An observer design for single-sensor individual cylinder pressure control

This paper describes the application of a recently developed observer design method for nonlinear discrete-time systems to a practical automotive problem. The goal is to estimate the air charge maldistribution in the individual cylinders of a four cylinder, spark ignition gasoline engine, based on measurements from a single sensor located in the intake manifold. To that end, we also developed a novel, control oriented model of the induction process in naturally aspirated internal combustion engines. Comparison of this model to experimental data is included.<>