JP2010084578A - Exhaust system for multiple cylinder engine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve responsiveness during acceleration while suppressing an increase in a pumping loss, in a multiple cylinder engine provided with an exhaust turbosupercharger. <P>SOLUTION: This exhaust system for a multiple cylinder engine includes: first and second collected exhaust passages formed by collecting exhaust passages of cylinders on a downstream side with respect to two cylinder groups comprising cylinders unadjacent in exhaust order; and the exhaust turbosupercharger having a turbine inlet with the downstream ends of the first and second collected exhaust passages connected. The exhaust turbosupercharger is a variable displacement exhaust turbosupercharger provided with variable blades changing an exhaust passage area to a turbine wheel, and is provided with an opening control means controlling the opening of each variable blade according to the operating condition of the multiple cylinder engine, and an acceleration start determination means determining whether or not the accelerating operation of the multiple cylinder engine is started. The opening control means temporarily minimizes the opening of each variable blade when the acceleration start determination means determines that the accelerating operation is started. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an exhaust device for a multi-cylinder engine having an exhaust turbocharger.

  In a multi-cylinder engine with an exhaust turbocharger, exhaust is guided to the exhaust turbocharger through an exhaust manifold in which exhaust passages for each cylinder are assembled. However, if the exhaust passages of all the cylinders are combined into one, exhaust from each cylinder interferes with each other in the exhaust manifold, so that the loss of exhaust energy increases and the work of the exhaust turbocharger decreases. .

  In view of this, it has been proposed that an exhaust manifold be provided for each of two cylinder groups composed of cylinders that are not adjacent to each other in exhaust order, and that exhaust be led from the two exhaust manifolds to the exhaust turbocharger (patent). References 1 and 2). According to this configuration, interference of exhaust from each cylinder in the exhaust manifold can be suppressed, and the volume of each exhaust manifold is reduced, so that the loss of exhaust energy can be further reduced.

JP 2007-231906 A JP 2008-31942 A

  The exhaust turbocharger is required to have responsiveness during acceleration. In Patent Document 2, the downstream ends of two exhaust manifolds are aligned in the radial direction of the turbine wheel, connected to the exhaust turbocharger, and the volume of the exhaust manifold connected to the radially outer side of the turbine wheel is relatively A smaller version is disclosed. The smaller the capacity of the exhaust manifold, the smaller the loss of exhaust energy and the lower the flow rate decrease. Further, the decrease in the flow velocity is smaller on the outer peripheral side of the scroll portion of the exhaust turbocharger than on the inner peripheral side.

  In the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the flow velocity reduction of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust manifold having a relatively small volume is reduced, the loss of exhaust kinetic energy is small. Faster and more responsive during acceleration. In particular, the exhaust energy (blow-down energy) immediately after the exhaust valve is opened, which has a high exhaust flow rate, can be efficiently used to increase the rotation of the turbine wheel.

  However, the configuration of Patent Document 2 also has room for further improvement in terms of responsiveness during acceleration. In addition to responsiveness during acceleration, the exhaust turbocharger is required to reduce pumping loss due to an increase in back pressure from the viewpoint of improving fuel efficiency.

  An object of the present invention is to improve responsiveness during acceleration while suppressing an increase in pumping loss in a multi-cylinder engine equipped with an exhaust turbocharger.

  According to the present invention, the first and second collective exhaust passages formed by collecting the exhaust passages of the respective cylinders on the downstream side for each of two cylinder groups composed of cylinders whose exhaust orders are not adjacent to each other; An exhaust turbocharger having a turbine inlet connected to each downstream end of the first and second collective exhaust passages, wherein the first collective exhaust passage has a smaller volume than the second collective exhaust passage, In the multi-cylinder engine, the downstream end of the first collective exhaust passage is connected to the turbine inlet portion at a radially outer side of a turbine wheel of the exhaust turbocharger than the downstream end of the second collective exhaust passage. In the exhaust system, the exhaust turbocharger is a variable displacement exhaust turbocharger provided with variable blades that change an exhaust passage area to the turbine wheel, according to an operating state of the multi-cylinder engine. in front Opening degree control means for controlling the opening degree of the variable blades, and acceleration start determination means for determining whether or not to start the acceleration operation of the multi-cylinder engine, the opening degree control means comprises the acceleration start determination means An exhaust device for a multi-cylinder engine is provided in which the opening degree of the variable blade is temporarily minimized when it is determined that the means starts acceleration operation.

