The Need

For a diesel engine to produce a combustion process which results in a desired trade-off between emissions and fuel economy, the fuel injection parameters must account for the state of the air path system. This is typically accomplished by simultaneously determining the desired air path set point and other fueling parameters that the desired air path set point is perfectly and instantaneously achieved. Transport delays and storage dynamics within the air path system cause considerable lag in the response of the air path control system. As a result, the fueling parameters are not perfectly matched to the cylinder conditions. This mismatching is traditionally overcome through extensive calibration and lookup tables. As the number of variable parameters increase, the current control structure and calibration approach becomes even more burdensome in time and in resources.

The Technology

Researchers at The Ohio State University, led by Dr. Shawn Midlam-Mohler, have developed a control architecture to schedule fueling parameters based on an estimate of cylinder conditions. The active fueling controller determines the proper fueling parameters based on instantaneous engine conditions. By reforming the control architecture to decouple the fueling controller from the air path controllers, a higher level of engine performance can be achieved while also reducing the calibration effort.

Commercial Applications

• Automotive Diesel Fuel Engines
• Commercial and Industrial Power Generation
• Mining and Mineral Extraction

Benefits/Advantages

• Improves the performance of the engine and reduces both the calibration burden and the number of lookup tables
• Fueling parameters are directly scheduled as a function of the in-cylinder conditions
• Chooses a set of fueling parameters that produces the most desirable combustion regardless of air path controller performance