A Report on

COMMON RAIL FUEL INJECTOR

SYSTEM.
Submitted
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
of

Third Year
Mechanical Engineering
Semester V Term work
By

Sr.
No
1.
2.
3.

Name

Roll Number

RICHA MATHEWS
JOEL MONTEIRO
JEETSON GONSALVES

61
62
76

Mechanical Engineering
Don Bosco Institute of Technology
Kurla (West), Mmbai-70
(2015)

Index
Sr. No

Title

Page no

Abstract

Introduction

Discussion on Topic
3.1 Description Of The System

3.2 Working Principle

15

4.1 Advantages

17

4.2 Disadvantages

18

Conclusion

19

Future scope

6.1 Ultra-High Pressure Common Rail Injection

20

6.2 CRDI & Particle Filters

21

References

22

1. Abstract
Looking at the 3.6 million years since man has evolved the invention of passenger
cars seems only yesterday, but since the first cars produced by Sir Henry Ford there have
been tremendous achievements in the field of engine performance and design. We now
have engines running on countless kinds of fuels producing un-imaginable power outputs.
Among the many factors responsible for improvement in the engine has been the fuel
injection system with the addition of cylinders and various other components. The injector
has been a step forward from the age-old carburetor, thereby improving the performance of
the engine.
One now has the choice of various fuel injection systems such as
1. Inline type
2. Distributor type
3. Common rail type

With the state-of-the-art common-rail direct fuel injection we have achieved an ideal
compromise between economy, torque, ride comfort and long life. Whereas conventional
direct-injection diesel engines must repeatedly generate fuel pressure for each injection, in
the Common rail injection engines the pressure is built up independently of the injection
sequence and remains permanently available in the fuel line. Calls for lower fuel
consumption, reduced exhaust gas emissions, and quiet engines are making greater demands
on the engine and fuel injection system. These demands can only be met by a fuel injection
system that atomizes fuel at the nozzle finely enough and at high injection pressure. At the
same time the injected fuel quantity must be very precisely metered, the rate of discharge
curve must have an exact shape, and pre-injection and secondary injection must be
performable. A system that meets these demands is the common rail fuel injection system.
The common rail upstream of the cylinders acts as an accumulator, distributing the fuel to
the injectors at a constant pressure of up to 1600 bar. Here high-speed solenoid valves,

regulated by the electronic engine management, separately control the injection timing and the
amount of fuel injected for each cylinder as a function of the cylinder's actual need.
Common-rail technology is intended to improve the pulverization process. Conventional direct
injection diesel engines must repeatedly generate fuel pressure for each injection. But in the
CRDI engines the pressure is built up independently of the injection sequence and remains
permanently available in the fuel line.
CRDI system that uses an ion sensor to provide real-time combustion data for each cylinder. The
common rail upstream of the cylinders acts as an accumulator, distributing the fuel to the
injectors at a constant pressure of up to 1600 bar. Here high-speed solenoid valves, regulated by
the electronic engine management, separately control the injection timing and the amount of fuel
injected for each cylinder as a function of the cylinder's actual need. In other words, pressure
generation and fuel injection are independent of each other. This is an important advantage of
common-rail injection over conventional fuel injection systems as CRDI increases the
controllability of the individual injection processes and further refines fuel atomization, saving
fuel and reducing emissions.
Fuel economy of 25 to 35 % is obtained over a standard diesel engine and a substantial noise
reduction is achieved due to a more synchronized timing operation. The principle of CRDI is
also used in petrol engines as dealt with the GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection), which removes to a
great extent the draw backs of the conventional carburetors and the MPFI systems.

2. Introduction
Diesels known for their power handling capabilities acquired the title workhorse engines. Diesels
may reside in heavy-duty trucks, buses, tractors, and trains, not to mention large ships,
bulldozers, cranes, and other construction equipment. Gasoline engines might dwell in the
typical passenger vehicle, lawn equipment and recreational vehicles.
There are basically 2 types of popular engines used in the world today:
1.

Petrol engines

2.

Diesel engines

Petrol fuel is injected as an air/fuel mixture into the combustion chamber and ignited by the
spark from spark plugs. Diesel fuel is pressurized and injected into the combustion chamber
through a fuel injector nozzle, just when the air in the chamber has been subjected to high
pressure that it is hot enough to ignite the fuel spontaneously.
Traditional fuel injection systems for diesel engines are designed with the objective to secure
acceptable fuel spray characteristics during the combustion process at all load conditions.
Incorrect injection causes reduced efficiency and increased emission of harmful species.. Among
the advantages claimed with respect to the common rail concept are injection rate shaping,
variable timing and duration of the injection, in addition to variable injection pressure, enabling
high injection pressure even at low engine loads. Medium speed diesel engines are different from
the automotive diesel engines, especially in that the majority of them operate at constant load and
speed most of the time, and the advantages of the more complicated common rail system may
not be justified. The common rail injection system is not capable of supplying all possible rate
shapes, and rate shaping is mostly restricted to delivering a pre injection prior to the main
injection. When the rate of injection is the key to an effective combustion process, it is vital to
determine how the rate of injection from the common rail system compares to the rate of
injection from a traditional injection system.