  According to this configuration, the exhaust gas that has passed through the first collective exhaust passage is guided to the turbine wheel in a state where the flow velocity decrease is small. Further, by increasing the flow velocity by minimizing the opening degree of the variable blades at the start of the acceleration operation, it is possible to accelerate the rise of the rotation of the turbine wheel by the kinetic energy of the exhaust. Therefore, the responsiveness during acceleration can be improved. When the opening degree of the variable blade is minimized, the back pressure increases. By temporarily performing this, an increase in pumping loss can be suppressed. That is, by minimizing the opening of the variable blade only in the early stage of acceleration, it is possible to suppress an increase in pumping loss due to an increase in back pressure while improving responsiveness during acceleration.

  In the present invention, the turbine inlet portion communicates with the downstream end of the first collecting exhaust passage, and is a first compartment chamber radially outside the turbine wheel and the second collecting exhaust passage. You may have the partition wall which partitions off the internal space of the said turbine inlet_port | entrance in the 2nd division chamber which communicates with a downstream end relatively to the radial inside of the said turbine wheel.

  According to this configuration, interference in the exhaust turbocharger between the exhaust gas that has passed through the first collective exhaust passage and the exhaust gas that has passed through the second collective exhaust passage is delayed, and the first collective due to the interference is delayed. The decrease in the flow velocity of the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust passage can be reduced, and the responsiveness during acceleration can be further improved.

  In the present invention, the basic cross-sectional areas of the first and second collective exhaust passages are substantially the same, and the length of the exhaust passage constituting the first collective exhaust passage is the same as that of the second collective exhaust passage. It may be shorter than the length of the exhaust passage. According to this configuration, the volume of the first and second collective exhaust passages can be realized by the length of the passage.

  In the present invention, the multi-cylinder engine is an in-line four-cylinder engine, and the exhaust order is the order of the first cylinder, the third cylinder, the fourth cylinder, and the second cylinder in the cylinder row direction, The first collective exhaust passage is formed by the exhaust passages of the second cylinder and the third cylinder, and the second collective exhaust passage is formed by the exhaust passages of the first cylinder and the fourth cylinder, respectively. The position of the inlet portion in the cylinder row direction may be between the second cylinder and the third cylinder. According to this configuration, the multi-cylinder engine can be made compact.

  The opening control means minimizes the opening of the variable blade for a predetermined time when the acceleration start determination means determines that acceleration operation is to be started, and after the elapse of the time, the multi-cylinder You may increase to the opening degree according to the driving | running state of an engine. According to this configuration, the period during which the opening of the variable blade is minimized is managed by time, so that the pumping loss can be increased by increasing the back pressure while improving the responsiveness during acceleration with simpler control. Can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in a multi-cylinder engine equipped with an exhaust turbocharger, it is possible to improve responsiveness during acceleration while suppressing an increase in pumping loss.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an engine A to which an exhaust device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In the case of this embodiment, the engine A is an in-line four-cylinder four-cycle diesel engine, but the present invention is also applicable to a gasoline engine and other multi-cylinder engines having different numbers of cylinders and different cylinder arrangements.

  The engine A includes an engine body 1 including a cylinder head and a cylinder block. The engine body 1 includes four cylinders 2 (# 1 to # 4). In this embodiment, the exhaust order of the four cylinders 2 (# 1 to # 4) is cylinder 2 (# 1) → cylinder 2 (# 3) → cylinder 2 (# 4) → cylinder 2 (# 2). is there. Each cylinder 2 is provided with an electronically controlled fuel injection valve 3, two intake valves that open and close the intake port 4, and two exhaust valves that open and close the exhaust port 6. An intake manifold 5 is connected to each intake port 4. Further, exhaust manifolds 10 and 20 are connected to each exhaust port 6.

  The exhaust manifold 10 forms a collective exhaust passage of a group of cylinders (# 2) and cylinders (# 3) whose exhaust order is not adjacent to each other. The exhaust manifold 10 includes a branch pipe portion 11 connected to each exhaust port of the cylinder (# 2) and the cylinder (# 3), and a collecting portion 12 in which the downstream sides of the branch pipe portions 11 are gathered. . The exhaust manifold 20 forms a collective exhaust passage of a group of cylinders (# 1) and cylinders (# 4) whose exhaust order is not adjacent to each other. The exhaust manifold 20 includes a branch pipe portion 21 connected to each exhaust port of the cylinder (# 1) and the cylinder (# 4), and a collection portion 22 in which the downstream sides of the branch pipe portions 21 are gathered. .

