Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Sai S V Rajagopalan

Jun-Mo Kang

Orgun A Guralp

Paul M Najt

Chen-Fang Chang

Hanho Yun

Kenneth Paul Dudek

Stephen Yurkovich

Shawn Midlam-Mohler

Yann G Guezennec

Yue-Yun Wang

Yiran Hu

Ethan E Bayer

Scott T Feldmann

Jason Meyer

Ibrahim Haskara

Igor Anilovich

Shifang Li

Kevin Andrew Gady

Yongjie Zhu

Louis A Avallone

Steven E Muldoon

Sharon Liu

Hanho Kang

An engine assembly includes an internal combustion engine with an engine block having at least one cylinder and at least one piston moveable within the at least one cylinder. A crankshaft is moveable to define a plurality of crank angles (CA) from a bore axis defined by the cylinder to a crank axis defined by the crankshaft. A controller is operatively connected to the internal combustion engine and configured to receive a torque request (T). The controller is programmed to determine a desired combustion phasing (CA) for controlling a torque output of the internal combustion engine. The desired combustion phasing is based at least partially on the torque request (T) and a pressure-volume (PV) diagram of the at least one cylinder.

Engine torque control with combustion phasing

An engine assembly includes an internal combustion engine with an engine block having at least one cylinder. An intake manifold and an exhaust manifold are each fluidly connected to the at least one cylinder and define an intake manifold pressure (p) and an exhaust manifold pressure (p), respectively. A controller is operatively connected to the internal combustion engine and configured to receive a torque request (T). The controller is programmed to determine a desired fuel mass (m) for controlling a torque output of the internal combustion engine. The desired fuel mass (m) is based at least partially on the torque request (T), the intake and exhaust manifold pressures and a pressure-volume (PV) diagram of the at least one cylinder.

Engine torque control with fuel mass

An internal combustion engine is configured to operate in a homogeneous-charge compression-ignition combustion mode and a spark-ignition combustion mode employing late intake valve closing. A method for operating the internal combustion engine includes determining an amount of residual gas re-inducted into a combustion chamber from a previous engine cycle and determining an amount of fresh air trapped in the combustion chamber for the present engine cycle based upon the amount of residual gas re-inducted into the combustion chamber from the previous engine cycle. Engine fueling to the cylinder for the present engine cycle is controlled based upon the amount of fresh air trapped in the combustion chamber for the present engine cycle.

Method and apparatus for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine operating in HCCI combustion mode

An engine assembly includes an intake manifold and a manifold absolute pressure sensor configured to generate a current measured manifold absolute pressure (MAP) signal for the intake manifold. The assembly includes a throttle valve adjustable to control airflow to the intake manifold and a throttle position sensor configured to generate a current measured throttle position (TP) signal. A controller is operatively connected to the throttle valve and the manifold absolute pressure sensor and has a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory on which is recorded instructions for executing a method for determining a predicted manifold absolute pressure (MAP). Execution of the instructions by the processor causes the controller to determine the predicted manifold absolute pressure (MAP) based at least partially on a predicted throttle flow (TF) and the current measured manifold absolute pressure (MAP) signal.

Prediction of intake manifold pressure in an engine system

The method can control a powertrain in order to maintain the charge temperature at a desired value regardless of exhaust manifold pressure or altitude. The method includes the following steps: (a) receiving a torque request; (b) determining a desired air charge based, a least in part, on the torque request; (c) determining an actual air charge based, at least in part, on input signals from a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor and a mass airflow (MAF) sensor; (d) adjusting an intake valve timing of the intake valve such that the actual air charge is equal to a desired air charge, and (e) adjusting throttle position and actuator positions of boosting devices such that the actual intake manifold pressure is equal to the desired intake manifold pressure.

Method and system for controlling a powertrain

A method of controlling an engine includes initiating a transition from homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) to spark ignited (SI) combustion mode of the engine under low load. The method includes commanding an exhaust valve actuator to increase lift of the exhaust valve to maximize expulsion of combustion chamber contents. The method also includes injecting into the combustion chamber sufficient amount of fuel after the lift of the exhaust valve was increased to generate substantially stoichiometric air-fuel ratio of the gas mixture contained in the chamber. The method also includes igniting the gas mixture after the fuel was injected into the combustion chamber to maximize combustion of the gas mixture. The method additionally includes commanding an intake camshaft phaser to change the position of the intake camshaft to a position configured for predetermined throttled SI combustion mode after the gas mixture was ignited to maximize operating efficiency of the engine.

