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Engine knock has been recognized as a major problem limiting the development of fuel efficient spark-ignition engines. Detection methods employed in current knock control systems for spark ignition engines use a measurement of engine block vibration tuned to one or more resonance frequencies to extract knock-related information from the engine structural vibration. A major problem in the detection of knock (especially at higher engine speed) in commercial engines is the isolation of the desired signal from the contributions of the components other than those associated with the phenomenon under investigation. This is generally referred to as background noise. It is known that the engine knock resonance frequencies vary due to changes in combustion chamber volume and temperature during the expansion phase. Therefore, we propose an improved knock detection method using joint time-frequency analysis of engine block vibration and pressure signals.

This paper describes the development and experimental validation of a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) dynamic simulator that enables development, testing, and calibration of a traction control strategy. EcoCAR 2 is a three-year competition between fifteen North American universities, sponsored by the Department of Energy and General Motors that challenges students to redesign a Chevrolet Malibu to have increased fuel economy and decreased emissions while maintaining safety, performance, and consumer acceptability. The dynamic model is developed specifically for the Ohio State University EcoCAR 2 Team vehicle with a series-parallel PHEV architecture. This architecture features, in the front of the vehicle, an ICE separated from an automated manual transmission with a clutch as well as an electric machine coupled via a belt directly to the input of the transmission. The rear powertrain features another electric machine coupled to a fixed ratio gearbox connected to the wheels.