CRDI stands for Common Rail Direct Injection meaning, direct injection of the fuel into the
cylinders of a diesel engine via a single, common line, called the common rail which is
connected to all the fuel injectors. Whereas ordinary diesel direct fuel-injection systems have
to build up pressures a new for each and every injection cycle, the new common rail (line)
engines maintain constant pressure regardless of the injection sequence. This pressure then
remains permanently available throughout the fuel line. The engine's electronic timing regulates
injection pressure according to engine speed and load. The electronic control unit (ECU)
modifies injection pressure precisely and as needed, based on data obtained from sensors on the
cam and crankshafts. In other words, compression and injection occur independently of each
other. This technique allows fuel to be injected as needed, saving fuel and lowering emissions.

More accurately measured and timed mixture spray in the combustion chamber significantly
reducing unburned fuel gives CRDI the potential to meet future emission guidelines such as Euro
V. CRDI engines are now being used in almost all Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and
many other diesel automobiles.

2.1 Discussion About topic

Common rail refers to the single fuel injection line on the CRDI engines. Whereas conventional
direct injection diesel engines must repeatedly generate fuel pressure for each injection, in CRDI
engines the pressure is built up independently of the injection sequence and remains permanently
available in the fuel line. In the CRDI system developed jointly by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch,
the electronic engine management system continually adjusts the peak fuel pressure according to
engine speed and throttle position. Sensor data from the camshaft and crankshaft provide the
foundation for the electronic control unit to adapt the injection pressure precisely to demand.

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

A. High Pressure Pump

The engine driven High Pressure Pump operates as a 3-plunger radial-piston pump. The current
maximum system pressure of 1600 bar, and the operating pressure is controlled by the pressure
regulator valve.

B. Rail and Pipe

High pressure pipes connect the High Pressure Pump with the accumulator, called the rail.
Attached to the rail are the Rail Pressure Sensor for the acquisition of the rail pressure and the
Pressure Limiter Valve which protects the components from excessive pressure.

C. Injector
The interior design of the injector is nearly identical for different applications. However, the
nozzle, direction of spray, number and diameter of spray holes and the injector body must be

specifically adapted to suit to the design of the cylinder head of the engine used. The opening
and closing of the nozzle is hydraulically controlled by the modulation of the pressure in the
injection control chamber, and this process is directed by a very fast solenoid valve. The
reproducibility or stroke-to-stroke spread of the injected fuel quantity depends largely on the
friction of moving parts. Therefore the nozzle needles have been coated with carbon in the area
of the guides. Furthermore, the seat geometry of the Common Rail nozzle ensures that the small
fuel quantities for the pilot injection remain constant throughout engine lifetime.

D. ECU
An Engine control unit (ECU) is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series
of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this
by reading values from a multitude of sensors within the engine bay, interpreting the data using
multidimensional performance maps (called lookup tables), and adjusting the engine actuators
accordingly.
The ECU is based on a platform concept both for the mechanical and electronic parts. ECUs for
Common Rail Systems are
characterized by the sophisticated power stages which operate the solenoid valves
of the injectors and the rail pressure closed loop control.

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ECU

E. Sensors
All sensors and actuators of a Common Rail System with the exception of the Rail Pressure
Sensor are taken from the existing Diesel injection systems. The fuel pressure is measured by the
Rail Pressure Sensor and in this first generation adjusted by the Pressure Regulator Valve to the
correct stationary or dynamic set point in accordance with the engine operating conditions such
as engine speed, load and temperature.

Fig .1 System layout

Fig. 2 shows a Block Diagram of the High Pressure Control function. We distinguish between
three tasks within the High Pres-sure Control function: rail pressure setpoint, rail pressure control
and rail pressure monitoring .The engine speed, the injected fuel quantity, the air pres-sure, the
intake air temperature and the coolant temperature all have an influence on rail pressure setpoint.

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This setpoint acts as an input for the Rail Pressure Control. In addition, the current rail pressure,
engine start, monitored by the Rail Pressure Sensor and the coolant temperature are conveyed
directly to the Rail Pressure Control. The Rail Pressure Monitoring compares the current rail
pressure and the setpoint of the Rail Pressure Control. Furthermore, the engine speed, the engine
start, coolant temperature and rail pressure values are also conveyed directly to the Rail Pressure
Monitoring.

