Nonlinear Observer-based Control Design and Experimental Validation for Gasoline Engines with Exhaust Gas Recirculation

This paper presents a nonlinear observer-based control design approach for gasoline engines equipped with exhaust gasrecirculation (EGR) system. A mean value engine model is designed for control which includes both the intake manifold andexhaust manifold dynamic focused on gas mass flows. Then, the nonlinear feedback controller based on the developed modelis designed for the state tracking control, and the stability of the close loop system is guaranteed by a constructed Lyapunovfunction. Since the exhaust manifold pressure is usually unmeasurable in the production engines, a nonlinear observer-basedfeedback controller is proposed by using standard sensors equipped on the engine, and the asymptotic stability of the bothobserver dynamic system and control dynamic system are guaranteed with Lyapunov design assisted by the detail analysis of themodel. The experimental validations show that the observer-based nonlinear feedback controller is able to regulate the intakepressure and exhaust pressure state to the desired values during both the steady-state and transient conditions quickly by onlyusing the standard sensors.