A method for detecting the quantity of gas (m) which is supplied by means of a gas supply device to an antechamber of an internal combustion engine, whereby a targeted disturbance (u) of the gas quantity (m) supplied by the gas supply device is performed and a change (T) resulting from the target disturbance (u) in an exhaust gas temperature (T) of an exhaust gas generated in a combustion chamber connected to the antechamber is measured, whereby, by comparison with a target value of the change (Ttarget) of the exhaust gas temperature (T), the gas quantity (m) supplied by means of the gas supply device is deduced.

The invention relates to a device and a method for ascertaining an injection time and/or an amount of a liquefied gas fuelsuch as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), biogas or hydrogen (H.sub.2)to be delivered to a cylinder of an engine (19) in order to operate the engine (19) in a bivalent or trivalent fuel operating mode, said device being designed in such a way that the ascertained injection time of the liquefied gas fuel is dependent on an ascertained calorific power or an ascertained gas mixture characteristic. A gas mixture analysis module (7) is used for optimizing combustion. A gas start mechanism allows a vehicle to be started on gas power even at low temperatures.

A control device for a compression-ignition (CI) engine in which partial CI combustion including spark ignition (SI) combustion performed by combusting a portion of mixture gas inside a cylinder by spark ignition followed by CI combustion performed by causing the rest of the mixture gas inside the cylinder to self-ignite is executed within a part of an engine operating range, is provided, including an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) controller configured to change an EGR ratio, and a combustion controller configured to control the EGR controller during the partial compression-ignition combustion to switch a combustion mode between first and second modes in which the EGR ratio is higher than the first mode. After the first mode is switched to the second mode, if a condition is satisfied, the combustion controller causes the resumption to the first mode after a given period of time has elapsed from the switching.

A method for starting an engine is provided. The method comprises in response to an engine start request, cycling a gaseous fuel injector prior to activating a starter motor. In this way, delayed engine starts using gaseous fuel may be mitigated.

The present invention relates to a method for adapting engine control of a gas engine in a vehicle. The method comprises determining, during operation of the gas engine, the specific gas constant of a fuel gas for the gas engine. The method further comprises determining the stoichiometric air fuel ratio of the fuel gas for the gas engine. The control of the gas engine is adapted based on the determined specific gas constant and the determined stoichiometric air fuel ratio. The present invention also relates to a system for adapting engine control of a gas engine in a vehicle, to a vehicle, and to a computer program product.

A control device of an engine including a cylinder, a piston, a cylinder head, and a combustion chamber is provided, which includes intake and exhaust ports, a swirl control valve provided in an intake passage connected to the intake port, a fuel injection valve attached to the cylinder head to be oriented into the center of the combustion chamber in a plan view thereof, and having first and second nozzle ports, and a control unit. The control unit includes a processor configured to execute a swirl opening controlling module to output the control signal to the swirl control valve to have a given opening at which a swirl ratio inside the combustion chamber becomes 2 or above, and a fuel injection timing controlling module to output the control signal to the fuel injector to inject fuel at a given timing at which the swirl ratio becomes 2 or above.

A method of controlling a gas engine connected to a turbocharger including a compressor and a turbine includes: performing a knocking control operation of optimizing an ignition timing as a steady operation; and in a case where a load of the gas engine increases during the steady operation, when a degree of increase in the load is relatively small, gradually increasing an actual fuel injection amount while keeping the ignition timing, and when the degree of increase in the load is relatively great, retarding the ignition timing and then gradually increasing the actual fuel injection amount.

A precombustion-chamber type gas engine, comprising includes: a check valve disposed in the precombustion-chamber gas supply passage and configured to block a backflow of fuel gas from a precombustion chamber; a supply pressure control valve which is disposed on an upstream side of the check valve in the precombustion-chamber gas supply passage and which is capable of adjusting a pressure of the fuel gas to be supplied to the precombustion chamber; a torch strength information acquisition device configured to obtain torch strength information correlated to strength of a torch from the injection nozzle, on the basis of a pressure in the main chamber and a pressure in the precombustion chamber; a precombustion-chamber gas supply amount calculation device configured to calculate an amount of the fuel gas to be supplied to a precombustion-chamber gas supply amount, on the basis of the torch strength information and correlation information representing a correlation between the torch strength information, a thermal efficiency, and the precombustion-chamber gas supply amount; and a precombustion-chamber gas supply pressure control device configured to control the supply pressure control valve on the basis of the precombustion-chamber gas supply amount calculated by the precombustion-chamber gas supply amount calculation device.

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.

The invention relates to a combustion gas injector assembly (1) comprising a combustion gas injector (3) having groups (11a,b,c) of combustion gas nozzle openings distributed around the periphery, each group having at least one combustion gas nozzle opening (13), a combustion gas nozzle valve member (9a,b,c) of the combustion gas injector (3), which member can be controlled in the open position and closed position, is associated with each group (11a,b,c) of combustion gas nozzle openings, in order to selectively discharge the combustion gas via the at least one combustion gas nozzle opening (13). The combustion gas injector assembly (1) is configured to control the combustion gas nozzle valve members (9a,b,c) successively with a predetermined time offset (T) into the closed position.