Experimental Implementation of Sliding Controls on Automotive Engines

Previous research has shown that high performance engine controllers could be used in conjunction with electronic controls on automatic transmissions to improve shift quality. Due to the highly nonlinear nature of automotive engines and the need for robustness of the design, sliding control is a likely choice. However, a standard sliding derivation for an automotive engine results in an unpractical control law. Robustness is a major consideration especially in the harsh environment of an automobile. In our case, adaptive laws are derived for two slowly varying parameters. The derived adaptive multi-surface control laws are implemented on a microprocessor controlled automotive engine.