MARINE DIESEL ENGINE

Fuel Injection Systems

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Cengiz DENZ

Fuel Injection Systems

The main purpose of the fuel injection system is to deliver fuel
into the cylinders of an engine.
Fuel has to be injected in the engine at a high pressure so that it
atomizes correctly. Injection takes place over a very short period
of time and this time must be accurately controlled. Late or early
injection will lead to loss of power and damage to the engine.
The function of the fuel injection system is to provide the right
amount of fuel at the right moment and a suitable condition for
the combustion process. There must therefore be some form of
metered supply, a means of
timing the delivery, of
atomisation and distribution of fuel.
In order for the engine to effectively make use of this fuel:
Fuel must be injected at the proper time, that is, the injection
timing must be controlled and
The correct amount of fuel must be delivered to meet power
requirement, that is, injection metering must be controlled.

Fuel Injection Systems

The main purpose of the fuel injection system is to deliver fuel
into the cylinders of an engine.
Fuel has to be injected in the engine at a high pressure so that it
atomizes correctly. Injection takes place over a very short period
of time and this time must be accurately controlled. Late or early
injection will lead to loss of power and damage to the engine.
The function of the fuel injection system is to provide the right
amount of fuel at the right moment and a suitable condition for
the combustion process. There must therefore be some form of
metered supply, a means of
timing the delivery, of
atomisation and distribution of fuel.
In order for the engine to effectively make use of this fuel:
Fuel must be injected at the proper time, that is, the injection
timing must be controlled and
The correct amount of fuel must be delivered to meet power
requirement, that is, injection metering must be controlled.

Fuel Injection Systems

Fuel injection pump
Injector
High pressure fuel pipe

Functional Requirements of An Injection

System

Accurate metering of the fuel injected per cycle:

The quantity of the fuel metered should vary to
met changing speed and load requirements of
the engine
Timing the injection of the fuel correctly in the
cycle:to obtain maximum power ensuring fuel
economy and clean burning
Proper control of rate of injection: The desired
heatrelease pattern is achieved during
combustion
Proper atomization of fuel into very fine droplets.
Proper spray pattern to ensure rapid mixing of
fuel and air
Uniform distribution of fuel droplets throughout
the combustion chamber

Fuel Injection Pumps

The
fuel
injection
system is one
of the most
important parts
of a marine
diesel engine.
Fuel injection is
done with the
help of cams
and camshaft.

Fuel Injection Pumps Elements

Fuel Injection Pumps

Fuel has to be injected into the engine at a high pressure so
that it atomizes correctly. Injection takes place over a short
period of time and this period of time must be accurately
controlled; late or early injection will lead to a lack of power
and damage to the engine. Because the timing of injection is
crucial, cams mounted on the camshaft, which is driven by the
crankshaft are used to operate the fuel pumps, one of which
is provided for each cylinder.
As the cam rotates it operates a spring loaded the plunger
which moves up and down in a cylinder (the barrel).

 As the cam rotates, it

operates
a
spring
loaded ram (plunger),
which moves up and
down in a cylinder
(barrel).
As
the
plunger moves up the
barrel, the pressure of
fuel above the plunger
rises very quickly. The
high
pressure
fuel
then opens fuel valve
(injector)
and
is
sprayed
into
the
cylinder
as
tiny
droplets known as
atomization.
It
is
important to notice
that injection takes
place only when the
plunger is moving up
the cam slope.

 As the plunger moves upwards in the barrel,

injection will commence once the plunger has
closed off the spill ports and the pressure builds
up.
As soon as helix or scroll passes the spill ports,
the pressure above the plunger will drop
immediately, even though the plunger is still
moving upwards. It should therefore be evident
that the amount of fuel injected into the cylinder
is dependent upon the position of helix relative
to the spill port.
When the vertical groove is lined up with the spill
port, then no fuel injection will take place and the
engine will stop.

 The plunger and barrel are machined to very

fine tolerances. Wear due to abrasive particles in
the fuel will mean that the pump will take longer
to build up the injection pressure required.
Wear due to erosion also takes place on the top
edge of the plunger and the edge of helix and
spill ports. This together with the wear in barrel
and plunger, will lead to the injection timing
becoming retarded, for which adjustments have
to be made.

