Adaptation of a zero-dimensional cylinder pressure model for diesel engines using the crankshaft rotational speed

Tighter emission regulations are driving the development of advanced engine control strategies relying on feedback information from the combustion chamber. In this context, it is especially seeked for alternatives to expensive in-cylinder pressure sensors. The present study addresses these issues by pursuing a simulation-based approach. It focuses on the extension of an empirical, zero-dimensional cylinder pressure model using the engine speed signal in order to detect cylinder-wise variations in combustion. As a special feature, only information available from the standard sensor configuration are utilized. Within the study, different methods for the model-based reconstruction of the combustion pressure including nonlinear Kalman filtering are compared. As a result, the accuracy of the cylinder pressure model can be enhanced. At the same time, the inevitable limitations of the proposed methods are outlined.