A Powertrain Simulation for Engine Control System Development

A dynamic simulation of a school bus powertrain has been constructed for the purpose of assisting in the development of engine control strategies. With some extensions, this model can also be used as a first approximation to support the development of transmission shift control strategies, predict vehicle performance and drivability as well as estimate transient loads on the powertrain components. The simulation was constructed using the Matlab* computing environment along with the Simulink* toolbox, a package for the graphical development of dynamic simulation models.

The vehicle model was validated against test data measured in the target vehicle powered by a natural gas engine to ensure that the simulation model yielded sensible predictions of the dynamic powertrain behavior. Equipped with a validated model, the control engineer can now use the simulation tool to assist in algorithm development. Sample applications are illustrated.