High Frequency Individual Cylinder Estimation for Control of Diesel Engines

Abstract : Increasingly stringent pollution regulations have spurred a broad interest in the reduction of engine emissions. Two strategies can be considered: after-treatment or engine emissions reduction. For Diesel engines, after-treatment has a high cost induced by the required technology and implementation issues. In this context, the Highly Premixed Combustion combustion mode (HPC) has emerged as a topic of major interest in recent years. It represents one of the most promising ways for new generation of CI engines using high Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) rates. Experimentation on the testbench brought the proof of significant emission reduction. However, actual vehicle implementation implies frequent transient which fall far beyond steady state experimentation on the testbench. Several key challenges have to be addressed. With this combustion technology, accurate torque balancing at all engine modes is a requirement. Even slight unbalance between the cylinders can have dramatic consequences and induce important noise, possible stall and higher emissions. To achieve this goal, we develop high frequency individual cylinder estimators. These serve as tools for real time control strategies.