Cycle-to-Cycle Control of HCCI Engines

With stated benefits ranging from increased thermal efficiency to significantly reduced NO_x emissions, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) represents a promising combustion strategy for future engines. When achieved by reinducting exhaust gas with a variable valve actuation (VVA) system, however, HCCI possesses nonlinear cycle-to-cycle coupling through the exhaust gas and lacks an easily identified trigger comparable to spark or fuel injection. This makes closed-loop control decidedly nontrivial. To develop a controller for HCCI, the engine cycle is partitioned into five stages: adiabatic, constant pressure induction of re-inducted product and reactant charge; isentropic compression to the point just prior to combustion initiation; constant volume combustion; isentropic expansion of product gases; isentropic exhaust of product gases. Using this framework, a nonlinear low-order model of HCCI combustion is formulated, where the input is the molar ratio of reinducted products to fresh reactants and the output is the peak in-cylinder pressure. Comparison with experimental in-cylinder pressure data shows that the model, while simple, offers reasonable fidelity. Using the nonlinear model, a linearized model and an accompanying LQR controller are formulated and implemented on a more detailed model presented in previous work. Results from these simulations show that the modeling and control approach is indeed successful at tracking a varying desired work output while maintaining a constant desired combustion phasing.