A system for controlling the combustion behavior of an engine is provided. The engine is equipped with a plurality of control subsystems that influence combustion in the engine. The system includes a controller configured to receive a plurality of inputs, to determine a desired subsystem states to operate the engine, and to determine a target value for each of a plurality of control parameters, wherein the target values for one or more control parameters depends on the values of the plurality of inputs. The controller is further configured to communicate the target values of control parameters to the control subsystems.

A control system for a compression-ignition engine is provided, which includes the engine, a spark plug, a fuel injection valve, an air-fuel ratio control valve, and a control unit. A geometric compression ratio of the engine is 14:1 or above. The control unit includes a processor configured to execute an air-fuel ratio controlling module for, when the engine being in a given operating state is detected, controlling the air-fuel ratio control valve to bring the air-fuel ratio of the entire mixture gas to a given lean air-fuel ratio that is larger than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and an spark plug controlling module for, after this control, outputting the control signal to the spark plug to perform the ignition at a given ignition timing so that the mixture gas starts combustion by flame propagation and then unburned mixture gas self-ignites. The given ignition timing is stored in a memory.

A fuel injection system for fuel metering may include an injection nozzle, which includes a nozzle body, a nozzle needle, and a nozzle orifice, wherein nozzle needle is disposed in the nozzle body; a control piston configured to mechanically and electrically contact the nozzle needle in an axial direction opposite to the nozzle orifice; a transmitter configured to communicate with a controller and electrically contact the nozzle needle via the control piston; wherein the controller is configured to determine an open state and a closed state between the nozzle needle and the nozzle body via an electrical signal detected by the transmitter; and wherein the controller is configured to adjust the open state and the closed state in correlation with a fuel injection quantity.

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 controller injects fuel into a cylinder at a high fuel pressure of 30 MPa or higher, at least in a period between a terminal stage of a compression stroke and an initial stage of an expansion stroke when an operating mode of an engine body is at least in a first specified sub-range of a low load range, and at least in a second specified sub-range of a high load range. The controller sets an EGR ratio in the first specified sub-range to be higher than an EGR ratio in the second specified sub-range, and advances start of fuel injection in the first specified sub-range to start of fuel injection in the second specified sub-range.

A GDCI engine has a piston arranged within a cylinder to provide a combustion chamber. According to one embodiment, the GDCI engine operates using a method that includes the steps of supplying a hydrocarbon fuel to the combustion chamber with a research octane number in the range of about 30-65. The hydrocarbon fuel is injected in completely stratified, multiple fuel injections before a start of combustion and supplying a naturally aspirated air charge to the combustion chamber.

A control device of a spark-ignition engine is provided. The control device includes a main body of the engine, a fuel injection valve, an ignition plug, and a controller. According to an operating state of the engine, the controller switches an ignition mode between a compression-ignition mode in which compression-ignition combustion is performed by causing the mixture gas to self-ignite and combust, and a spark-ignition mode in which spark-ignition combustion is performed by igniting the mixture gas with the ignition plug to combust. The controller switches the ignition mode from the spark-ignition mode to the compression-ignition mode by performing a transition mode in which a temperature inside the cylinder is forcibly decreased and combustion is performed.

A gasoline direct-injection engine is provided. The engine performs compression self-ignition combustion, and includes a cylinder, an injector, intake and exhaust ports, intake and exhaust valves, and an ozone generating system for generating ozone inside the cylinder. The system includes an electrode projecting into the cylinder while being partially electrically insulated from walls of the cylinder, and a high-voltage control device for applying a controlled pulse-shaped voltage to the electrode. When the voltage is applied, electric discharge occurs between the non-insulated part of the electrode and the walls of the cylinder, and ozone is generated inside the cylinder due to an effect of the electric discharge. A combustion pattern is provided, in which a compression stroke injection is performed and mixture gas formed by the fuel injection self-ignites to combust. When the combustion pattern is applied, the high-voltage control device is operated on intake stroke or the compression stroke.

The present application provides systems and methods for chemically combusting a feedstock in the presence of an oxidant.

A system for controlling the combustion behavior of an engine is provided. The engine is equipped with a plurality of control subsystems that influence combustion in the engine. The system includes a controller configured to receive a plurality of inputs, to determine a desired subsystem states to operate the engine, and to determine a target value for each of a plurality of control parameters, wherein the target values for one or more control parameters depends on the values of the plurality of inputs. The controller is further configured to communicate the target values of control parameters to the control subsystems.