Downsized SI Engine Control: A Torque-based Design from Simulation to Vehicle

This paper presents the development of torque-based engine control strategies for a downsized SI engine, from simulation design to final validation on a demonstration car. One main issue to reach performance, fuel consumption and pollutant emission demands is in-cylinder mass observation and control. A simulation-based approach is first presented to design accurate observers from a reference simulator. In this study, a multivariable and non-linear control has been developed and focused on in-cylinder mass trajectories. It has been tested on a real time Software-In-the-Loop platform before a complete validation and calibration on the test bed. Finally, the complete torque-based engine control has been successfully integrated on the vehicle.