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(11) | EP 0 860 601 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | A fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine |
| (57) In the fuel injection system, fuel is supplied to a common rail from a high pressure
fuel pump, and injected into the cylinders of an engine, from the common rail, via
fuel injection valves. An electronic control unit (ECU) of the engine controls the
pressure in the common rail at a value determined by the operating conditions of the
engine. The ECU further detects the pressure and the temperature of the fuel in the
common rail, and determines the bulk modulus of elasticity of the fuel based on the
pressure and the temperature of the fuel. The ECU calculates an estimated value of
the pressure change in the common rail during the fuel injection period using the
determined bulk modulus. If the difference between the estimated value of the pressure
change and the pressure change actually measured during the fuel injection period
is large, the ECU determines that the fuel injection system has failed. Since the
estimated value of the pressure change is calculated based on the bulk modulus of
elasticity which is determined in accordance with the actual pressure and temperature
of the fuel, the accurate estimated value is obtained even if the pressure and the
temperature of the fuel in the common rail change over a very wide range. |