Multipoint Fuel Injection

INTRODUCTION

A multi-point injection system, also called port injection, has an injector in the
port (air-fuel passage) going to each cylinder. Gasoline is sprayed into each intake port
and toward each intake valve. Thereby, the term multi-point (more than one location) fuel
injection is used. Multipoint fuel injection (MFI) locates an injector immediately
upstream of each inlet valve, which enables better control of the air/fuel mixture to each
cylinder.

Ever since the World saw the first single cylinder petrol engine driven Car, a
Carburetor became synonymous with it. Later on with the advent of multi-cylinder
Engines, so did the Distributors. During the last Century, both evolved considerably till
the ‘Euro-II’ like Pollution Norms got the better of them. For, the Carburetors worked on
a fundamental principle of ‘reaction’, which could easily get stifled for so many reasons.
Whereas man, as always, wanted to be literally in the Driver’s Seat, all the way along.

Thus, as the cliché of necessity being the mother of invention goes, a System of
controlled-feeding of Fuel + Air + Ignition Spark to the ICE Cylinders in the early 80s
evolved. A system like that had to be based on its ‘needs of the moment’, such as the load
on it, engine rpm/road speed etc.

Such a ‘system’ had to ensure that the Pollutants were kept to a bare minimum all
over its operating range. Not to mention squeezing the maximum mileage out of the last
drop of fuel that went into it. Thus Fuel Injection systems were born replacing nearly a
century old Carburetors.

It all started with Single Point Fuel Injection Systems virtually an electronic
replica of the Carburetors but soon led to Multipoint Fuel Injection Systems.The 1990
Subaru Justy was the last car sold in the United States to have a carburetor; the following
model year, the Justy had fuel injection. But fuel injection has been around since the
1950s, and electronic fuel injection was used widely on European cars starting around
1980.

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The Fall of the Carburetor :

For most of the existence of the internal combustion engine, the carburetor has
been the device that supplied fuel to the engine. On many other machines, such as
lawnmowers and chainsaws, it still is. But as the automobile evolved, the carburetor got
more and more complicated trying to handle all of the operating requirements. For
instance, to handle some of these tasks, carburetors had five different circuits:

• Main circuit - Provides just enough fuel for fuel-efficient cruising.

• Idle circuit - Provides just enough fuel to keep the engine idling.
• Accelerator pump - Provides an extra burst of fuel when the accelerator pedal is
first depressed, reducing hesitation before the engine speeds up.
• Power enrichment circuit - Provides extra fuel when the car is going up a hill or
towing a trailer
• Choke - Provides extra fuel when the engine is cold so that it will start.

In order to meet stricter emissions requirements, catalytic converters were

introduced. Very careful control of the air-to-fuel ratio was required for the catalytic
converter to be effective. Oxygen sensors monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust,
and the engine control unit (ECU) uses this information to adjust the air-to-fuel ratio in
real-time. This is called closed loop control. It was not feasible to achieve this control
with carburetors. There was a brief period of electrically controlled carburetors before
fuel injection systems took over, but these electrical carbs were even more complicated
than the purely mechanical ones.

At first, carburetors were replaced with throttle body fuel injection systems (also
known as single point or central fuel injection systems) that incorporated electrically
controlled fuel-injector valves into the throttle body. Gradually, as new engines were
designed, throttle body fuel injection was replaced by multi-port fuel injection (also
known as port, multi-point or sequential fuel injection). These systems have a fuel
injector for each cylinder, usually located so that they spray right at the intake valve.
These systems provide more accurate fuel metering and quicker

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HOW MPFI WORKS?

The MPFI system consists of one fuel injector placed near every intake valve and
directed towards it, in the fuel intake manifold. Fuel is supplied to the injector through a
common rail. The amount of air intake is decided by the car driver by pressing the gas
pedal, depending on the speed requirement. The air mass flow sensor near throttle valve
and the oxygen sensor in the exhaust sends signal to ECU. ECU determines the air fuel
ratio required ,hence the pulse width. Depending on the signal from ECU the injectors
inject fuel right into the intake valve. The fuel sprayed at high pressure gts atomized into
fine particles and get mixed with air. The air fuel mixture is sucked ito the engine
cylinder and the combustion takes place.

FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS OF MPFI SYSTEM:

The mpfi system can be functionally divided into the following three main components :
1. Electronic control unit
2. Fuel system
3. Air induction system
These functional divisions are described in the following sections

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MPFI- Electronic control system

The MPFI electronic control system is show in the form of block diagram.
The sensors that monitor intake air temperature, the oxygen, the water temperature, the
starter signal and the throttle positioned signal to the ECU the air flow sensor sends
signal to the ECU regarding the intake air volume.
The RPM sensor sends signal about the engine speed.

The ECU processes all these signals and sends appropriate commands to the injectors,
to control the volume of the fuel for fuel injection. When necessary the cold start injector
timing switch off the ECU operates the cold start injector which is a part of the fuel
system.

1.Electronic control system

To
Sensors ECU injectors
(input)

Air flow meter

Cold start injector Cold start injector

time switch

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MPFI-Fuel system:
The MPFI fuel system is shown in the form of block diagram. In this system, fuel
is supplied by fuel pump. At the time of starting, the cold start injector is operated by the
cold start injector time switch. The cold start injector injects fuel into the air intake
chamber, thus enriching the air fuel mixture . the pressure regulator regulates the pressure
of the fuel. The injectors receive signal from the ECU and inject fuel into the intake
manifold.

Fuel Tank

Fuel Pump

Fuel cold start

Injector timing switch

To air
Cold start
Intake
injector
chamber

Pressure
regulator

Signal from
ECU
Injection to intake

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MPFI-Air induction system:

The MPFI air induction system is shown in the form of block diagram. The air
cleaner, the air flow meter, the throttle body and the air valve supply a proper amount of
air to the air intake chamber and intake manifold. The quality of air supplied is just what
is necessary for complete combustion.

Air cleaner

Air flow meter

Throttle body

Air valve
Air intake chamber

Intake manifold

Cylinders

Modes of operation in MPFI system

1.Simultaneous injection and

2.Sequential injection

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Electric Fuel Pump

Fuel Accumulator – The accumulators maintains fuel line pressure when engine is shut
Off and quietens the noise created by the roller cell pump
Fuel Filter - A pleated paper or lint-of-fluff type plus strainer
Primary Pressure Regulator – Maintains output delivery pressure to be about 5 bar
Push Up Valve – Prevents Control Pressure Circuit leakage.
It is a Non-return Valve placed at opposite end of pressure regulator
Fuel Injection Valve – Valves are Insulated in Holders to Prevent fuel vapor bubbles
forming in the fuel lines due to engine heat.
Valves open at about 3.3 bar and spray fuel. Valve oscillates about 1500 cycles per
second and so helps in atomization

The Injector

A fuel injector is nothing but an electronically controlled valve. It is supplied with

pressurized fuel by the fuel pump in your car, and it is capable of opening and closing
many times per second. When the injector is energized, an electromagnet moves a
plunger that opens the valve, allowing the pressurized fuel to squirt out through a tiny
nozzle. The nozzle is designed to atomize the fuel -- to make as fine a mist as possible so
that it can burn easily.

Inside a fuel injector

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A fuel injector firing

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The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is determined by the amount of time the fuel
injector stays open. This is called the pulse width, and it is controlled by the ECU.

Fuel injectors mounted in the intake manifold of the

engine

The injectors are mounted in the intake manifold so that they spray fuel directly at the
intake valves. A pipe called the fuel rail supplies pressurized fuel to all of the injectors.

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In this picture, you can see three of the injectors. The fuel
rail is the pipe on the left.

