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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES
1999-01-0191
Common Rail System (CR-System) for Passenger
Car DI Diesel Engines; Experiences with
Applications for Series Production Projects
Ulrich Flaig, Wilhelm Polach and Gerhard Ziegler
Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart
Reprinted From: Technology for Diesel Fuel Injection and Sprays
(SP-1415)
International Congress and Exposition
Detroit, Michigan
March 1-4, 1999
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1
1999-01-0191
Common Rail System (CR-System) for Passenger Car DI Diesel
Engines; Experiences with Applications for
Series Production Projects
Ulrich Flaig, Wilhelm Polach and Gerhard Ziegler
Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart
Copyright 1999 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
ABSTRACT
Bosch introduced the Common Rail Injection System for
passenger car DI-Diesel engines in June 1997 for series
production. Bosch is currently working on a fairly high
number of follow-up projects with customers around the
world.
The major differences of Common Rail System com-
pared to standard Diesel injection equipment are the free
choice of the injection pressure and timing as well as the
benefit of the now available pilot injection at almost all
operating points.
The objective of the CR-System is to reduce the com-
bustion noise significantly, and to improve the torque
curve, especially in the lower engine speed range. Simul-
taneously, the emissions must be kept in the first step
within the limits posted by the European legislation for the
year 2000.
This paper presents combustion related application expe-
rience as well as the advantages to the customer in
terms of torque, power, fuel economy and noise. The
effects of EGR on the timing and quantity of the pilot
injection with respect to combustion noise and smoke is
presented. Also included are the Common Rail System-
specific demands on the nozzle as a crucial component
of the system.
It is believed that the emission results achieved and the
possibility of meeting even stricter emission standards
shows the potential of the Common Rail System.
SUMMARY/INTRODUCTION
In answer to the demand of continuously lowered exhaust
emission standards, careful use of ever-diminishing
resources and the wish to improve driveability and noise
of vehicles with Diesel engines, Bosch is offering a range
of new solenoid-valve-controlled High Pressure Injection
Systems.
One of these new injection systems is the Common Rail
System.
The CR-System is one in which the high injection pres-
sure is available at all times and not only during the injec-
tion periods.
The pressure level itself can be freely selected through-
out the complete engine operation range.
Another advantage is the benefit of the pilot injection
which has a significant effect on reducing noise of direct-
injection Diesel engines.
2
Figure 1. System layout
DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM
The Common Rail injection system is modular. A
mechanically or electrically driven feed pump delivers the
fuel through a fuel filter to the High Pressure Pump .
HIGH PRESSURE PUMP The engine driven High
Pressure Pump operates as a 3-plunger radial-piston
pump. The current maximum system pressure of 1350
bar, and the operating pressure is controlled by the pres-
sure regulator valve.
RAIL AND PIPES High pressure pipes connect the
High Pressure Pump with the accumulator, called the
rail.
Attached to the rail are the Rail Pressure Sensor for the
acquisition of the rail pressure and the Pressure Limiter
Valve which protects the components from excessive
pressure.
INJECTOR The interior design of the injector (Figure
2), is nearly identical for different applications. However,
the nozzle, direction of spray, number and diameter of
spray holes and the injector body must be specifically
adapted to suit to the design of the cylinder head of the
engine used.
Figure 2. Injector
3
Figure 3. Block Diagram of the High Pressure Control
The opening and closing of the nozzle is hydraulically
controlled by the modulation of the pressure in the injec-
tion control chamber, and this process is directed by a
very fast solenoid valve.
Even during pilot injections, the solenoid valve is fully
opened. This is necessary to minimize the influence of
production tolerances on the injected quantity. With this
layout only the nozzle needle is operated ballistically.
The reproducibility or stroke-to-stroke spread of the
injected fuel quantity depends largely on the friction of
moving parts. Therefore the nozzle needles have been
coated with carbon in the area of the guides. Further-
more, the seat geometry of the Common Rail nozzle
ensures that the small fuel quantities for the pilot injection
remain constant throughout engine lifetime.
