In one aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include a housing including a drive piston, a floating piston, a controllable hydraulic fluid chamber located between the drive piston and the floating piston, and an ignition chamber acted on by the floating piston, the ignition chamber having an outlet formed by a plurality of orifices, the outlet being in direct communication with a combustion chamber of the engine. In another aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include, among other features, a controllable valve connected to a hydraulic fluid chamber, and configured to open and release a hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid chamber, and to close. In still another aspect, a method for controlling an engine ignition apparatus for an engine includes, among other features, controlling a volume of a hydraulic fluid chamber of an ignition apparatus.

A diesel engine system is provided, which includes a piston having a cavity dented downwardly in a crown surface thereof and having a bottom part, a peripheral part dented so as to be convex radially outward, and a lip part formed above the peripheral part and protruding so as to be convex radially inward in a cross-sectional view. An injection controller causes an injector to perform, during operation in a given operating range, a main injection in which injected fuel is directed to the lip part, and an after-injection in which a smaller amount of the fuel than the main injection is injected at a given timing later than the main injection in an expansion stroke. An injection interval period from an end of the main injection to a start of the after-injection is shorter as a temperature parameter related to a progress of a warmup of engine increases.

In certain embodiments, Lube Oil Controlled Ignition (LOCI) Engine Combustion overcomes the drawbacks of known combustion technologies. First, lubricating oil is already part of any combustion engine; hence, there is no need to carry a secondary fuel and to have to depend on an additional fuel system as in the case of dual-fuel technologies. Second, the ignition and the start of combustion rely on the controlled autoignition of the lubricating oil preventing the occurrence of abnormal combustion as experienced with the Spark Ignition technology. Third, LOCI combustion is characterized by the traveling of a premixed flame; hence, it has a controllable duration resulting in a wide engine load-speed window unlike the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition technology where the engine load-speed window is narrow. Adaptive Intake Valve Closure may be used to control in-cylinder compression temperature to be high enough to realize the consistent auto ignition of the lubricating oil mist.

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber and an actuator disposed therein being arranged to drive an output shaft of the engine, the method comprising: 5 (i) injecting a water containing fuel into the combustion chamber; (ii) flash boiling the water-containing fuel to form water vapour within the combustion chamber; (iii) thermolyzing the water vapour to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; and (iv) combusting the hydrogen gas to drive the actuator within the combustion chamber to 10 thereby drive the connected output shaft of the combustion engine.

In one aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include a housing including a drive piston, a floating piston, a controllable hydraulic fluid chamber located between the drive piston and the floating piston, and an ignition chamber acted on by the floating piston, the ignition chamber having an outlet formed by a plurality of orifices, the outlet being in direct communication with a combustion chamber of the engine. In another aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include, among other features, a controllable valve connected to a hydraulic fluid chamber, and configured to open and release a hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid chamber, and to close. In still another aspect, a method for controlling an engine ignition apparatus for an engine includes, among other features, controlling a volume of a hydraulic fluid chamber of an ignition apparatus.

In one aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include a housing including a drive piston, a floating piston, a controllable hydraulic fluid chamber located between the drive piston and the floating piston, and an ignition chamber acted on by the floating piston, the ignition chamber having an outlet formed by a plurality of orifices, the outlet being in direct communication with a combustion chamber of the engine. In another aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include, among other features, a controllable valve connected to a hydraulic fluid chamber, and configured to open and release a hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid chamber, and to close. In still another aspect, a method for controlling an engine ignition apparatus for an engine includes, among other features, controlling a volume of a hydraulic fluid chamber of an ignition apparatus.

Methods and systems are provided for an engine configured to deactivate at least some cylinders. In one example, an engine system may comprise a first group of cylinders having a first compression ratio and a second group of cylinders having a second compression ratio greater than the first.

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber and an actuator disposed therein being arranged to drive an output shaft of the engine, the method comprising: 5 (i) injecting a water containing fuel into the combustion chamber; (ii) flash boiling the water-containing fuel to form water vapour within the combustion chamber; (iii) thermolyzing the water vapour to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; and (iv) combusting the hydrogen gas to drive the actuator within the combustion chamber to 10 thereby drive the connected output shaft of the combustion engine.

Methods and systems are provided for a multi-hole nozzle of a fuel injector. In one example, a nozzle for a fuel injector may include multiple nozzle holes arranged at a nozzle tip, where each nozzle hole has a straight flow axis and a cross-section that twists around the straight flow axis, from an inlet to an outlet of the nozzle hole. Additionally, a long side of the cross-section may increase in length, along the nozzle hole, from the inlet to the outlet.

A fuel injector mounting assembly in an opposed-piston engine allows for mounting of a fuel injector in a cylinder block without significantly deforming the wall of the cylinder into which the injector is configured to deliver fuel. The fuel injector mounting assembly includes a clamping arrangement to clamp the fuel injector to the cylinder block, an elongate tubular sleeve that sheathes a nozzle portion of the fuel injector, and a spanner nut attached to the elongate tubular sleeve. Clamping loads applied to retain the fuel injector in the cylinder block are controlled by the spanner nut.