Novel Three-Way-Catalyst Emissions Reduction and GT-Power Engine Modeling

One primary focus on internal combustion engines is that these engines create multiple harmful exhaust gases that can cause damage to the environment. There are a number of advanced strategies that are currently being investigated to help reduce the amount of these harmful emissions that are emitted from IC engines. One such method of reducing harmful emission gases focuses on the three-way-catalyst. A three-way-catalyst (TWC) is an exhaust emission control device that is designed in such a way to take harmful exhaust gases and convert them into less harmful gases through various chemical reactions within the TWC. To help further the reduction of these harmful gases in the TWC, a novel two-loop control and estimation strategy is used. This control and estimation strategy involves the use of two loops with an inner-loop controller, outer-loop robust controller, and an estimator in the outer-loop. The estimator consists of a TWC model and an extended Kalman filter which is used to estimate the fractional oxidation state (FOS) of the TWC. This estimated FOS is then used by the robust controller, along with other parameters, to produce a desired engine lambda reference signal, λup. This desired lambda signal is then used by the inner-loop controller to control the engine lambda. Accurate control of lambda is important because the air-fuel-ratio range for a TWC to effectively achieve oxidation and reduction simultaneously is extremely narrow. Another primary focus in the field of internal combustion engines is designing and tuning advanced models within GT-Power that can accurately predict what will happen when running an actual engine. Designing, troubleshooting, and testing a GT-Power model is an extensive but rewarding process. Creating an accurate engine model can not only provide one with primary engine data that is also measurable in a test cell, but can also provide insight into some of the intricate processes and nature of the engine that are difficult or impossible to physically measure. Cummins has an extensive process of tuning GT-Power engine models. This process include items such as initial model calibrations, model dis-cretizations, turbocharger tunings, and other items. Some of these processes are used to calibrate both Cummins Power Systems Business Unit engines as well as a Purdue B6.7N natural gas engine