Systems including a hydrogen internal combustion engine and aftertreatment system
A system includes: a hydrogen internal combustion engine configured to produce exhaust; an aftertreatment system in exhaust receiving communication with the hydrogen internal combustion engine, the aftertreatment system comprising a catalyst member; a sensor coupled to the aftertreatment system; and a controller configured to: receive, from the sensor, data corresponding to a characteristic of the aftertreatment system, determine, based on the characteristic, a performance value corresponding to the catalyst member, compare the performance value to a threshold, cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a first engine operating mode when the performance value does not exceed the threshold, and cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a second engine operating mode when the performance value exceeds the threshold.
1 . A system comprising:
a hydrogen internal combustion engine configured to produce exhaust;
an aftertreatment system in exhaust receiving communication with the hydrogen internal combustion engine, the aftertreatment system comprising a catalyst member;
a first sensor coupled to the aftertreatment system upstream of the catalyst member;
a second sensor coupled to the aftertreatment system downstream of the catalyst member; and
a controller configured to:
determine a first nitrogen oxide value based on first sensor data received from the first sensor,
determine a second nitrogen oxide value based on second sensor data received from the second sensor,
determine a nitrogen oxide reduction value corresponding to the catalyst member by comparing the first nitrogen oxide value to the second nitrogen oxide value,
compare the nitrogen oxide reduction value to a threshold,
upon determining that the nitrogen oxide reduction value does not exceed the threshold, cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a first engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a first amount of hydrogen in the exhaust, and
upon determining that the nitrogen oxide reduction value exceeds the threshold:
initiate a sulfur regeneration operation that comprises implementing an exhaust temperature command that increases a temperature of the exhaust; and
during the sulfur regeneration operation, cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a second engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a second amount of the hydrogen in the exhaust, the second amount greater than the first amount.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
when the controller causes the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in the second engine operating mode, the controller causes the hydrogen internal combustion engine to:
adjust a hydrogen fuel injection timing, and/or
adjust a hydrogen fuel injection amount.
3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a heater coupled to the aftertreatment system upstream of the catalyst member,
wherein the controller is further configured to cause the heater to increase a temperature of the exhaust in the aftertreatment system when the nitrogen oxide reduction value exceeds the threshold.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the aftertreatment system further comprises:
a conduit, and
a dosing module coupled to the conduit; and
the controller is further configured to cause the dosing module to provide a target amount of reductant into the conduit when the nitrogen oxide reduction value exceeds the threshold, the target amount of the reductant based on at least one of a temperature of the exhaust or an amount of time available for providing the reductant.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the aftertreatment system further comprises:
a conduit, and
a dosing module; and
the controller is further configured to cause the dosing module to provide a target amount of the hydrogen into the conduit when the nitrogen oxide reduction value exceeds the threshold, the target amount of the hydrogen based on at least one of a temperature of the exhaust or an amount of time available for providing the hydrogen.
6 . A system comprising:
a hydrogen internal combustion engine configured to produce exhaust;
an aftertreatment system in exhaust receiving communication with the hydrogen internal combustion engine, the aftertreatment system comprising a catalyst member;
a sensor coupled to the aftertreatment system; and
a controller configured to:
receive, from the sensor, sensor data corresponding to a characteristic of the aftertreatment system,
determine, based on the sensor data, an ammonia value associated with the aftertreatment system,
compare the ammonia value to a threshold,
upon determining that the ammonia value does not exceed the threshold, cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a first engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a first amount of hydrogen in the exhaust, and
upon determining that the ammonia value exceeds the threshold:
initiate an ammonia slip control operation that comprises implementing an exhaust temperature command that increases a temperature of the exhaust, and
during the ammonia slip control operation, cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a second engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a second amount of the hydrogen in the exhaust, the second amount greater than the first amount.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein:
the controller is further configured to determine the ammonia value by estimating an amount of ammonia stored by the catalyst member based on the sensor data, the sensor data comprising a first nitrogen oxide value measured upstream of the catalyst member and a second nitrogen oxide value measured downstream of the catalyst member, and a lookup table that correlates the first and second nitrogen oxide values to the ammonia value.
8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein: the controller is further configured to:
receive engine data regarding an operational characteristic of the hydrogen internal combustion engine,
determine that an ammonia slip event is likely to occur based on at least one of:
determining that the ammonia value exceeds the threshold, the ammonia value being based on the sensor data and the engine data, or
determining that the operational characteristic of the hydrogen internal combustion engine exceeds an engine characteristic threshold, and
cause the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in the second engine operating mode responsive to determining that the ammonia slip event is likely to occur.
9 . The system of claim 6 , further comprising: a dosing module;
wherein the controller is further configured to generate a dosing command when the ammonia value exceeds the threshold, the dosing command causing the dosing module to change from a first dossing mode where the first amount of the hydrogen is provided into the exhaust to a second dosing mode where the second amount of the hydrogen is provided into the exhaust, the second amount greater than the first amount.
10 . A method of regenerating a catalyst member of an aftertreatment system, the method comprising:
receiving, by a controller, vehicle data comprising at least one of a sulfur amount, a time duration, a number of miles, an exhaust temperature, a catalyst activity check, or a hydrogen amount,
estimating, by the controller, the sulfur amount on the catalyst member based on the vehicle data;
comparing, by the controller, the sulfur amount to a threshold;
upon determining that the sulfur amount does not exceed the threshold, causing a hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a first engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a first amount of hydrogen in an exhaust; and
upon determining that the sulfur amount does exceeds the threshold:
initiating a sulfur regeneration operation that comprises implementing an exhaust temperature command that increases a temperature of the exhaust; and
during the sulfur regeneration operation, causing the hydrogen internal combustion engine to operate in a second engine operating mode in which the hydrogen internal combustion engine outputs a second amount of the hydrogen, the second amount greater than the first amount.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
causing, by the controller, a heater to increase a temperature of the exhaust in the aftertreatment system when the sulfur amount exceeds the threshold; wherein:
the heater is coupled to the aftertreatment system upstream of the catalyst member such that the temperature of the exhaust is greater than a temperature of the catalyst member.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle data further comprises a first nitrogen oxide value corresponding to a first position upstream of the catalyst member and a second nitrogen oxide value corresponding to a second position downstream of the catalyst member.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining, by the controller, the sulfur amount based on a difference between the first nitrogen oxide value and the second nitrogen oxide value.
14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising causing, by the controller, a dosing module to provide a target amount of reductant into a conduit of the aftertreatment system when the sulfur amount exceeds the threshold, the target amount of the reductant based on at least one of a temperature of the exhaust or an amount of time available for providing the reductant.
15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising causing, by the controller, a dosing module to provide a target amount of the hydrogen into a conduit of the aftertreatment system when the sulfur amount exceeds the threshold, the target amount of the hydrogen based on at least one of the exhaust temperature or an amount of time available for providing the hydrogen.
16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
causing, by the controller, the hydrogen internal combustion engine to decrease a time period between a fuel injection and an ignition event when operating the hydrogen internal combustion engine in the second engine operating mode.
17 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
causing, by the controller, the hydrogen internal combustion engine to adjust an air-to-fuel ratio to be at or below 1 or at or above 2.5, when operating the hydrogen internal combustion engine in the second engine operating mode.
18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust temperature command causes the hydrogen internal combustion engine to heat the exhaust to a predetermined target temperature.
19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust temperature command causes a heater coupled to the aftertreatment system to heat the exhaust to a predetermined target temperature.
20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sulfur regeneration operation further comprises implementing a dosing amount command that causes a predefined amount of a reductant to be provided to the exhaust.