Fuel Injection

Position one-The plunger is travelling down the barrel and the suction and spill ports
are uncovered. A charge of oil enters the chamber
Position two-The suction and spill ports are covered and the barrel is travelling up the
barrel. Pressure builds up until the fuel valve opens and injection commences
Position three-the spill port is uncovered, pressure above the plunger rapidly drops as
the oil spills out. End of injection

Metering of the fuel injected per cycle

Start of delivery
As soon as the pump plunger (Figure b, Item7) has completed the
preliminary phase (h1) of the delivery stroke, the control sleeve (4)
closes off the control port (6) in the pump plunger.
From this point on, the pressure inside the plunger chamber (2)
increases and fuel delivery begins.
The point at which fuel delivery, and therefore fuel injection, begins
is altered by moving the control sleeve vertically relative to thepump
plunger.When the control sleeve is closer to the piston top dead
center, the plunger lift to port closing is longer and the start of
delivery is therefore later.When the control sleeve is closer to the
pistons bottom dead center position, the plunger lift to port closing
is shorter and the start of injection is earlier.
The cam shape used determines the delivery velocity and the fueldelivery rate (theoretical amount of fuel delivered per degree of cam
rotation) as well as the injection pressure.

 Spill
The pistons effective delivery stroke (h2) ends
when the helix (Figure 4c, Item5) in the pump
plunger overlaps the spill port (11) in the control
sleeve and allows pressure to escape.
Rotating the pump plunger by means of the
control rack changes the point at which this
occurs and, therefore, the quantity of fuel
delivered in the same way as on a standard inline fuel-injection pump.

 The second
method of
controlling the
quantity of
fuel is by
using suction
and spill
valves
operated by
push rods.

A plain plunger reciprocates in a barrel. As the

plunger moves up and down, two pivoted levers
operate push rods which open the suction and
spill valves. When the cam follower is on the base
circle of the cam, the suction valve is open and the
spill valve is closed. As the plunger moves up the
barrel, the suction push rod moves downwards
and the suction valve closes. Injection then
commences and fuel is delivered via a non return
valve to the injectors. As the plunger continues
upwards so the spill push rod will open the spill
valve, the pressure above the plunger will fall and
injection will cease.

Sulzer RTA84T
High-Pressure
Fuel Pump

 The quantity of fuel

delivered can be
controlled by altering
the position of the
eccentric pivot for the
spill valve operating
lever. This will cause
the spill valve to open
earlier or later.

Fuel injector
The fuel is delivered by the fuel pumps to the fuel
injectors or fuel valves. For the fuel to burn
completely at the correct time , it must be broken into
tiny droplets known as atomisation. These tiny
droplets should penetrate far enough in the
combustion space so as to mix with oxygen. The
temperature of the tiny droplets rise rapidly to above
their self ignition temperature as they absorb heat
from the hot compressed air in the cylinder. Thus
they ignite and burn before they can hit the relatively
cold surface of the liner and piston.

Fuel injector

Fuel injectors atomize the fuel into very fine droplets, and increases the
surface area of the fuel droplets resulting in better mixing and subsequent
combustion
Atomization is done by forcing the fuel through a small orifice under high
pressure.
The injector assembly consists of
a needle valve
a compression spring
a nozzle
an injector body

 Fuel injectors achieve this by making use of a spring

loaded needle valve. The fuel under pressure from the
fuel pump is fed down the injector body to a chamber in
the nozzle just above where the needle valve is held
hard against its seat by a strong spring. As the fuel pump
plunger rises in the barrel, pressure builds up in the
chamber, acting on the underside of the needle as
shown.
When this force overcomes the downward force exerted
by the spring, the needle valve starts to open. The fuel
now acts on the seating area of the valve, and increases
the lift.

Nozzle

Nozzle is that part of an injector through which the liquid fuel is sprayed into
the combustion chamber.
The nozzle should fulfill the following functions.
i. Atomization: This is a very important function since it is the first phase in
obtaining proper mixing of the fuel and air in the combustion chamber.
ii. Distribution of fuel: Distribution of fuel to the required areas within the
combustion chamber. Factors affecting this are:
Injection pressure:
Density of air in the cylinder:
Physical properties of fuel: The properties like selfignition temperature, vapor
pressure, viscosity, etc.

iii. Prevention of impingement on walls:

Prevention of the fuel from impinging directly on the walls of combustion
chamber or piston. This is necessary because fuel striking the
walls,decomposes and produces carbon deposits. This causes smoky
exhaust as well as increase in fuel consumption.

 Fuel injectors must be kept in good condition to

maintain optimum efficiency and to prevent
conditions arising, which could lead to damage
within the cylinder. Injectors must be changed in
line with manufacturers recommendation,
overhauled and tested. Springs can weaken with
repeated operations leading to injectors opening
at lower pressures than designed. The needle
valve and seat can wear, which together with
worn nozzle holes, will lead to incorrect
atomisation and dribbling.

Variable Injection Timing (VIT)

The reason for using VIT
is to achieve fuel
economy. This achieved
by advancing the injection
timing so that maximum
combustion pressure
(pmax) is achieved at
about 85% MCR. The
system is set up so that
there is no change in
injection timings at low
loads (upto 40% MCR).
This is to avoid frequent
changes of pump lead
during maneuvering.

