US 20100191478Al

( 19) United Sta tes

( 12) Pa tent Applica tion Publica tion ( 10) Pub. N o. : US 2010/0191478 A1
Emery et a l. ( 43 ) Pub. D a te: J ul. 29, 2010
( 5 4)
( 75 )
( 73 )
( 21)
( 22)
( 86 )
METHOD FOR ESTIMATIN G THE LEVEL OF
ETHAN OL IN A FUEL
Inv entors : Pa s ca l Emery, Pa la is ea u ( FR) ;
Ma rcos N a v a rro, Pa ris ( FR)
C orres pondence Addres s :
OBLON , SPIVAK, MC C LELLAN D MAIER &
N EUSTAD T, L. L. P.
1940 D UKE STREET
ALEXAN D RIA, VA 223 14 ( US)
REN AULT S. A. S. ,
Boulog ne- Billa ncourt ( FR)
As s ig nee:
Appl. N o. : 12/5 97, 5 94
PC T Filed: Apr. 8, 2008
PC T N o. : PC T/FR08/5 06 21
3 71 ( 0X1) ,
( 2) , ( 4) D a te: Feb. 26 , 2010
rum- m
2 ' Q? I
M
( 3 0) Foreig n Applica tion Priority D a ta
Apr. 25 , 2007 ( FR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0703 001
Publica tion C la s s i?ca tion
( 5 1) Int. C l.
G01N 3 3 /22 ( 2006 . 01)
G06 F 19/00 ( 2006 . 01)
( 5 2) U. S. C l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702/24
( 5 7) ABSTRAC T
A method f or es tima ting a lev el of etha nol in a f uel inj ected
into a n interna l combus tion eng ine ov er a number ( n) of
cycles ( 11 being a n integ er g rea ter tha n or eq ua l to 1) . The
method includes : determining s ta rt of combus tion of a n
inj ected f uel f or ea ch of the cycles ; ca lcula ting the a v era g e
combus tion s ta rt a ng le f rom combus tion s ta rt a ng les recorded
f or a ll of the 11 cycles ; determining the end of combus tion of
a n inj ected f uel f or ea ch of the cycles ; ca lcula ting the a v era g e
combus tion end a ng le f rom the combus tion end a ng les
recorded f or a ll of the 11 cycles ; ca lcula ting the combus tion
time between the combus tion s ta rt time a nd the combus tion
end time; a nd deducting the lev el of etha nol f rom the com
bus tion time on the ba s is of a pre- determined model or a lis t
of combus tion times a nd a s s ocia ted etha nol lev els .
Pa tent Applica tion Publica tion J ul. 29, 2010 US 2010/0191478 A1
FIG. 1
1; . Bod- 8G0
' Pbint '
FIG. 2
US 2010/0191478 A1
METHOD FOR ESTIMATIN G THE LEVEL OF
ETHAN OL IN A FUEL
[ 0001] The inv ention f a lls W ithin the ?eld of interna l com
bus tion ( g a s oline) eng ines W ith direct or indirect f uel inj ec
tion, a nd a number N of cylinders .
[ 0002] It rela tes more s peci?ca lly to hoW to es tima te the
etha nol content of the f uel inj ected, this being dis cov ered by
determining the s ta rt a nd end of combus tion of a f uel inj ected
into a n interna l combus tion eng ine ov er a number n of cycles
( n being a n integ er g rea ter tha n or eq ua l to 1) of dis pla cement
of a pis ton in a cylinder.
[ 0003 ] In the f a ce of ev er- tig htening emis s ions s ta nda rds it
is importa nt f or motor v ehicle ma nuf a cturers to ha v e g ood
control ov er hoW the f uel is inj ected into their eng ines in order
to limit polluta nt emis s ions .
[ 0004] One of the importa nt pa ra meters in thes e inj ection
s ys tems is the type of f uel.
[ 0005 ] Pa rticula rly in the ca s e of g a s oline eng ines , the
emerg ence of combus tion s ys tems ba s ed on ?ex f uel or
f uels deriv ed f rom a mixture of g a s oline a nd of etha nol ma kes
the ba s ic s etups de?ned during eng ine ca libra tion cons ider
a bly more complica ted.
