Engine Knock Detection Using Multi-Spectrum Method

High engine load and over-heated engine cylinder are the main causes of engine knock. When knock occurs in an engine, vibrations composed of several specific resonant frequencies occur. Some of these resonant frequencies are missed stochastically because specific resonant frequencies are caused by different resonant vibration modes in an engine cylinder. However, a conventional knock detector can only measure a fixed resonant frequency using a band-pass filter.

This paper presents a multi-spectrum method which greatly improves knock detection accuracy by detecting the knock resonance frequencies from several specific vibration frequencies. Through overcoming the random occurrences of knock resonant frequencies by selecting specific frequencies, knock detection accuracy can be greatly improved. We studied a high precision knock detection method using real-time frequency analysis and a piezoelectric accelerometer on a V-6 engine. Knock indices were derived arithmetically for each cylinder using resonant frequency components from engine block vibrations. The developed knock detection system makes knock control possible throughout the entire engine operation range for each engine cylinder. The experimental results show that sensitive knock detection and effective knock reduction control are obtained using the multi-spectrum method.