Combustion control is a crucial aspect in modern Diesel engines control strategies, mainly due to the requests to increase efficiency and maintain pollutant emissions within the values bounded by standard regulations. In order to perform an accurate combustion control, modern “closed loop” control algorithms require the evaluation of a large number of quantities that provide information about combustion process effectiveness. This work presents a methodology that allows real-time estimation of energy released, during the combustion process, in a Common Rail Multi-Jet Diesel engine. This procedure can be divided in two main steps. The first step consists in the development of a zero-dimensional combustion model based on the linear combination of a proper number of Wiebe functions. In this case, a zero-dimensional approach has been chosen, because it is accurate enough for this analysis and requires low computational efforts. Once the combustion model has been developed, it can be used to determine Rate of Heat Release (RoHR) and the angular position in which 50% of fuel burned within an engine cycle is reached (MFB50). The second section of this work describes the relationships existing between injection parameters (such as Start of Injection, injected fuel quantities, rail pressure...) and the Wiebe parameters identified in the first step of the procedure. The above mentioned relationships have been used to set up correlations that allow estimating Wiebe parameters, therefore ROHR and MFB50, starting from injection parameters. The results obtained in MFB50 estimation are particularly emphasized, because real-time knowledge of this quantity is necessary to feedback a control algorithm for optimal combustion positioning. This work is based on several experimental tests performed on a 2.2 liters Common Rail Multi-Jet Diesel engine. First, experimental tests have been carried out to identify the combustion model and the correlations existing between Wiebe parameters and injection parameters. Then, in order to determine the accuracy of the approach, the complete estimation methodology has been applied to the engine under study. This work describes a methodology for real-time estimation of several quantities that provide important information about combustion process effectiveness (useful, for example, in modern low temperature combustion control systems). No extra cost is needed, because the methodology requires no additional sensor.
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