ECU The ECU is based on a platform concept both for
the mechanical and electronic parts.
ECUs for Common Rail Systems are characterized by
the sophisticated power stages which operate the sole-
noid valves of the injectors and the rail pressure closed-
loop control.
SENSORS All sensors and actuators of a Common
Rail System with the exception of the Rail Pressure Sen-
sor are taken from the existing Diesel injection systems.
The fuel pressure is measured by the Rail Pressure Sen-
sor and in this first generation adjusted by the Pressure
Regulator Valve to the correct stationary or dynamic
setpoint in accordance with the engine operating condi-
tions such as engine speed, load and temperature.
Figure 3 shows a Block Diagram of the High Pressure
Control function.
We distinguish between three tasks within the High Pres-
sure Control function:
- Rail pressure setpoint
- Rail pressure control and
- Rail pressure monitoring
The engine speed, the injected fuel quantity, the air pres-
sure, the intake air temperature and the coolant tempera-
ture all have an influence on rail pressure setpoint. This
setpoint acts as an input for the Rail Pressure Control. In
addition, the current rail pressure, engine start, moni-
tored by the Rail Pressure Sensor and the coolant tem-
perature are conveyed directly to the Rail Pressure
Control.
4
The Rail Pressure Monitoring compares the current rail
pressure and the setpoint of the Rail Pressure Control.
Furthermore, the engine speed, the engine start, coolant
temperature and rail pressure values are also conveyed
directly to the Rail Pressure Monitoring.
APPLICATION
The design of the Common Rail injection system leads to
advantages for its use in Diesel passenger cars. Some
striking points are illustrated in this section.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS The geometry of the
combustion chamber, the swirl, the amount of fuel quan-
tity at rated speed and the injection pressure are the
input parameters which define the nozzle.
During application the next step is to measure the engine
characteristics by extensive variation of the parameters
(start of pilot and main injection, pilot and main injection
quantity, position of pilot injection relative to the main
injection, rail pressure, EGR-rate).
In the current production ECU of the Common Rail Sys-
tem, there are about 4000 variables representing either a
constant, a set of constants or two or three-dimensional
maps.
About half of the variables are used for engine functions.
The others are used for system monitoring including
European On Board Diagnostics (EOBD).
The optimization process is usually time consuming
because of the large number of interdependent parame-
ters.
An example is the tradeoff between emissions (NO
x
and
particulate matter) and noise, which are all influenced by
rail pressure and pilot injection.
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WITH FILTERING The low
pressure system (Figure 4) connects the High Pressure
Injection components to the fuel tank and ensures that
the system is supplied with fuel of required quality, quan-
tity, and at the correct pressure and temperature. The
configuration of the low pressure system varies depend-
ing upon the type of vehicle. For fuel quality, the fuel filter
and water separator are utilized as is the feed pump for
correct quantity and pressure. The quantity and pressure
are determined to ensure ample delivery to the High
Pressure Pump as well as for cooling and lubricating of
the pump. The feed pump may be driven mechanically
with integrated pressure limitation. The fuel recirculates
from the high pressure components to the tank through a
backflow pipe, which may terminate in a fuel jet pump if
necessary. The return flow quantity is defined by the
amount required to cool and lubricate the High Pressure
Pump, the overflow amount spilled off by the pressure
control valve and the leakage and control quantities of
the injectors. The heat produced when the fuel, which is
under high pressure, is spilled off, can be removed by a
fuel cooler if necessary. With the help of a fuel recircula-
tion valve, the backflow fuel can heat the filter when
ambient temperatures are low. A filter heater or coolant
heat exchanger may also be provided for this purpose.
Figure 4. First generation Common Rail with Fuel Cooler and Temperature Sensor
5
DRIVE TORQUE OF HIGH PRESSURE PUMP The
drive torque of all cam driven High Pressure Injection
systems needs careful design and testing for durability
because of the high peak to peak values. The Common
Rail System, in which the pressure does not have to be
built up within the injection period , enables a much
tamer cam design. The effects of this can be seen in
lower drive-torque peaks. With a maximum drive torque
of approximately 15 Nm, the Common Rail System
requires little load for the High Pressure Pump drive. The
drive torque does not jump from positive to negative val-
ues, thereby, eliminating backlash in gears. The advan-
tages are reduced wear and less mechanical noise.