Engine Sensors:

In order to provide the correct amount of fuel for every operating condition, the
engine control unit (ECU) has to monitor a huge number of input sensors. Here are just a
few:

Mass airflow sensor - Tells the ECU the mass of air entering the engine.

• Oxygen sensor(s) - Monitors the amount of oxygen in the exhaust so the ECU
can determine how rich or lean the fuel mixture is and make adjustments
accordingly
• Throttle position sensor - Monitors the throttle valve position (which determines
how much air goes into the engine) so the ECU can respond quickly to changes,
increasing or decreasing the fuel rate as necessary
• Coolant temperature sensor - Allows the ECU to determine when the engine
has reached its proper operating temperature
• Voltage sensor - Monitors the system voltage in the car so the ECU can raise the
idle speed if voltage is dropping (which would indicate a high electrical load)
• Manifold absolute pressure sensor - Monitors the pressure of the air in the
intake manifold. The amount of air being drawn into the engine is a good
indication of how much power it is producing; and the more air that goes into the
engine, the lower the manifold pressure, so this reading is used to gauge how
much power is being produced.

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• Engine speed sensor - Monitors engine speed, which is one of the factors used to
calculate the pulse width.

Calculating the pulse width:

The algorithms that control the engine are quite complicated. The software has to
allow the car to satisfy emissions requirements for 100,000 miles, meet EPA fuel
economy requirements and protect engines against abuse. And there are dozens of other
requirements to meet as well. The engine control unit uses a formula and a large number
of lookup tables to determine the pulse width for given operating conditions. The
equation will be a series of many factors multiplied by each other. Many of these factors
will come from lookup tables. We'll go through a simplified calculation of the fuel
injector pulse width. In this example, our equation will only have three factors, whereas
a real control system might have a hundred or more.

Pulse width = (Base pulse width) x (Factor A) x (Factor B)

In order to calculate the pulse width, the ECU first looks up the base pulse width
in a lookup table. Base pulse width is a function of engine speed (RPM) and load (which
can be calculated from manifold absolute pressure). Let's say the engine speed is 2,000
RPM and load is 4. We find the number at the intersection of 2,000 and 4, which is 8
milliseconds.

Gas Injection Technology

The GTi (Gas Injection Technologies) Stealth Injection System is a multipoint

sequential vapour system for gaseous fuel injection technology in vehicles. It works
directly in conjunction with a car’s existing computer. It doesn't need a secondary
computer to interpret and send the gas conversion system’s needs to the first computer.
Bill is a keen believer in utilising our natural resources, instead of importing them. He
developed the idea in the late 80s when as an LPG installer, the Falcons introduced petrol

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injection and gas systems became troublesome with the new technology.
Bill looked at the existing LPG conversion systems and realised that none were designed
to emulate the petrol system in the gas systems. To him this seemed the obvious way to
ensure it all worked as LPG was intended, efficiently and cost effectively.

How does it work?

The GTi Stealth Injection System is a multipoint sequential vapour system for gaseous
fuel injection technology in cars. It works directly in conjunction with a car’s existing
computer. It doesn't need a secondary computer to interpret and send the new gas
system’s needs to the first computer.

This is achieved primarily through the use of a specially designed gas injector
valve. Similar to the workings of fuel injector valves, Bill’s injector differs by including
electronics within. This will ultimately enable the valve to open to a 4mm opening due to
an increased use of amps. This gap is substantially larger than the fuel injector holes,
which vary somewhere under 0.1mm openings on fuel injectors. It is essential for the
right delivery of gas with air ratio.

Existing fuel injectors cannot be used with gas, not only because petrol is a liquid,
but because the quantity of fuel allowed through those holes wouldn’t be enough for gas.
More gas is required than fuel, due to the fact that gas is a vapor, not a liquid. This means
that Bill’s gas injectors require larger openings. These fit into the timing of the existing
computer’s pre-set fuel injection commands, whilst still allowing enough gas through. In
fact, the GTi Stealth Injection System allows 300 times more gas than petrol through
each injector in the same time.

