Automotive Powertrain Control Problems Involving Time Delay: An Adaptive Control Approach

This paper describes applications of the Adaptive Posicast Controller (APC) to Idle Speed Control (ISC) and Fuel-to-Air Ratio (FAR) control problems in automotive engines. The APC is an adaptive controller with explicit delay compensation built upon the ideas of the classical Smith Predictor, finite spectrum assignment and adaptive control. Experimental results are reported, which demonstrate improved performance compared to existing baseline controllers and effective handling of time delays and uncertainties in these applications. Aspects important to implementation and to reduction in calibration time and effort, including the selection of initial parameter values and their adaptation rates, preventing parameter drift and accounting for time-varying delay, are addressed.