DESIGN OF A CR SYSTEM BY SIMULATION The fol-
lowing main parameters of a Common Rail System must
be fixed:
- Injector: nozzle flow rate
- Pump: delivery volume, gear ratio pump/engine
- Rail: volume
- Pipes: length
The first step is to define the nozzle flow rate. The small-
est nozzle flow which guarantees the injection quantity
and injection duration for the maximum rail pressure of
1350 bar can be designed with the aid of hydraulic simu-
lation tools for Common Rail Systems.
Figure 5. Required Rail Volume versus the injected Fuel
Quality
With knowledge of the full load injection quantities and
rail pressure as a function of speed, the necessary size
of the High Pressure Pump can be calculated depending
on the defined gear ratio. Higher gear ratio results in a
better efficiency and smaller size of the High Pressure
Pump.
Figure 6. Simulation Common Rail
6
Depending on the maximum injection quantity, the mini-
mal rail volume can be determined. With the help of
hydraulic simulation to model the pressure waves in the
system, the dimensions of the pipes and the rail can be
optimized (Figure 6).
Figure 7. Injection pressure map
Both figures show the hydraulic behaviour (pressure, flow
rates) of CR-Systems with High Pressure Pump (gear
ratio 2/3, pressure regulator valve (DRV) mounted at the
rail, 4 Common Rail Injectors (CRI)) over one cam revolu-
tion at rated speed with main and pilot injection.
Rail pressure oscillations resulting from the injections are
smaller than 50 bar. Rail volume of 30 cm
3
is sufficient to
provide the desired injection quantity.
Pump pressure oszillations with higher frequency result-
ing from the pump-to-rail pipe reach maximum 1400 bar.
The maximum pressure at the injector inlet resulting from
the rail-to-CRI pipe remains below 1450 bar.
With the selected layout (length and diameter) of both
pipes the pressure remains below the durability border of
the components.
RAIL PRESSURE Having fixed the nozzle data the
application comes to determine the setpoints of the rail
pressure for all operating conditions. The competing cri-
teria are:
- Emissions and torque depending on soot number
- Fuel consumption
- Noise
Figure 7 shows rail pressures for a 1.9 liter Diesel engine
with a Bosch High Pressure Distributor Pump as well as
with a Bosch Common Rail System.
It can be seen that, for the most part, due to low emis-
sions higher pressures must be selected for the part load
range in the Common Rail System. This is necessary to
achieve higher torque values in the low speed range. This
enables particulate emissions to be lowered by better
penetration and atomization of the fuel in the combustion
chamber. Consequently, this permits higher exhaust-gas
recirculation rates in order to reduce NO
x
emissions.
7
Figure 8. Start times Comparison Common Rail, VP44
and VP37
Rail pressure determines startup behavior (see Figure 8).
Below 0 C, the startup behavior of a CR system is better
than that of a conventional Diesel injection system.
Above 0 C, the startup time of the engine with a Com-
mon Rail System is about 0.8 seconds, approximately the
same time as that of engines with conventional distributor
pumps. At these temperatures, startup behavior depends
on rail pressure buildup. The smaller the rail volume, the
faster the rail pressure builds up at a given pump capac-
ity, and, therefore, the startup time is shorter.
At low temperatures (T < -20 C), the startup times are
shorter than those with conventional distributor pumps. In
a specific application, the engine achieves a speed of
800 rpm in approximately 3s at 30 C. The possibility of
setting the start of injection to its optimum point for star-
tup and running up is an advantage of the Common Rail
System.
HIGH PRESSURE PUMP The Bosch High Pressure
Pump of the first generation is a 3-plunger radial piston
pump with an inner cam drive and an integrated High
Pressure Control valve.
