On Board Diagnosis for

Three-Way Catalytic Converters

Ing. Stefania Santini
Universit di Napoli Federico II
Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica
GRACE Group for Research on Automotive Control Engineering
Universit del Sannio
Facolt di Ingegneria
On Board Diagnosis
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
On Board Diagnosis (OBD)
is an integral part of the
emission control system and
alerts the driver of failures in
the vehicle equipment via a
warning light
- -SENSOR SENSOR
THREE THREE- -WAY CATALYTIC CONVERTER (TWC) WAY CATALYTIC CONVERTER (TWC)
MISFIRE MISFIRE
FUEL SYSTEM FUEL SYSTEM
GRACE
N
CO
H
2
2
2
O
Intake
Port
Fuel
Injector
Fuel
Air
Exhaust
Port
HC
CO
NO
x
OBD for Catalyst Deterioration
! The monitoring strategy is based
on a simplified phenomenological
model of the TWC and the oxygen
sensor
! Pre- and post-catalyst sensors
measure the oxygen content in the
exhaust gas
! This indirectly gives an indication
of the catalyst conversion
efficiency
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
A/F
C
o
n
v
e
r
s
i
o
n

E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
HC
NOx
CO
Stoichiometry
4 2
2 2 3 2
CeO CeO O

+
= CeO
2
=Ce
2
O
3
= O
2
Oxygen Storage
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
Monitoring the Oxygen Storage Mechanism
"if an excess of O
2
participates in the the combustion it
will be chemically stored (up to a certain capacity);
"if a deficit of O
2
exists, then the catalyst will give up
oxygen (as long as some is available) to allow reactions to
happen
! During its life, the TWC loses this beneficial peculiarity, which
can thus be considered as an indirect index of the aging process
and the consequent deterioration of the component
! The oxygen-storage is a key mechanism that enhances the
catalyst activity helping catalyzed oxidation-reduction
reactions:
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
GRACE
Monitoring the Oxygen Storage Capacity
Some experimental results investigate the relationship
between:
#oxygen storage capacity (OSC)
#aging process
#pollution production (THC)
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
Experimental set-up
! Measurements of the OSC for
different catalysts were performed by
ELASIS using:
a target test vehicle, FIAT Nuova
Punto 16v
35 g/ft
3
Pd/Rd 5:1 400 cpsi TWC
pre- and post-converter oxygen
sensors
! Experiments were conducted always in the same vehicle conditions
in order to compare the results for different TWCs
! The on-board computer monitors many engine variables such as mass
air flow, engine speed, manifold pressure
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
Estimating the OSC
OSC of a converter has been indirectly estimated measuring the
oxygen level at the inlet and the outlet of the TWC while
crossing from rich to lean conditions (oxygen chemiadsorption)
and vice versa (oxygen release)
165 170 175
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
time [sec]
V
o
l
t
lean -> rich
180 190 200
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
time [sec]
V
o
l
t
rich -> lean
NEW TWC
165.4 165.6 165.8 166
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
time [sec]
lean -> rich
V
o
l
t
141.5 142 142.5 143
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
time [sec]
rich -> lean
V
o
l
t
GRACE
AGED TWC
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
Time delay between pre- and post-converter

-sensors signals vs. OSC
The different levels of deterioration for TWCs are achieved by
running the vehicle on the test bench for a fixed amount of
kilometers, or warming the catalyst in a furnace, thus inducting
thermal deactivation.
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
18,7 19 68 168 860 900 1250
OSC [mg]
T
i
m
e

d
e
l
a
y

[
s
e
c
]
new
5K km
80K km
1270C 16h
1300C 32h
1300C 64h aged
OSC vs. THC emissions on ECE cycle
The measure of the OSC has been related to the corresponding
amount of THC for catalysts with different degrees of aging
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
0,07 0,09 0,12 0,18 0,23 0,32 0,5
HC emi ssi on [g/km]
O
S
C

[
m
g
]
0,48 0,4
new
5K km
80K km
1270C 16h 1300C 32h
1300C 64h aged
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
GRACE
European Drive Cycle (ECE)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
V
e
h
i
c
l
e

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
p
h
)
Time (sec)
Model-Based Diagnosis Strategy
Model of the borderline catalyst
Model of TWC + Model of sensor
Decision
Procedure
Uses
deviations
from
prediction
Fault
Supervisor
Inputs

Plant
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
k
y
k
y

TWC Model
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters

TP
n
f
m!