[ 0006 ] The concentra tion of etha nol in the f uel v a ries enor
mous ly a ccording to the reg ula tions in f orce in the v a rious
countries .
[ 0007] This concentra tion g ov erns the s elf - ig nition proper
ties of the f uel, or in other W ords , the ig nition dela y.
[ 0008] This dela y is importa nt beca us e it g ov erns the tim
ing of the combus tion W ithin the thermodyna mic cycle, W ith
res pect to a g iv en ig nition a dv a nce s etpoint. Poorly timed
combus tion W ill lea d to a n increa s e in polluta nt emis s ions .
[ 0009] It a ls o ma kes cold s ta rting conditions more s ev ere.
[ 001 0] It is theref ore extremely importa nt to ta ke the type of
f uel pres ent in the ta nk into cons idera tion v ery a ccura tely
W hen s etting up the eng ines .
[ 0011] At the pres ent time, this concentra tion of etha nol in
the f uel is ta ken into cons idera tion during eng ine dev elop
ment. This is perf ormed by us ing tW o ref erence f uels , f or
exa mple a ?rs t one cons is ting of pure g a s oline a nd a s econd
conta ining 85 % etha nol, the rema ining 15 % cons is ting of
g a s oline.
[ 0012] TW o f ull optimiz a tions a re perf ormed in order to
de?ne the eng ine s etting s optima lly, f or ea ch f uel.
[ 0013 ] In opera tion, if the v ehicle is run on a dif f erent f uel
( tha t is to s a y a f uel W ith a dif f erent etha nol concentra tion) ,
the eng ine W ill no long er opera te a t its optimum s etting s .
[ 0014] Eng ine ma na g ement theref ore us es the richnes s
inf orma tion to ca lcula te a n ima g e of the a lcohol content.
Therea f ter, interpola tion is perf ormed f or ea ch s etting pa ra m
eter betW een the tW o initia l optimiz a tions .
[ 0015 ] Solutions f or es tima ting a q ua ntity cha ra cteris tic of
the s ta rt of combus tion ha s been the s ubj ect of French pa tent
a pplica tions in the na me of the s a me a pplica nt, na mely a ppli
ca tions 05 / 07745 a nd 06 /07041, the la tter ha v ing not yet been
publis hed a t the time of ?ling of the pres ent a pplica tion.
[ 0016 ] It is a n obj ect of the pres ent inv ention to propos e a
method f or es tima ting the etha nol content of the inj ected f uel,
dis cov ered f rom determining the s ta rt a nd end of combus tion
of a f uel inj ected into a n interna l combus tion eng ine, ov er a
number n of cycles ( n being a n integ er g rea ter tha n or eq ua l to
1) of dis pla cement of a pis ton in a cylinder.
J ul. 29, 2010
[ 0017] To a chiev e this obj ectiv e, the inv ention propos es a
method f or es tima ting the etha nol content of a f uel inj ected
into a n interna l combus tion eng ine, ov er a number n of cycles
( n being a n integ er g rea ter tha n or eq ua l to 1) of dis pla cement
of a pis ton in a cylinder, cha ra cteriZ ed in tha t it compris es the
f olloW ing s teps :
[ 0018] determining a s ta rt of combus tion of a f uel
inj ected f or ea ch of the cycles ;
[ 0019] ca lcula ting the mea n s ta rt of combus tion a ng le
0mm Sta rt f rom the s ta rt of combus tion 0 v a lues
recorded f or the s et of n cycles ;
[ 0020] determining a n end of combus tion of a f uel
inj ected f or ea ch of the cycles ;
[ 0021] ca lcula ting the mea n end of combus tion a ng le
0mm end f rom the end of combus tion 0 v a lues
recorded f or the s et of n cycles ;
[ 0022] ca lcula ting the combus tion dela y betW een the
s ta rt of combus tion time f ound f rom BMW Sta rt a nd the
end of combus tion time f ound f rom BMW end ;
[ 0023 ] deducing the etha nol content f rom the combus
tion dela y, on the ba s is of a determined model or of a
look- up lis t prov iding the rela tions hip betW een the com
bus tion dela ys a nd the etha nol contents .
