Real-time Model Predictive Gasoline Engine Control

The coordination of available actuators in nowadays engine control units is a challenging task. The broad variety of signals (e.g. throttle, advance angle, exhaust gas recirculation, injection, etc.) to influence the momentum and engine speed are coupled. Therefore a multi-variable control should manage these actuators to fulfill the control aim in an efficient manner. A compromise respecting further aims like comfort issues and exhaust gas emissions must be found. An available scheme to cope with these requirements is model predictive control. The incorporated optimization ensures the optimal selection of actuator signals under their constraints. To respect the timing in engine control units a specialized version of the algorithm is necessary.The numerical efficiency of the developed algorithm and the performance of the realized control is presented in simulation and real-time on a single-cylinder engine.The paper should picture a control problem, the solution idea, the application of advanced control methods, the implementation for real-time application and the validation.