A MODEL OF TORQUE GENERATION PROCESS IN DIRECT

INJECTION DIESEL ENGINE

Paolo Falcone , Maria Carmela De Gennaro , Giovanni Fiengo , Luigi Glielmo , and Stefania Santini

Universit`a degli Studi del Sannio, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Benevento, Universit`a degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Abstract
Aiming at integrating a reliable combustion torque estimator
into engine controllers, we present encouraging identification
and validation results for a combustion model of DI diesel engine. The model is sufficiently simple to be possibly included
into future engine control strategies and estimate techniques.
The experimental data refer to a turbocharged engine BMW
MD47 1900cc during a transient phase.
Keywords: Automotive, Modeling, Identification.

Introduction
Modern engine control systems have to satisfy several requirements about performances and pollutant emissions, i.e. air-fuel
control system, on-board diagnosis, etc. In order to improve
the performance of the overall vehicle, the engine torque is an
important variable that has to be controlled. Nowadays, due
to the non-availability of durable and cheap torque sensors to
be embedded on the crankshaft [1], the control is based on the
calculation of the engine torque by means of static maps. To
improve the performances of these torque control systems, the
replacement of the torque measure with its estimation can be
useful. In literature, several works on torque estimation from
the crankshaft speed are presented. Most of them use a model
based [2]-[3], or a sliding mode approach [4]-[5]. The purpose
of this work is the development of a Direct Injection Diesel
engine simulator, that computes the instantaneous combustion
torque produced by each cylinder. This simulator has to be a
trade-off between physical models, too much complex from a
computational point of view, and black box models, very fast
but not suitable to test torque control strategies and estimators.
The simulator is the first step of a bigger project aimed to improve the torque control system for commercial vehicle: it will
be used to test different torque estimate techniques and torque
control strategies, both based on simple models of the engine.
After a careful identification phase, this kind of model can be
used also for control strategies and estimation design.
A thermodynamic approach is applied to compute the incylinder pressure over a cycle, and a crank-slider mechanism
model is used to calculate the combustion torque. The inputs
of the proposed model are the injected fuel, aspirated air, injection timing, intake manifold pressure and temperature, load
torque.
The paper is articulated as follows: in the next section the combustion model is presented; then the test bed configuration, and

identification results are shown.

DI Diesel Engine Combustion Model

The combustion process in a Diesel engine is composed by four
phases [6]. The first phase is the Ignition delay period, the
period of time between the start of fuel injection (SOI) and
the start of combustion. Then, during the second phase, called
Premixed phase, the mixture of air and fuel, formed during the
ignition delay period, burns in few crank angle degrees presenting the highest heat release rate. When the first fuel-air mixture
is consumed, the third phase starts, Mixing-controlled combustion phase: new fuel is injected and the heat release rate is
controlled by the velocity at which the new air-fuel mixture becomes available for burning. In this phase the heat release rate
may reach a second peak, usually lower then the first one. Finally, during the last phase, Late combustion phase, the heat
release continues at lower rate into the expansion stroke.
In the following, the cylinder pressure (p) is used to represent
the combustion evolution. This pressure is computed applying
the first law of Thermodynamics to the combustion chamber,
considering it an open system with uniform pressure and temperature, as follows:
dV
dU
dQn
p
+ m f hinj =
dt
dt
dt

(1)

where: dQn /dt is the net heat release flow and p dV /dt is the
variation of energy due to system boundary displacement.
Now, considering the gas as ideal and, supposing no mass exchange and constant specific heats, cv and cp , the derivative of
internal energy can be written as:
dU
dT
= mcv
,
dt
dt

(2)

Moreover, taking into account the differential form of the ideal

gas state equation:
dp dV
dT
+
=
,
p
V
T

(3)

then substituting (2) and (3) in the equation (1) and neglecting
the heat rate related to the enthalpy component (m f hinj ), the
net heat release rate becomes:

dQn
cv  dV cv dp
= 1+
p
+ V .
(4)
dt
R
dt
R dt
Finally, using the Mayer relation (R = cp cv ) in equation (4),
the variations of in-cylinder pressure are given by the following

The heat released during the combustion phase, supposed complete, is represented by
Qch = QLHV mf,b ,

(9)

The mass of fuel burning (mf,b ) is modelled using two Wiebe

functions, for the premixed (p ) and mixed controlled phases
(m ) [7, 8]:


dp
dm
dmf,b
= mf
+ (1 )
,
(10)
d
d
d
where , the fraction of fuel burning during the premixed
phase, is computed as:
Figure 1: Forces acting on the crankshaft.