[ 0024] According to other a dv a nta g eous a nd nonlimiting
f ea tures of this method:
[ 0025 ] s a id etha nol content is s tored in memory until a
dif f erent etha nol content is lea rnt;
[ 0026 ] f or v a rious s ucces s iv e a ng les tha t the cra nks ha f t
of the eng ine a dopts W ithin ea ch cycle, a v a ria ble
[ 0027] C 6 is ev a lua ted a t a n a ng le 0 of the cra nks ha f t
in the combus tion cha mber of the cylinder, C e being
ba s ed on the a ng ula r deriv a tiv e
of the q ua ntity of energ y Q a t a n a ng le 0 , a nd the a ng ula r
v a lue C A10, W hich is eq ua l to the a ng le a t W hich
rea ches 10% of its ma ximum a mplitudeAM is ca lcula ted, this
v a lue C A10 being recorded a s being the s ta rt of combus tion
a ng ula r v a lue f or the cycle in q ues tion;
[ 0028] f or v a rious s ucces s iv e a ng les tha t the cra nks ha f t
of the eng ine a dopts W ithin ea ch cycle, a v a ria ble C 6 is
ev a lua ted a t a n a ng le 0 of the cra nks ha f t in the com
bus tion cha mber of the cylinder, C e being ba s ed on the
a ng ula r deriv a tiv e
of the q ua ntity of energ y Q a t a n a ng le 0 , a nd the a ng ula r
v a lue C A90, W hich is eq ua l to the a ng le a t W hich
dQ
( 24%
US 2010/0191478 A1
rea ches 90% of its ma ximum a mplitudeAM is ca lcula ted, this
v a lue C A90 being recorded a s being the end of combus tion
a ng ula r v a lue f or the cycle in q ues tion;
[ 0029] s a id ma ximum a mplitude AM is mea s ured by
es ta blis hing the dif f erence betW een:
[ 003 0] the ma ximum a nd minimum v a lues of Q; or
[ 003 1] the ma ximum v a lue of Q a nd Z ero; or
[ 003 2] Z ero or the minimum v a lue of Q, a nd the a ng le
a t the end of integ ra tion of Q if this corres ponds to the
ma ximum v a lue of Q;
[ 003 3 ] s a id v a ria ble C 6 is ca lcula ted f rom the f olloW
ing expres s ion:
[ 003 4] p being the pres s ure in the cylinder a t the
a ng le 6 ,
[ 003 5 ] a V being the v olume of the combus tion
cha mber a t the a ng le 6 ,
[ 003 6 ] T being the tempera ture in the combus tion
cha mber a t the a ng le 6 ,
[ 003 7] y being the ra tio of s peci?c hea t ca pa cities
c /cv .
[ 003 8] Other f ea tures a nd a dv a nta g es of the inv ention W ill
become a ppa rent f rom rea ding the deta iled des cription W hich
W ill f olloW of a pref erred embodiment of the inv ention.
[ 003 9] This des cription W ill be g iv en W ith ref erence to the
a tta ched dra W ing s in W hich:
[ 0040] FIG. 1 s chema tica lly depicts a cros s s ection throug h
a cylinder of a combus tion eng ine in opera tion;
[ 0041] FIG. 2 is a s chema tic depiction of the cha ng e in the
v a ria ble EOC - SOC a s a f unction of the number of points ,
W hich ma kes it pos s ible to determine the etha nol content in a
g iv en f uel.
[ 0042] FIG. 1 illus tra tes a dev ice a ccording to the inv en
tion. It rela tes to a n interna l combus tion g a s oline eng ine
compris ing a mov ing pis ton 5 , a connecting rod 6 , a combus
tion cha mber 3 , a g a s inlet dev ice 2, a g a s exha us t dev ice 1, a
mea s urement mea ns ca pa ble of mea s uring v a rious a ng les 6
of rota tion of the cra nks ha f t 8, a pres s ure s ens or 4 pos itioned
in the combus tion cha mber 3 , a nd proces s ing mea ns 7
ca pa ble of receiv ing the s ig na ls f rom s a id pres s ure s ens or 4
a nd f rom the mea s urement mea ns 8, of s ynchroniz ing thes e
s ig na ls in order to be a ble to correla te them, a nd of proces s ing
thes e s ig na ls in order to implement a method a ccording to the
inv ention.
