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The trend to reduced development times represents a strong motivation for an extended use of dynamical engine test benches, which are used to reproduce driving conditions typically measured in the vehicle. To reproduce the engine load conditions a complex control system is used, which has an inherently different nature in comparison with the vehicle driving conditions and consequently also limitations. As a consequence, the set of possible transients is limited by the actuator limitations and the bandwidth of the control loops. Outside the admissible transients it is necessary to do a trade-off between goals, mainly between the precision of the reproduction of the engine speed and the precision of the load torque tracking. In this paper we discuss how to calculate the admissible set and how to do a trade off. Based on these cognitions we present a feedforward control algorithm which allows best performance transients simulation along the performance limits.

Drag torque compensation is a part of the control units of modern gasoline and diesel engines. To achieve it, a characteristic drag torque curve as a function of the engine speed is usually saved in the ECU. Since the drag torque will not be constant during an engine's lifetime, this curve must be adapted. This paper proposes an approach to adapt the drag torque curve. The goal is achieved using a high gain observer known as a Kalman filter. The proposed method combines detection of drag torque curve errors and adaptation of the drag torque curve in one step. The effects of variable geometry turbochargers are included in the overall curve by an extension of the basic algorithm. The performance of the method is shown using data and measurements on a BMW M47D engine. As the measurements confirm, the proposed method works consistently and correctly.

Modern ECUs are usually torque orientated. As a consequence, a good estimation of the real mean value output torque of the engine is needed. As torque measurement is mostly too expensive, the ECUs usually include torque estimation algorithms, which, however, are usually quite simple and give a poor estimate of dynamic effects. In this paper we present a simple but effective method to estimate the engine torque based on an extended Kalman filter used in combination with a polynomial engine model and a simple friction model. Using only standard measurements or ECU internal variables, like fuel mass, spark advance for gasoline engines and injection timing for diesel engines, pressure of the intake manifold and speed are enough to get a good estimation value for the mean value torque of the engine. In this paper we also discuss the algorithm of estimating the mean value torque of the engine that is mounted in a vehicle, where usually the load torque is not known.

The proposed vehicle structure with an integrated-starter-generator (ISG) and the possible change of the net voltage offers substantial opportunities for energy and thus fuel saving at several levels or increased dynamical performance. However, the arrangement of two power sources - combustion engine and the ISG - brings more complexity in the system and makes it necessary to control the power flow of both sources, which has to be done by an energy management system. This paper describes possible changes in the powertrain setting and a systematic approach for the design of an energy management system without using heuristic design rules. Measurement results on a dynamical test bench for the FTP-75 emission test cycle confirm the increased fuel economy and an adequate battery charge level.

Torque control is a basic element of engine control systems, in particular since it has become a standard interface for different functionalities. Torque control is also a critical requirement emission test cycle simulation on test benches. This torque control is usually reached by extensive, physical based modeling of the vehicle. This paper presents an approach to avoid this effort and to obtain a dramatic reduction of the parametrization work, by first determining an approximated model and then updating it online during operation. This model is than used for a stable inverse control. To handle model uncertainties and perturbation a correction feedback, with robustifying effect, is added to the control structure. This approach is detailed using data and measurements on a BMW M47D production diesel engine on a dynamic test bench.

Hybrid cars are a very interesting option for consumption and pollution reduction in urban areas, as they allow to reduce part load operation of the engine. The hybrid operation is based on the combination of two power sources, and it is well known that a sensible choice of the power split strategy can strongly influence the total consumption as well as the emissions. Therefore, control design is usually considered a critical issue. This paper, however, argues that it might be better not to fix a control structure, but to state the problem in terms of an optimization problem, without an a-priori control structure, and that this leads to better estimates of the achievable targets and in this way to better control results.