Electronic Fuel

Injection Systems
The following presentation was delivered by one of the students of the
department as a part of the subject Thermal Engineering. The 3 rd years
students (and 2nd years also) may refer it for some insight on Gasoline
Direct Injection in particular.

Introduction

Fuel injection is a means of metering fuel into an internal

combustion engine.

Different types of Fuel Injection Systems

Throttle body injection

Continuous injection
Central port injection (CPI)
Multi-point fuel injection
Direct injection

Electronic Fuel Injection An Overview

Fuel Delivery
System
Air Duct
System
Electronic
Control
System

Fuel Delivery System

Air Induction System

ECU Electronic Control Unit

The electronic control system consists of various

engine sensors, Electronic Control Unit, Fuel
Injector and related wiring.
The ECU determines precisely how much fuel
needs to be delivered by the injector by
monitoring the engine sensors.
The ECU turns on the injector for a precise time,
referred to as injection pulse width or injection
duration to deliver the proper amount to the
engine

Basic System Operation

Air enters the engine through Air induction System where it is

measured by the air flow meter.
Fuel injectors are arranged in the intake manifold behind each intake
valve. The injectors are electrical solenoids which are operated b
ECU
The ECU pulses the injector by switching the injector ground circuit
on and off
When the injector is turned on, it opens, spraying atomized fuel.
As the fuel is sprayed into the intake air steam, it mixes with the
incoming air and vaporizes in the intake manifold.
The ECU determines the basic injection quantity based upon
measured intake air volume and engine rpm.
The injection quantity vary depending on engine operating conditions.
The ECU monitors variables such as coolant temperature, engine
speed, throttle angle and exhaust oxygen content and makes
injection corrections which determine final injection quantity.

GDI An Overview

Gasoline Direct injection or GDI is a variant of fuel

injection employed in modern two and four stroke petrol
engines.
The Gasoline is highly pressurized and injected directly
into the combustion chamber unlike in case of MPFI
system.
The principle of GDI system is same as that employed in
diesel direct injection system.
Mitsubishi was first to launched GDI systems successfully
in 1996.
Different Companies like Audi , BMW , Ford, Toyota etc.
are working towards development of GDI engines under
different names.

Mode of Operation

The two major advantages of GDI Engines are Fuel

Efficiency and High Power Output.
This is achieved by the precise control over amount of
fuel and injection timings which are varied according to
the load conditions.
The ECU of the engine chooses among three
combustion modes: ultra lean burn, stoichiometric, and
full power output.
Each mode is characterized by a particular air-fuel ratio.
Stoichiometric ratio for gasoline is around 14.7:1 ,
whereas ultra lean mixtures can have ratio as high as
65:1
This leaner mixture considerably reduces the fuel
consumption.

Combustion Modes

Ultra lean mode is used for light-load running

conditions, when little or no acceleration is
required.
The fuel is not injected at the intake stroke but
rather at the latter stages of the compression
stroke, so that the small amount of air-fuel
mixture is optimally placed near the spark plug.
This stratified charge is surrounded by mostly
air which keeps the fuel away from the cylinder
walls for lowest emissions.
This technique cannot be used with conventional
EFI systems.

Combustion Modes

Stoichiometric mode is used for moderate load

conditions. Fuel is injected during the intake
stroke, creating a homogeneous fuel-air mixture
in the cylinder.
Full Power mode is used for rapid acceleration
and heavy loads (as when climbing a hill). The
air-fuel mixture is homogeneous and the ratio is
slightly richer than stoichiometric.
Hence GDI engines have two modes of
operation Stratified and Homogenous Mode.

Fuel Injection System

Fuel Injection System can be of two types Wall Guided Injection and Spray
Guided Injection.

In a wall-guided system, the

stream of fuel hits the piston floor,
forming a cloud of fuel and air
that moves toward the spark plug
In this case the formation of fuel
air cloud depends mainly on
movement of charge
The piston is trough shaped

Spray Guided System

In this system a hollow cone of fuel

forms at the injection nozzle
The cloud of fuel and air remains
stable up until the precise moment
when it needs to ignite
It employs an piezoelectric injector
Piezoelectric valves have injectors
which open outwards to create an
annular gap just a few microns wide.
This gap shapes the fuel jet and
produces a uniform, stable, hollowcone-shaped spray pattern.
Spray Guided System has larger
efficiency and results in fuel efficiency
of over 20% in comparison of other
gasoline fuel injection systems

Piezoelectric Injector of Mercedes V6 GDI Engine

Characteristics and Advantages of Piezoelectric

Injectors

Piezoelectric valves have

injectors which open outwards to
create an annular gap just a few
microns wide.
This gap shapes the fuel jet and
produces a uniform, stable,
hollow-cone-shaped spray
pattern.
Because their injection cycle lasts
only fractions of a millisecond,
piezoelectric injectors can
achieve multiple injections per
compression stroke.
Multiple injection per
compression stroke improves
mixture formation, combustion
and fuel consumption.

Position of Spark Plug

The position of spark plug should be such that ignition

spark is able to reach the cloud of fuel/air mixture and
ignite it.
It should not be in direct contact with the liquid fuel,
otherwise it will gradually carbonize.
Keeping the above two factors in mind the spark plug is
positioned closer to the exhaust valves, unlike in other
cases where spark plug is situated at center.
From this position it can reach the ignitable mixture at
the turbulent edges of the cone-shaped spray.

Combustion of Ultra lean mixture

Main injection takes place as the piston approaches top dead centre
on the compression stroke, shortly before ignition. As seen in the
above pictures, the concave-section piston concentrates more fuel
around the spark plug, this allows successful ignition without misfire
even when the air / fuel mixture is very lean. This explain why GDI
can operate under fuel / air ratio of 1 : 40 under light load, which is
even leaner than Lean Burn Engines. As a result, more complete
burning is achieved.

Analogy between Common Rail Diesel Injection System

and Gasoline Direct Injection System

Advantages of GDI System

Fuel Efficiency , Low Emissions and better
Power Output in comparison of MPFI and
other Port Injection Systems
Mitsubishi claimed GDI consumes 20 to
35% less fuel, generates 20% less CO2
emission and 10% more power than
conventional engines.

Design Challenges in GDI Engines

Cost Effective injectors capable of withstanding the

cylinder heat is a challenge.
Due to the very short time for injection, high-pressure
injectors are required. From an electronics standpoint,
direct injection engines have a small window for injection.
ultra-lean mixtures present the greatest challenge to
flame development and completeness of combustion.
The most important thing in GDI system is the precise
and reproducible formation of a swirling fuel-air cloud at
the edge of the spray, which is then ignited by the spark
from the plug.

Thank You!