F. Objective functions
The objective of an optimization process is to maximize or minimize a certain quantity, which
is, in general, a response of the engine. This quantity can also be a combination of different
engine outputs, such as fuel consumption, pollutant emissions or combustion noise, which are
related by means of proper functions. These functions are often referred to as objective
functions, target functions or merit functions. The first one involves only the contribution
of emission levels, according to the following relationship:
f (X) = NO + PM*10 ,

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where NOx and PM are the specific emissions (g/kWh) of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter,
respectively. The aim of the optimization process is to minimize the objective function, which
represents the distance from the origin of the axes in the NOx vs PM trade-off space.
The second objective function considered in this analysis is an extension of the previously
mentioned functions, obtained by adding a term related to the combustion noise ,

where dB is the combustion noise (dBA) and the coefficients ki and mi allow a calibration of the
relative weights and influences of the different terms in the function. A comparison between the
results obtained by applying f1(X) and f2(X) to different sets of experimental data can be found
in reference, where it was proved how the combustion noise contribution in the objective
function can be very effective in pointing out the benefit that is obtained from the use of pilot
injections.

3.2 Working Principle:

Common Rail Direct Injection is different from the conventional Diesel engines. Without being
introduced to an antechamber the fuel is supplied directly to a common rail from where it is
injecteddirectly onto the pistons which ensures the onset of the combustion in the whole fuel

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mixture at the same time. There is no glow plug since the injection pressure is high. The fact that
there is no glow plug lowers the maintenance costs and the fuel consumption. Compared with
petrol, diesel is the lower quality fuel from petroleum family. Diesel particles are larger and
heavier than petrol, thus more difficult to pulverize. Imperfect pulverization leads to more
unburned particles, hence more pollutant, lower fuel efficiency and less power. Common-rail
technology is intended to improve the pulverization process. To improve pulverization, the fuel
must be injected at a very high pressure, so high that normal fuel injectors cannot achieve it. In
common-rail system; the fuel pressure is implemented by a very strong pump instead of fuel
injectors. The high-pressure fuel is fed to individual fuel injectors via a common rigid pipe
(hence the name of "common-rail"). In the current first generation design, the pipe withstands
pressures as high as 1,600 bar or 20,000 psi. Fuel always remains under such pressure even in
stand-by state. Therefore whenever the injector (which acts as a valve rather than a pressure
generator) opens, the high-pressure fuel can be injected into combustion chamber quickly. As a
result, not only pulverization is improved by the higher fuel pressure, but the duration of fuel
injection can be shortened and the timing can be more precisely controlled. Precise timing
reduces the characteristic Diesel Knock common to all diesel engines, direct injection or not.
Benefited by the precise timing, common-rail injection system can introduce a "postcombustion", which injects small amount of fuel during the expansion phase thus creating small
scale combustion after the normal combustion takes place. This further eliminates the unburned
particles and also increases the exhaust flow temperature thus reducing the pre-heat time of the
catalytic converter. In short, "post-combustion" cuts pollutants. The drive torque and pulsation
inside the high-pressure lines are minimal, since the pump supplies only as much fuel as the
engine actually requires. The high-pressure injectors are available with different nozzles for
different spray configurations. Swirler nozzle to produce a cone-shaped spray and a slit nozzle
for a fan-shaped spray. The new common-rail engine (in addition to other improvements) cuts
fuel consumption by 20%, doubles torque at low engine speeds and increases power by 25%. It
also brings a significant reduction in the noise and vibrations of conventional diesel engines. In
emission, greenhouse gases (CO2) is reduced by 20%. At a constant level of NOx, carbon
monoxide (CO) emissions are reduced by 40%, unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) by 50%, and particle
emissions by 60%.CRDI principle not only lowers fuel consumption and emissions possible; it
also offers improved comfort and is quieter than modern pre-combustion engines. Common-rail

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engines are thus clearly superior to ordinary motors using either direct or indirect fuel-injection
systems. This division of labor necessitates a special chamber to maintain the high injection
pressure of up to 1,600 bar. That is where the common fuel line (rail) comes in. It is connected to
the injection nozzles (injectors) at the end of which are rapid solenoid valves to take care of the
timing and amount of the injection. The microcomputer regulates the amount of time the valves
stay open and thus the amount of fuel injected, depending on operating conditions and how much
output is needed. When the timing shuts the solenoid valves, fuel injection ends immediately.
With the state-of-the-art common-rail direct fuel injection used an ideal compromise can be
attained between economy, torque, ride comfort and long life.

