Robust rate-based Model Predictive Control of diesel engine air path

The paper presents the results of a robust Model Predictive Control (MPC) development for the diesel engine air path. The objective is to regulate the intake manifold pressure (MAP) and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate to the specified set-points by coordinated control of the variable geometry turbine (VGT), EGR valve, and EGR throttle. The approach uses tube-MPC to robustly enforce state constraints in the presence of set-bounded engine speed and fueling disturbances. Furthermore, a rate-based formulation along with various approximations is applied to reduce the conservativeness and computational complexity of tube-MPC. The ability of the controller to handle input and output constraints is demonstrated in both nonlinear model simulations and experimental results.