[ 0043 ] W hen the eng ine is running , a n es tima te of the etha
nol content is perf ormed a ccording to the inv ention. This is
a dv a nta g eous ly done under opera ting conditions s et in
a dv a nce during eng ine dev elopment.
[ 0044] The etha nol content of the f uel is es tima ted, a s W ill
be s een la ter on, by ta king a ccount of the ra te of combus tion,
na mely the time tha t ela ps es betW een the time tha t combus
tion s ta rts a nd the time tha t it ends .
[ 0045 ] The a ctiv a tion conditions us ef ul in implementing
the pres ent inv ention a re the opera ting points , pref era bly a t
hig h eng ine loa d, f or es tima ting the s ta rt a nd end of combus
tion mos t ea s ily. N onetheles s , it W ould a ls o a ppea r to be
a dv a nta g eous to choos e pha s es s uch a s eng ine s ta rt ( ens uring
s uita ble externa l conditions ) , W hich is a pha s e during W hich
the type of f uel is of key importa nce. All of thes e a ctiv a tion
conditions ma y ta ke the f orm of one eng ine opera ting point or
J ul. 29, 2010
of s ev era l. A lea rning pha s e ma y a ls o be dema nded ea ch time
the ta nk is re?lled. The a ctiv a tion conditions a re then a W a ited
in order to s ta rt the lea rning pha s e.
[ 0046 ] W hen the a ctiv a tion conditions ha v e been recog
niZ ed ( tha t is to s a y W hen the eng ine is under the a ction of the
driv er on the or one of the identi?ed opera ting points ) , the
s ta rt a nd end of combus tion is detected ov er n thermodyna mic
cycles ( n ma y be eq ua l to l) .
[ 0047] It is theref ore ?rs t a nd f oremos t es s entia l to deter
mine the s ta rt of combus tion ( a ls o termed SOC ) a nd end of
combus tion ( or EOC ) ins ta nces .
[ 0048] One pos s ible W a y of determining the SOC a nd the
EOC is ba s ed on ca lcula ting a nd a na lyZ ing a v a ria ble C e tha t
prov ides a n ima g e of the combus tion.
[ 0049] The methodolog y s et out hereina f ter is a ls o s et out
in the a f orementioned a pplica tion 06 /07041.
[ 005 0] Us ing the v a lue of the pres s ure pe obta ining in the
combus tion cha mber, a nd the v a lue of the a ng ula r pos ition 6
of the cra nks ha f t, W hich v a lues ha v e been mea s ured during a
?rs t s tep, a v a ria ble C 6 is perma nently ca lcula ted during a
la ter s tep.
[ 005 1] C 6 is a f unction of a n a ng ula r cha ng e in the q ua ntity
of energ y Q relea s ed by the combus tion in the combus tion
cha mber 3 a t a n a ng le 6 .
[ 005 2] This a ng ula r cha ng e in the q ua ntity of energ y is
a dv a nta g eous ly the deriv a tiv e
[ 005 3 ] This v a lue C 6 is perma nently ca lcula ted on the ba s is
of the relea s e of energ y in the cylinder, f or a n a ng le 6 cha ng
ing betW een l80 a nd +180o ( i. e. in a ha lf - cycle) , or in a
s ma ller interv a l.
[ 005 4] According to a ?rs t option, C 6 is ca lcula ted f rom:
W here Q is the energ y of the cylinder,
6 is the cra nk a ng le, a nd
F is a f unction of 6 s uch tha t F is a t a ma ximum a t
bottom dea d center ( a ls o denoted BD C ) , a t a minimum a t top
dea d center ( a ls o denoted TD C ) , monotonous betW een the
tW o, a nd a lW a ys s trictly pos itiv e.
[ 005 5 ] A tria ng le f unction ha s s uch properties , a nd ma y
be de?ned a s f olloW s :
W here K a nd F0 a re cons ta nts .
[ 005 6 ] In pra ctice, the ca lcula tion of the relea s e of energ y
prov ides inf orma tion conta ining nois e.
[ 005 7] The ef f ect of s uch a f unction F is to a ttenua te the
energ y relea s e s ig na l in the reg ions W here it is a f f ected by the
US 2010/0191478 A1
mos t nois e ( on the BD C s ide) , by compa ris on W ith the reg ions
in W hich it is lia ble to conta in the inf orma tion of interes t ( on
the TD C s ide) .