=1a

.
c
id,ms

(11)

The Wiebe function is described by the following equation:

equation:
p dV 1 dQn
dp
=
+
.
(5)
dt
V dt
V dt
Once obtained the in-cylinder pressure equation, we need to
compute the in-cylinder gas volume (V ) and the net heat release (Qn ). As regard the in-cylinder gas volume, it is simply
obtained multiplying the displacement of the piston from the
top dead center (see figure 1)
s = r(1 cos ) + l(1 cos ),

(6)

and the piston area, Ap , and adding the clearance volume, Vc ,

as follows:
V = sAp + Vc .
(7)
The net heat release, function of the injected fuel mass, the
fuel-air ratio, the injection angle and pressure and temperature
of intake manifold, is the difference between the fuel energy
released during the combustion, Qch , and the heat transferred
through the cylinder walls, Qht , as follows (see figure 2):
Qn = Qch Qht .

(8)



dj
j + 1 ig j
=Cj

d
j
j
"
 +1 #

ig j
exp Cj
j

(12)

where j = p, m denotes the Wiebe function respectively for the

premixed and the mixed controlled phase and ig is the ignition
angle, given by
ig = inj + id + 180 .

(13)

The ignition delay (id ) is computed as a function of temperature and pressure in the cylinder, cylinder geometry, crank rotational speed and chemical properties of the fuel, as follows
[9]:
id = (C1 + C2 Sp )
" 

C 6 #
1
C4
1

exp EA
TC
C3
pTC C5
RT

(14)

where pT C and TT C are the estimated pressure and temperature

at the Top Dead Center (TC), in motored condition, computed
using a polytropic model for the compression stroke:
TTC = Tman rcn1

pTC = pman rnc .

(15)

The heat transferred through the cylinder walls, Qht , the other
component of the equation (8), is modelled as described in the
following equation:
ht = hc (Tg Twall ),
Q

Figure 2: Block diagram for calculation of indicated torque.

(16)

where Tg is the mean gas temperature, computed with the gas

state equation:
pVM
.
Tg =

mR

The heat-transfer coefficient is given by [10]

c
hc = C7 Bmc 1 pmc wmc T0.751.62m
,
g

(17)

where the gas speed w is [10]:

w = C8 Sp + C9

Vd Tr
(p pm ).
pr Vr

(18)

After computing the in-cylinder pressure p, the reciprocating

motion of the piston is converted in a rotational one on the
crankshaft by a transmission mechanism, constituted by a connecting rod and a crank for each cylinder (see figure 1). The
indicated torque, Ti (), is given by the relation
Ti () = rFt (),

(19)

where Ft () is the component of the pressure force (Fp () =

p()Ap ) orthogonal to the crank. By trigonometric computation we can write (see figure 1):
Ft () = Fc () sin( + ) =
= p()Ap

Fp ()
sin( + )
cos

sin( + )
= p()Ap f().
cos

(20)

Identification results
To collect the data for the identification of the combustion
model shown above, it was used a test bed with a diesel turbocharged BMW MD47 16V, 1900 cc, whose main features
are shown in the table 1.
Power
100 kW
Bore
84 mm

N. Cylinder
4 - 1900cc
Stroke
88 mm

To identify and validate the model, the measured combustion

torque is necessary. Since the test bed does not have a torque
sensor, it has been computed by means of the presented crank
slider model using the cylinder pressure measurements. These
measurements are taken at steady state and transient time, consisting of intervals of ECE (Economic Commission for Europe)
and FTP (Federal Test Procedure) cycles, respectively the European and American standard driving cycles.
The identification results of the combustion model are obtained
from data referring to an acquisition of 10 seconds in an ECE
cycle, and consisting of an acceleration from 930 rpm up to
1500 rpm. The first 5 seconds, in which the acceleration occurs, are used for the identification, the following 5 seconds
are used to validate the model. The results are reported in figures 3-6: figure 3 shows the cylinder pressure, measured and
simulated by the model, extracted by the identification range,
while figure 4 shows the corresponding torque signals. In figure 4 a large error appears on the first torque peak, while there
is a good agreement between computed and measured pressure:
this maybe due to a little synchronization error between maeasured crank-angle and pressure signal, that can cause a large error on indicated torque. Likewise, figure 5 shows the cylinder
pressure, measured and simulated by the model, extracted by
the validation range; figure 6 shows the corresponding torque
signals. The results show a good capability of prediction of the
model, suitable for testing purposes.
The parameters of the model are calibrated through an identification algorithm based on nonlinear least squares technique.