  The exhaust manifold 10 has a volume that is larger than the volume of the passage inside the exhaust manifold 20 and the volume of the passage inside the exhaust manifold 20. In the present embodiment, the basic cross-sectional area of the exhaust manifolds 10 and 20 (the cross-sectional area of the internal passages of the branch pipe portions 11 and 21) is substantially the same, while the passage length of the exhaust manifolds 10 and 20 is the same as that of the exhaust manifold 10. This shortens the difference in volume of these internal passages. Thus, by realizing the size of the volume with the length of the passage length, the size of the volume can be more easily realized.

  The engine A includes an exhaust turbocharger (hereinafter also simply referred to as a supercharger) 30. The supercharger 30 is a VGT (variable geometry turbo)) and is a variable capacity exhaust turbocharger. The supercharger 30 includes a turbine 31 and a compressor 32, and a turbine wheel and a compressor wheel provided inside are connected by a shaft 33.

  As is well known, the turbine wheel is rotated by exhaust gas, and the driving force is transmitted to the compressor wheel via the shaft 33, and the intake air introduced into the compressor 32 from the intake passage 7a is supercharged and pumped to the intake passage 7b. . The intake passage 7 b is connected to the intake manifold 5, and the supercharged intake air is introduced into the cylinder 2. In the case of the present embodiment, the intake passage 7b and the exhaust manifold 21 are connected by an EGR gas passage 9, and a part of the exhaust is recirculated to the intake air. The EGR valve 9 a opens and closes the EGR gas passage 9.

  The turbine 31 includes a waste gate passage 34 and a waste gate valve 34 a that opens and closes the waste gate passage 34. When the exhaust pressure in the turbine 31 reaches a specified value, the waste gate valve 34a opens the waste gate passage 34, whereby the exhaust gas introduced from the exhaust manifolds 10 and 20 to the turbine 31 bypasses the turbine 31 and passes through the exhaust passage. Will flow to 8. In addition, the structure which opens and closes using the valve which opens and closes according to supercharging pressure is also employable as opening and closing of the wastegate channel | path 34.

  The turbine 31 also includes an actuator 35. The actuator 35 is a drive source that opens and closes a variable blade 313 described later via an opening / closing mechanism (not shown), and is, for example, a stepping motor.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a side view of the turbine 31 viewed from the cylinder 2 (# 1) side, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of the turbine 31. Referring to FIG. 3, turbine 31 includes a cochlear-shaped turbine scroll portion 311 that communicates with inlet portion 31 a and defines an internal space of turbine 31, and turbine wheel 312. A plurality of variable blades 313 are disposed around the turbine wheel 312. The variable blade 313 is provided so as to be rotatable around the shaft 313 a and changes the exhaust passage area of the exhaust passage to the turbine wheel 312 formed by the turbine scroll portion 311. In FIG. 3, the solid line exemplifies the position of the variable wing 313 with the medium opening, and the broken line exemplifies the position of the variable wing 313 with the minimum opening. The position of the variable blade 313 having a relatively small exhaust passage area is said to have a small opening, and the position of the variable blade 313 having a relatively large exhaust passage area is said to have a large opening.

  Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the exhaust manifolds 10 and 20 are connected to an inlet portion 31a of a turbine 31 with their collective portions 12 and 22 joined together in a state where internal spaces are isolated from each other. ing. The end portion of the collecting portion 12 that is the downstream end of the exhaust manifold 10 is connected to the inlet portion 31a on the radially outer side of the turbine wheel 312 than the end portion of the collecting portion 22 that is the downstream end of the exhaust manifold 20; In the inlet portion 31a, the collecting portion 12 and the collecting portion 22 are provided side by side in the radial direction of the turbine wheel 312 and connected to the inlet portion 31a.

  With such a configuration, the exhaust gas passing through the exhaust manifold 10 easily flows on the radially outer side of the turbine wheel 312 in the turbine scroll portion 311 and passes through the exhaust manifold 20 as indicated by an arrow d1 in FIG. As shown by an arrow d <b> 2 in FIG. 3, the exhaust gas easily flows on the radially inner side of the turbine wheel 312 in the turbine scroll portion 311.

  Since the exhaust manifold 10 has a smaller volume than the exhaust manifold 20, the exhaust flow rate of the exhaust discharged from the exhaust port 6 can be guided to the turbine 31 without being lower than when passing through the exhaust manifold 20. In addition, since the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust manifold 10 easily flows on the radially outer side of the turbine wheel 312 in the turbine scroll portion 311, the exhaust gas is guided to the turbine wheel 312 in a state where the decrease in the flow velocity is small in the turbine 31.