[ 005 8] This opera tion theref ore increa s es the s ig na l- to
nois e ra tio a nd reduces the pres s ure ?ltering cons tra ints tha t
need to be a pplied.
[ 005 9] According to a s econd option, C 6 is ca lcula ted f rom
the f olloW ing s impli?ed expres s ion f or the relea s e of energ y
in the cylinder per unit v olume:
W here V repres ents the v olume of the combus tion cha mber 3
f or a n a ng le 6 .
[ 006 0] Beca us e the v olume v a ries cyclica lly W ith 6 , multi
plying by
l
V
ha s the a dv a nta g e of reducing the a mplitude of the nois e on
the relea s e of energ y a t the pla ces W here it is typica lly the
hig hes t ( nea r BD C ) . This ca lcula tion a ls o a mpli?es the s ig na l
in the pla ces W here it is of us e f or detecting the SOC a nd the
EOC ( typica lly f ound nea r TD C ) .
[ 006 1] This opera tion theref ore increa s es the s ig na l- to
nois e ra tio a nd reduces the pres s ure ?ltering cons tra ints tha t
ha v e to be a pplied.
[ 006 2] In pra ctice, ca lcula ting
ma y prov e complica ted a nd ma y theref ore enta il computa tion
poW er in order to be perf ormed a s s uch in a n onboa rd elec
tronic eng ine ma na g ement s ys tem. HoW ev er, div iding by the
v olume is of bene?t beca us e it a lloW s the s impli?ca tions s et
out hereinbeloW to be a pplied.
[ 006 3 ] W e s ta rt out f rom the expres s ion, W ell knoW n to
thos e s killed in the a rt, of the a ppa rent relea s e of energ y
of the g a s pres ent in the cha mber:
W here:
[ 006 4] Q is the q ua ntity of energ y pres ent in the g a s es in
the combus tion cha mber 3 ;
[ 006 5 ] 6 is the cra nk a ng le;
[ 006 6 ] y is the ra tio of s peci?c hea t ca pa cities ( cp a nd c) ;
[ 006 7] V is the v olume of the combus tion cha mber a t 6 ;
[ 006 8] p is the pres s ure in the combus tion cha mber a t 6 ;
J ul. 29, 2010
[ 006 9] m is the ma s s of g a s es tra pped in the cylinder a t 6 ;
[ 0070] T is the tempera ture in the combus tion cha mber 6 .
[ 0071] It s hould be noted tha t expres s ion ( 4) could be
reW ritten, us ing time t in pla ce of 6 .
[ 0072] HoW ev er, it is pref era ble to us e the a ng le 6 , beca us e
the s ys tem then becomes independent of the rota tiona l s peed
of the eng ine.
[ 0073 ] It s hould a ls o be noted tha t expres s ion ( 4) ta ken a s a
s ta rting point conta ins the a ng ula r deriv a tiv e of the tempera
ture ra ther tha n the deriv a tiv e of the pres s ure.
[ 0074] Tha t ma kes it pos s ible to minimiz e the nois e,
beca us e the deriv a tiv e of the mea s ured pres s ure p introduces
a g rea t dea l of nois e into the res ult.
[ 0075 ] Adv a nta g eous ly, only the pres s ure p a nd the a ng le 6
a re v a lues mea s ured by the dev ice a ccording to FIG. 1.
[ 0076 ] The other v a ria bles in expres s ion ( 4) a re either
neg lected or es tima ted, a s W e s ha ll s ee.
[ 0077] Reg a rding the ma s s m, the a s s umption is ma de to
cons ider this cons ta nt ( the inj ected ma s s is theref ore
neg lected) . The expres s ion f or C then becomes :
_ldQ_1 pdT pdV ( 5 )
C Q- v w - F[ T%] + v w
[ 0078] The ra tio of s peci?c hea t ca pa cities y is cons idered
to be cons ta nt bef ore combus tion a nd in the ?rs t f eW moments
of combus tion. It ma y, f or exa mple, be es tima ted a s being
eq ua l to 1. 4.
