Design of the Vehicle Fuel Control System - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : Systems engineering Institution : xxxxxxx @2016 Contents Introduction 3 System selection 4 Characteristics of the system 4 Systems objectives 4 Environment 5 Sub system objectives 5 Elements of subsystems 7 The system relationships 11 System: Between each of its subsystems 12 Subsystem: Between each of its elements. 12 System complexity 13 Dynamics of the system 13 Problem identification 14 Problem description 14 Problem control 14 Stake holder/players 15 Selection of system methodology 15 Application of system methodology 16 Conclusion. 18 References 19 Introduction A system can be defined as a collections of various entities that work together in a manner that would help achieve a give set of objectives. Systems in most cases are composed of several other sub-systems that are co-related with the main system. System design involves development of a system that would work efficiently in a specified manner. This is achieved through careful designing of the system`s subsystems. The system approach is characterized by a set of procedures applied to design, development as well as solving a given problem (Liu & Peng 2008). This report covers the design of the vehicle fuel control system as a means of minimizing and optimizing fuel usage in vehicles. As a result, the system contains other subsystems that work together to achieve this common objectives. Fuel consumption level is one major problem in many vehicle user both for domestic as well as for commercial use. Thus, there is need for development of a system that would help minimize this problem. Several vehicles have adopted systems that help control fuel consumption and such systems in most cases are inherent within the vehicle’s engine. The system monitors fuel consumption, controls its consumption and thus leading to fuel consumption control (Liu & Peng 2008). System selection This report covers an in depth analysis of vehicle fuel control system. The choice of the system is attributed to its contribution in economic development as well as its contribution in reduction of carbon emission into the atmosphere. Characteristics of the system The following features characterize the vehicle fuel control system under consideration. The system is composed of several other subsystems that work together to achieve the common goal of fuel control. The other subsystems work in unison and optimization is mandatory in development of the most effective performance. The system is dynamic and its behavior varies with the attributes of that particular times. The system can be manipulated to behavior in a particular manner by adjusting certain system parameters e.g. fuel save model in a vehicle. Systems objectives The main purpose of the fuel control system is to efficiently monitor the fuel consumption in vehicle`s engine. To design and develop a system right from the concept analysis to documentation in a stepwise manner. To give a detailed analysis of the relevance of the system in the vehicle management system. Environment Fuel control system in any vehicle is one of the most important part that must be put into consideration during design of and development of fuel efficient engines. Most fleet vehicles needs their vehicles to possess a well-designed fuel consumption monitoring system as well as fuel consumption control in order to allow for planning (Johnson et al. 2000). Any slight alteration of vehicle fuel consumption system results to a larger extent in a huge variation in fuel consumption rate. The various subsystem must be optimized and designed in a manner that would use fuel in the most effective manner possible. Toyota Company strives to manufacture vehicle with high end technologies in ability to monitor fuel consumption. The vehicles must also possess capabilities that would help in control fuel consumption so as to reduce consumption. Therefore, the design of every vehicle must come in handy with an efficient fuel control system. Sub system objectives The various subsystems within the vehicle fuel control system includes the fuel distribution system, the governor, the fuel gauge as well as the fuel management software. Each of the subsystems have their own objectives that they should achieve in order for the whole system to achieve its main goal (Noguchi et al. 1979). The fuel distribution system To control the amount of fuel going to the engine at any instance depending on the engine requirements. To distribute an optimum amount of fuel equally to the various cylinders within the engine. To control the flow of fuel so as to deliver the amount of fuel optimum for the production of a specified amount of engine output depending on the task. The fuel gauge To give a visual output of the level of fuel within the tank, this information is critical to the driver. To aid in monitoring the rate of fuel consumption of the vehicle by giving out a visual representation of the flow rate. To help in scheduling of refills especially in cases where fleets of vehicles is applicable. The fuel management software To optimize the fuel consumption by determining the optimum amount of fuel to feed into the engine at a particular time. Controls the fuel consumption on the engine depending on the energy requirements of the engine at any particular instance. Detects and signals any faults within the fuel distribution system of the engine during operation. The governor Act as the actuator for the control of fuel consumption of the vehicle engine as determined by the fuel control software. Limits the fuel use by controlling the amount of flow into the engine as determined by the fuel management software. It also helps in speed control of the vehicle by controlling the amount of fuel consumption. Elements of subsystems The system under consideration is composed of various subsystems. Each of the subsystems have attributes that describes the system. Each subsystem above is also composed of various other elements whose properties can be described distinctively. The various elements of the subsystem include; 1. The fuel distributor. The fuel distributor carries out the principal function of distributing fuel equally to all the cylinders in the engine in the right order and in the right amount at any time. The distributor also control the amount of fuel consumption depending on the engine output requirements. The operation of the fuel distributor is controlled by the central fuel management software (Liu & peng 2008). Characteristics The distributor consistently delivers the right amount of fuel at the right time as determined by the control unit. The element has ability to operate at very high frequencies. The distributor is made from a high steel content metal and can withstand high temperatures and pressure. The distributor system should be able to operate at a very high speed without failure. 