Max. Torque
280 Nm at 1750 rpm
Compression ratio
19

Table 1: Engine data.

The acquisition system is divided into three subsystems:
dSpace is an hardware/software system used in rapid prototyping of automotive control strategies. The maximum
rate of sampling data from test bed is 20kHz. The main
data obtained from dSPACE are cylinder pressure, engine
speed and crank angle. For the acquisition of in-cylinder
pressure is used a piezoelectric pressure transducer.
ECU-ETAS acquisition subsystem. The engine used for
the measurements has a BOSCH ECU. With this system
measurements of injected fuel, air mass introduced incylinder, injection timing, boost pressure, intake air temperature, engine speed are obtained with a variable sample
rate.

Figure 3: Simulated and measured cylinder pressure, in a identifica-

AVL main acquisition system. From this system measurements of load torque and engine speed are obtained with
a fixed rate of acquisition of 10Hz.

In this work a DI four cylinder inline Diesel engine is modelled.

The model is identified using pressure data collected from an

tion period, at 930 rpm: the dashed line is the measured pressure, the
dotted line is the simulated pressure.

Conclusion and future activity

Figure 4: Simulated and measured cylinder torque, in a identification

Figure 5: Simulated and measured cylinder pressure, in a validation

period, at 930 rpm: the dashed line is the measured torque, the dotted
line is the simulated torque.

period, at 1500 rpm: the dashed line is the measured pressure, the
dotted line is the simulated pressure.

engine test bed, equipped with a BMW four cylinder DI Diesel

engine (MD47), placed in the Department of Design and Control of Mechatronical Systems of the Linz University. Future
improvements of the model are the inclusion of the crankshaft
and intake-exhaust systems, in order to make the whole model
suitable for simulation of the entire Diesel engine. Such simulator will be able to show the phenomenology of the combustion and, at the same time, it will be simple to allow fast
simulation for control strategies and torque estimator testing.

Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank prof. Luigi Del Re, dr. Gerald
Steinmaurer, ing. Peter Langthaler and ing. Christoph Sammer from Mechatronic Department, Johannes Kepler University, Linz (Austria), for the use of laboratory facilities, and dr.
ing. Giuseppe Police of the Istituto Motori of CNR (Italian
National Research Council) for helpful discussions.

Figure 6: Simulated and measured cylinder torque, in a validation

period, at 1500 rpm: the dashed line is the measured torque, the dotted
line is the simulated torque.

References
[1] Schagerberg S. and McKelvey T.
Instantaneous
Crankshaft Torque Measurements. Modeling and Validation. SAE paper (03P-167), 2002.
[2] Taraza D., Henein N.A. and Bryzik W. Determination of
the Gas-Pressure Torque of a Multicylinder Engine from
Measurements of the Crankshafts Speed Variation. SAE
Technical Papers (980164), 1998.
[3] Azzoni P., Moro D., Ponti F. and Rizzoni G. Engine and
Load Torque Estimation with Application to Electronic
Throttle Control. SAE Technical Papers (980795), 1998.

[4] Shiao Y. and Moskwa J.J. Cylinder Pressure and Combustion Heat Release Estimation for SI Diagnostics Using Nonlinear Sliding Observers. IEEE Transactions on
Control Systems Technology, (1), 1995.
[5] Haskara I. and Mianzo L. Real-Time Cylinder Pressure
and Indicated Torque Estimation via Second Order Sliding Modes. Procedings of the American Control Conference, Arlington, VA June 25-27, 2001.
[6] Heywood John B.
Internal Combustion Engine
Fundamentals. McGraw-Hill International Editions-

Automotive Technology Series, 1988.

[7] Watson N., Pilley A. D., and Marzouk M. A Combustion
Correlation for Diesel Engine Simulation. SAE Technical
Paper, (800029), 1980.
[8] Miyamoto N., Chikahisa T., Murayama T., and Sawyer
R. Description and Analysis of Diesel Engine Rate of
Combustion and Performance Using Wiebes Functions.
SAE Trans., (850107), 1985.
[9] Hardenberg H. O. and Hase F. W. An Empirical Formula
for Computing the Pressure Rise Delay of a Fuel from
its Cetane Number and from the Relevant Parameters of
Direct-Injection Diesel Engines. SAE paper (790493), 88,
1979.
[10] Woschni G. Universally Applicable Equation for the
Instantaneous Heat Transfer Coefficient in the Internal
Combustion Engine. SAE Tech. paper (670931), 76,
1967.

