Feedback control of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel engines

The continuing reduction of the emissions of diesel engines has caused an increasing complexity of calibration and expensive aftertreatments of the exhaust gas. These issues have a potential for being relaxed if the NOxNOx and particulate emissions are integrated into a feedback loop. For this purpose, a novel controller is developed. A model-based observer for the emissions is used to overcome the relatively slow dynamics of the available sensors. Furthermore, the controller includes self-calibration of the EGR. The experimental validation of the control structure shows that different emission strategies are feasible with just a minimal calibration effort.

► New controller for the engine-out particulate and NOxNOx emissions of diesel engines. ► Model-based observer for the engine-out emissions to cope with sensor lag and delay. ► Automatic calibration of the EGR reference value. ► Experimental validation with different emission strategies and minimal calibration.