FG
O
2
storage

FG
AFR in the feedgas

TP
AFR at the tailpipe
n engine speed
fuel mass flow rate f
m!
Models of a warmed-up TWC are
usually based on the hypothesis that:
# the catalyst dynamics are
dominated by the oxygen
storage phenomenon
# the other phenomena occur on
a much shorter time scale
This allows description of the
catalyst activity only in terms of the
oxygen buffer dynamics using the
pre- and post-catalyst AFR (Air Fuel
Ratio) and a transport delay
( )
( )

'

<
1
]
1

1
]
1

1 ) ( 1
23 . 0
1 ) ( 1
23 . 0
FG R FG f
FG L FG f
f m
C
S
f m
C
S

!
!
!
A Simplified TWC Dynamical Model
Nonlinear dynamic
model describing the
TWC activity in
terms of the oxygen
buffer dynamics and
a transport delay
GRACE
fraction of oxygen stored in the TWC
AFR of the gas modified by oxygen dynamics
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
AFR at the tailpipe
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ) ( ) (
,
1
,
1
1 ) ( 1
1 ) ( 1
n t t
f
f
flt TP
FG
flt FG
flt
flt FG
flt
FG R FG FG
FG L FG FG
FG
cor
cor

'

<

!
percentage of oxygen stored/released
] ) 1 ( 1 [ ) ( f
) 1 ( ) ( f
8
R
8
L


TWC Model against Experimental Data
450 460 470 480 490 500
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Time [sec]
A
F
R

[
\
]
520 540 560 580 600 620
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Time [sec]
A
F
R

[
\
]
640 645 650 655 660 665 670 675 680
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
Time [sec]
A
F
R

[
\
]
Blu (dash) line: UEGO tailpipe sensor measurements
Red (dash-dot) line: AFR model output
The model has been identified through a least-square
algorithm using data from an ECE drive cycle
Validation range
Identification range
Validation range
760 780 800 820 840 860
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Time [sec]
A
F
R

[
\
]
Validation range
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
A Post-Catalyst

-sensor Model
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
The simple model of the nonlinear -sensor is based on
its static characteristic:
This curve was identified
0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1

TP
[\]
s
e
n
s
o
r

s
i
g
n
a
l

[
V
o
l
t
]
sensor delay
)] ( [ ) (
l post
t f t V
The

-sensor Model against Experimental Data
Blu (dash) line: sensor measurements
Red (dash-dot) line: model output
The model has been identified through a least-square
algorithm using data from an ECE drive cycle
Identification range
Validation range
890 895 900 905 910 915 920
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Time [sec]
s
e
n
s
o
r

s
i
g
n
a
l

[
V
o
l
t
]
Validation range
310 315 320 325 330 335
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Time [sec]
s
e
n
s
o
r

s
i
g
n
a
l

[
V
o
l
t
]
510 515 520 525 530 535
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Time [sec]
s
e
n
s
o
r

s
i
g
n
a
l

[
V
o
l
t
]
740 745 750 755 760 765
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Time [sec]
s
e
n
s
o
r

s
i
g
n
a
l

[
V
o
l
t
]
Validation range
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
The Monitoring Algorithm
#The decision procedure is based on the
deviations of the measured signal from the
predicted model output
#The diagnostic algorithm works on the
amplitude of the oscillations of both the
actual and the simulated signals
#It implements a stochastic analysis in
order to provide a statistical confidence in
the TWC's condition
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
2 out
1
2
2
TP
1
1
1
1
1
x y
x
s
K
x
s
s
x

Cumulative Sum Algorithm

GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
The on-line decision procedure is based on a CUSUM which uses
observations from the plant and the output of the model
The decision rule is designed to test, on the sequence of the plant
observations (independent random variables), the following two
hypotheses:
when the plant is good
when the plant is bad

'

1 1
0 0
value the around is mean the if
value the around is mean the if

H
H
{ }
k
y
It is computed on-line as the average
of the corresponding sequence of the
model observations where the
model mimics the borderline catalyst
behaviour
{ }
k
y
CUSUM: Decision Test
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
DECISION TEST:
#if the decision gives a result , the sampling and the test keep
on going
#fault is declared for the first observation sample that gives an
decision
0
H
1
H
0

Let
CUSUM: Decision
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
log-likehood ratio for the observations from y
1
to y
k
Sufficient statistic
Newman Pearson Lemma, see for example:
Basseville, M., I. V. Nikiforov, Detection of Abrupt Changes: Theory and Applications, Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliff, NY, 1993;
Srinath, M. D., P. K. Rajasekaran, and R. Viswamathan, Introduction to Statistical Signal Processing with Applications, Prentice Hall Inc.,
Englewood Cliff, NJ, 1996.
Threshold to be selected

k
i
i k
s S
1
) (
) (
ln
0
1
i
i
i
y p
y p
s

The decision is given by

*
:

'

<
h S H
h S H
k
k
k
if hypothesis
if hypothesis
step at the
1
0
CUSUM: Gaussian Distribution
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
When monitoring the malfunction by the comparing the S
k
level
with a fixed threshold, one must wait a long time for the failure
to be detected !
grows when the
plant is bad and
decreases when it
is good
For a gaussian distribution with variance and probability density
the Cusum index is:
2

