A control device for a hybrid electric vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to perform a start-up control of shifting the connection and disconnection clutch to a coupled state at the time of starting the internal combustion engine to rotate the internal combustion engine by the driving torque of the electric motor, and starting the first fuel injection mode using the direct injection injector. The electronic control unit is configured to switch from the first fuel injection mode to a second fuel injection mode for using the port injector prior to an end of the start-up control when the number of times of combustion cycles of the internal combustion engine with the first fuel injection mode reaches a predetermined first target number of times.

A conventional gasoline engine is retrofitted and calibrated to operate as a bi-fuel engine using Hydrogen as the second fuel. When operated with Hydrogen, which typically leads to a reduction of engine output power, the engine is preferably operated in a charged mode and in a lean mode with the engine throttle kept in a wide-open position during charged and lean mode operation resulting in a more efficient engine with a reduction of engine output power loss.

An internal combustion engine includes a fuel injection nozzle provided with a nozzle hole for injecting fuel, the nozzle hole exposed from a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine to a combustion chamber, and a hollow duct, an inlet and an outlet of which are exposed to the combustion chamber. The duct is provided in a manner allowing fuel spray injected from the nozzle hole of the fuel injection nozzle to pass through from the inlet to the outlet. The fuel injection nozzle and the duct are configured such that a part of fuel spray that is injected in pilot injection that is performed before main injection directly adheres to an inner wall surface of the duct.

An internal combustion engine system includes a control system with a monitoring mechanism producing data of engine operating state within a BMEP/speed envelope, and an electronic control unit structured to output a control command to vary at least one of a fuel delivery property or an air delivery property in the engine based on the data. Outputting the control command switches the engine between or among combustion modes that each satisfy different calibration criteria for optimizing aftertreatment function.

An object of the present invention is to cause diesel combustion to occur with reduced smoke in an internal combustion engine using a fuel having a relatively high self-ignition temperature. A control apparatus performs first injection at a first injection time during the compression stroke, causes spray guide combustion to occur, and starts to perform second injection at such a second injection time after the occurrence of the spray guide combustion and before the top dead center of the compression stroke that causes combustion of injected fuel to be started by flame generated by the spray guide combustion, thereby causing self-ignition and diffusion combustion of fuel to occur. In an operation range in which the engine load is higher than a predetermined load, the apparatus performs third injection at such a third injection time before the first injection time during the compression stroke that causes the fuel injected by said third injection to be burned by self-ignition or diffusion combustion after the start of the second injection.

A gasoline compression ignition engine, a vehicle and a method of operating a gasoline compression ignition engine. An inlet air management system includes a membrane-based separator and an exhaust gas recirculation flowpath that cooperate to deliver a nitrogen enriched air stream to the engine to help reduce exhaust gas emissions. The separator segregates the incoming air into the nitrogen enriched air stream as well as an oxygen enriched air stream such that the latter can be used for various engine load conditions, as well as for supplemental air for a cabin or related passenger compartment within a vehicle that is powered by the engine. Significantly, during an increase in engine load not associated with the cold start and warm-up conditions, the nitrogen enriched air supply that is used for the exhaust gas emissions reduction is provided at least partially by the nitrogen enriched air stream from the separator, as well as increasingly by the nitrogen enriched combustion product stream from the exhaust gas recirculation flowpath.

A hybrid combustion mode of an internal combustion engine and a controller thereof, an internal combustion engine, and an automobile. The hybrid combustion mode of an internal combustion engine comprises: directly injecting fuel in a cylinder, using ignition combustion control when the internal combustion engine is started, and increasing the inlet temperature and inlet pressure by using a turbocharger; using homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion mode when the internal combustion engine is run, and except when the engine flames out, opening all throttles, not performing exhaust relief control on the turbocharger, increasing filled gas amount by using the turbocharger, and increasing the combustion temperature and pressure of a tail end of a cylinder compression stroke; and when the internal combustion engine is low in load, or when it cannot be determined, through the temperature of a water tank and the inlet pressure behind the throttle, that a compression ignition condition is met, switching a combustion control mode from ignition to compression ignition, if a compression ignition state can be switched to smoothly, maintaining the compression ignition combustion mode, and if the compression ignition state cannot be switched to smoothly and therefore the rotation speed of the engine decreases abnormally, quickly recovering the ignition combustion control mode. Cool start of low-octane gasoline internal combustion engine in a low-temperature environment can be implemented.

An engine device including an engine capable of coping with both a premix combustion mode in which premixed fuel obtained by mixing fuel with air in advance is supplied into a cylinder and combusted and a diffusion combustion mode in which liquid fuel is injected into the cylinder and combusted. The engine device further includes a gas supply device configured to supply the gaseous fuel into the cylinder in the premix combustion mode; a pilot injection device configured to inject the liquid fuel into the cylinder in the premix combustion mode; and a main injection device configured to inject the liquid fuel into the cylinder in the diffusion combustion mode. The liquid fuel is injected from the main injection device and the liquid fuel is injected from the pilot injection device during the diffusion combustion mode, thus diagnosing failure in the pilot injection device.

A method for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle involves directly injecting fuel into a combustion chamber using an injection device, and a mixture of the fuel and air is ignited in the combustion chamber by an ignition device. The internal combustion engine is operated selectively in at least one first operating mode with at least one first valve lift of at least one gas exchange valve of the internal combustion engine, associated with the combustion chamber, or in at least one second operating mode with at least one second valve lift of the gas exchange valve, which is smaller than the first valve lift. For assisting a charge movement of the mixture in the second operating mode, at least one further injection of fuel directly into the combustion chamber is carried out prior to the ignition.

A vehicle control apparatus for a vehicle includes a catalyst deterioration diagnosing unit, an engine controlling unit, and a diagnosis start determining unit. The catalyst deterioration diagnosing unit executes a deterioration diagnosis of a catalyst included in an exhaust system of an engine provided in the vehicle. The engine controlling unit controls an air-fuel ratio of the engine to a lean side and thereafter to a rich side during the deterioration diagnosis of the catalyst. The diagnosis start determining unit prohibits the deterioration diagnosis of the catalyst from being executed when a deceleration rate upon deceleration of the vehicle is high, and permits the deterioration diagnosis of the catalyst to be executed when the deceleration rate upon deceleration of the vehicle is low.