Ondrej Santin

Towards ECU-ready nonlinear model predictive control: Tip-in maneuver case study

This paper presents a study on tackling full load request in air path control of a turbocharged diesel engine. The adopted approach is based on nonlinear model predictive control that employs a specially tailored model that can be embedded and simulated at Engine Control Unit (ECU). The derived air path model of a turbocharged engine comprises of one differential equation and a set of algebraic equations with fixed polynomial structure that allow cheap evaluation of Jacobians and integration with fixed Euler step. The main advantage of this approach is that the simulation and problem construction boils down to evaluation of explicit polynomial functions which has favorable properties for real-time implementation. On top of this model, a nonlinear model predictive control problem is formulated and solved using sequential quadratic programming. The approach is demonstrated in a simulation study that focuses on abrupt load request in the boost pressure setpoint.