinders (ie, cylinders that are not part of the target set selected at step 404) may be adjusted to light load conditions. At step 412, after completion of heating of the holes in the target set of cylinders, a status update may be sent back to the controller. Then, at step 414, the algorithm may continue the process to the next target cylinder installed in the same engine bank, in the order determined

- 10 044585 earlier at step 404.

In another example, the controller is configured to detect one or more of the following: accumulated engine speed at light or no load, load magnitude, and engine speed as a function of megawatt hours as at least one factor in determining whether to start heating the orifices. For example, speed, motor load, megawatt-hours, and time may be taken into account to provide different heating to the orifices depending on different speeds (eg, different speed levels may trigger different levels of heating to the orifices). In one embodiment, idle timer criteria can be used to determine whether the conditions for heating the holes are met. The idle timer data can be based on different engine speeds (eg, first, second, third, high, medium, low, etc.) as well as engine life and can be normalized by engine RPM. The normalized limit of the engine revolution counter can be used as a threshold value to ensure that the holes are heated. The meter limit can be expressed as a one-dimensional (1D) vector (e.g., engine life in megawatt-hours compared to the rated engine speed meter limit).

Fig. 5 and 6 depict a non-limiting example illustrating the advance angle and rail pressure at different engine speeds, respectively, during the heating of the orifices when executing the algorithms presented in FIGS. 3 and 4 compared to normal engine operation. As shown in graph 500 of FIG. 5, the advance angle can be reduced by heating the holes at lower engine speeds (for example, from 500 to 1750 rpm) when executing the algorithms in FIG. 3 and 4. Likewise, as shown in graph 600 in FIG. 6, Rail pressure can be reduced by heating the ports at lower engine speeds (eg 500 to 1500 rpm). Alternatively, at higher speeds (eg, above 1500 rpm), rail pressure and advance angle may be the same as during normal operation.

The exhaust ports of the engine cylinders are designed to be heated sequentially and periodically to ensure evaporation and/or combustion of unburnt oil therein. In this way, unwanted deposits of fuel and/or oil in the exhaust ports and in the exhaust pipe can be reduced or eliminated. By adjusting the port heating procedure based on the amount of time the engine has been idling, as well as engine load conditions, engine life, and deposit levels, exhaust maintenance can be automated and the need for human intervention can be reduced.

In this document, an element or step referred to in the singular is to be construed without prejudice to the possibility of the plurality of said elements or steps, unless expressly stated otherwise. In addition, indications of one embodiment of the invention do not exclude the presence of additional embodiments that also contain the listed features. In addition, unless explicitly stated otherwise, embodiments containing, including, or having an element or elements having a certain property may further include such elements not having that property. The words including and in which are used as literal equivalents of the corresponding words containing and where. In addition, the words first, second, third, etc. are used for identification purposes only and do not refer to numerical requirements or to indicate a specific order of arrangement of such objects.

Throughout this specification, examples, including the best embodiment, are used to disclose the invention as well as to enable one skilled in the relevant art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any methods included. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims and may include other examples that will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are included within the scope of the claims if they contain structural elements that do not differ from the literal statements of the claims, or if they contain equivalent structural elements with non-material differences from the literal interpretation of the claims.

Claims (3)

CLAIM 1. An internal combustion engine system containing: an engine comprising cylinders that are arranged in rows and each of which has at least one exhaust port for removing exhaust gases from the engine, and a controller configured to control operation of the engine in at least two modes, wherein at least one mode is a heating the exhaust ports, wherein the controller is also configured to switch the engine into an exhaust heating mode based on a start signal indicating that a predetermined engine deposit level has been exceeded, causing the engine to operate at or above a predetermined high speed threshold to heat the exhaust ports and burn thereby any unburned oil and/or fuel, wherein the controller is also configured to change the operating parameters for the channel heating mode when the measured deposit level is below a predetermined value by reducing one or more of the following: the frequency of channel heating events, the duration of the channel heating event, the target temperature during a port heating event; and an amount of fuel used by at least one of said cylinders during said port heating event, wherein the engine is an engine without exhaust gas recirculation and/or is a high speed diesel engine, wherein at least two the cylinders in the first row operate in the channel heating mode, and the cylinders in the remaining rows of the engine operate in the no-channel heating mode, wherein the controller is also configured to resume the channel heating mode by continuing sequential operation until all cylinders in the specified first row operate in the channel heating mode at least once, wherein the controller is also configured to reduce one of the following: the frequency of channel heating events, the duration of the channel heating event, the target temperature during the channel heating event, and the amount of fuel used by at least one of the specified cylinders during a warm port event based at least in part on a calculated or measured level of engine deposits, wherein the controller is also configured to reduce at least one of the following: a frequency of warm port events, a duration of a warm port event, a target temperature during a port heating event and an amount of fuel used by at least one of said cylinders during a port heating event while the engine is operating at a high speed at or above a predetermined threshold, said one of the following: frequency of port heating events, duration of the heating event channels, a target temperature during a channel heating event, and the amount of fuel used by at least one of the specified cylinders during a channel heating event, reduced at least in part based on a calculated or measured engine deposit level, is fixed for speeds less than a predetermined high threshold value. speed, with the high speed threshold set at 1200 revolutions per minute (RPM). 2. The system according to claim 1, in which the controller is also configured to: determine the operating conditions, determine the engine load, determine whether the conditions for the heating channel mode are met, continue current operation if the conditions for the heating channel mode are not met, and determine the service life and calculated or measured engine deposit level if the conditions for the heating mode channels are met, and then start the channel heating mode for a set of cylinders based on engine life, calculated or measured engine deposit levels, and/or the conditions for the channel heating mode are met. 3. A system as claimed in any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the engine is intended for use in a locomotive.