Method for operating an internal combustion engine

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine during any driving operation and in particular during a defined testing cycle which determines compliance with regulations. The internal combustion engine has at least one exhaust gas aftertreatment device with an adjustable degree of efficiency (for example by changing the reduction agent) or an exhaust gas recirculation device or alternative variables for changing the raw engine emissions. At least one monitoring window is assigned to the active profile. The aim of the invention is to allow strict exhaust gas regulations to be met in particular during real driving operations while simultaneously allowing a low fuel consumption. This is achieved in that at least one main monitoring window of the driving profile and a sub-monitoring window (F) with a starting point and an end point are defined within a driving profile or test cycle. During the sub-monitoring window (F), a predictive and quantitative estimation of at least one observed emission (E) for the main monitoring window Fis carried out before reaching the end point of another main monitoring window F, and the estimated emission quantity is compared with a defined maximum emission quantity. In the event of a large deviation of the maximum emission quantity, at least one control parameter of the internal combustion engine or the exhaust gas aftertreatment process is adaptively modified such that the quantity of the monitored emission (E) approximates the specified target value as much as possible and the consumption of operating resources is optimized.