Embodiments disclosed herein relate to internal combustion engines, combustion systems that include such internal combustion engines, and controls for controlling operation of the combustion engine. The internal combustion engine may include one or more mechanisms for injecting fuel, air, fuel-air mixture, or combinations thereof directly into one or more cylinders, and controls may operate or direct operation of such mechanisms.

A system and method for self-adjusting engine performance parameters in response to fuel quality variations that includes an exhaust sensor for measuring a level of carbon dioxide present in an exhaust manifold, at least one of a knock sensor and a cylinder pressure transducer for determining a location of peak pressure and a centroid, respectively, a controller in communication with the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the knock sensor and the cylinder pressure transducer, the controller correlating a methane number of the fuel used by the engine to a brake specific carbon dioxide value calculated using the level of carbon dioxide measured by the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the centroid and the location of peak pressure, and an adjusting mechanism, wherein the adjusting mechanism adjusts an engine performance parameter based on the determined methane number.

Methods for controlling an air-to-fuel (AFR) ratio in the metering of fuel to an operating internal combustion engine (ICE) are provided using software-implemented logic controls to enable the determination of one or more of a maximum-power AFR fiducial and a maximum-efficiency AFR fiducial. Control of the fuel delivered to achieve any desired AFT using the fiducial values and/or a known or derived power-AFR curve for the ICE, and pressures of 5 psi or less, without chemical or temperature sensing of the exhaust gas of the ICE.

The present disclosure relates to assessing the intake air flow of industrial engines. For an industrial engine that receives vent gas added to intake air for combustion, a gas concentration sensor is used to measure a concentration of a particular gas, e.g. methane, in the intake air. An amount of the methane component in the intake air flowing to the engine that was added by the vent gas can be determined from the measured concentration of methane in the intake air and a flow rate of the intake air. The intake air flow rate may be directly measured, or calculated using instrumentation which may already be in place for engine air-to-fuel ratio control.

The present invention refers to a charge changing control device for a reciprocating engine, comprising at least one cam follower configured for being pivotably actuated around a pivot axis (P) upon rotational movement of a camshaft, and an adjustment unit configured for setting at least three different charge-changing modes of the device by translationally displacing the pivot axis relative (P) to a rotational axis (R) of the camshaft.

A system and method for self-adjusting engine performance parameters in response to fuel quality variations that includes an exhaust sensor for measuring a level of carbon dioxide present in an exhaust manifold, at least one of a knock sensor and a cylinder pressure transducer for determining a location of peak pressure and a centroid, respectively, a controller in communication with the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the knock sensor and the cylinder pressure transducer, the controller correlating a methane number of the fuel used by the engine to a brake specific carbon dioxide value calculated using the level of carbon dioxide measured by the exhaust sensor and the at least one of the centroid and the location of peak pressure, and an adjusting mechanism, wherein the adjusting mechanism adjusts an engine performance parameter based on the determined methane number.

The present disclosure provides a method for predicting a fluid type, comprising sensing, by a first sensor, mass flow data of a fluid in an engine, wherein the first sensor operates based on a first fluid property; sensing, by a second sensor, mass flow data of the fluid, wherein the second sensor operates based on a second fluid property; and detecting, by a logic circuit of a controller, a percent difference in the mass flow data provided by the first and second sensors, the percent difference indicating that the fluid is comprised of at least a first fluid type.

A hydrogen concentration calculating process calculates a hydrogen concentration in a specific portion of a target region based on an operating state of an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine uses hydrogen as fuel. A downstream passage is a portion of an intake passage of the internal combustion engine that is downstream of a throttle valve. A connecting passage connects a crank chamber of the internal combustion engine to the downstream passage. The target region is a region including the crank chamber and the connecting passage. When a condition is met, in which the hydrogen concentration is greater than or equal to a predetermined determination value, a pressure reduction process causes a pressure in the downstream passage to be lower than that at a point in time when the condition is met.

The invention relates to a method (100) for operating a solenoid valve (1) for metering a fuel (2) in a fuel injection system (3). The solenoid valve can be actuated against a restoring force (12) by an electromagnet (11), wherein the time curve l(t) of the current I flowing through the electromagnet (11) and/or the time curve U(t) of the voltage U applied to the electromagnet (11) are detected during at least one opening process of the solenoid valve (1). The opening time t.sub.ON and the closing time t.sub.OFF of the solenoid valve (1) are evaluated (110) from the time curve I(t) and/or U(t), and the actual opening duration T.sub.T=t.sub.OFFt.sub.ON of the solenoid valve (1) is compared (140) with a reference value T.sub.R and/or the mass flow dm/dt flowing through the solenoid valve (1) is detected (120) and compared (142) with a reference value M.sub.R during at least one opening process of the solenoid valve (1); and/or a leakage dm/dt of fuel (2) through the solenoid valve (1) is detected (130) in the closed state of the solenoid valve (1). The invention also relates to a corresponding controller (5), a fuel injection system (3), and a computer program product.

A lubricity estimation device is applied to a fuel supply system that supplies a fuel to an internal combustion engine, and includes a mixing ratio estimation unit and a lubrication index calculation unit. The mixing ratio estimation unit estimates the mixing ratio of each of plural types of molecular structures included in the fuel. The lubrication index calculation unit calculates a lubrication index, representing the lubricity of an outer peripheral portion S1 of the piston of a fuel pump and an outer peripheral portion of the valve body of a fuel injection valve by the fuel, based on the mixing ratio estimated by the mixing ratio estimation unit.