Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Fabio Autieri

Stefano Nieddu

Alessandro Catanese

Claudio Monferrato

A method is provided for measuring a resistance value of a resistive component, which provides for connecting a pull up resistance, in series to the component and supplying a first voltage value to a free end of the pull up resistance and a second lower voltage value to a free end of the component, monitoring a signal indicative of a voltage value between the component and the pull up resistance, determining the difference between the monitored signal and a generated PWM signal having a high voltage value and low voltage value, integrating the difference, obtaining an output signal, varying a duty cycle of the PWM signal based on the variation over time of the output signal, acquiring a duty cycle of the PWM signal, and determining the resistance value of the resistive component based on the duty cycle value and of the pull up resistance value.

Circuit and method for measuring a resistance value of a resistive component

A method is provided for determining an index representing the crank angle at which a given fuel mass fraction has been burnt in a cylinder of the engine during an engine cycle. The method includes, but is not limited to sampling the pressure within the cylinder during the engine cycle, using the pressure samples for determining the heat release rate curve during the engine cycle, using the heat release rate curve for determining the cumulative heat release curve during the engine cycle, determining a minimum value and a maximum value of the cumulative heat release curve, using the given fuel mass fraction for calculating a target value of the cumulative heat release between the minimum and maximum values, finding a goal point of the cumulative heat release curve that corresponds to the target value, assuming the crank angle corresponding to the goal point as the index. The method further includes, but is not limited to determining an opening angle within the crank angular range corresponding to compression stroke of the engine cycle, determining a closing angle within the crank angular range corresponding to the expansion stroke of the engine cycle, using the opening and closing angles for delimiting between them a first angular window, and limiting the determination of the minimum and maximum values of the cumulative heat release curve within the first angular window.

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Turin, Italy

Fabio Autieri