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Design, implementation, and operation of controllers for Diesel engines made great progress in recent years. Nevertheless they could be more efficient if the advanced techniques of modern control theory were applied to them. The efficiency of the most conventional controllers is limited by two major facts: firstly, that they have a fixed structure with constant parameters over the whole operating field of the engine and secondly, that they are designed using a single transfer function of the system that is obtained by linearization at one operating point. Most recent developments using microcomputers allow an easy adjustment of the control strategy to the operating conditions of the engine. Furthermore they allow the control of a multivariable system as is encountered, when the injection and the turbocharger of an engine is controlled simultaneously. This is only possible when a sufficiently large on-line computer capability is available.

This paper presents a concept of an actuating system and its application to fuel control in helicopters. After the development of the concept itself, we will deal with the integration of the smart actuator, its sensors, its dedicated software, communication buses, control algorithms, as well as the security aspect. It should be noted that this multisector concept offers many advantages and has been tested under real operating conditions.