Tech Briefs
Ricardo advances

DaimlerChrysler, Kistler, and Ricardo are working together on silicon-based sensor materials in cylinder pressure research

A new Advanced Engine Development Center has been opened by Ricardo in the UK as the first phase of an extensive new facility. Ricardo now has five technical centers in the UK and USA. The advanced control systems and software incorporated in the facility will allow them to simulate operating conditions and replicate the engine performance in a vehicle under a variety of driving conditions. The new facility is climatically controlled, allowing drive cycle and driver characteristics to be simultaneously simulated during extreme climate conditions. "These test-bed-based processes will enable manufacturers to cut the full engine-management system calibration process by at least six months and reduce the risk and cost associated with the testing of prototype vehicles in extreme climate locations," said a Ricardo spokesperson.

A research program under way at the new Center is a collaborative exercise between Ricardo, DaimlerChrysler, and Swiss sensor technology supplier, Kistler Instrument, to investigate engine-management systems design using intelligent control algorithms and advanced sensor technology. Code named AENEAS, it is partly funded by the European Commission. "The underlying goal is to obtain substantial improvements in the cost, efficiency, and reliability of sophisticated "model-based' engine-management-control systems," states Ricardo. "The impact on the engine will be reduced emissions and lower fuel consumption as well as improved vehicle performance, derivability, and refinement."

Ricardo believes that the introduction of model-based control and diagnostic algorithms into the automotive industry has been hindered by the lack of inexpensive sensing devices. "In particular, the measurement of cylinder pressure, which would give valuable information on the engine's performance, has been very expensive due to the harsh environment of the combustion chamber. Attention is now being focused upon the development of inexpensive cylinder pressure sensors in order to realize a system more appropriate for the application of model-based control."

Ricardo says the AENEAS project sensor technology is the result of research and development carried out by DaimlerChrysler and Kistler. They have shown that material systems designed from silicon carbide on insulator (SiCOI) and silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies can operate in harsh combustion environments. Together with advanced intelligent control and diagnostic algorithms, Ricardo believes there is a potential for a cost-effective solution to the development and application of cylinder pressure engine-management technology.