2. The distributor pump. The sole purpose of the distributor pump is to increase the pressure of fuel going to the distributor so as to reach the engine at the right pressure and temperatures. The pumps are located within or adjacent to the to the fuel distributor. Characteristics The pump should be rugged in design and should be able to operate at very high pressures and temperatures. The pump has the ability to adjust the fuel pressure depending on the engine output requirements. The pump should be able to operate consistently, at all times. 3. The pipelines The pipelines as act as the medium of transfer of fuel from the storage tank to the engine where is used for combustion. Characteristics Made from strong material that can withstand high pressures and temperatures of fuel during distribution. The delivery lines are designed in such a way that they can be easily replace and has easier fault detection. 4. The gauge. The fuel gauge is used to give a pictorial view of the level of fuel within the storage tank in most cases located far from the engine. Characteristics The gauge should be well calibrated at all times and should give a clear indicator of fuel level in the storage tank. The gauge should be rugged in design. 5. The gauge cables. The gauge cables transfer the reading from the fuel tank level sensor to the gauge display on the drivers display. Characteristics The cables are long enough to be able to connect the fuel level sensor at the tank to the gauge display at the dashboard. The gauge is free from corrosion from the fuel under consideration. 6. The fuel level sensor. The primary purpose of the fuel level sensor is to measure the reading of the fuel level in the storage tank. This reading is monitored at all times and its fluctuations reflected on the gauge at all times. The fuel; level sensor should possess the following elements. Characteristics The sensor should be rugged in design and should not be affected by its contact with fuel. The sensor can detect any slight changes in the fuel level and relay this signal to the gauge for display. The sensor can be calibrated at any time to give the desired output. 7. An algorithm. The algorithm is a computer program written and developed using high end computer programming language and is executed spontaneously to control fuel consumption. The algorithm is characterized by the following properties. Characteristics The algorithm is executed by the electronic control unit at any time of engine performance. The program analyzes the engine power requirements spontaneously. The software determines the optimum fuel requirements for the engine in relation to the engine output requirements. 8. Electronic Control Unit (ECU) This system control all the elements in the fuel control system and implements all the system parameters determined by the various elements of the system. The unit provides a hardware base on which the software is based (Liu & Peng 2008). The following are the elements of the ECU. The unit executes the algorithm and control all the other elements and subsystems of the system. The unit is electronic and is started when the engine starts. 9. The governor The governor is made up of elements such as; The governing device. The valves. The system relationships There are various relationships between the system and its components. These relationships are diverse and depends on the nature of the subsystems within the system as well as the elements. System: Between each of its subsystems The relationship between the various subsystems forms up the whole general system of fuel control. Each subsystems works individually but the overall outcome is the achievement of the common goal of fuel control. In most cases, the functionality of one subsystem is continued by the other until when the main objective of the system is achieved. Figure 1: The relationship between system and its subsystems Subsystem: Between each of its elements. The various elements of a subsystem work together to make the subsystem work in the desired manner and achieve the desired goal. Every element of a system has a characteristic in which if it operates would help achieve the goal of each subsystem. Subsequently, each subsystem works in a desired manner to achieve the wider objective of fuel control. Figure 2: The relationship between the subsystems and their elements System complexity The fuel control system under consideration is a very complex system. The various sub systems that make up the systems have to work in unison to in order to achieve the main goal of the system. Each sub system within the system is also composed of several other elements whose tasks are independent but each work towards the achievement of the goals of their respective subsystems (Johnson et al. 2000). The systems, subsystems and their elements operations have to be controlled, harmonized and optimized in order to achieve an optimized goal of the system. Dynamics of the system The fuel control system depends on feedback from the engine power output requirements in order to determine the fuel injection consumption requirements. In cases where there are larger engine output requirements, the fuel control system ensures that there is increased fuel consumption to help achieve this larger power output requirement. The system dynamics emerge from the automobile mechanics principles, as well as analysis of the existing system. Problem identification Excessive and uncontrolled fuel consumption. Reduced engine efficiency due to poor control of the engine fuel consumption. Poor management of fuel use due to poor fuel consumption management. Engine malfunctions due to uncontrolled fuel consumption. Problem description The uncontrolled or excessive fuel control in a major problem in most automobiles