SUPERCHARGED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE OF SAID TYPE

• US 20120174578A1
• Filed: 01/09/2012
• Published: 07/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Vigild, Christian Winge, Roettger, Daniel, Stief, Juergen Karl, Kuske, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 8,783,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 60/602
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0475 the intake air cooler being combined with another device, e.g. heater, valve, compressor, filter or EGR cooler, or being assembled on a special engine location
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 23/00 Controlling engines characterised by their being supercharged
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0007 for control of turbo-charged or super-charged engines control of the pumps per se F02B37/12
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0052 Feedback control of engine parameters, e.g. for control of air/fuel ratio or intake air amount
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/144 Sensor in intake manifold
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/1455 with sensor resistivity varying with oxygen concentration F02D41/1456 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/05 High pressure loops, i.e. wherein recirculated exhaust gas is taken out from the exhaust system upstream of the turbine and reintroduced into the intake system downstream of the compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/06 Low pressure loops, i.e. wherein recirculated exhaust gas is taken out from the exhaust downstream of the turbocharger turbine and reintroduced into the intake system upstream of the compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/15 in relation to engine exhaust purifying apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/25 with coolers having bypasses
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/46 for determining the characteristics of gases, e.g. composition
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10393 for characterising a multi-component mixture, e.g. for the composition such as humidity, density or viscosity
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A supercharged internal combustion engine is provided. The engine comprises a cylinder, an intake line in an intake system, for supplying charge air to the cylinder, an exhaust line for discharging exhaust gases, an exhaust-gas turbocharger including a turbine arranged in the exhaust line and a compressor arranged in the intake line, an exhaust-gas recirculation arrangement including a recirculation line which branches off from the exhaust line downstream of the turbine and opens into the intake line upstream of the compressor, and a sensor for detecting the concentration C_i,intake of a component i of the charge air in the intake system provided downstream of the opening of the recirculation line into the intake line. In this way, the exhaust-gas recirculation may be regulated based on feedback from the sensor to control emissions.

Claims

1. A supercharged internal combustion engine, comprising:

a cylinder;

an intake line in an intake system, for supplying charge air to the cylinder;

an exhaust line for discharging exhaust gases;

an exhaust-gas turbocharger including a turbine arranged in the exhaust line and a compressor arranged in the intake line;

an exhaust-gas recirculation arrangement including a recirculation line which branches off from the exhaust line downstream of the turbine and opens into the intake line upstream of the compressor; and

a sensor for detecting the concentration C_i,intake of a component i of the charge air in the intake system provided downstream of the opening of the recirculation line into the intake line.

2. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shut-off element for adjusting the recirculation rate is arranged in the recirculation line.

3. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor is arranged downstream of the compressor in the intake system.

4. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a charge-air cooler is provided in the intake line downstream of the compressor.

5. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cylinder has at least one inlet opening, and wherein in an installed position of the internal combustion engine, the charge-air cooler is arranged above the at least one inlet opening of the cylinder.

6. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 5, wherein a geodetic height in the intake system decreases continuously in a flow direction proceeding from an inlet of the charge-air cooler into the charge-air cooler toward the at least one inlet opening of the cylinder.

7. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sensor is arranged between the compressor and the charge-air cooler.

8. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sensor is arranged downstream of the charge-air cooler.

9. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an additional exhaust-gas recirculation arrangement comprising a line which branches off from the exhaust line upstream of the turbine and opens into the intake system downstream of the compressor.

10. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 9, in which a charge-air cooler is provided in the intake line downstream of the compressor, and wherein the line opens into the intake system downstream of the charge-air cooler.

11. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sensor is arranged downstream of the opening of the line into the intake system.

12. The supercharged internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor is an O₂ sensor and wherein the component i is oxygen (O₂) in the charge air.

13. A method for operating a supercharged internal combustion engine, comprising:

adjusting a recirculation rate in an exhaust gas recirculation line via a shut-off element in the recirculation line based on a concentration C_i,intake of a component i in charge air detected by a sensor arranged in an intake system of the engine.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the concentration C_i,intake is used to determine a proportion F_intake of the charge air fraction resulting from combustion, and wherein the proportion F_intake is used to determine the nitrogen oxide concentration C_NOx,exhaust in the exhaust gas.

15. An engine system, comprising:

a cylinder coupled to an intake system and an exhaust system;

a turbocharger including a turbine and a compressor;

a high-pressure EGR system that recirculates exhaust upstream of the turbine to the intake system downstream of the compressor;

a low-pressure EGR system that recirculates exhaust downstream of the turbine and at least one aftertreatment system to the intake system upstream of the compressor; and

an oxygen sensor in the intake system.

16. The engine system of claim 15, wherein the oxygen sensor is arranged downstream of the compressor, and further comprising a controller including instructions to adjust a position of a low-pressure EGR valve based on feedback from the oxygen sensor.

17. The engine system of claim 15, wherein the oxygen sensor is arranged downstream of an inlet of the high-pressure EGR system, and further comprising a controller including instructions to adjust a position of a low-pressure EGR valve and/or a high-pressure EGR valve based on feedback from the oxygen sensor.

18. A method for operating a supercharged internal combustion engine including both an LP-EGR and HP-EGR system, comprising:

if both the LP-EGR and HP-EGR systems are enabled, adjusting an LP-EGR valve based on an oxygen concentration in charge air detected by an intake system sensor, and adjusting an HP-EGR valve based on estimated HP-EGR flow.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, if only the LP-EGR system is enabled, adjusting only the LP-EGR valve based on the oxygen concentration detected by the sensor.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising, if only the HP-EGR system is enabled, adjusting only the HP-EGR valve based on the oxygen concentration detected by the sensor.