Vehicular liquid containment system and method for verifying integrity of same
A vehicular liquid containment system including a tank, a pump arranged to pump a liquid from the tank to a vehicular system via a feed line, a pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in a vapor dome inside the tank, and a sprayer arranged within a branch of the feed line, the outlet of the sprayer being arranged inside the tank.
1. A vehicular fuel containment system comprising:
a tank;
a pump arranged to pump a fuel from the tank to a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine via a feed line;
a pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in a vapor dome inside the tank; and
a sprayer arranged within a branch of the feed line, an outlet of the sprayer being arranged inside the tank.
2. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 1 , further comprising a valve operatively arranged between the pump and the sprayer.
3. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 2 , wherein the valve is a normally-closed valve, adapted to be opened by occurrence of a predetermined minimum pressure at an inlet side.
4. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 2 , wherein the valve is a normally-closed valve, adapted to be opened by external actuation.
5. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 2 , wherein the valve and the pressure sensor are operatively controlled by an electronic control unit, directly or indirectly.
6. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 5 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to relay a leak detection signal to an On-Board Diagnostics system.
7. The vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 1 , wherein the sprayer is arranged above a maximum fill level of the tank.
8. A vehicle comprising the vehicular fuel containment system according to claim 1 .
9. A method to verify integrity of a vehicular liquid containment system, the system comprising a tank, a pump, a pressure sensor, and a sprayer, the pump arranged to pump a fuel from the tank to a vehicular system via a feed line, the pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in a vapor dome inside the tank, the sprayer arranged within a branch of the feed line, an outlet of the sprayer being arranged inside the tank, the method comprising:
operating the pump to activate the sprayer;
monitoring pressure sensed by the pressure sensor subsequent to the activation of the sprayer; and
determining whether the monitored pressure deviates from a predetermined pressure evolution based on one or more measurements.
10. A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program comprising a code configured to cause a processor to carry out the method of claim 9 .