in the industry. There is need to optimize fuel use depending on the power output requirements and as such, save on fuel. Thus development of an effective and smart fuel control system is mandatory. The efficiency of the engine is determined by comparing the engine input with the engine output and expressing it as a percentage. Thus, in uncontrolled fuel consumption, the fuel consumption is higher and efficiency is lowered. In the long run, running such an engine would be costly. Uncontrolled feeding of fuel into the engine results in most cases to engine malfunctions such as choking and overheating. Such malfunctions can be effectively addressed by using a smart fuel control system. Problem control The fuel control system under consideration control the fuel consumption as summarized in the flow diagram shown below. Figure 3: Fuel control process Stake holder/players Design, development and implementation of this system should be majorly done by motor vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota. Such companies should ensure that their designs have an effective fuel control systems. The vehicle buyers should also ensure that they purchase vehicles whose fuel control has been effectively designed. Therefore, they key stakeholders in the success of the system is the car manufacturers and car buyers. Selection of system methodology System methodologies can either be hard thinking or soft thinking. Hard system methodologies are complex to adopt due to their property of expressing their attributes by use of complex mathematical equations in most cases. They are normally developed from models that are based on mathematical derivations and whose relationships can be mathematically expressed. (Guzzela & Onder 2009). Soft system methodologies on the other hand employ the use of machine based perspective during the development life cycle of the system under consideration. The soft system methodology is therefore considered as a step wise procedure that utilizes both structures as well as unstructured conditions. The conditions are used in determining the analysis of the system under consideration. The conceptual model is then developed and an in-depth comparison of the conceptual model with the structured conditions developed previously is carried out. Feasibility of the system is then determined by determining its needs required to be addressed as well as the cost and materials required to design and develop the system. Implementation of the system is normally the last step in soft system methodologies. Implementation is either done through a pilot process or can be implemented fully into an existing infrastructure. Based on the analysis of the two possible system methodologies approach, the soft system methodology is the most appropriate approach and is selected for use in designing the system under consideration. Application of system methodology The design and development of a smart fuel distribution involves the design of the various subsystems effectively including their elements. Design of fuel distribution The existing fuel distribution within the system does not require re-designing, however, the system needs to be shifted from the mechanical control to a software based or computer based control. The distribution will therefore be manipulated and optimized based on the engine output requirements. Design of fuel management software The fuel management software is installed or embedded in the ECU and is executed at all times in a continuous loop when the vehicle is switched on. The software executes an algorithm that determines the fuel amount going to the distributor from the engine output requirements. The algorithm The algorithm contain in the fuel management software is executed continuously and can be represented by the logical procedure shown below. 1. The system determines the engine output requirements in order to accomplish a given task by analyzing the input from the various sensors within the vehicle. 2. The software through its analytics properties analyses and determines an optimized amount of fuel required to be distributed into the various cylinders of the engine in order to give the required engine output. 3. The pump is the actuated in an optimized magnitude so as to pump fuel into the distributor at the right pressure and in the right amount so as to give an optimized amount of fuel to suit the required engine energy output. Design of the governor The speed of the vehicle is controlled by controlling the amount of fuel passing through the governor. Speed control is directly related to fuel consumption control. In most cases, optimizing speed directly means fuel consumption is also optimized. Document the whole process and design and detail all the requirements, parameters as well as working conditions. Provide optimization guides and enforce training on the staff on the production of the production. Verify and cross check all parameters to ensure that nothing is left out. Implementation issues Implementation of the above system is likely to be hindered by some issues that have been recurrent in the past. Such issues include the desire for the car manufactures to develop designs based on their customer requirements. As such most car manufactures are not likely to adopt the design of the proposed system due to fear of their product not having a welcomed feeling from the customers. Implementing this system on the development of vehicles is costly. The technology that is computer or software based is expensive and therefore, it results in increased cost of the car. This might in the long run affect the market of the vehicle model under consideration. Conclusion. A soft system approach was used in the design and development of the fuel management system in the vehicle. The various subsystems as well as their elements were fully described. A clear concept design of the system under consideration was also provide. It is generally a viable system whose outcomes spans the boundaries of both fuel consumption management as well as pollution control by controlling fuel consumption through optimization. The outcome of this system development was a successful system that ensured efficient fuel control in the engine. References Musardo, C., Rizzoni, G., Guezennec, Y. and Staccia, B., 2005. 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