Eduard Unger

Design of a Versatile Rapid Prototyping Engine Management System

The performance and capabilities of an electronic control unit for internal combustion engines are key issues for engine research and development. The objective of this hardware and software co- development was the design of a versatile and rugged rapid prototyping engine management system (RPEMS). This work has been carried out in cooperation between AVL List GmbH Graz and University of Technology, Institute of Electronics, Graz. The advantages and drawbacks of available RPEMSs have been analysed and compared to current and future requirements of modern internal combustion engine control. Hardware and software functionality and the mechanical design have been optimized and focused on upgradeability and scalability. The main version of the hardware is for direct injection gasoline engine control, with subsequent variants for diesel engine and for vehicle control. The new RPEMS and its derivatives turned out as reliable and powerful tools. They are equally well suited for laboratory use and small volume field tests. Two hardware versions control up to eight cylinders of a direct or intake-manifold gasoline or of a diesel engine, two high-pressure pumps, four knock detectors, several bus interfaces and feature additional I/O lines with dedicated sensor/actuator interfaces for special development purposes. For safety–critical applications, two units can be linked together in a master–slave or redundant configuration. A dedicated version for vehicle control supports the development of hybrid drives. While former works of the authors were related to specific detailed aspects of engine control, the design of this new RPEMS is a practical example of prototype engine control and application-oriented engineering. The paper outlines the specific placement of the product for and within the engine development process. Therefore it presents the requirements on the electronic control unit from a functional point of view and shows how they have been fulfilled by means of joint hardware/software research and development. A hardware development platform as well as software toolboxes have successfully been developed. The outcome—AVL RPEMS—serves as a prototype engine control unit for initial prototype and extra-low volume production vehicles. It proved its fitness at test bench and demo vehicle applications and equally well under tough fleet testing operation.