FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

Diesel fuel injection systems must accomplish five particular functions-meter, inject, time, atomize, and create pressure. A description of these functions follows:

1. METER—Accurately measure the amount of fuel to be injected.
2. INJECT—Force and distribute the fuel into the combustion chamber.
3. TIME—Injection of the fuel must start and stop at the proper time.
4. ATOMIZE—Break the fuel up into a fine mist.
5. CREATE PRESSURE—Create the necessary high pressure for injection.

You can remember these functions by the initials, MITAC. All five of these functions are necessary for complete and efficient combustion

Metering
Accurate metering or measuring of the fuel means that, for the same fuel control setting, the same quantity of fuel must be delivered to each cylinder for each power stroke of the engine. Only in this way can the engine operate at uniform speed with uniform power output. Smooth engine operation and an even distribution of the load between the cylinders depend upon the same volume of fuel being admitted to a particular cylinder each time it fires and upon equal volumes of fuel being engine.

Injection Control
delivered to all cylinders of the A fuel system must also control the rate of injection. The rate at which fuel is injected determines the rate of combustion. The rate of injection at the start should be low enough that excessive fuel does not accumulate in the cylinder during the initial ignition delay (before combustion begins). Injection should proceed at such a rate that the rise in combustion pressure is not to great, yet the rate of injection must be such that fuel is introduced as rapidly as possible to obtain complete combustion. An incorrect rate of injection affects engine operation in the same way as improper timing. When the rate of injection is too high, the results are similar to those caused by an injection that is too early; when the rate is too low, the results are similar to those caused by an injection that is too late.

Timing
In addition to measuring the amount of fuel injected, the system must properly time injection to ensure efficient combustion so that maximum energy can be obtained from the fuel. When the fuel is injected too early in the cycle, ignition may be delayed because the temperature of the air, at this point, is not high enough. An excessive delay, on the other hand, gives rough and noisy operation of the engine. It also permits some fuel to be lost due to the wetting of the cylinder walls and piston head. This, in turn, results in poor fuel economy, high exhaust gas temperature, and smoke in the exhaust. When fuel is injected too late in the cycle, all the fuel will not be burned until the piston has traveled well past top center. When this happens, the engine does not develop enough power, the exhaust is smoky, and fuel consumption is high.

Atomization of Fuel
As used in connection with fuel injection, atomization means the breaking up of the fuel, as it enters the cylinder into small particles, which form a mistlike spray. Atomization of the fuel must meet the requirements of the type of combustion chamber in use. Some chambers require very fine atomization; while others function with coarser atomization. Properly atomization makes it easier to start the burning process and ensures that each minute particle of fuel is surrounded by particles of oxygen with which it can combine.

Atomization is generally obtained when liquid fuel, under high pressure, passes through the small opening (or openings) in the injector or nozzle. As the fuel enters the combustion space, high velocity is developed because the pressure in the cylinder is lower than the fuel pressure. The created friction, resulting from the fuel passing through the air at high velocity, causes the fuel to break up into small particles.

Creating Pressure
A fuel injection system must increase the pressure of the fuel to overcome compression pressure and to ensure proper dispersion of the fuel injected into the combustion space. Proper dispersion is essential if the fuel is to mix thoroughly with the air and burn efficiently. While pressure is a chief contributing factor, the dispersion of the fuel is influenced, in part, by atomization and penetration of the fuel. (Penetration is the distance through which the fuel particles are carried by the motion given them, as they leave the injector or nozzle .)

If the atomization process reduces the size of the fuel particles too much, they will lack penetration. Too little penetration results in the small particles of fuel igniting before they have been properly distributed or dispersed in the combustion space. Since penetration and atomization tend to oppose each other, a compromise in the degree of each is necessary in the design of the fuel injection equipment, particularly if uniform distribution of fuel within the combustion chamber is to be obtained.