Development in diesel engines

All diesel engines (with the exception of some tractors and scale model engines have fuel injected into the combustion chamber. See diesel engines.

 

Development in gasoline/petrol engines

Mechanical injection

 

 

 

 

 

An Antoinette mechanically fuel-injected V8 aviation engine of 1909, mounted in a preserved Antoinette VII monoplane aircraft. The invention of mechanical injection for gasoline-fueled aviation engines was by the French inventor of the V8 engine configuration, Leon Levavasseur in 1902. Levavasseur designed the original Antoinette firm's series of V-form aero engines, starting with the Antoinette 8V to be used by the aircraft the Antoinette firm built that Levavasseur also designed, flown from 1906 to the firm's demise in 1910, with the world's first V16 engine, using Levavasseur's direct injection and producing some 100 hp, flying an Antoinette VII monoplane in 1907.

The first post-World War I example of direct gasoline injection was on the Hesselman engine invented by Swedish engineer Jonas Hesselman in 1925. Hesselman engines used the ultra lean burn principle and injected the fuel in the end of the compression stroke and then ignited it with a spark plug, it was often started on gasoline and then switched over to run on diesel or kerosene. The Hesselman engine was a low compression design constructed to run on heavy fuel oils.

Direct gasoline injection was applied during the Second World War to almost all higher-output production aircraft powerplants made in Germany (the widely used BMW 801 radial, and the popular inverted inline V12 Daimler-Benz DB 601, DB 603 and DB 605, along with the similar Junkers Jumo 210G, Jumo 211 and Jumo 213, starting as early as 1937 for both the Jumo 210G and DB 601), the Soviet Union (Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial, 1943, Chemical Automatics Design Bureau - KB Khimavtomatika) and the USA (Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone radial, 1944).

Immediately following the war, hot rodder Stuart Hilborn started to offer mechanical injection for race cars, salt cars, and midgets, well-known and easily distinguishable because of their prominent velocity stacks projecting upwards from the engines on which they were used.

The first automotive direct injection system used to run on gasoline was developed by Bosch, and was introduced by Goliath for their Goliath GP700 automobile, and Gutbrod in 1952. This was basically a high-pressure diesel direct-injection pump with an intake throttle valve. (Diesels only change the amount of fuel injected to vary output; there is no throttle.) This system used a normal gasoline fuel pump, to provide fuel to a mechanically driven injection pump, which had separate plungers per injector to deliver a very high injection pressure directly into the combustion chamber. The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula 1 racing car engine used Bosch direct injection derived from wartime aero engines. Following this racetrack success, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the first production sports car to use fuel injection, used direct injection. The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR, in which Stirling Moss drove to victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia and Pierre Levegh crashed and died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, had an engine developed from the W196 engine. The Bosch fuel injectors were placed into the bores on the cylinder wall used by the spark plugs in other Mercedes-Benz six-cylinder engines (the spark plugs were relocated to the cylinder head). Later, more mainstream applications of fuel injection favored the less-expensive indirect injection methods.

 

A 1959 Corvette small-block 4.6 litre V8 with Rochester mechanical fuel injection

Chevrolet introduced a mechanical fuel injection option, made by General Motors' Rochester Products division, for its 283 V8 engine in 1956 (1957 US model year). This system directed the inducted engine air across a "spoon shaped" plunger that moved in proportion to the air volume. The plunger connected to the fuel metering system that mechanically dispensed fuel to the cylinders via distribution tubes. This system was not a "pulse" or intermittent injection, but rather a constant flow system, metering fuel to all cylinders simultaneously from a central "spider" of injection lines. The fuel meter adjusted the amount of flow according to engine speed and load, and included a fuel reservoir, which was similar to a carburetor's float chamber. With its own high-pressure fuel pump driven by a cable from the distributor to the fuel meter, the system supplied the necessary pressure for injection. This was a "port" injection where the injectors are located in the intake manifold, very near the intake valve.

During the 1960s, other mechanical injection systems such as Hilborn were occasionally used on modified American V8 engines in various racing applications such as drag racing, oval racing, and road racing. These racing-derived systems were not suitable for everyday street use, having no provisions for low speed metering, or often none even for starting (starting required that fuel be squirted into the injector tubes while cranking the engine). However, they were a favorite in the aforementioned competition trials in which essentially wide-open throttle operation was prevalent. Constant-flow injection systems continue to be used at the highest levels of drag racing, where full-throttle, high-RPM performance is key.

Another mechanical system, made by Bosch called Jetronic, but injecting the fuel into the port above the intake valve, was used by several European car makers, particularly Porsche from 1969 until 1973 in the 911 production range and until 1975 on the Carrera 3.0 in Europe. Porsche continued using this system on its racing cars into the late seventies and early eighties. Porsche racing variants such as the 911 RSR 2.7 & 3.0, 904/6, 906, 907, 908, 910, 917 (in its regular normally aspirated or 5.5 Liter/1500 HP Turbocharged form), and 935 all used Bosch or Kugelfischer built variants of injection. The early Bosch Jetronic systems were also used by Audi, Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, and many others. The Kugelfischer system was also used by the BMW 2000/2002 Tii and some versions of the Peugeot 404/504 and Lancia Flavia. Lucas also offered a mechanical system that was used by some Maserati, Aston Martin, and Triumph models between 1963 and 1973.

