Global automobile market is very sensitive to vehicle fuel economy. Gross vehicle weight has substantial effects on FE. Hence, for designers it becomes utmost important to work on the weight reduction ideas up to single component level. Fuel delivery pipe (Fuel Rail) is one such component where there is a big potential.
Fuel rail is an integral part of the vehicle fuel system and is mounted on the engine. Primarily it serves as a channel of fuel supply from fuel tank through fuel lines to the multiple fuel injectors, which further sprays the fuel into intake ports at high pressure. Due to opening and closing of injectors, pulsations are generated in fuel lines, so fuel rail also acts as a surge tank as well as a pulsation damper. All these factors make the design of a fuel rail very critical and unique for a particular engine.
Materials like aluminum, plastic and sheet metal are generally used for fuel rail manufacturing. In this technical paper, design considerations for plastic fuel rail are explained.
This paper includes:
- 1
Design considerations during raw material selection
- 2
Factors of a fuel rail design
- 3
Brief explanation of other important design parameters/considerations
- 4
Benefits of new design