The Sulzer RT Flex Fuel Injection System http://www.marinediesels.co.uk/members/Camshaftless/RTFlex_fuel_inje...

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Common Rail and Camshaftless Engines
The Sulzer RT Flex Fuel Injection System

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The fuel pumps are mounted in pairs as shown or in a true

Vee formation. There are 4, 6, or 8 pumps, depending on
engine size. Driven by three lobed cams mounted on a short
camshaft which is driven through one or two intermediate
gears from the crankshaft either at the driven end of the
engine for 5 to 7 cylinder engines or at the mid gear drive
for 8 cylinders or more. There is no sudden, jerk action as in
traditional fuel injection pumps, instead the pumps operate
with a steady reciprocating action.

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The fuel pump design is based on the jerk type fuel pump as
fitted to the Sulzer medium speed ZA40 engine, and
incorporates a control groove, the position of which is
controlled by a fuel pump shaft and fuel racks. The fuel pump
control shafts are driven by two electrical servo motors which
maintain the fuel oil common rail pressure at 1000 bar

The engine is designed to run at full power if one pump should

become defective; if this is the case provision is made to lift the
pump clear of the camshaft.

The fuel pumps discharge to an intermediate accumulator which

is fitted with a safety valve set at 1250 bar.

The fuel delivery volume and rail pressure are regulated according
to engine requirements through suction control rather than spill
control as on traditional fuel pumps. This is because this method
utilizes less power than spill control because no excess fuel is
pressurised.

When the plunger is on the bottom of the stroke, the suction port is
still covered by the plunger. Depending on the position of the
helical suction control groove, the amount of fuel allowed to flow to
the space above the plunger is controlled. From the diagram it can
be seen in position 0 no fuel will flow, whilst in position 10, full
fuel will flow.

The fuel is delivered from the intermediate accumulator to the fuel oil common rail by two independent pipes. Failure of
one of these pipes still allows full power operation.
The fuel oil common rail is kept hot using steam or thermal oil trace heating. It is fitted with an emergency pressure
regulating valve which will automatically drain some fuel in the case of overpressure, and a fuel shutdown valve which
immediately drains the fuel from the rail in the case of emergency. A filling connection, usually closed can be used to
prime the system.

There is also a control oil rail pressurized to 200 bar, by a pair of electric pumps, with engine lubricating oil which has
been filtered to 6 microns. It is the control oil which operates the rail control valves for the injection units.

There is one rail control valve per injector - normally 3 per cylinder, excepting the RT-flex 50, which has 2 - that receive
the electric signals for the injection and transform it into fast hydraulic action. The rail control valve is controlled from an
electronic module mounted underneath the rail unit.

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The rail valves receive control signals for the beginning and end of injection from the respective electronic unit of the
WECS (Wrtsil Engine Control System). The system consists of the Power Supply Unit, the Common Electronic Unit
and the Cylinder Electronic Units. The Power Supply Unit supplies the rest of the system with a 24v dc supply. The
Common Electronic Unit also known as the Master Control Module (MCM) receives commands from the remote control
system, the speed governor and controls the fuel rail pressure. It communicates with the individual Cylinder Electronic
Units which consist of Cylinder Control Modules (CCM) and the Valve Driver Module (VDM). There are two MCMs to
allow for redundancy.

There is one Cylinder Control Module per cylinder. Each of these calculates the correct injection start angle, taking into
account dead time, VIT, and Fuel Quality Setting. It also controls the quantity of fuel injected and the sequence of
injection (ie for low load running).

To be able to time the fuel injection

the Control System must know the
crank angle of the individual units. To
do this two crank angle sensors are
fitted at the free end of the engine.
These sensors are accurate to 0.1. A
spring loaded coupling absorbs all
longitudinal and axial movement of
the crankshaft. It drives a shaft from
which the sensors are driven via
toothed belts.

Injection Control.

Drawing One: No Injection

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Drawing Two: Injection

When the Rail Valves are energized for injection by the Valve Driver Module, oil from the Control Rail opens the
Injection Control Valves. The fuel injectors are pressurized and fuel oil pressure behind the Fuel Quantity Piston
maintains this pressure at the injectors. As the Piston moves to the left a feedback signal is sent to the Cylinder Control
Module

When the desired amount of fuel has been injected the Valve Driver Module energises the solenoids which move the Rail
valves back to the return position. The Injection Control Valves interrupt the supply to the injectors, and the increase in
pressure on the LH of the Fuel Quantity Piston moves it back to its starting position.

Every injection nozzle is independently monitored and

controlled by the Engine Control System. In case of a
fault, such as a leaking high pressure pipe or a
malfunctioning injector, the affected injection valve can be
cut out individually without losing the entire cylinder

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Low Load Operation

At low engine load the control system cuts out one of the three injection valves per cylinder.

At very low load two of the three injection valves are cut out. This is used to avoid visible smoke emission and to reduce
fuel consumption. It is possible to reduce engine load to 10% with engine revolutions as low as 7RPM.
Injecting with one (or two) nozzles a certain fuel volume takes longer than with three nozzles. This longer injecting time
allows a more constant injection pressure and thus improved atomization for an optimal combustion.
To avoid thermal stress to cylinder liners, the active nozzles are switched over every 20 minutes.

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