Output feedback regulation of electromagnetic valves for camless engines

Electromagnetic valves are presently studied as an alternative to conventional mechanical camshafts. There are still relevant open problems to be solved before they can be introduced in production. In fact, to eliminate acoustic noise and avoid damages to mechanical components, the control specifications require sufficiently low impact velocities between the valve and the constraints. In this paper a regulation problem is formulated in order to track a desired lift valve profile, rejecting at the same time the modeled disturbances. The stabilization problem is solved using an output feedback, which incorporates an observer for the estimation of the disturbances acting on the system.