  In general, it is known that immediately after the exhaust valve is opened, the exhaust flow rate is high and the exhaust energy (blowdown energy) is high. In the present embodiment, in the exhaust manifold 10, exhaust is guided to the turbine wheel 312 without reducing the exhaust flow velocity as much as possible, so that the blowdown energy is utilized to the maximum, and the startup inertia of the turbine wheel 312 is reduced by the kinetic energy of the flow velocity. The system can be efficiently used for startup and rotation, and the response can be improved. In this embodiment, as will be described later, when the acceleration operation of the engine A is started, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is minimized to further increase the flow velocity, and the rise of the rotation of the turbine wheel 312 is accelerated.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the inlet portion 31 a communicates with the exhaust manifold 10 and relatively communicates with the first compartment C 1 radially outside the turbine wheel 312 and the exhaust manifold 20. A partition wall 31b for partitioning the internal space of the inlet portion 31a is provided in the second compartment C2 on the radially inner side of the 312. With this configuration, it is possible to delay the interference in the turbine 31 between the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust manifold 10 and the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust manifold 20, and to reduce the decrease in the flow velocity of the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust manifold 10 due to the interference. This can further improve the responsiveness during acceleration.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the position of the inlet 31a in the cylinder row direction is between the cylinder 2 (# 2) and the cylinder 3 (# 3). According to this configuration, the exhaust passage length from each cylinder 2 to the inlet portion 31a can be made substantially the same with a shorter length for each of the exhaust manifolds 10 and 20, and the engine A can be made compact.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of the control unit of the engine A will be described. The engine A is controlled by an ECU (engine control unit) 100. The ECU 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, and an I / F (interface) 104. The CPU 101 executes a control program stored in the ROM 102. The RAM 103 stores temporary data. The ROM 102 and RAM 103 may be other storage means.

  The I / F 104 is electrically connected to a sensor 110 that detects the opening degree of an accelerator pedal by a driver of a vehicle on which the engine A is mounted. A sensor 111 that detects the rotational speed of the engine A is also electrically connected to the I / F 104. The sensor 111 is, for example, a crank angle sensor that detects the angle of the crankshaft of the engine A. The CPU 101 controls the fuel injection valve 3, the EGR valve 9a, the actuator 35, and the like based on the detection results of these sensors 110 and 111 and the detection results of various sensors (not shown).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control executed by the CPU 101, and illustrates an example of opening degree control of the variable blade 313. In S1, the detection results of the sensors 110 and 111 are acquired. In S2, it is determined whether or not the count value of the time counter is greater than zero. If yes, go to S7, otherwise go to S3. The time counter is a software counter for measuring the time for which the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is minimized.

  In S3, based on the detection result acquired in S1, it is determined whether or not the engine A starts an acceleration operation. If yes, go to S4, otherwise go to S6. In S3, for example, when the increase amount per unit time of the opening degree of the accelerator pedal detected by the sensor 110 is equal to or greater than a specified value, it is determined that the acceleration operation is started. That is, it is determined that the acceleration operation of the engine A is started when the driver gives an acceleration instruction.

  In S4, an initial value is set in the time counter. The initial value is a value based on the execution cycle of the process of FIG. 4 and the specified time for minimizing the opening degree of the variable blade 313. Minimizing the opening of the variable blade 313 is temporary, and the specified time is set as the time required to start up the startup inertia of the turbine wheel 312. This specified time can be calculated, for example, from the result of computer simulation. The specified time is preferably as short as possible, for example, about several seconds.

  In S5, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is set to the minimum. As a result, the flow velocity of the exhaust gas guided to the turbine wheel 312 increases. In S6, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is set according to the operating state of the engine A. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram for setting the opening degree of the variable blade 313 in S6. In the case of FIG. 5, the operating state of the engine A includes the rotation speed and the fuel injection amount calculated in another routine. The case where the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is set based on this is illustrated. As shown in the figure, when the rotational speed is relatively high and the fuel injection amount is relatively high, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is increased, and when the rotational speed is relatively low and the fuel injection amount is relatively low, the variable blade 313 is used. The opening of is small.

  In order to prevent an increase in back pressure, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 set in S6 is made larger than the minimum opening degree set in S5 even if it is the smallest, and the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is set to the minimum opening degree. In the case of making it, it is preferable to set it only when the acceleration of the engine A starts. When a gasoline engine is employed as the engine A, the opening degree of the variable wing 313 can be set by using the intake charge amount and the engine speed as indexes instead of the diagram of FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 4, in S7, one time counter is subtracted. Thus, one unit of processing is completed.

  FIG. 5B is a timing chart showing an example of changes in the engine speed and the variable blades 313 during the acceleration operation of the engine A. When the acceleration operation of the engine A is started, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is temporarily set to the minimum by the process of S5 described above. The opening of the variable wing 313 is minimized only during the specified time, and the minimum opening period ends regardless of whether the engine speed is increasing. This is to suppress an increase in pumping loss due to an increase in back pressure.

