Methods for engine supervision and control based on cylinder pressure information

The increasing demands for low emissions and low fuel consumption in modern combustion engines require improved methods for online diagnosis and best possible control of the combustion process. It is demonstrated that the cylinder pressure signal can successfully be used for this task. After introduction of some theoretical background, several application examples are presented: an online supervision of fuel injection, some results on feedforward emission control, and a concept for feedback control of spark timing. Experimental results obtained from stock car diesel and spark ignition engines are included to support the automation concepts.