Sliding Mode Fuel-Injection Controller: Its Advantages

Abstract

New and improved results are presented on the advantages of employing the sliding mode control method for designing a closed-loop fuel-injection system. The two biggest advantages of this method are: (1) its compatibility with the current oxygen sensor technology and (2) its ability to consider robustness and performance issues analytically for an automotive engine, whose operating characteristics are highly complex and nonlinear. The controller can achieve the stoichiometric ratio control of air and fuel with excellent transient properties and is robust to model errors and disturbances. Furthermore, through direct comparisons to PI-controllers, it is shown that the sliding mode fuel-injection controller is versatile and requires very little tuning time. Performance evaluations are performed both on an engine-only model and on a comprehensive powertrain model that includes automatic transmission and drivetrain dynamics.