[ 0079] For a g iv en eng ine g eometry, there is a n uncha ng ing
rela tions hip betW een the v olume V a nd the a ng le 6 . To es ti
ma te the v olume V a nd its deriv a tiv e
dV
m
a ta ble of v a lues g iv ing the v olume V f or dif f erent v a lues of 6
is us ed.
[ 0080] The tempera ture T a nd its deriv a tiv e
dT
W
a re ca lcula ted on the ba s is of s a id v olume V a nd pres s ure p.
[ 0081] According to a ?rs t W a y of ca lcula ting T, it is
a s s umed tha t the g a s is a perf ect g a s . It ca n theref ore be
W ritten tha t, a t a ny ins ta nt:
PV ( 6 )
T : mr : C OIISIBIII
[ 0082] Thus , a t tW o dif f erent moments or tW o dif f erent
a ng les :
PQ_VQ _ P< > _V< > ( 7)
T9 _ To
[ 0083 ] From this W e ca n deduce:
Pa v e ( 3 )
T = T
Q 0 P0 V0
US 2010/0191478 A1
W here:
TO, p0, VO a re the initia l tempera ture, pres s ure a nd v olume
( i. e. the v a lues upon clos ure of the inlet v a lv e) .
Te, p6 , Ve a re the tempera ture, pres s ure a nd v olume a t the
a ng le 0.
[ 0084] The tempera ture is theref ore es tima ted f or ea ch
v a lue of the a ng le 0, f rom initia l pres s ure, tempera ture a nd
v olume conditions a t the s ta rt of the cycle, pref era bly j us t
a f ter the inlet v a lv e clos es .
[ 0085 ] The initia l tempera ture ca n be cons idered to be con
s ta nt a nd eq ua l to 3 00K, or a lterna tiv ely, it ca n be ma de to
depend on the a dmitted- a ir tempera ture, if this is being mea
s ured.
[ 0086 ] This method ma y be pref erred beca us e it enta ils
v ery f eW ca lcula tions , g iv en tha t
is ca lcula ted j us t once per cycle a nd this res ult need merely be
multiplied by peVe f or ea ch neW v a lue of the a ng le 0.
[ 0087] According to a s econd W a y of ca lcula ting T, it is
a g a in a s s umed tha t the g a s is a perf ect g a s ( pVImrT, W here
mr is cons ta nt) , but this time it is the f olloW ing tha t is deduced
f rom this :
[ 0088] This expres s ion could be reintroduced into the
expres s ion f or C 6 , but tha t W ould ca us e the deriv a tiv e of
pres s ure
M
W
to rea ppea r, a nd this deriv a tiv e is a s ource of nois e in the
ca lcula tion.
[ 0089] A dif f erent W a y of expres s ing
ldT
T%
will theref ore be pref era ble.
[ 0090] To do tha t, expres s ion ( 9) is dis cretiZ ed a nd the
v a lues a dopted by V, p, T a re cons idered a t the a ng les 0 a nd
0- A0, W here A0 is cons ta nt a nd repres ents the s tep s iZ e of the
ca lcula tion. Expres s ion ( 9) then becomes :
[ 0091] The f olloW ing expres s ion f or the tempera ture T a t
the a ng le 0 is then deduced, a s a f unction of the tempera ture
a t the a ng le 0- A0:
J ul. 29, 2010
T _ T 1 ( 11)
Q _ 9A1 P0AA0 + VQeAQ _1]
P0 A0
[ 0092] The tempera ture is theref ore es tima ted recurs iv ely
f or ea ch v a lue of the a ng le 0, f rom a n initia l tempera ture
corres ponding to the tempera ture in the cylinder a t the
moment the inlet v a lv e clos es . It ma y be cons idered to be
cons ta nt a nd eq ua l to 3 00K, or a lterna tiv ely ma y be depen
dent on a n a dmitted- a ir tempera ture mea s ured by a ppropria te
mea ns .
[ 0093 ] To ?nis h of f , the expres s ion of C 6 is a ls o dis cretiZ ed,
a nd the v a lue of C e f or ea ch v a lue of 0 is g iv en by the f ormula :
[ 0094] Furthermore, expres s ion ( 9) , ( l l) or ( 12) ca n be
s impli?ed s till f urther, in terms of computa tion, by s implif y
ing the expres s ion f or V ( or V6 ) .
