Common Rail Systems

Diesel Common Rail Fuel
Injection system
Mohamed Hesham
A-part Plus/MH/28.01.2013
Why Common Rail ?
The traditional systems made a great impact for
the developmnet of diesel engines. But it had
some problems which raised the needs for the
following parameters:
● Low fuel consumptions
● Reduced exhaust gas emission
● Engines to be more quiet
Why Common Rail ?
These parameters can be met by an injection system that atomizes fuel at the nozzle
finely and at a high injection pressure. In the same time the injected quantity should be
precisely metered. The only system that meet these requirements is common rail
system.
Common rail is the most common injection system for passenger cars and heavy duty
trucks.
What is the difference between Common Rail and old
systems?
What is the difference between Common Rail and old
systems?
Common Rail system separated pressure generation and fuel injection. The
fuel pump is responsible for pressure generation and injectors are
responsible for the fuel injection. The EDC controls each of the
components. The main advantage of doing so is to have the ability to vary
injection pressure, quantity and timing over a broad scale.
Common Rail injectors are fitted with a solenoid valve which opens or closes the
nozzle. The following slides will show us how the injectors affected the engine
performance.
Common Rail has becoe the most commonly used fuel injection system for passenger cars,
light duty trucks , heavy duty trucks and even locomotives diesel engines.
MAN is one of Bosch customers which is using Bosch common rail system on its new trucks
and buses. The following video shows how it is installed in MAN TGM engine:
Operating Concept:
The three operating concepts of common rail system are : Pressure generation, Pressure
control and fuel injection.
The common rail pump is responsible

for pressure generation. The pump is
continously operating and providing
pressure to the rail irrespective to
engine speed or the fuel quantity
injected.
Rail pressure control can be achieved

by the pressure control valve on the
rail, the metering unit on the CR
pump inlet or combining both of
them. The following slides will show
the advantages of using each of these
controls.
Common Rail system components:
Common Rail system consists of two

sides: The low pressure side and the
high pressure side.
The low pressure side components
are : Fuel tank, fuel filter and the pre-
supply pump.
The high pressure side consists of : CR
Pump, CR injectors and the rail.
1. Pressure regulating valve
2. Fuel rail
3. High-pressure pump
4. Fuel filter
5. Fuel cooler
6. Fuel preheating
7. Fuel pre-delivery pump
8. Shut-off valve
9. Injector
10. Rail pressure sensor
There are two types of fuel supply pump: Electric supply pump and gear pump.
The electric fuel pump is either part of the in-tank unit or is fitted in the fuel line. The
main advantage is that the pump starts working as soon as the driver switches on the
ignition key. This builds up the necessary pressure in the low pressure circuit when the
engine starts and makes starting faster.
1. Electric fuel pump
2. Overflow valve
3. Fuel filter
4. Element shut-off valve
5. High-pressure pump CP1
6. High-pressure regulating valve
7. Return manifold
8. Fuel temperature sensor
9. Rail pressure sensor (RDS)
10. Rail (fuel rail)
11. Injectors
12. EDC 15 C control unit
The gear pump is flanged to the high pressure pump and is driven by its input shaft. In this
way the gear pump will start only after the engine starts and the delivery is dependent on
the engine speed.
There are some applications where the two pump types are used. The electric fuel pump
improves starting response at low pumps speeds and when the fuel is hot.
High Pressure Pump:
The high-pressure pump is the interface between the low-pressure and high-pressure
stages. Its function is to make sure there is always sufficient fuel under pressure available
in all engine operating conditions. At the same time it must operate for the entire
service life of the vehicle. This includes providing a fuel reserve that is required for quick
engine starting and rapid pressure rise in the fuel rail.
High Pressure Pumps generations:
Bosch CP1:
CP1 is the first generation of Bosch common
rail pumps. It can generate pressures up to
1350 bars. Mainly it is fitted with an electric
fuel supply pump and the pressure control is
on the rail.
Bosch CP2:
CP2 is the second generation of Bosch
common rail pumps. It can generate
pressures up to 1400-1600 bars. It differs
from the CP1 and CP3 with the design which
consists of two adjacent plungers and the
pump is lubricated with oil.
Bosch CP3:
CP3 is the third generation of Bosch common
rail pumps. It can generate pressures up
to1600 bars. The CP3 is a high pressure
pump with suction side fuel-delivery control
by means of a metering unit (ZME). This
control was first used on the CP3 and was
assumed later on the CP1H.
Bosch CP1H:
Bosch CP1H is a modification on CP1 to
make it generate higher pressures up to
1600 bars.
Fuel flowing into the pump element is
metered by an infinitely variable solenoid
valve ZME.
High Pressure Pump components:
Pressure Regulator:
High Pressure system components:
Fuel Rail:
Fuel is supplied to the rail from the high pressure pump. The rail stores the fuel and
distributes it to individual injectors. It also damps pressure vibrations caused by high
pressure pump and injection processes.
Rail Pressure sensor:

The pressure sensor is monitoring the pressure inside the rail. It is typically a resistive
sensor with three wires:
● 5 volt supply from engine EDC
● Sensor ground via engine EDC
● Linear signal voltage output to EDC
Rail Pressure sensor:

The Engine EDC Supplies 5 volts to the signal wire of the fuel pressure sensor. The resistive
value of the sensor creates a change in the voltage on the signal wire relative to the fuel
pressure in the rail.
High Pressure control:

On first generation common rail systems ,rail pressure is controlled by the pressure
control valve. The pump generates max delivery quantity irrespective to engine demand.
Pressure control valve installed on the rail returns excess fuel to the fuel tank. The
advantage of the system is the rail pressure can act rapidly to load changes. Another
advantage is at starting.

The following generations of CP pumps ( CP3, CP1H ) has a pressure control on the pump
itself on the low pressure side. A metering unit is installed on the pump inlet makes the
pump only deliver the fuel quantity the the engine really needs. This reduces the fuel
consumbtion. In fault situation, the pressure relief valve prevents rail pressure from
exceeding a maximum.

Adjusting pressure on the low pressure side takes too long to lower the pressure in the
fuel rail when rapid negative load change occurs. So it acts slowly. So new systems
combines both controls on the high pressure and low pressure sides. This combines the
advantages of both controls.
Common rail injector:

Common rail injectors are the main component in the system. They have the direct
relation with the combustion chamber. The start of injection and the fuel quantity are
controlled by the electrical triggered solenoid which take signal from the EDC.
Common rail injector construction:
Common rail injector construction:
Common rail injector working:
Common rail injector working:
IMA Code:
Most injectors have a code that must be programmed to the engine ECU. The code
relates to the calibrated flow rate of the injector. It enables the EDC to correct the
injection quantity to compensate for manufacturing tolerance.
On-vehicle testing of common rail system:
The three main concepts of common rail operation are pressure generation, fuel injection
and pressure control. We can test these three concepts on the vehicle without taking out
any of the components. For doing so we have Bosch special tools for every concept.
For testing the injectors we have this tool which collects the return duel from the
injectors. The amount collected is an indicate if the injectors are ok or not.
Return fuel quantity for idling speed Return fuel quantity for idling speed
not OK ok
Return fuel quantity at starter speed Return fuel quantity at starter speed
not OK ok
The pressure sensor module is connected directly to

the HP connection port of the HP pump; for this, in
addition, the high pressure line between the pump
and rail is detached (the engine is not startable in this
state). When the starter motor is activated, the
required quantity is collected in the pressure
accumulator; after reaching the release pressure
Pressure sensor module
(around 500 bar), the overflow valve opens (pressure
limiting). The overflow quantity flows into a collection
container. The pressure value is displayed on the
digital instrument. The pressure level attained is a
measure for the pressure build-up capability of the
pump under engine start conditions.
Digital pressure display
Pressure sensor
KTS actual values of rail pressure

Working principle:
The pressure sensor is directly connected to the high pressure connection of the rail; in addition,
the high pressure line between rail and a (easily accessible) injector is detached.
The engine is operated in the idling state (engine runs on n-1 cylinders), speed variation is possible
with regard to the rail pressure variation principle (in compliance with the specifications of the
engine manufacturers); by increasing the engine speed, pressures till the maximum range are
conceivable.
The rail pressure value displayed on the digital pressure display is compared with the actual value
Digital pressure display
from the diagnostic tester and thus, the accuracy of the RDS is checked.
Thank You very much for your
Attention
We wish You a successful
seminar !

Common Rail Systems

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Common Rail Systems

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Diesel Common Rail Fuel

The common rail pump is responsible

Rail pressure control can be achieved

Common Rail system consists of two

Rail Pressure sensor:

Rail Pressure sensor:

High Pressure control:

High Pressure control:

High Pressure control:

High Pressure control:

High Pressure control:

High Pressure control:

Common rail injector:

Common rail injector construction:

Common rail injector construction:

Common rail injector working:

Common rail injector working:

The pressure sensor module is connected directly to

Digital pressure display

KTS actual values of rail pressure

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