CAREER: Control of Advanced Fuel-Flexible Multi-Cylinder Engines

Illinois Institute Of Technology, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project will investigate the dynamics and control of advanced combustion strategies that have the potential to increase the efficiency of fuel-flexible diesel engines by up to 20 percent. The use of alternative fuels in modern vehicles typically results in higher production of some pollutants, as well as a drop in efficiency. However, the combination of alternative fuels along with more advanced combustion techniques has the potential to solve this problem, and provide efficient, clean power for transportation. While the benefits of this strategy have been demonstrated in highly monitored laboratory environments, significant improvements in the control of multi-cylinder engines are needed before these benefits can be realized in production vehicles. This project will create estimation and control methods for complex engine systems. The project will also provide opportunities for underrepresented students to work in this critical area of transportation energy research. The control of advanced combustion engines is particularly challenging due to the low availability of sensor measurements in the harsh engine environment, the highly nonlinear and internally coupled behavior of the system, and significant cycle-to-cycle and cylinder-to-cylinder variations. To meet these challenges, this research will study and model the dynamics of a multi-cylinder advanced engine system. With an improved understanding of the dynamics, the research team will then create nonlinear estimation techniques that capture key variables for which measurements are not available and which are primary drivers in combustion variations. This project will culminate in the investigation of nonlinear model predictive control techniques that can provide optimal performance to this complex system with its constrained and coupled inputs. While reliable linear control techniques have existed for decades, control strategies for highly nonlinear applications such as advanced engines are not well established. Expansion of the current nonlinear control strategies to such systems will provide valuable insight not only for internal combustion engine applications but other complex system structures in areas such as robotics and hybrid vehicles.