Multi Sensing Fuel Injector for Electronically Controlled Diesel Engines

Internal combustion engine control requires feedback signals to the ECU in order to meet the increasingly stringent emissions standards. Reducing the number of on-board sensors needed for proper engine performance would reduce the cost and complexity of the electronic system.

This paper presents a new technique to enable one engine element, the fuel injector, to perform multiple sensing tasks in addition to its primary task of delivering the fuel into the cylinder. The injector is instrumented within an electric circuit to produce a signal indicative of the ionization produced from the combustion process in electronically controlled diesel engines. The output of the multi sensing fuel injector (MSFI) system can be used as a feedback signal to the engine control unit (ECU) for injection timing and diagnostics of the injection and combustion processes.