The High Pressure Pump has a continuous delivery be-
havior resulting from the three overlapping pump strokes.
Rail pressure ripples can be minimized in combination
with a High Pressure Control valve. The delivery value of
the pump can be varied by different cam lifts.
The High Pressure Pump concept fits all applications up
to 8 cylinders and requires no synchronization of pump to
engine because of its continuous delivery behavior.
PILOT INJECTION Pilot injection may occur up to 90
crank angle before top dead center. For a start of injec-
tion in advance of 40 crank angle before TDC, fuel may
reach the surface of the pistons and cylinder wall and
excessively dilute the lubricant. The pressure traces of
combustion with and without pilot injection as well as
nozzle needle lift are depicted in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Influence of pilot Injection on cylinder pressure
During pilot injection, a small fuel quantity (1...3 mm
3
) is
injected into the cylinder, which preconditions the com-
bustion chamber, thereby improving the efficiency of the
combustion. The following results are achieved:
- Combustion pressure is increased by means of a
pre reaction or partial combustion, whereby
- the ignition delay of the main injection is shortened,
and
- the rise and peaks in cylinder pressure are dimin-
ished (softer combustion).
8
These effects reduce combustion noise, fuel consump-
tion and, occasionally, emissions. Without pilot injection,
pressure rises very steeply at the start of combustion and
features a sharp peak in maximum pressure.
The steep pressure increase and sharp peak contribute
considerably to the combustion noise of a Diesel engine.
Pilot injection only contributes indirectly - by shortening
the ignition delay - to the torque buildup of the engine.
From an emissions standpoint, a later start of injection is
desired although this increases fuel consumption through
later combustion. With pilot injection combustion occurs
earlier because of shorter ignition delay thereby reducing
the fuel consumption (Figure 10: Start of injection (SOI)
between 0 CA to 10CA BTDC). If the pilot injection
occurs too early, then this can produce a negative torque
which increase fuel consumption. (Figure 10: SOI before
20CA)
The calculation of setpoints for timing and fuel quantity of
the pilot injection with regard to main injection is a com-
plex function comprising many input variables, such as
start of injection and fuel quantity of the main injection,
exhaust-gas recirculation rate, engine speed, engine
temperature, etc.
Figure 10. Specific fuel consumption
As can be seen from Figure 11 the noise improvement is
in the range of 2 to 3 dB(A). But a tradeoff with particulate
and HC emission has to be regarded carefully when
selecting the position of the pilot injection.
Diesel engines with High Pressure Injection systems can
misfire sometimes directly after start, because of poor
combustion conditions. The pilot injection can eliminate
the risk of misfire by reducing the ignition delay of the
main combustion. This results in a dramatic decrease in
white smoke emissions (70-80%).
The engine warms up without vibration and with lower
emissions.
Figure 11. Noise emission
9
Figure 12. Effects of start of injection, Exhaust-gas Recirculation and rail pressure on Soot-NO
x
curves
EXHAUST-GAS RECIRCULATION (EGR) With the
EGR, part of the exhaust gas is directed back into the
intake manifold. This lowers the oxygen content, the com-
bustion speed, the peak temperature at the flame front
and consequently the NO
x
emissions. The effects of EGR
can be further enhanced by cooling the recirculated
exhaust gas with engine coolant. If, however, the quantity
of recirculated exhaust gas is too high (proportion over
40 %), soot, CO and HC emissions and fuel consumption
increase due to the lack of oxygen.
With the SOI, EGR and rail pressure as application
parameters of the system, the soot-NO
x
tradeoff can be
manipulated in a wide range (see Figure 12) for a typical
operating point. At a constant rail pressure the NO
x
emis-
sion can be reduced with an earlier SOI keeping constant
soot values constant. Keeping the SOI late (limited by a
significant increase of fuel consumption) , and then
increasing EGR quantities can further decrease NO
x
with
a tradeoff of more soot. Finally through an increase of rail
pressure the NO
x
and soot values can be reduced and,
thereby, keep the relationship of both emissions constant
(corresponds to the EURO III limits) (see Figure 12).
