The polytropic volume method to detect engine events based on the measured cylinder pressure

Internal combustion engines deliver work using an intermittent thermodynamic process. For control and diagnosis purposes, it is useful to detect key events relative to the crank angle position. A new method to detect the intake valve closing (IVC), start of combustion (SOC), end of combustion (EOC) or exhaust valve opening (EVO), using the measured cylinder pressure as input, is described. The method is based on the observation that the compression and expansion processes are of polytropic nature. It is shown that the events can be detected by detecting the points where the real and the polytropic volume diverge.