Improved Pulsation Damper for the Fuel Injector Rail 971071

A small, low-cost damper is developed to attenuate fuel rail pulsation caused by hydraulic hammer. Rail hammer is of special concern when using returnless fuel systems, affecting emissions, drive-ability, and creating noise. The new development, utilizing a springbiased diaphragm damper, replaces the fuel line connector serving the rail. High performance damping is achieved through a unique design permitting significant mass, volume, and cost savings. The low mass and the packaging advantage of the new damper permit additional system cost savings by eliminating the conventional rail interface components and labor. This function integrated into the fuel line connector of the rail permits pulsation damping to be added to an existing system without rail modification and without additional fuel connections, thereby maintaining the system's integrity with respect to hydrocarbon permeation and leakage.