Air-Path Control of a Heavy-Duty EGR-VGT Diesel Engine

In this paper, a model based multi-variable control strategy is applied to the air-path control of a turbocharged Diesel engine. An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve, and a variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT), are controlled using a technique called Model Predictive Control (MPC). The aim is to optimize the fuel consumption by minimizing pumping losses, while the CO2 based burned gas fraction follows a demand and constraints on the minimum air fuel ratio are imposed. The proposed technique is applied to a 13L engine, and its current software extended with the control function developed. The function developed is fitted in a production engine electronic control unit (EECU), and is validated through real-world experiments in an engine test cell and in a heavy-duty vehicle. The MPC proposed is found to work satisfactorily.