[ 0095 ] Speci?ca lly, a s s ta ted hereina bov e, the la W rela ting
to the v olume V, W hich is uncha ng ing f or a g iv en eng ine
g eometry, ma y be determined by a ta ble of v a lues , a s s ocia ting
the v olume v a lue W ith ea ch v a lue of 0.
[ 0096 ] In a n onboa rd s ys tem, it is nonetheles s a dv a nta
g eous to reduce the s iZ e of the ta bles of v a lues beca us e thes e
us e up memory res ources . The s impli?ca tion s et out herein
a f ter W ill a t the v ery lea s t ma ke it pos s ible to reduce the s iZ e
of the ta bles of v a lues held in memory, a nd a t mos t, ma ke it
pos s ible to dis pens e W ith thes e.
[ 0097] Ra ther tha n us ing the true v olume in the ca lcula tions
s et out hereina bov e, us e is ma de in its pla ce of a pa ra bolic la W
VP g iv en by the expres s ion: VPIVO+KPG2 W here V0 is con
s ta nt a nd is the v olume a t TD C ( dea d v olume) ,
KP is a coef ?cient tha t needs to be a dj us ted s o tha t the curv e of
VP is v ery clos e to the curv e of V nea r TD C .
[ 0098] VP ma y thus be s ubs tituted f orV ( or V6 ) throug hout
the a f orementioned ca lcula tions : f or ca lcula ting the tempera
tures T6 a nd Te_A6 a nd in the term
[ 0099] C omputa tion time is theref ore s a v ed a nd res ources
a re economiZ ed.
[ 0100] According to the inv ention, the end of combus tion
EOC ca lcula tion ca n be perf ormed throug h ca lcula ting the
C A90 ra ther tha n by es tima ting the end of combus tion
us ing the method s et out a bov e.
[ 0101] C A90 is the cra nk a ng le, f or a determined cycle, a t
W hich 90% of the cha rg e pres ent in the combus tion cha mber
ha s been burnt.
[ 0102] It corres ponds to the a ng le a t W hich
dQ
( 24%
US 2010/0191478 A1
( W here Q a nd 0 a re a s expla ined a bov e) rea ches 90% of its
ma ximum a mplitude AM.
[ 0103 ] This ma ximum a mplitude AM ma y be mea s ured by
ca lcula ting the dif f erence betW een:
[ 0104] the ma ximum a nd minimum v a lues of Q; or
[ 0105 ] the ma ximum v a lue of Q a nd Z ero; or
[ 0106 ] Z ero or the minimum v a lue of Q, a nd the a ng le a t
the end of integ ra tion of Q if this corres ponds to the
ma ximum v a lue of Q.
[ 0107] Once the SOC a nd EOC ha v e been detected, the
corres ponding cra nk a ng les a re recorded.
[ 0108] The v a lues of thes e n a ng les a re s tored in memory
a nd their mea ns a re determined.
[ 0109] The dif f erence betW een thes e tW o v a lues EOC - SOC
prov ides a n ima g e of the ra te of combus tion.
[ 0110] The ca lcula ted v a lue EOC - SOC is inj ected into a
ma p of the type in the exa mple of a tta ched FIG. 2.
[ 0111] The output f rom this ma p prov ides the etha nol con
tent in the f uel tha t is in the proces s of being cons umed.
[ 0112] The v a lue f rom the a f orementioned ma p is s tored in
memory in a ppropria te mea ns until a dif f erent etha nol con
tent is lea rnt.
[ 0113 ] The eng ine ma na g ement s ys tem ca libra tions a re
then a da pted to this etha nol content v a lue ( ig nition a dv a nce
ma ps f or exa mple) to g ua ra ntee optima l eng ine running .
[ 0114] The ra te of combus tion EOC - SOC ca n be es tima ted
by ca lcula ting the C A10, ra ther tha n by es tima ting the s ta rt of
combus tion us ing the method s et out a bov e.
[ 0115 ] The C A10 is the a ng le a t W hich 10% of the cha rg e
pres ent in the combus tion cha mber ha s been burnt. lt corre
s ponds to the a ng le a t W hich
rea ches 10% of its ma ximum a mplitude AM.
