Abstract:
A reliable alternative method of sensing the inlet air flow in a combustion chamber of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine and a relative sensing device that implements the method have been found. According to the method, the inlet air flow is assessed with soft-computing techniques basically exploiting a combustion pressure signal generated by a pressure sensor installed in the cylinder.
Abstract:
A reliable an convenient alternative method of diagnosing misfire or partial combustion conditions in an internal combustion engine without using a phonic wheel and a relative diagnosis unit that implements the method have been found. The combustion conditions are discriminated with soft-computing techniques directly exploiting a combustion pressure signal generated by a common pressure sensor installed in the cylinder. There exists an exploitably close correlation between the instantaneous values of the internal cylinder pressure and the occurrence of misfire or partial combustion conditions, and thus the cylinder pressure signal may be reliably used for diagnosing misfires or partial combustions in any functioning condition of the engine.
Abstract:
The amount of fuel to be injected in each cylinder of a multi-cylinder spark ignition internal combustion engine may be determined with enhanced precision if the fuel injection durations are determined in function of the sensed mass air flow in all the cylinders of the engine, instead of considering only the air flow in the same cylinder. This finding has led to the realization of a more efficient method of controlling a multi-cylinder spark ignition internal combustion engine and an innovative feedforward control system.