 As the engine load increases above 40%

MCR, the start of injection advances.
When the engine reaches 85% MCR, at
which engine is designed to have reached
maximum pmax, the servos retard the fuel
injection timing so that the maximum
combustion pressure is kept constant
between 85% and 100% MCR.

 Fuels of different qualities

may require advancing or
retarding the injection
timing. Also if the fuel
injection timings are
advanced when the
engine is running at loads
below maximum
continuous rating (MCR),
than a saving in fuel can
be achieved. This method
of varying the injection
timing is known as
Variable Injection Timing
(VIT).

Variable Injection Timing (VIT) control

Variable Injection Timing (VIT)

As well as having the normal fuel quantity
control (rack that rotates the plunger in barrel),
the fuel pump is fitted with an adjustable barrel,
which has large pitch threads machined at the
bottom. The threaded barrel is located in a
threaded sleeve, which is rotated by a second
rack. As the sleeve cannot move axially and the
barrel is prevented from rotating, then as the
sleeve rotates, the barrel moves up and down.
This alters the position of spill ports relative to
the plunger and varying the start of the injection.

How VIT is achieved

Low pressure air is fed to
the pressure control
valve, the output of which
fed to the VIT servos on
the fuel pump. A link from
the governor output or
fuel pump control
handwheel, moves a
pivoted bar, the position
of which controls the
output pressure of the
pressure control valve.

 The position of the

control valve is
adjustable, which can
be used to allow for
fuels of varying
qualities and changes
in the camshaft timing
due to chain
elongation. The pivots
are also adjustable for
setting up of the VIT
and adjustments of
the breakpoint
position.

Common Rail Fuel Injection System

The use of a common rail fuel system is not a new idea.
The principle is simple enough; instead of timing fuel
pumps and having to take into account the (albeit
minimum) delay in building up pressure and the effects
of worn pumps retarding the injection, why not
pressurise the fuel in a manifold or rail and then time the
injectors to open at the correct time?
Until recently this could be achieved by mechanical
means. For example Doxford engines used a cam to
operate the fuel injection valve, the pressurised fuel oil
being delivered from chain driven fuel pumps.
Recent advances in computer technology has led the
engine manufacturers to develop an engine where no
camshaft is necessary to operate the fuel pumps or
injectors.

A fuel supply system in which two or more high-pressure pumps supply a

common manifold or rail. Timing valves determine the timing and extent of
fuel delivery to the cylinder injectors. The benefits of common rail
technology are smokeless operation, lower, stable running speeds (down to
about 10 rpm for 2-stroke engines) and reduced fuel consumption at part
load.

Advantages of Common Rail System

The following are the advantages of the common rail system:
1) Same injection pressure for the engine at all loads or rpm which is
not possible in jerk pumps as the later is dependent on the engine
speed.
2) Injection timing can be varied during running of the engine, whereas
in conventional system the engine has to be stopped and setting for
timing has to be changed.
3) The design of common rail is simple as there are no individual fuel
pumps and cams for each fuel pump are also removed.
4) The common rail gives smokeless operation whereas in
conventional system smokeless operation is only during high rpm.
5) Reduced maintenance is required because of less number of pumps
and increased efficient combustion time between overhauls.
6) With this system control of variable opening of exhaust valve can
also be done which is not there in traditional system.

The principle which is used in the Sulzer RTA engines is illustrated above. The crankshaft drives
several fuel pumps which pressurise a common rail. The crankshaft position is detected
electronically and fed back to a computer. At the correct time a signal is sent from the control unit
to open electrically actuated valves which admit high pressure fuel to the injectors.
The control unit can infinitely vary the timing of the start and end of injection and thus regulate the
volume of fuel injected to suit varying conditions of fuel and engine load, but it can vary the
injection pattern by independent control of the three fuel injectors, operating them separately or in
unison. Varying fuel injection patterns are available, such as:
Pre-injection, with a small part of the fuel charge injected before the main charge
Triple injection, with the fuel charge injected in three separate, short sprays in succession
Sequential injection: As the individual fuel injection valves are supplied separately from the
Common Rail, it is possible to use sequential injection in which the injection timing is different for
each of the three nozzles in the cylinder. Such sequential injection can he used to regulate the
combustion rate in the cylinder, and create the optimum shape of cylinder pressure profile during
the cycle.
In addition, it is possible only to operate one or two injection valves per cylinder during slow
steaming thus enabling better injection and atomisation of the small quantities of fuel required.
A similar common rail system is used together with control valves to operate the hydraulic
exhaust valves. As can be seen from the diagrams this does away with the need for a camshaft
and timing gears.