Common Rail Fuel

Injection
Hannu Jääskeläinen, Magdi K. Khair

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o Common Rail Fuel Injection System Components

o Common Rail Injection System Pressure Control
Abstract: In the common rail system, fuel is distributed to the injectors from a high pressure
accumulator, called the rail. The rail is fed by a high pressure fuel pump. The pressure in the
rail, as well as the start and end of the signal that activates the injector for each cylinder are
electronically controlled. Advantages of the common rail system include flexibility in controlling
both the injection timing and injection rate.

 Introduction

 Common Rail Concept

 Common Rail System Dynamics

 Control of Common Rail System

 Common Rail Injection Systems for Large Engines

applied to a diesel engine by Atlas-Imperial Diesel Engine Company of California in the

early 1930s [Walker 1933][DeLuca 2010][Knecht 2004][Aird 2001].
Work on modern day common rail fuel injection systems was pioneered in the 1960s by
the Societe des Procedes Modernes D’Injection (SOPROMI) [Huber 1969]. However, it
would still take 2-3 decades before regulatory pressure would spur further development
and the technology would mature to be commercially viable. The SOPROMI
technology was evaluated by CAV Ltd. in the early 1970s and was found to provide
little benefit over existing P-L-N systems in use at the time. Considerable work was still
required to improve the precision and capability of solenoid actuators.
Further development of diesel common rail systems began in earnest in the 1980s. By
1985, Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau (IFA) of the former East Germany developed a
common rail injection system for their W50 truck, but the prototype never entered series
production and the project was abandoned a couple of years later [Sachsisches
Industriemuseum 2010]. Around the same time, General Motors was also developing a
common rail system for application to their light-duty IDI engines [Williams 1982].
However, with the cancellation of their light-duty diesel program in the mid-1980s,
further development was stopped.
A few years later, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of development projects
were initiated by engine OEMs and later taken up by fuel injection equipment
manufacturers:

 Nippondenso further developed a common rail system for commercial

vehicles [Miyaki 1988][Miyaki 1991] that they acquired from Renault and that was
introduced into production in 1995 in Hino Rising Ranger trucks.
 In 1993, Bosch—perhaps due to some pressure by Daimler-Benz—acquired the
UNIJET technology initially developed by the efforts of Fiat and Elasis (a Fiat
subsidiary) for further development and production [Stumpp 1996]. Bosch’s
passenger car common rail system was introduced into production in 1997 for
the 1998 model year Alfa Romeo 156 [Jost 1998] and C-Class Mercedes-Benz.
 Shortly afterward, Lucas announced common rail contracts with Ford, Renault
and Kia with production starting in 2000.
 In 2003, Fiat introduced a next generation common rail system capable of 3-5
injections/engine cycle for the Multijet Euro 4 engine.
Further information on the history of common rail systems can be found in the
literature [Knecht 2004][Petruzzelli 2013].
The aim of these development programs started in the late 1980s/early 1990s was to
develop a fuel system for the future diesel powered passenger car. Early on in these
efforts, it was apparent that future diesel cars would utilize a direct injection combustion
system due to the clear advantage in fuel economy and power density relative to the
then prevalent indirect injection combustion system. The objectives of the developments
included driving comfort comparable to that of gasoline fueled cars, compliance with
future emission limits and improved fuel economy. Three groups of fuel system
architectures were under consideration: (1) an electronically controlled distributor
pump, (2) an electronically controlled unit injector (EUI or pump-nozzle unit) and (3) a
common rail (CR) injection system. While the efforts around each of these approaches
lead to commercial fuel systems for production vehicles, the common rail system
provided a number of advantages and would eventually come to dominate as the
primary fuel system used in light-duty vehicles. These advantages included:
Fuel pressure independent of engine speed and load conditions. This allows for
flexibility in controlling both the fuel injection quantity and injection timing and
enables better spray penetration and mixing even at low engine speeds and loads. This
feature differentiates the common rail system from other injection systems, where
injection pressure increases with engine speed, as illustrated in Figure 1 [Hawley 1998].
This characteristic also allows engines to produce higher torque at low engine speed—
especially if a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) is used. It should be noted that
while common rail systems could operate with maximum rail pressure held constant
over a wide range of engine speeds and loads, this is rarely done. As is
discussed elsewhere, fuel pressure in common rail systems can be controlled as a
function of engine speed and load to optimize emissions and performance while
ensuring engine durability is not compromised.