Patent ID: 11959442
Assignee: ECONTROLS, LLC
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for use in an internal combustion engine system, where the internal combustion engine system comprises an air intake system and an exhaust system, the EGR system comprising:
a first cooler in communication with the exhaust system and configured to cool exhaust gas from the exhaust system using a coolant fluid, the first cooler comprising a first coolant fluid inlet configured to accept the coolant fluid and a first coolant fluid outlet configured to discharge the coolant fluid;
a mixture chamber in communication with the first cooler and the air intake system, wherein exhaust gas cooled by the first cooler is mixed with intake air in the mixture chamber to form an exhaust-air mixture;
a second cooler configured to receive exhaust-air mixture from the mixture chamber and cool the exhaust-air mixture using the coolant fluid, the second cooler comprising a second coolant fluid inlet configured to accept the coolant fluid and a second coolant fluid outlet configured to discharge the coolant fluid;
a sensor assembly disposed and configured to gather readings of properties of the exhaust-air mixture, wherein the properties include at least some of pressure, temperature, humidity, and oxygen content;
a heat exchange system configured to circulate and cool the coolant fluid used by the first cooler and the second cooler using at least one coolant fluid pump and at least one heat exchanger and control at least one of a coolant fluid temperature and a coolant fluid amount of the coolant fluid supplied to the second coolant inlet;
an engine control module (ECM) configured to:
calculate a dewpoint temperature of the exhaust-air mixture based on readings from the sensor assembly,
determine a temperature of the exhaust-air mixture using readings from a throttle inlet sensor associated with the internal combustion engine system,
compare the temperature of the exhaust-air mixture to the dewpoint temperature, and
control the heat exchange system to adjust at least one of the coolant fluid temperature and the coolant fluid amount of the coolant fluid supplied to the second coolant inlet based on the comparison.