Contacts
Paolo Falcone graduated in 2003 in Computer Engineering at
the Universit`a di Napoli Federico II; currently he is an Assistant Researcher with the Universit`a degli Studi del Sannio, Corso Garibaldi 107, 82100 Benevento, Italy, e-mail: falcone@unisannio.it.
Maria Carmela De Gennaro graduated in 2002 in Computer Engineering at the Universit`a di Napoli Federico II; she currently
is a PhD Student with the Universit`a degli Studi del Sannio,
e-mail: degennaro@unisannio.it.
Giovanni Fiengo graduated in 1998 in Computer Engineering
at the Universit`a di Napoli Federico II, received a PhD in Automatic Control from Universit`a di Napoli Federico II in Italy
in 2002. Currently he is a Researcher with the Universit`a degli
Studi del Sannio, e-mail: gifiengo@unisannio.it.
Luigi Glielmo received a PhD in Automatic Control from
Universit`a di Napoli Federico II in Italy in 1990; he was a
Researcher of System Theory at Universit`a di Napoli from
1990 to 1992, an Associate Professor of Automatic Control
at Universit`a di Palermo from 1992 to 1993 and at Universit`a di Napoli from 1993 to 2000; currently he is a Professor
of Automatic Control at Universit`a degli Studi del Sannio, email:glielmo@unisannio.it.
Stefania Santini graduated in 1997 in Computer Engineering
at the Universit`a di Napoli Federico II, received a PhD in
Automatic Control from Universit`a di Napoli Federico II in
Italy in 2000. Currently she is a Researcher with Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica, Universit`a degli Studi di
Napoli Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Napoli, Italy, e-mail:
stsantin@unina.it.

Nomenclature
Ap
piston area
B
cylinder bore
cp
specific heat at constant pressure
cv
specific heat at constant volume
CN fuel cetane number
EA (618840/CN + 25) apparent activation energy
Fp
pressure force
Fm
force of inertia
hc
heat-transfer coefficient
hinj fuel enthalpy
l
length of the connecting rod
L stroke
J
crankshaft inertia
m
gas mass
mf
fuel mass
mf,b mass of fuel burning
M
molecular mass
Mo
reciprocating mass
Mr rotating mass
n
polytropic exponent (assigned)
N
rotational speed of the crankshaft
p
in-cylinder pressure
pT C estimate pressure on the Top Dead Center (TC),
supposing the combustion will not happen
pm
motored pressure, that is the in-cylinder pressure
supposing the combustion does not happen
pman pressure in the intake manifold
pr
in-cylinder gas pressure at the combustion
beginning
Qch
fuel energy released during the combustion
Qht
heat transferred through the cylinder walls
QLHV fuel low heating value, equal to 42.5 for
diesel engine
Qn
net heat release
r
crank radius
rc
compression ratio

R
(R/M
) gas constant

R
universal gas constant
Sp
(2LN ) mean piston speed
T
in-cylinder gas temperature
Tg
mean gas temperature
Ti
indicated torque
Tf
friction torque
Tm
mass torque
Tman temperature in the intake manifold
Tl
load torque
Tr
in-cylinder gas temperature at the combustion
beginning
Twall wall temperature, supposed equal to 650K
TT C
estimate temperature on the TC,
supposing the combustion will not happen
U gas internal energy
V in-cylinder gas volume

Vc
Vd
Vr

clearance volume
displacement volume
in-cylinder gas volume at the combustion
beginning
w gas speed
fraction of the fuel burning during the
premixed phase
m duration of the mixed controlled phase [deg]
p
duration of the premixed phase [deg]

(cp /cv ) assumed constant equal to 1.3

fuel-air ratio
id,ms ignition delay [msec]
id
ignition delay [deg]

crank angle
ig
ignition angle [deg]
inj injection angle despite the top dead center [deg]

crank rotational speed

p , m , Cp , Cm , C1 , ..., C7 , a, b and c are parameters to be
identified, and mc , C8 and C9 are assigned constants.