Transition from homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion mode to spark ignited combustion

An internal combustion engine is configured to operate in a homogeneous-charge compression-ignition combustion mode. A method for operating the internal combustion engine includes determining a desired effective charge dilution for a cylinder charge for a cylinder firing event. A desired air/fuel ratio, a desired intake air mass and a desired intake oxygen are determined to achieve the desired effective charge dilution for a combustion event. The desired air/fuel ratio is adjusted based upon a difference between the desired intake oxygen and the actual intake oxygen, and engine operation is controlled to achieve the adjusted desired air/fuel ratio.

A method that includes in-vehicle systems and practices for determining whether a NOx sensor in an exhaust stream is performing properly.

Offset and slow response diagnostic methods for NOx sensors in vehicle exhaust treatment applications

A system for a vehicle includes a mode control module and a valve control module. The mode control module selectively sets an ignition mode for an engine to one of a spark ignition (SI) mode and a homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode. In response to the ignition mode transitioning from the SI mode to the HCCI mode during a first engine cycle, the valve control module operates an exhaust valve in a high lift mode during a second engine cycle, operates an intake valve in a low lift mode during the second engine cycle, and operates the exhaust and intake valves in the low lift mode during a third engine cycle. The first engine cycle is before the second engine cycle, and the second engine cycle is before the third engine cycle.

Spark ignition to homogenous charge compression ignition transition control systems and methods

A method of diagnosing vehicle NOx sensor faults that includes sensing that an exhaust gas recirculating (EGR) valve is closed and that fuel flow to a vehicle engine is above a predetermined rate using an electronic control unit (ECU) located on a vehicle; recording the output received from an NOx sensor relative to an amount of fuel consumption over a period of time using the ECU; calculating the mean of the NOx sensor output relative to fuel consumption recorded over the period of time using the ECU; performing a least-squares estimation (LSE) using the ECU for more than one calculated mean based on an expected NOx sensor output; generating a NOx sensor gain for the NOx sensor using the ECU based on the LSE; and determining whether the NOx sensor gain is above or below a predetermined threshold.

Gain/amplitude diagnostics of NOx sensors

A fuel control system of an engine system comprises a pre-catalyst exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensor, a setpoint generator module, a sensor offset module, and a control module. The pre-catalyst EGO sensor generates a pre-catalyst EGO signal based on an air-fuel ratio of an exhaust gas. The setpoint generator module generates a desired pre-catalyst equivalence ratio (EQR) signal based on a desired EQR of the exhaust gas. The sensor offset module determines an offset value of the pre-catalyst EGO sensor. The control module generates an expected pre-catalyst EGO signal based on the desired pre-catalyst EQR signal and the offset value.

Universal tracking air-fuel regulator for internal combustion engines

A method for calibrating an engine control module includes sampling a first signal from a first oxygen sensor located upstream from a catalyst. The first signal indicates an oxygen content of exhaust gas produced by an engine. The method further includes predicting a response of a second oxygen sensor located downstream from the catalyst using a model of the catalyst and the first signal and sampling a second signal from the second oxygen sensor. The method further includes determining a component of the second signal based on a difference between samples of the second signal and the predicted response. The component is due to gases other than oxygen. Additionally, the method includes calibrating the engine control module based on the component of the second signal. The engine control module controls an amount of fuel injected into the engine.

Compensating for random catalyst behavior

A system includes a cylinder equivalence ratio (EQR) module, a location estimation module, a sensor module, and a fuel control module. The cylinder EQR module determines a first EQR corresponding to a first exhaust gas expelled from a first cylinder and determines a second EQR corresponding to a second exhaust gas expelled from a second cylinder. The location estimation module determines when the first and second exhaust gases mix in an exhaust manifold to form a third exhaust gas having a third EQR. The sensor module estimates an EQR of a fourth exhaust gas based on the third EQR. The fourth exhaust gas is located at an oxygen sensor in the exhaust manifold. The fuel control module controls an amount of fuel supplied to an engine based on a difference between the estimated EQR and an EQR corresponding to measurements from the oxygen sensor.

Control systems and methods using geometry based exhaust mixing model

A fuel control system of an engine system comprises a pre-catalyst exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensor and a control module. The pre-catalyst EGO sensor determines a pre-catalyst EGO signal based on an oxygen concentration of an exhaust gas. The control module determines at least one fuel command and determines at least one expected oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas. The control module determines a final fuel command for the engine system based on the pre-catalyst EGO signal, the fuel command, and the expected oxygen concentration.

Growing community of inventors

Sterling Heights, MI, United States of America

Sai S V Rajagopalan