Stefan Heitzig

Efficiency Improvement of Common-Rail Pumps by Gap Compensation Based on Hollow Pistons

In the scope of the cluster of excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” new biofuels are developed. To ensure safe and reliable functioning of the injection system operating with the new fuels, the tribological characteristics of the fuel candidates have to be investigated.The biofuel candidates which have been studied so far tend to have a lower viscosity compared to diesel [1]. This has an enormous impact on the efficiency of common-rail piston pumps. For low viscosity fuels the volumetric losses become the dominant factor. These losses are influenced by the geometric parameters of the pump, the operating conditions and the rheological characteristics of the fuels. Regarding the geometric parameters, the gap height in the piston-cylinder-contact is the predominant factor. In modern common-rail pumps the nominal gap height is in the range of 2–3 μm [2]. A further reduction of the height is limited by tolerances of the manufacturing process and the risk of the piston getting stuck in the cylinder due to different temperature gradients and consequently different thermal expansions of piston and cylinder.Besides the nominal gap height, the high pressure in the lubricating film in operation leads to an expansion of the gap. If this expansion can be limited or even avoided, a significant reduction of the leakage losses will be possible. In the scope of this paper an approach to a gap compensation of the sealing and lubricating contact between piston and cylinder is presented. Based on a detailed study of the state of the art design, including efficiency measurements of pumps and EHD-simulation, a modified piston design is investigated and optimized. The results show a great potential for efficiency improvement of common-rail pumps, especially if operated with biofuels, which provide low viscosities.© 2015 ASME

Model Tests for Evaluating the Impact of Low Viscosity Tailor-Made Biofuels on Tribological Contacts in Injection Pumps

In the scope of the cluster of excellence “Tailor-made Fuels from Biomass” new biofuels are developed within an interdisciplinary research approach at RWTH Aachen University. To ensure a safe and reliable functioning of the new fuels in combination with state of the art fuel injection equipment, every fuel has to fulfil requirements regarding its tribological performance, which depends on characteristics like dynamic viscosity and fuel lubricity. Hence, one focus of the cluster lies on the tribological characteristics of the fuel candidates.Biofuel candidates which have been investigated so far and which are suitable for the use in self-ignition engines as surrogates for fossil diesel fuel tend to have lower viscosities and show varying lubrication behaviour, compared to diesel.As a standard test method for diesel fuel lubricity the HFRR test is well established. Nevertheless, relying on the established diesel-pass/fail criterion, which is defined in several norms, is disputable, since the investigated biofuels differ strongly from modern diesel fuels.To identify the relevant fuel properties and to gain a more detailed understanding of the wear and friction processes within the critical contacts, results of different tribological test methods, including the HFRR test and a disc-on-disc tribometer, are presented, compared and discussed in this paper. In order to estimate the validity of the established HFRR pass/fail criterion for low viscosity biofuels the experimental results are compared to simulation outcomes of elasto-hydrodynamic simulations of the main tribological contacts in a standard common rail injection pump.Copyright