4.ADVANTAGES
Compact Design:
The compact design of the injector outline enables the common rail system to be used on two
or four valve per cylinder engines.
Modular System:
With one electronically driven injector per engine cylinder, the system is modular and can be
used on three-, four-, five-, and six-cylinder engines.
Responsiveness at low revs:

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The Common Rail system maintains the fuel injection under high pressure even at low
turnover. This allows the engine to develop high torque at low revs and across a wide power
range. The result is an engine which is smooth, responsive and which offers excellent pick-up
for safe and easy overtaking. In addition, fuel economy is maintained even at low revs.

Independent Injection Pressure:

The injection pressure is independent of the engine
speed and load, enabling high injection pressures at low
speed if required.

Lower NOX Emissions:

Injection sequences, which include periods both pre and post the main injection, can be
utilized to reduce emissions, particularly NOx,enabling the system to meet the stringent
emissions levels required by EURO-3 and US-98 legislation and beyond.
Full Electronic Control:
Common rail offers all the benefits of full electronic control fuel metering and timing, as well
as the option to interface with other vehicle functions
Cost Of Diesel in India:
In India, diesel is cheaper than petrol and this fact adds to the credibility of the common rail
direct injection system.

4.2 Disadvantages
The key disadvantage of the CRDi engine is that it is costly than the conventional engine.
The list also includes high degree of engine maintenance and costly spare parts.
Also this technology cant be employed to ordinary engines

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5. Conclusion
In this system it is seen that the CRDI engine developed more power and also increased the fuel
efficiency.
By using this system there is reduction of noise and Pollutants. Particulates of exhaust are
reduced.
Exhaust gas recirculation is enhanced and precise injection timing is obtained. More
pulverization of fuel is obtained in this system.

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The powerful microcomputer makes the whole system more perfect and doubles the torque at
lower engine speeds.

6. Future Scope

6.1 Ultra-High Pressure Common Rail Injections:

Newer CRDI engines feature maximum pressures of 1800 bar. This pressure is up to 33% higher
than that of first-generation systems, many of which are in the 1600-bar range. This technology
generates an ideal swirl in the combustion chamber which, coupled with the common-rail
injectors superior fuel-spray pattern and optimized piston head design, allows the air/fuel
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mixture to form a perfect vertical vortex resulting in uniform combustion and greatly reduced
NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions. The system realizes high output and torque, superb fuel
economy, emissions low enough to achieve Euro Stage IV designation and noise levels the same
as a gasoline engines. In particular, exhaust emissions and Nox are reduced by some 50% over
the current generation of diesel engines.

6.2 CRDI and Particle Filter:

Particle emission is always the biggest problem of diesel engines. While diesel engines emit
considerably less pollutant CO and Nox as well as greenhouse gas CO2, the only shortcoming is
excessive level of particles. These particles are mainly composed of carbon and hydrocarbons.
They lead to dark smoke and smog which is very crucial to air quality of urban area, if not to the
ecology system of our planet. Basically, particle filter is a porous silicon carbide unit; comprising
passageways which has a property of easily trapping and retaining particles from the exhaust gas
flow. Before the filter surface is fully occupied, these carbon / hydrocarbon particles should be
burnt up, becoming CO2 and water and leave the filter accompany with exhaust gas flow. The
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process is called regeneration. Normally regeneration takes place at 550 C. However, the main
problem is: this temperature is not obtainable under normal conditions. Normally the temperature
varies between 150 and 200C when the driving in town, as the exhaust gas is not in full flow.
The new common-rail injection technology helps solving this problem. By its highpressure,
precise injection during a very short period, the common-rail system can introduce post
combustion. This increases the exhaust flow temperature to around 350C. Then, a specially
designed oxidizing catalyst converter locating near the entrance of the particle filter unit will
combust the remaining unburnt fuel come from the "postcombustion". This raises the
temperature further to 450 C. The last 100C required is fulfilled by adding an addictive called
Eolys to the fuel. Eolys lowers the operating temperature of particle burning to 450 C, now
regeneration occurs. The liquid-state additive is store in a small tank and added to the fuel by
pump. The PF unit needs to be cleaned up every 80,000 km by high-pressure water, to get rid of
the deposits resulting from the additive.

7. References:
Robert Bosch 2009 The common rail Diesel Engine Explained.
Philippines Handyman DIY Portal - Diesel Quality and CRDI Engines.mht
Jose Perez, Fiat Multiair Technology Announced, technology announced-more-power-less-fuelless emissions.
AutoSpeed - Common Rail Diesel Engine Management, Part 1.

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