BENEFITS TO THE ENGINE MANUFACTURER
The use of Common Rail results in the following system
advantages for the engine designer/manu-facturer:
The system is suitable for applications of engines from
three to eight cylinders. However, for eight cylinder
engines a master slave concept for the ECU is used. The
master slave concept is used because of the greater
CPU-Power needed for the eight cylinder engine. Each of
the two ECU's operates four of the eight injectors. The
two ECU's communicate using a fast CAN-Bus (Control-
ler Area Network).
Up to now the Bosch Common Rail System is used on
engines with a displacement range from 0.27 to 0.62 l per
cylinder (passenger car applications), in naturally-aspi-
rated and supercharged engines.
Conventional pump-line-nozzle-systems always need
hydraulic adaptation (cams, relief valve or orifice check
valve, length and diameter of pipes, nozzle opening pres-
sure, etc.). With the Common Rail System, these prob-
lems are virtually reduced.
A further advantage of the CR-System is that the pump
must not be timed with the engine camshaft. Conse-
quently, the engine designer has more freedom with the
choice of the drive system.
The Common Rail System provides a unique potential for
multiple injections. Its necessity and benefit must be
demonstrated by further development.
Common Rail Systems offer high injection pressures at
low engine speeds resulting in improved engine torque
as well as reduced noise levels.
10
OUTLOOK
Experience in serial production with the first generation of
Common Rail Systems provides a solid foundation for
further development. The next generation is already
under development. The maximum injection pressure -
currently 1350 bar - will be raised to 1600 bar. In the sec-
ond generation Bosch runs for a reduction in the level of
fuel temperature and to improve the efficiency of the High
Pressure Pump. A new High Pressure Pump - concept
with fuel delivery control is generally employed. Improved
actuators, i.e. solenoid valve and related components,
ensure even more precise injections which result in par-
ticular, in smaller fuel quantity tolerances.
Besides further optimizing solenoid valve technology,
Bosch has been actively developing piezoelectric actua-
tors for numerous years. Extremely short switching times
of < 100 s can be achieved. Consequently, pilot injected
fuel quantities below 1 mm3/stroke can be attained. The
serial introduction of a system with piezoelectric actuator
is planned for 2002.
In the year 2000, all passenger car Diesel engines in
Europe must comply with the EURO III emission stan-
dard. Almost all Diesel passenger cars in series produc-
tion with the Bosch Common Rail System already satisfy
this requirement. The much more stringent Euro IV emis-
sion standard, which will probably come into effect in the
year 2005, necessitates further improvements to the
engine, injection system and fuel. The fuel injection
equipment is an important element in the attainment of
this goal.
REFERENCES
1. Gerhard Strump, Mario Ricco, Common Rail An Attrac-
tive Fuel Injection System for Passenger Car DI Diesel
Engines, SAE 960870.
2. K. Krieger, K. Hummel, Fortschritt Berichte VDI, Bosch -
Common Rail: Neue Erkenntnisse und weitere Heraus-
forderungen, 19. Internationales Wiener Motorensympo-
sium Wien, 7.-8.5.1998.
3. Ralf Isenburg, Micha Mnzenmay, Diesel Speicherein-
spritzsystem Common Rail, BOSCH Techn. Information
1997.
4. Peter L. Herzog, Common Rail Einspritztechnik Gegen-
wart und Zukunftspotential, ETH Zrich, 1997.
5. Dr. A. Peters, W.Ptz, Der neue Vierzylinder-Dieselmotor
OM611 mit, Common Rail Einspritzung, MTZ 58 (1997),
12.
6. Hoffmann, Hummel, Maderstein, Peters, Das Common Rail
Einspritzsystem ein neues Kapitel der Dieseleinspritztec-
hnik, MTZ 58 (1997), 10.
7. Dr. R. Imarsio, Dr. R. Rinolfi, Die Potentiale direktein-
spritzender Dieselmotoren der 3. Generation fr Personen-
kraftwagen. Motor und Umwelt, AVL-Tagung 1997.