EXPERIMENTAL AIRPATH CONTROL OF A TURBOCHARGED S.I. ENGINE WITH VALVE TIMING ACTUATORS

The paper presents the development of air path control for a downsized SI engine, from simulation design to validation on a demonstration car. One main issue to reach performance, fuel consumption and pollutant emissions demands is in-cylinder masses observation and control. A simulation-based approach is first presented to design accurate observers from a reference simulator. In this project, a multivariable and non-linear control has been developed, targeting in-cylinder masses trajectories. Finally, the complete torque-based engine control has been integrated on vehicle.