Methods for Ionization Current Interpretation to be Used in Ignition Control

It is desirable to measure engine performance for several reasons, e.g. when computing the spark advance setting in spark-ignited (SI) engines. There exists two methods, among others, of measuring the performance, such as measuring the pressure and the ionization current. Since the ionization current reflects the pressure, it is interesting to study if it is possible to extract information from the ionization current about the combustion and pressure. Three different algorithms for extracting information from the ionization current are studied. The first algorithm, ion peak, searches the \second peak" in the ionization signal. The second algorithm computes the centroid. In the third algorithm a model of the ionization signal structure is fitted to the ionization signal. The algorithms are tested in four operating conditions. The first algorithm uses the local information around the second peak and is sensitive to noise. The second algorithm uses a larger portion of the ionization signal, which is more stable. It provides promising results for engines with a clear post flame phase. The third algorithm, ion structure analysis, fits an ideal model to the ionization signal. The algorithm provides promising results, but the present implementation requires much computational effort