Estimation of position of electromechanical actuator valve using Kalman filter

Until you measure, you cannot control. Keeping in mind the end goal to have better control, it is essential that the estimation be as accurate as could be expected. The need for enhanced and exact control gets highlighted in circumstances where the parameters of the specific system changes quickly in a brief length of time. One such circumstance is controlling the throttle valve of the electronic throttle body. A proper control structure for the throttle valve is necessary as the angle of opening determines the amount of air injected into the combustion chamber. It is very crucial to be in command of the amount of air entering as it directly affects the engine performance and emissions. Naturally, it follows that an error in measurement of the angle of opening of the throttle valve will have an impact on the crucial parameters of the powertrain frameworks of the vehicle, which is unacceptable. In this paper we have presented a Kalman filter based control algorithm for the electronic throttle body. It takes the values of the input voltage to the motor and the throttle position sensors and aims to minimize the error and quickly adjust the angle at the correct value. A comparison of the proposed algorithm and a conventional PID controller has also been included.