Hydrogen or hydrogen rich gas mixture fueled internal combustion engine using premixed direct gas injection

12060,824

18/296858

April 06, 2023

An engine includes a combustion chamber, a fuel injector, a spark plug, and a piston. The combustion chamber receives air from an intake valve, which receives air from an external environment of the engine. The fuel injector includes a fuel channel, a fuel port, an air port, a needle valve, and a premixing tube. The fuel channel receives fuel from a fuel supply. The needle valve initially covers the fuel port, and actuates to fluidly connect the fuel port to the fuel channel such that the fuel port receives the fuel. The air port draws air into the fuel injector, and the premixing tube mixes the air and fuel to create a mixture. The mixture is fed into the combustion chamber along a central axis of the premixing tube such that the mixture intersects the electrode of the spark plug, which ignites the mixture to actuate the piston.

ARAMCO SERVICES COMPANY (Houston, TX, US)

SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY (Dhahran, SA)

1. An engine, comprising: a combustion chamber configured to receive air from an intake valve of the engine, the intake valve being configured to receive the air from an external environment of the engine; a fuel injector comprising: a fuel channel configured to receive fuel from a fuel supply; a fuel port configured to receive the fuel from the fuel channel; an air port configured to draw the air from the combustion chamber of the engine into the fuel injector; a premixing tube configured to mix the air from the air port and the fuel from the fuel channel to create an air and fuel mixture and feed the air and fuel mixture into the combustion chamber, and a needle valve configured to actuate from a first position to a second position, wherein in the first position the needle valve covers the fuel port and in the second position the fuel port is fluidly connected to the fuel channel; a spark plug having an electrode positioned within the combustion chamber, the electrode being configured to ignite the air and fuel mixture; and a piston configured to actuate in the combustion chamber from the ignited air and fuel mixture, wherein a central axis of the premixing tube intersects the electrode of the spark plug such that the air and fuel mixture is sprayed following the central axis from the premixing tube to the electrode.

2. The engine of claim 1 , further comprising: an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) configured to actuate the needle valve from the first position to the second position via an electromagnetic coil.

3. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the piston is configured to force the air from the combustion chamber into the air port.

4. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel channel of the fuel injector is formed as a space between the needle valve and a body of the fuel injector.

5. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the premixing tube is fluidly connected to the fuel port, the air port, and the combustion chamber.

6. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel supply is configured to transmit the fuel into the fuel channel during a compression phase of the engine.

7. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is configured to ignite the air and fuel mixture during a compression phase of the engine.

8. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the needle valve is configured to abut against the fuel port in the first position in order to cover the fuel port.

9. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the air port primarily extends in a direction orthogonal to the central axis.

10. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel is a hydrogen gas or a hydrogen gas mixture.

11. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel port is disposed coaxial to the central axis such that the central axis extends through the fuel port.

12. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the air port is disposed at an intersection of the fuel port and the premixing tube.

13. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the needle valve comprises a bulbous shaped valve head.

14. The engine of claim 1 , wherein the needle valve comprises a conically shaped valve head.

15. A method for combusting an air and fuel mixture in an engine, the method comprising: injecting fuel from a fuel supply into a fuel channel of a fuel injector; actuating a needle valve from a first position to a second position, the first position being a position in which the needle valve covers a fuel port of the fuel injector and the second position being a position in which the fuel port is fluidly connected to the fuel injector such that the fuel is transmitted from the fuel channel to the fuel port; drawing air from an external environment of the engine, through a combustion chamber, into an air port of the fuel injector; passing the air and the fuel into a premixing tube of the fuel injector; mixing the air and the fuel in the premixing tube to create the air and fuel mixture; spraying the air and fuel mixture in a spray path along a central axis of the premixing tube, the central axis being configured to intersect an electrode of a spark plug, and combusting the air and fuel mixture in the combustion chamber, thereby actuating a piston of the engine.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising: forcing the air from the combustion chamber into the air port.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising: transmitting the fuel into the fuel channel during a compression cycle of the engine.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising: igniting the air and fuel mixture during a compression cycle of the engine.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein spraying the air and fuel mixture comprises spraying the air and fuel mixture from the premixing tube into the combustion chamber.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the air is drawn into the air port at an angle orthogonal to a direction in which the fuel is received by the fuel port from the fuel channel.

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