Engine jacket cooling system for locomotive

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11098638-B2
Application number	US-201816206682-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2018
Priority date	Nov 30, 2018
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

A jacket cooling system for an engine of a locomotive is disclosed. The jacket cooling system may comprise a jacket coolant pump driven by a crankshaft of the engine. The jacket cooling system may further comprise a coolant jacket associated with one or more components of the engine, and a delivery conduit in fluid communication with the outlet of the jacket coolant pump and configured to deliver a coolant from the jacket coolant pump to the coolant jacket. The jacket cooling system may further comprise a bypass circuit configured to divert the coolant away from the delivery conduit and the engine, and an electronically-controlled bypass valve in the bypass circuit. The bypass valve may allow at least some of the coolant to flow through the bypass circuit when a valve position of the bypass valve is at least partially open.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A jacket cooling system for an engine of a locomotive, comprising:
a jacket coolant pump driven by a crankshaft of the engine, the jacket coolant pump having an inlet and an outlet;
a coolant jacket associated with one or more cylinders of the engine, each cylinder having cylinder walls defining a combustion chamber;
a delivery conduit in fluid communication with the outlet and configured to deliver a coolant from the jacket coolant pump to the coolant jacket, the coolant jacket configured such that the coolant jacket circulates the coolant around the cylinder walls of each cylinder;
a bypass circuit configured to divert a portion of the coolant away from the delivery conduit and the engine, the bypass circuit routing the diverted portion of the coolant to the inlet of the jacket coolant pump, the bypass circuit having a bypass inlet connected to, and in fluid connection with, the delivery conduit; and
an electronically-controlled bypass valve in the bypass circuit, the bypass valve allowing at least some of the coolant to flow through the bypass circuit when a valve position of the bypass valve is at least partially open, the bypass valve positioned downstream from the bypass inlet,
wherein the bypass circuit and the bypass valve permit the jacket cooling system to increase a flow rate of coolant to the engine under rated power operating conditions, and to decrease the flow rate of coolant to the engine under idle or lower power operating conditions, and
wherein when a temperature deviation exists between a jacket coolant temperature and a desired jacket coolant temperature, the flow rate of coolant is adjusted by a magnitude proportional to the temperature deviation until the temperature deviation is eliminated.

2. The jacket cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic control module (ECM) associated with the engine and configured to electronically control the valve position of the bypass valve.

3. The jacket cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the ECM is in communication with one or more operation condition sensors configured to monitor one or more operation conditions of the locomotive, and wherein the ECM is configured to control the valve position of the bypass valve based on signals received from the one or more operation condition sensors indicating the one or more operation conditions.

4. The jacket cooling system of claim 3 , wherein the ECM is further configured to:
determine a desired valve position of the bypass valve from the one or more operation conditions using one or more valve control maps that relate the operation conditions to desired valve positions; and
command an adjustment of the valve position to the desired valve position.

5. The jacket cooling system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more operation conditions include one or more of engine speed, engine load, traveling altitude, ambient temperature, and special operating conditions.

6. The jacket cooling system of claim 5 , wherein the ECM is further configured to:
command an opening of the bypass valve at engine speeds associated with idle or lower power operating conditions, and
command a closing of the bypass valve at engine speeds associated with rated power operating conditions.

7. The jacket cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the ECM is in communication with a temperature sensor configured to monitor the jacket coolant temperature of the coolant exiting the coolant jacket, and wherein the ECM is configured to control the valve position according to the jacket coolant temperature.

8. The jacket cooling system of claim 7 , wherein the ECM is further configured to:
determine the temperature deviation between the jacket coolant temperature and the desired jacket coolant temperature; and
to command an adjustment of the valve position that is proportional to the temperature deviation.

9. The jacket cooling system of claim 8 , wherein the ECM is further configured to:
command an opening of the bypass valve when the jacket coolant temperature is below the desired jacket coolant temperature; and
command a closing of the bypass valve when the jacket coolant temperature is above the desired jacket coolant temperature.

10. A locomotive, comprising:
an internal combustion engine including a cylinder having cylinder walls defining a combustion chamber;
a crankshaft driven for rotation by the internal combustion engine;
a coolant jacket associated with the cylinder;
a jacket coolant pump driven by the crankshaft and having an inlet and an outlet;
a delivery conduit in fluid communication with the outlet of the jacket coolant pump and configured to carry coolant from the jacket coolant pump to the coolant jacket, the coolant jacket configured such that the coolant jacket circulates the coolant around the cylinder walls of the cylinder;
a bypass circuit configured to divert a portion of the coolant away from the delivery conduit and the engine, the bypass circuit routing the diverted portion of the coolant to the inlet of the jacket coolant pump, the bypass circuit having a bypass inlet connected to, and in fluid connection with, the delivery conduit;
an electronic control module (ECM) associated with the engine the ECM configured to determine a temperature deviation between a jacket coolant temperature and a desired jacket coolant temperature;
a bypass valve in the bypass circuit and controlled by the ECM, the bypass valve positioned downstream from the bypass inlet, the bypass valve being configured to allow at least some of the coolant to flow through the bypass circuit when a valve position of the bypass valve is at least partially open, wherein the bypass circuit and the bypass valve permit the jacket cooling system to increase a flow rate of coolant to the engine under rated power operating conditions, and to decrease the flow rate of coolant to the engine under idle or lower power operating conditions; and
an actuator associated with the bypass valve and in electronic communication with the ECM, the actuator being configured to actuate shifting of the valve position of the bypass valve according to commands from the ECM, the ECM configured to command to the actuator to open or close the bypass valve until the temperature deviation is eliminated.

11. The locomotive of claim 10 , wherein the internal combustion engine is a medium speed diesel engine.

12. The locomotive of claim 10 , wherein the actuator is one of an electronic actuator, a hydraulic actuator, and a pneumatic actuator.

13. The locomotive of claim 10 , wherein the ECM is in communication with one or more operation condition sensors configured to monitor one or more operation conditions of the locomotive, and wherein the ECM is configured to control the valve position of the bypass valve based on signals received from the one or more operation condition sensors indicating the one or more operation conditions.

14. The locomotive of claim 13 , wherein the one or more operation conditions include one or more of engine speed, engine load, traveling altitude, ambient temperature, and special operating conditions.

15. The locomotive of claim 14 , wherein the ECM is further configured to:
determine a desired valve position of the bypass valve from the one or more operation conditions using one or more valve control maps that relate the operation conditions to desired valve positions; and
transmit a command to the actuator to adjust the valve position to the desired valve position.

16. The locomotive of claim 10 , wherein the ECM is in communication with a temperature sensor configured to monitor the jack

Assignees

• Progress Rail Locomotive Inc

Inventors

• Pocha Siva Sankara Reddy
• Klemp Mathias
• Kumar Vijaya
• Goetzke Michael B

Classifications

• F01P7/167 Primary

  by adjusting the pre-set temperature according to engine parameters, e.g. engine load, engine speed · CPC title

• B61C5/00

  Locomotives or motor railcars with IC engines or gas turbines (characterised by power transmission B61C9/00; engines F02) · CPC title

• F01P3/02

  Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads · CPC title

• F01P2003/027

  Cooling cylinders and cylinder heads in parallel · CPC title

• F01P11/18

  concerning coolant pressure, coolant flow, or liquid-coolant level · CPC title