Thus the name stealth as it's fooling the car’s computer into thinking that it is still
using a petrol injection system. The actual timing of the injection does not need changing
as the size of the gap itself allows enough gas through, not the length of time of the
opening. This enables the user to still directly tap into the car computer’s existing
programming and elements as nothing else needs to be changed.

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Other systems need open longer, gas stays in manifold, changes dynamics within engine.
This also means that a second interpreter interface/computer is not required to talk to the
first computer to tell it what the gas systems needs are. Those needs have not, according
to the first computer, actually changed. Basically, the timing for the activation of the
engine’s components, controlled by the computer, do not need to change.

Bill’s system also requires the use of a specially designed heat exchanger/ regulator. This
works in conjunction with the gas injectors, as it fully vaporises the LPG from its stored
liquid state, at the regulator. Existing regulators cannot start cold. They require dual fuel
systems (incorporating the choice of either petrol or gas) to start on petrol, then convert to
gas when the engine is warm enough to vaporise the LPG. In systems with no dual fuel,
this is a problem. With Bill’s regulator however, the system can start from minus 10
degrees.

From the regulator, the vaporised gas travels to and through the fuel rail. It enters the gas
injector (and is forced through its large hole) at the same position as it would have on
petrol injector. It emerges into the inlet manifold where it is mixed with air. This mix
then travels through the engine’s inlet valve, then into the cylinder, nicely mixed. There,
the piston comes up, and the spark plug fires.

OTHER TYPES OF INJECTION SYSTEMS

Indirect Fuel Injection: It’s a fuel injection system in which fuel is injected into the fuel
intake manifold ,either before throttle valve or after the throttle valve.

Direct Fuel Injection: This is the fuel injection system used in diesel engine. In this fuel
is directly injected into the combustion chamber.

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Throttle Body Fuel Injection: In this the fuel is injected in intake manifold just before
the throttle valve. This has most of the disadvantages of carburetor

Advantages over Carburetor

• Improved atomization. Fuel is forced into the intake manifold under pressure that
helps break fuel droplets into a fine mist.
• Better fuel distribution. Equal flow of fuel vapors into each cylinder.
• Smoother idle. Lean fuel mixture can be used without rough idle because of better
fuel distribution and low-speed atomization.
• Lower emissions. Lean efficient air-fuel mixture reduces exhaust pollution.
• Better cold weather drivability. Injection provides better control of mixture
enrichment than a carburetor.
• Increased engine power. Precise metering of fuel to each cylinder and increased
air flow can result in more horsepower output.
• Fewer parts. Simpler, late model, electronic fuel injection system have fewer parts
than modern computer-controlled carburetors.

Advantage of M. P. F. I.

(1) More uniform A/F mixture will be supplied to each cylinder, hence the difference in
power developed in each cylinder is minimum. Vibration from the engine equipped with
this system is less, due to this the life of engine components is improved.

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(2) No need to crank the engine twice or thrice in case of cold starting as happens in the
carburetor system.

(3) Immediate response, in case of sudden acceleration / deceleration.

(4) Since the engine is controlled by ECM* (Engine Control Module), more accurate
amount of A/F mixture will be supplied and as a result complete combustion will take
place. This leads to effective utilization of fuel supplied and hence low emission level.
(5) The mileage of the vehicle will be improved

Conclusion

The carburetor were replaced by the single point injection in single cylinder engine. Th
multicylinder engines used distributors. But very shortly MPFI system replaced the
distributors.

The modern day cars use MPFI engines ,which has electronic control in it. They
use the engine sensors, integrated chips to monitor the fuel injection time and quantity

The multipoint fuel injection are also used in the engines which use LP gas as the
fuel, with very less alterations in the gasoline run engine.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Internal combustion engines, By V Ganeshan, Tata Mc-Hill Publishing Company

www.howstuffworks.com

www.indiacar.com

www.wikipedia.com

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