Optimal Control of the Heat Release Rate of an Internal Combustion Engine With Pressure Gradient, Maximum Pressure, and Knock Constraints

In this paper, we present an analysis of the optimal burn rate in an internal combustion engine (ICE) considering pressure gradient, maximum pressure, and knocking. A zero-dimensional model with heat losses is used for that purpose. The working fluids are assumed to behave like ideal gases with temperature dependent gas properties. In the first part, it is assumed that the burn rate can be arbitrarily chosen at every time instance in order to maximize the mechanical work. This leads to an optimal control problem with constraints. In the second part, a Vibe type burn rate is assumed, where the center of combustion, the duration and the form factor can be chosen in order to maximize the mechanical work. This Vibe type burn rate is finally compared with the arbitrary combustion as the benchmark in order to evaluate the potential of the more realistic burn shape.