2
2
2
1
) (

y
e y p
) (
1
2 0
2

k
i
d
i k
y
d
S

Modified CUSUM
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
To have reasonable alarm settings, we use as decision index:
The detection rule
compares the
CUSUM S
k
to a
moving threshold
m
k
+h modified on-line
where h m S g
k k k

j k
S m
k j 1
min

CUSUM Optimality
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
#Extended theoretical studies have investigated the optimality of CUSUM
algorithms in terms of detectability and false alarms rates
#It is known that the CUSUM algorithm is optimal when it is tuned with
the true values of the parameters before and after the change
#The loss of optimality is a consequence of the lack of a priori information
about
0
and
1
#In our case, this is avoided by the knowledge of the model (which
provides the
1
value) and the plant behaviour (which shows a mean value

0
approximately equal to zero when the TWC is working properly)
The
2
Test
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
#The sufficient statistic can be easily computed and used in practical
applications under the hypothesis that data are governed by a Gaussian
distribution
#An on-line
2
test of the Gaussian nature of the sequence of plant
observations {y
k
}is developed
#The test selects windows of Gaussian distributed data and only on these
windows the CUSUM decision procedure is applied
#The test helps to determine the degree of statistical confidence in
approximating a generic observed distribution with a Gaussian distribution
Constructing the
0
2
Index (1)
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
Given N observations y
i
(Nis the width of the window), let us construct a
particular Gaussian bell:

N
i
i
y
N
Y
1
1

N
i
i
Y
N
Y y
1
2
1
) (

2
2
) (
2
1
) (
Y
Y y
Y
Y
e y p

Constructing the
0
2
Index (2)
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
We define:
E
k
=Np
k
; the expected number of
observations belonging to the k-
th interval if the distribution
were actually Gaussian
O
k
; the number of observations
actually belonging to the k-th
interval
The
0
2
can be constructed as:
Mintervals
For
0
2
< Mthe approximation
is acceptable, while it is
unacceptable for
0
2
>> M

M
k
k
k k
E
E O
1
2
2
0
) (

Reduced
0
2
and Degrees of Freedom
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
#It is now possible to introduce a specific
distribution defined in terms of degrees
of freedom:
#Degrees of freedom:
M
# of constraints among the samples y
i
In our case mean, variance and

M
k
k
O N
1

2
0
2
0
~
#The reduced is:
2
0
~

2 ] [ ] [
2 2 2
v E
Running the
2
Test
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
#If this probability is high, it is possible to be confident when
supposing the data to be governed by a Gaussian distribution
#Conversely, if the probability is low, there is a significant
disagreement with the Gaussian hypothesis
#The test computes the probability of finding a value greater
than or equal to the actually obtained
2
~

2
0
~

)
~ ~
(
2
0
2
p
The Threshold Choice
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
#A statistical analysis has been performed in order to find the threshold
value h, optimal both for the minimization of false alarm occurrence and for
the maximization of correct fault detection occurrence
#The probabilities of false alarm and correct fault detection have been
computed through extensive simulations
# Simulations were run 200 times for each threshold value, inserting white
noise at the output of the plant
#The variance of the noise have been changed at each run
Choosing the Threshold
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
2 4 6 8 10 12
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
threshold
P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

o
f

F
a
l
s
e

A
l
a
r
m

[
%
]
2 4 6 8 10 12
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
threshold
P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

o
f

C
o
r
r
e
c
t

D
e
t
e
c
t
i
o
n

[
%
]
The optimal value for the
threshold is 7
0 20 40 60 80 100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Probability of False Alarm [%]
P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

o
f

C
o
r
r
e
c
t

D
e
t
e
c
t
i
o
n

[
%
]
thr=1
thr=2
thr=3,4,5
thr=6
thr=7
thr=8
thr=9,10,11,12,13
Diagnosis Strategy compared
to Experimental Data (along EUDC)
g
k
index evolution. Bad TWC
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Indice catalizzatore
tempo [s]
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
Indice catalizzatore
tempo [s]
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
Indice catalizzatore
tempo [s]
g
k
index evolution. The TWC was aged for 16 h in a furnace
g
k
index evolution. The TWC was aged for 64 h in a furnace
#The real-time diagnosis is performed only under
particular conditions for the engine and the after-
treatment system
#The algorithm runs once for each trip (single trip
strategy) and it is active along a finite time horizon
(diagnosis range)
#During the test duration no special excitation of the
air/fuel is needed, i.e. the algorithm is not `intrusive
References
! Fiengo, G., L. Glielmo, S. Santini, and A. Caraceni, `A Fault Diagnosis
Algorithm for Three-Way Catalytic Converters, Proceeding of 5
th
International Symposium on Advanced Vehicle Control, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, August 22-24, 2000, pp. 1421
! Fiengo. G., L. Glielmo, and S. Santini, `On Board Diagnosis for Three-
Way Catalytic Converters, to appear on International Journal of
Nonlinear Robust Control
GRACE
On Board Diagnosis for Three-Way Catalytic Converters