Modelling, simulation and identification of an engine air path electromechanical actuator

•Physical model of an engine air path electromechanical actuator is first given.•Friction, which represents the system's nonlinear behaviour, is discussed.•New identification procedures are proposed.•Using LabVIEW, the proposed studies are experimentally validated.

This paper deals with the modelling and the identification of an electromechanical Diesel engine actuator. The studied Bosch GPA-S actuator is designed for swirl/tumble flaps to control the air amount entering into the cylinder. This study aims to design a complete simulator that reproduces, with sufficient accuracy, the actuator dynamics taking into account the effects of the friction phenomenon. Hence, an overview of the actuator structure and its operation principle is first given. Then, its mathematical model as well as the nonlinearity, related to its behaviour, is discussed. Next, three identification procedures, which allow estimating both the system parameters and the friction model coefficients, are introduced. Finally, simulation results, using MATLAB, and experimental results, using LabVIEW, are presented demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.