Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.a.

Nando Vennettilli

Massimiliano Maira

Morena Bruno

Francesco Cianflone

Simone Barbero

Domenico Tavella

Fabio Garofalo

Fulvio Brosio

Alessandro Riegel

Domenico Rampone

Andreas Gunnarsson

Ronnie Magnusson

Angelo Sanapo

Automotive electrical system for a motor vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle; the electric vehicle system comprising a series of electric vehicle loads, an electric battery, and an alternator generating a supply voltage of the electric vehicle loads and of the electric battery; the alternator comprising an inductive electric circuit adapted to be crossed by an electric control current; the electric vehicle system comprises an alternator electronic control system configured so as to determine a series of battery parameters (pam_bat) indicating the state of operation of the electric battery; determine at least a first vehicle parameter indicating the acceleration of the motor vehicle; determine the operative state of the internal combustion engine; determine an electric regulation voltage according to the operative engine station, to the vehicle parameter and to the battery parameters; vary an electric control current circulating in the inductive electric circuit of the alternator according to the electric regulation voltage.

Automotive electrical system provided with an alternator electronic control system

A method is provided for diagnosing the integrity of a swirl generating system for an internal combustion engine. The swirl generating system includes, but is not limited to swirl controlling elements that are individually located in a respective air passage connecting the intake manifold of the engine to an intake port of an engine combustion chamber, an actuator having a movable shaft, a cinematic chain for mechanically connecting the swirl controlling elements to the actuator movable shaft, an actuator control unit for normally moving the actuator movable shaft in a first direction towards a first final position, and in a second opposite direction towards a second final position, and actuator sensor for sensing the position of the actuator movable shaft. The method providing to arrange at least a mechanical stop for directly acting on one component of the cinematic chain, in order to indirectly limit the movement of the actuator movable shaft in the first direction at a first checking position coincident or beyond the first final position, command the actuator control unit for moving the actuator movable shaft in the first direction towards the first checking position, and verify through the position sensing means whether the actuator movable shaft stops in the first checking position (CP) or goes beyond.

Method for diagnosing the integrity of a swirl generating system for an internal combustion engine

A method is provided for the diagnosis of the EGR cooler efficiency in a Diesel engine that includes but is not limited to construction of a model for determining the temperature drop y=&#x394;T in the EGR cooler, the model having a parameter vector &#x3b8; and an input vector x; performing a model calibration phase in order to estimate the bias hof the system; calculation of a set of primary residuals &#x3b5;(&#x3b8;, x, &#x394;T), staffing from the model equation and using the results of the calibration phase; calculation of a set of improved residuals &#x3b5;(&#x3b8;): where N is the number of samples on which the diagnostic test is performed; calculation of a diagnostic index S:&#x3b5;and, use of the diagnostic index S in order to diagnose the efficiency of the EGR cooler.

Method for the diagnosis of the EGR cooler efficiency in a diesel engine

A control method is provided for a fluid control device, particularly for an internal combustion engine, equipped with a position sensor having a nominal characteristic curve representative of a predetermined relationship between an admissible range of position values and a corresponding range of return electric signal values. The method includes, but is not limited to determining an offset (offset; offset) between a returned signal related to at least one defined position of the device and an expected signal related to the defined position of the device according to the nominal characteristic curve, estimating an updated characteristic curve of the sensor by applying the offset (offset; offset) to the nominal characteristic curve, and applying a predetermined control strategy of the fluid control device according to the updated characteristic curve.

Control method and system for a fluid control device, based on position sensor learning

A method and system are provided for controlling a throttle valve and an EGR valve in internal combustion engine. The method includes, the steps of measuring an actual fresh mass air flow value entering the engine, determining an exhaust oxygen concentration set point indicative of the oxygen concentration in the exhaust manifold, calculating an air reference value as a function of the exhaust oxygen concentration set point ([O]) and determining an oxygen concentration feedback value representative of the oxygen concentration in the engine. The method further includes, but is not limited to the steps of obtaining a position information for the throttle valve by comparing the actual fresh mass air flow value and air reference value and obtaining a position information for the EGR valve by comparing the oxygen concentration feedback value and oxygen concentration set point. The method also includes the steps of controlling the throttle valve and the EGR valve according to the position information.

Method for controlling the EGR and the throttle valves in an internal combustion engine

A method for detecting faults in an air system of an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold includes, but is not limited to the steps of measuring an oxygen concentration of the gas flowing in the exhaust manifold, estimating an intake oxygen control value in the intake manifold and estimating an intake oxygen reference value in the intake manifold based on said oxygen concentration of the gas flowing in the exhaust manifold. The method further includes, but is not limited to the steps of calculating an intake deviation value as a difference between the intake oxygen control value and the intake oxygen reference value and verifying if the intake deviation value is greater than a predetermined first threshold.

Method for detecting faults in the air system of internal combustion engines

A method for estimating the oxygen concentration in an internal combustion engine that includes, but is not limited to an intake manifold, an exhaust manifold, an EGR system, a throttle valve, an air mass sensor for measuring a fresh air flow ({dot over (m)}) entering the intake manifold through the throttle valve, and cylinders. The method includes, but is not limited to the steps of estimating the total gas flow ({dot over (m)}) entering the cylinders, calculating the EGR gas flow ({dot over (m)}), calculating the air fraction (f) of the gas flowing in the exhaust manifold, calculating the air mass (m) entering the cylinders based on the air fraction (f) in the exhaust manifold, on the total gas flow ({dot over (m)}) entering the cylinders, on the EGR gas flow ({dot over (m)}) and on the fresh air flow ({dot over (m)}), calculating the total mass (m) in the intake manifold based on the fresh air flow ({dot over (m)}), on the EGR gas flow ({dot over (m)}) and on the total gas flow ({dot over (m)}) entering the cylinders, calculating the air fraction (f) in the intake manifold based on the air mass (m) entering the cylinders and the total mass (m) in the intake manifold, and calculating the oxygen mass concentration ([O]) in the intake manifold based on the air fraction (f) in the intake manifold.

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Turin, Italy

Nando Vennettilli