A CAD Package for High-Speed Cam Design Based on Direct Multiple Shooting Optimal Control Techniques

High-speed automotive valve train design requires realistic models of the valve train. However, this frequently results in highly nonlinear systems with discontinuities and constraints. Optimality criteria and trade-offs for the designs are frequently performed through a process of simulation and iterative refinement. This paper presents CamOE, a cam design optimization package based on direct multiple shooting optimal control theory, incorporating structured sequential quadratic programming. The code allows the designer to incorporate the constraints of importance and to consider and synthesize appropriate optimality criteria. This allows him or her to synthesize the cam profile at the design stage without resorting to a tedious trial-and-error design process. This paper presents CamOE as a software environment that permits rapid feedback to the designer through the process of numerical experiments in specifying criteria and constraints on the automotive valve train.