[ 0116 ] This ma ximum a mplitude AM ca n be mea s ured by
ca lcula ting the dif f erence betW een:
[ 0117] the ma ximum a nd minimum v a lues of Q;
or
[ 0118] the ma ximum v a lue of Q a nd Z ero;
or
[ 0119] Z ero or the minimum v a lue of Q, a nd the a ng le a t
the end of integ ra tion of Q if this corres ponds to the
ma ximum v a lue of Q.
1- 6 . ( ca nceled)
7. A method f or es tima ting etha nol content of a f uel
inj ected into a n interna l combus tion eng ine, ov er a number n
of cycles ( n being a n integ er g rea ter tha n or eq ua l to 1) of
dis pla cement of a pis ton in a cylinder, compris ing :
determining a s ta rt of combus tion of a f uel inj ected f or ea ch
of the cycles ;
ca lcula ting the mea n s ta rt of a combus tion a ng le f rom the
s ta rt of combus tion v a lues recorded f or the n cycles ;
determining a n end of combus tion of a f uel inj ected f or
ea ch of the n cycles ;
ca lcula ting the mea n end of combus tion a ng le f rom the end
of combus tion v a lues recorded f or the n cycles ;
ca lcula ting a combus tion dela y betW een the ca lcula ted
s ta rt of combus tion time a nd the ca lcula ted end of com
bus tion time; a nd
J ul. 29, 2010
deducing etha nol content f rom the combus tion dela y, on
the ba s is of a determined model or a look- up lis t prov id
ing the rela tions hip betW een the combus tion dela ys a nd
the etha nol contents .
8. The method a s cla imed in cla im 7, W herein the etha nol
content is s tored in memory until a dif f erent etha nol content is
lea rned.
9. The method a s cla imed in cla im 7, W herein, f or plura l
s ucces s iv e a ng les tha t a cra nks ha f t of the eng ine a dopts
W ithin ea ch cycle, a v a ria ble C 6 is ev a lua ted a t a n a ng le 0 of
the cra nks ha f t in the combus tion cha mber of the cylinder, the
v a ria ble C e being ba s ed on a ng ula r deriv a tiv e
of the q ua ntity of energ y Q a t a n a ng le 0, a nd a n a ng ula r v a lue,
W hich is eq ua l to the a ng le a t W hich
dQ
( 24%
rea ches 10% of its ma ximum a mplitude is ca lcula ted, the
a ng ula r v a lue being recorded a s a s ta rt of combus tion a ng ula r
v a lue f or the cycle in q ues tion.
10. The method a s cla imed in cla im 7, W herein, f or plura l
s ucces s iv e a ng les tha t the cra nks ha f t of the eng ine a dopts
W ithin ea ch cycle, a v a ria ble C 6 is ev a lua ted a t a n a ng le 0 of
the cra nks ha f t in the combus tion cha mber of the cylinder, C e
being ba s ed on the a ng ula r deriv a tiv e
of the q ua ntity of energ y Q a t a n a ng le 0, a nd a n a ng ula r v a lue,
W hich is eq ua l to the a ng le a t W hich
rea ches 90% of its ma ximum a mplitude is ca lcula ted, the
a ng ula r v a lue being recorded a s being the end of combus tion
a ng ula r v a lue f or the cycle in q ues tion.
11. The method a s cla imed in cla im 9, W herein the ma xi
mum a mplitude is mea s ured by es ta blis hing the dif f erence
betW een:
the ma ximum a nd minimum v a lues of Q;
or
the ma ximum v a lue of Q a nd Z ero;
or
Z ero or the minimum v a lue of Q, a nd the a ng le a t the end of
integ ra tion of Q if this corres ponds to the ma ximum
v a lue of Q.
US 2010/0191478 A1 J ul. 29, 2010
6
12. The method a s cla imed in cla im 9, wherein the Va ria ble p being the pres s ure in the cylinder a t the a ng le 6 ,
C 6 is ca lcula ted f rom the f ollowing expres s ion: V being the Volume of the combus tion cha mber a t the a ng le
6 5
T being the tempera ture in the combus tion cha mber a t the
d_Q=LEd_T+ d_v a ng le6 ,
d9 7 1 T 0 M y being the ra tio of s peci?c hea t ca pa cities cP/cv .
* * * * *