A system similar to the Bosch inline mechanical pump was built by SPICA for Alfa Romeo, used on the Alfa Romeo Montreal and on U.S. market 1750 and 2000 models from 1969 to 1981. This was designed to meet the U.S. emission requirements with no loss in performance and it also reduced fuel consumption.

Electronic injection

The first commercial electronic fuel injection (EFI) system was Electrojector, developed by the Bendix Corporation and was offered by American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1957. The Rambler Rebel, showcased AMC's new 327 cu in (5.4 L) engine. The Electrojector was an option and rated at 288 bhp (214.8 kW). The EFI produced peak torque 500 rpm lower than the equivalent carburetored engine The Rebel Owners Manual described the design and operation of the new system. (due to cooler, therefore denser, intake air). The cost of the EFI option was US$395 and it was available on 15 June 1957. Electrojector's teething problems meant only pre-production cars were so equipped: thus, very few cars so equipped were ever sold and none were made available to the public. The EFI system in the Rambler ran fine in warm weather, but suffered hard starting in cooler temperatures.

Chrysler offered Electrojector on the 1958 Chrysler 300D, DeSoto Adventurer, Dodge D-500 and Plymouth Fury, arguably the first series-production cars equipped with an EFI system. It was jointly engineered by Chrysler and Bendix. The early electronic components were not equal to the rigors of underhood service, however, and were too slow to keep up with the demands of "on the fly" engine control. Most of the 35 vehicles originally so equipped were field-retrofitted with 4-barrel carburetors. The Electrojector patents were subsequently sold to Bosch.

Bosch developed an electronic fuel injection system, called D-Jetronic (D for Druck, German for "pressure"), which was first used on the VW 1600TL/E in 1967. This was a speed/density system, using engine speed and intake manifold air density to calculate "air mass" flow rate and thus fuel requirements. This system was adopted by VW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Citroën, Saab, and Volvo. Lucas licensed the system for production with Jaguar.

Bosch superseded the D-Jetronic system with the K-Jetronic and L-Jetronic systems for 1974, though some cars (such as the Volvo 164) continued using D-Jetronic for the following several years. In 1970, the Isuzu 117 Coupé was introduced with a Bosch-supplied D-Jetronic fuel injected engine sold only in Japan.

 

 

 

Chevrolet Cosworth Vega engine showing Bendix electronic fuel injection (in orange). In Japan, the Toyota Celica used electronic, multi-port fuel injection in the optional 18R-E engine in January 1974. Nissan offered electronic, multi-port fuel injection in 1975 with the Bosch L-Jetronic system used in the Nissan L28E engine and installed in the Nissan Fairlady Z, Nissan Cedric, and the Nissan Gloria. Nissan also installed multi-point fuel injection in the Nissan Y44 V8 engine in the Nissan President. Toyota soon followed with the same technology in 1978 on the 4M-E engine installed in the Toyota Crown, the Toyota Supra, and the Toyota Mark II. In the 1980s, the Isuzu Piazza, and the Mitsubishi Starion added fuel injection as standard equipment, developed separately with both companies history of diesel powered engines. 1981 saw Mazda offer fuel injection in the Mazda Luce with the Mazda FE engine, and in 1983, Subaru offered fuel injection in the Subaru EA81 engine installed in the Subaru Leone. Honda followed in 1984 with their own system, called PGM-FI in the Honda Accord, and the Honda Vigor using the Honda ES3 engine.

The limited production Chevrolet Cosworth Vega was introduced in March 1975 using a Bendix EFI system with pulse-time manifold injection, four injector valves, an electronic control unit (ECU), five independent sensors and two fuel pumps. The EFI system was developed to satisfy stringent emission control requirements and market demands for a technologically advanced responsive vehicle. 5000 hand-built Cosworth Vega engines were produced but only 3,508 cars were sold through 1976.

The Cadillac Seville was introduced in 1975 with an EFI system made by Bendix and modelled very closely on Bosch's D-Jetronic. L-Jetronic first appeared on the 1974 Porsche 914, and uses a mechanical airflow meter (L for Luft, German for "air") that produces a signal that is proportional to "air volume". This approach required additional sensors to measure the atmospheric pressure and temperature, to ultimately calculate "air mass". L-Jetronic was widely adopted on European cars of that period, and a few Japanese models a short time later.

In 1980, Motorola (now Freescale) introduced the first electronic engine control unit, the EEC-III. Its integrated control of engine functions (such as fuel injection and spark timing) is now the standard approach for fuel injection systems. The Motorola technology was installed in Ford North American products.