SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A VEHICLE ENGINE FUEL SYSTEM

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for a vehicle engine fuel system. In one embodiment the method comprises indicating degradation of each of a low-pressure fuel pump and a fuel filter based on a comparison of a pressure differential between a high-pressure pump pressure setting to an actual pressure and a demanded fuel flow to an engine, the indication distinguishing between pump ageing and filter degradation. The method may include adjusting operation of the low-pressure fuel pump in response to the comparison of the high-pressure pump pressure setting and pressure of fuel entering a high-pressure pump. In one example, the fuel filter may be positioned to filter fuel drawn from a fuel tank before entering the low-pressure fuel pump.

Description

Claims

1. A method for a vehicle engine fuel system diagnoses, comprising: indicating degradation of each of a low-pressure fuel pump and a fuel filter based on a comparison between a pressure differential and a demanded fuel flow to an engine, the indication distinguishing between low-pressure fuel pump degradation and filter degradation, the pressure differential being a difference between a pressure setting at an inlet of a high-pressure pump and an actual pressure of the high-pressure pump,the demanded fuel flow to the engine being a flow of fuel estimated to maintain the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump, andwherein the actual pressure is measured by a high-pressure pump pressure and temperature sensor coupled to the high-pressure pump.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting operation of the low-pressure fuel pump in response to the comparison of the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump and pressure of fuel entering a high-pressure pump.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel filter is positioned to filter fuel drawn from a fuel tank before entering the low-pressure fuel pump.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting operation of the low-pressure fuel pump in response to the comparison of the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump and pressure of fuel entering the high-pressure pump, and further based on a feed-forward adjustment of the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising taking default action to adjust engine operation in response to the indication and the distinguishing between low-pressure fuel pump degradation and filter degradation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is further based on a predetermined relationship between a normalized orifice area estimated with an undegraded low-pressure fuel pump and an undegraded filter and degraded filter over vehicle miles, the predetermined relationship utilized to generate a real-time estimate of normalized orifice area during vehicle operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the real-time estimate of normalized orifice area decreases to below a threshold to indicate filter replacement, and upon filter replacement, the real-time estimate of normalized orifice area is captured for comparison with previous real-time estimates of normalized orifice area at previous filter replacements to generate an ageing estimate of the low-pressure fuel pump, degradation of the low-pressure fuel pump indicated based on the ageing estimate.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ageing estimate of the low-pressure fuel pump and the fuel filter is based on a machine learning model and a fuel system usage map based on fuel flow and fuel temperature.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the ageing estimate of the low-pressure fuel pump and the fuel filter is based on a cloud-sourced data structure including filter brand, fuel brand, mileage, and the fuel system usage map.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a suggestion for a type of fuel filter to replace a determined degraded fuel filter.

11. A method for generating a component recommendation to a vehicle operator, comprising: measuring an operating parameter to differentiate degradation between a first component and a second component, the operating parameter affecting the first component for a vehicle and the second component for the vehicle;diagnosing differentiated degradation for the measured operating parameter between the first component and the second component based on cloud enabled machine learning; andrecommending replacement, including a brand, of the first component or the second component to the vehicle operator based on an output of the cloud enabled machine learning,wherein the operating parameter is at least one of a fuel refiling habit and a driving style.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein recommending the first component or the second component includes recommending a replacement component.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first component for the vehicle is a first fuel filter and the second component for the vehicle is a second fuel filter.

14-15. (canceled)

16. A vehicle system, comprising: a vehicle engine fuel system including a low-pressure fuel pump, a high-pressure fuel pump, and a fuel filter; anda control system with instructions therein configured for, when executed, indicating degradation of each of the low-pressure fuel pump and the fuel filter based on a comparison between a pressure differential and a demanded fuel flow to an engine, the indication distinguishing between low-pressure fuel pump degradation and filter degradation, the pressure differential being a difference between a pressure setting at an inlet of a high-pressure pump and an actual pressure of the high-pressure pump,wherein the demanded fuel flow to the engine is a flow of fuel estimated to maintain the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump,wherein the actual pressure is measured by a high-pressure pump pressure and temperature sensor coupled to the high-pressure pump.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a fuel tank, wherein the fuel filter is positioned to filter fuel drawn from the fuel tank before entering the low-pressure fuel pump.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further include instructions for adjusting operation of the low-pressure fuel pump in response to the comparison of the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump and pressure of fuel entering the high-pressure pump, and further based on a feed-forward adjustment of the pressure setting at the inlet of the high-pressure pump.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the instructions further include instructions for taking default action to adjust engine operation in response to the indication and the distinguishing between low-pressure fuel pump degradation and filter degradation.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the indication is further based on a predetermined relationship between a normalized orifice area estimated with an undegraded low-pressure fuel pump and an undegraded filter and degraded filter over vehicle miles, the predetermined relationship utilized to generate a real-time estimate of normalized orifice area during vehicle operation.