Architecture

Fuel System architecture

For each new vehicle a specific Fuel System has to be developed. Typical development time is between 2 and 3 years. Our customer provides us with the environment of the car, place left for mounting the Fuel System into the vehicle body. Therefore, our Fuel Tank architectures have complex geometries, as we have to optimize every space left to achieve the capacity of fuel volume requested by our customer.

Moreover, for one car model, we have different versions of Fuel System architectures with more or less components, depending on the type of the car (coupe, break…), the type of fuel (gazoline or diesel), nozzle models, the Region where the car will be circulating.

Even if you do not see INERGY’s Fuel Systems, you are every day in contact with two of their integrated functions: when refueling and when checking the fuel level indicator on your car’s dashboard.

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These visible functions are completed by other key functions of the fuel related architecture in the car: storage, venting and feeding.

Click for a description of:
- Filling of the fuel tank
- Storage of fuel
- Gauging
- Venting
- Feeding

FILLING OF THE FUEL TANK

When you fill a bottle under the water tap, you have certainly encountered problems that we have solved for the equivalent situation while refuelling: filling a container easily, quickly and without any spill over.

The filling function of our Fuel Systems starts when you open the trap at the filler pipe head, with or without cap (CLINFILL), when introducing the fuel nozzle into the filler pipe onto the nozzle guide, different for Diesel and Gas vehicles. What happens?

- While introducing the nozzle into the filler pipe head, a ground connection avoids any electrostatic discharge (ESD).

- Fuel arrives into the tank and the air inside the tank has to be replaced by the liquid. Therefore, breathing lines, liquid/vapor separators and canisters have been developed to enable all vapors to be evacuated from the tank, without being rejected into the atmosphere.

- The nozzle stops the delivery of the fuel (shut-off) when the liquid gets in contact with the nose of the nozzle. Although the shut off of the nozzle is important when your tank is full, other physical constraints can provoke premature shut offs, when the architecture of the filler pipe is not optimized. INERGY has developed numerical simulation techniques to anticipate premature shut-off problems, while integrating innovative components, such as Fuel Limit Vent, anti-spit back or Inlet-check Valves. INSEAL^TM is our latest original solution to solve premature shut-off and fuel spill over issues, sealing the nozzle into the filler pipe head and avoiding fuel vapors to escape into the atmosphere, while increasing security regarding ESD.

- When arriving close to the full refuelling volume, an over-filling prevention valve will intervene to avoid exceeding the capacity of your vehicle’s tank. An Anti-spit back valve will take over to prevent a back flow of the fuel into the filler pipe and avoid any spill over onto your feet.

STORAGE OF FUEL

The storage of the fuel is in a plastic tank. Plastic is the material which provides the best solution regarding security, weight, noise reduction and economical requirements. INERGY has developed simulation solutions to reduce slosh related noises in stop and go situations for the benefit of the vehicle passengers.

Components, such as fixations to the car chassis, straps or inserts, are especially designed and developed to avoid any deformation of the fuel tank over years, taking into account the vibrations and different driving situations. With more than 25 year experience the fixation solutions provided by INERGY demonstrate that the fuel tank resists all the life of the vehicle and under any driving circumstance.

GAUGING

The indicator of your dashboard enables you to know how much fuel is left in the tank to cover a certain distance. Behind this information, different components translate this information:

- A gauge is mounted inside the tank to measure the remaining fuel. The gauge trajectory is optimized through simulation techniques to minimize the effect when the car is in nose-up/nose-down situations.

- Electronic devices translate the gauge signal into a fuel level shown on your dashboard.

The gauge and the related electronic devices are very often mounted onto the fuel delivery module (see Feeding)

VENTING

We have already detailed the venting of the Fuel Systems during refueling. Other and very important solutions to manage air and vapors within the tank are necessary. Components such as Roll Over Valve, Fuel Limit Venting Valve, Over Pressure Release Valve and the Canister are developed to ensure the venting functions in whichever situation the car is, avoiding fuel vapors to be released into the atmosphere:

- Parking: When you leave your car in a parking slot or your garage, in every gradient possible (e.g. hill parking such as in San Francisco) and atmospheric conditions (hot weather), a static venting system takes over to face the behavior of the fuel in the tank.

- Driving: Dynamic venting is necessary due to atmospheric pressure changes and road gradients (e.g. mountain drive), while accelerating and breaking, situations which provoke fuel movements in the tank and still enabling the fuel to be delivered to the engine.

- Safety: In case of a car roll-over, the venting system is closed thanks to a Roll-Over Valve which avoids any fuel leakage onto the road.


Valves and components for the venting function can either be located on the fuel tank or filler pipe. Inergy is continuously developing solutions to integrate most of the venting functions into one single valve (e.g. FLVV, OBD…).

FEEDING

This function allows to feed the engine with the appropriate amount of fuel with the right pressure. Before being delivered to the engine, the fuel has to be filtered.
The feeding function on gasoline vehicles is integrated into one module integrating the pump, the filter, the pressure regulator and the gauge.

Feeding lines enable the fuel to arrive to the engine.

For diesel common rail motorizations, the pump delivers a high pressure pump, which in turn increases pressure of fuel to be delivered to the engine up to 1600 bar. But, all fuel will not be burned by the engine and it has to return, through return lines, into the tank.

These return lines tend to disappear on gasoline motorization, replaced by fuel delivery systems on demand.

INERGY develops solutions of high pressure and variable flow rate pumps which are piloted by electronic devices via the ECU of every car motorization.

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