Method for heating an operating agent, and an operating agent heating system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10364726-B2
Application number	US-201515531513-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2015
Priority date	Nov 27, 2014
Publication date	Jul 30, 2019
Grant date	Jul 30, 2019

Abstract

In a method for heating an operating agent for a rail vehicle, particularly for heating a reducing agent for the after-treatment of exhaust gas, a coolant liquid is pumped through a cooling circuit of the internal combustion engine by a pump when an operating agent heating system is in an operating mode. In the operating mode, the coolant liquid is pumpable through a main heating circuit by of the pump in order to heat the operating agent in a reservoir. When the operating agent heating system is in a preheating mode, the main heating circuit is divided into two sub-circuits of a preheating circuit, the flow being able to pass through both of the sub-circuits.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for heating an operating agent for a rail vehicle, which comprises the steps of:
pumping a coolant liquid just by means of a single pump through a coolant circuit of an internal combustion engine in an operating mode of an operating agent heating system;
pumping the coolant liquid by the single pump through a main heating circuit of the operating agent heating system for heating the operating agent in a reservoir in the operating mode;
dividing the main heating circuit into two sub-circuits of a preheating circuit though which the coolant liquid flows in a preheating mode of the operating agent heating system, wherein the coolant liquid heated by a preheating device will be pumped in the two sub-circuits through which the coolant liquid flows, by means of a pump of the preheating device through the two sub-circuits; and
performing a thawing mode with the operating agent heating system, where the coolant liquid heated by the preheating device is pumped by the pump of the preheating device through only a sub-circuit of the two sub-circuits of the preheating circuit which leads through the reservoir.

2. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises pumping the coolant liquid after being heated in opposite directions through the two sub-circuits.

3. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises selecting a reducing agent for after-treatment of exhaust gas as the operating agent.

4. An operating agent heating system for a rail vehicle, comprising:
a coolant circuit for an internal combustion engine and having a pump;
a main heating circuit for heating an operating agent in a reservoir and connected to said coolant circuit;
a coolant liquid able to be circulated through said main heating circuit is pumped by means of said pump of said coolant circuit through said main heating circuit in an operating mode of the operating agent heating system;
said main heating circuit having a preheating line and a preheating device with a preheater pump, said main heating circuit being able to be reconfigured by means of said preheating line and said preheater pump of said preheating device into a preheating circuit, by means of said preheating device the internal combustion engine and/or an operating agent in the reservoir is or are able to be preheated, the operating agent heating system has said pump of said coolant circuit and said preheater pump of said preheating device; and
said preheating circuit having two sub-circuits, and, in a preheating mode of said operating agent heating system, the coolant liquid can be circulated in said two sub-circuits, and in the preheating mode, the coolant liquid is pumped through said two sub-circuits of said preheating device by said preheater pump of said preheating device.

5. The operating agent heating system according to claim 4 ,
further comprising an upstream faucet, a downstream faucet, and a throttle, said main heating circuit is able to be brought into fluid communication with said coolant circuit upstream by means of said upstream faucet and downstream by means of said downstream faucet and said throttle;
wherein said main heating circuit has a valve by means of which, on a basis of a temperature of the operating agent, a coolant liquid flow through said main heating circuit is able to be set;
wherein said main heating circuit has at least one heating device in the reservoir, by means of said heating device a column and if necessary a cushion close to a floor of the operating agent is able to be heated or thawed;
further comprising an additional heating device; and
further comprising a suction nozzle having a suction opening formed therein, a suction region of the operating agent in the reservoir or said suction opening of said suction nozzle is able to be heated or thawed by means of said additional heating device.

6. The operating agent heating system according to claim 5 , further comprising two faucets, said preheating line with said preheating device is coupled into said main heating circuit, wherein said preheating line is connected to said main heating circuit upstream and downstream of said heating device and is able to be brought into fluid communication with said main heating circuit by means of said two faucets.

7. The operating agent heating system according to claim 5 , wherein:
in the preheating mode the coolant liquid is able to flow in parallel through said coolant circuit of the internal combustion engine in one of said sub-circuits of said preheating circuit.

8. The operating agent heating system according to claim 7 , wherein said main heating circuit has a non-return valve, a valve and lines, the operating agent heating system is embodied such that, for a switch from the preheating mode into the operating mode and vice versa, a switchover in a direction of circulation is brought about by said lines of said main heating circuit, wherein, in the preheating mode, said valve in said main heating circuit is bridged over via said non-return valve in said main heating circuit.

9. The operating agent heating system according to claim 7 , wherein:
said preheating line has faucets disposed therein; and
said main heating circuit has a faucet, and in a thawing mode of the operating agent heating system, the coolant liquid is able to be circulated only in one of said sub-circuits of said preheating circuit that leads through the reservoir, wherein said faucet of said main heating circuit or of another said sub-circuits of said preheating circuit is closed and said faucets in said preheating line are opened.

10. The operating agent heating system according to claim 7 ,
wherein said pump of said cooling circuit is an internal combustion engine-driven pump or an electrically-driven pump;
further comprising a faucet and a throttle connected in parallel in said main heating circuit or in a first of said sub-circuits of said preheating circuit;
further comprising a motorized valve, said motorized valve is disposed upstream of said heating device in said main heating circuit;
wherein said preheating device is embodied as a fuel-driven or an electrical preheating device;
wherein in the preheating mode and/or in a thawing mode the internal combustion engine and/or said pump of said cooling circuit is or are inactive;
wherein in said preheating line a pump is provided upstream or downstream of said preheating device;
further comprising a non-return valve, said motorized valve and said non-return valve are connected in parallel; and/or
wherein a method according to claim 1 is able to be carried out by the operating agent heating system.

11. The operating agent heating system according to claim 4 , wherein said preheating line has a pressure-limiting valve, said pressure-limiting valve is disposed between a pressure side of said pump of said coolant circuit and said preheating device in said preheating line, whereby said preheating device is able to be protected in an emergency start mode of the operating agent heating system.

12. The operating agent heating system according to claim 4 , the operating agent heating system heats a reducing agent for after-treatment of exhaust gases.

13. The operating agent heating system according to claim 4 , wherein in the preheating mode, the coolant liquid in said two sub-circuits are circulated in opposite directions.

14. A drive, comprising:
an operating agent heating system, containing:
a coolant circuit having a pump;
a reservoir;
a main heating circuit for heating an operating agent in said reservoir and connected to said coolant circuit;
a coolant liquid able to be circulated t

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Baltes Joerg
• Hintermeir Stefan

Classifications

• B61C5/04

  Arrangement or disposition of exhaust apparatus · CPC title

• F02G5/00 Primary

  Profiting from waste heat of combustion engines, not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• F01N2610/10

  the substance being heated, e.g. by heating tank or supply line of the added substance · CPC title

• F01N3/208 Primary

  Control of selective catalytic reduction [SCR], e.g. by adjusting the dosing of reducing agent · CPC title

• F01P2070/52

  mounting heat-exchangers · CPC title