  After the lapse of the specified time, the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is set according to the operating state of the engine A by the process of S6 described above. In the present embodiment, the opening of the variable blade 313 is set to the minimum only at the start of the acceleration operation of the engine A. Therefore, the opening of the variable blade 313 is always increased after the lapse of the specified time. The

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust manifold 10 is guided to the turbine wheel 312 in a state in which the flow velocity decrease is small. Then, by increasing the flow velocity by minimizing the opening degree of the variable blade 313 at the start of the acceleration operation, the rise of the rotation of the turbine wheel 313 can be accelerated by the kinetic energy of the exhaust. Therefore, the responsiveness during acceleration can be improved. When the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is minimized, the back pressure increases. By temporarily performing this, an increase in pumping loss can be suppressed. That is, by minimizing the opening of the variable blade 313 only in the early stage of acceleration, an increase in pumping loss due to an increase in back pressure can be suppressed while improving the response during acceleration.

  In the present embodiment, the period during which the opening degree of the variable blade 313 is minimized is managed by time (specified time). For example, the boost pressure is detected and the amount of change in the boost pressure per unit time is specified. When the value is reached, minimizing the opening may be terminated. However, simpler control can be realized by managing by time.

1 is a block diagram of an engine A to which an exhaust device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 3 is a side view of a turbine 31. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a turbine 31. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the control which CPU101 performs. (A) is explanatory drawing of the opening degree setting of the variable wing | blade 313, (b) is a timing chart which shows the example of the engine speed at the time of the acceleration driving | operation of the engine A, and the change of the variable wing | blade 313.

Explanation of symbols

A Engine 2 (# 1 to # 4) Cylinders 10, 20 Exhaust manifold 30 Exhaust turbocharger 31a Inlet part 100 ECU
312 Turbine wheel 313 Variable blade

Claims (5)

First and second collective exhaust passages formed by gathering the exhaust passages of the respective cylinders on the downstream side for each of two cylinder groups composed of cylinders whose exhaust orders are not adjacent to each other;
An exhaust turbocharger having a turbine inlet connected to each downstream end of the first and second collective exhaust passages;
With
The first collective exhaust passage is smaller in volume than the second collective exhaust passage,
A multi-cylinder engine in which the downstream end of the first collective exhaust passage is connected to the turbine inlet at a radially outer side of a turbine wheel of the exhaust turbocharger than the downstream end of the second collective exhaust passage In the exhaust system of
The exhaust turbocharger is a variable displacement exhaust turbocharger having variable blades that change an exhaust passage area to the turbine wheel;
Opening degree control means for controlling the opening degree of the variable blade according to the operating state of the multi-cylinder engine;
Acceleration start determination means for determining whether to start acceleration operation of the multi-cylinder engine;
With
The opening degree control means is
An exhaust system for a multi-cylinder engine, wherein the opening degree of the variable blades is temporarily minimized when the acceleration start determining means determines to start acceleration operation. The turbine inlet is
The first turbine chamber that communicates with the downstream end of the first collective exhaust passage and that is relatively radially outward of the turbine wheel and that communicates with the downstream end of the second collective exhaust passage. 2. The exhaust system for a multi-cylinder engine according to claim 1, further comprising: a partition wall that partitions an internal space of the turbine inlet portion in a second compartment on a radially inner side of the wheel.   The basic cross-sectional areas of the first and second collective exhaust passages are substantially the same, and the length of the exhaust passage constituting the first collective exhaust passage is the passage of the exhaust passage constituting the second collective exhaust passage. The exhaust device for a multi-cylinder engine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the exhaust device is shorter than the length. The multi-cylinder engine is an in-line four-cylinder engine;
The exhaust order is the order of the first cylinder, the third cylinder, the fourth cylinder, and the second cylinder in the cylinder row direction,
The first collective exhaust passage is formed by the exhaust passages of the second cylinder and the third cylinder, and the second collective exhaust passage is formed by the exhaust passages of the first cylinder and the fourth cylinder, respectively.
4. The exhaust system for a multi-cylinder engine according to claim 1, wherein a position of the turbine inlet portion in a cylinder row direction is between the second cylinder and the third cylinder. 5. .   The opening control means minimizes the opening of the variable blade for a predetermined time when the acceleration start determining means determines to start acceleration operation, and after the time has elapsed, the multi-cylinder engine 2. The exhaust system for a multi-cylinder engine according to claim 1, wherein the opening degree is increased according to the operating state.

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