Methods Of Controlling An Internal Combustion Engine Including Multiple Fuels And Multiple Injectors

1 . A method for controlling an internal combustion engine system comprising the steps of;

controlling a fuel ratio of the system;

controlling an injection ratio of the system;

controlling a residual gas recirculation ratio of the system; and

using said ratios to control a start of combustion and a peak burn rate.

2 . A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said controlling the fuel ratio and said controlling the injection ratio includes accounting for multiple direct fuel injectors.

3 . A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said controlling the fuel ratio and said controlling the injection ratio includes accounting for multiple indirect fuel injectors.

4 . A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said controlling the fuel ratio and said controlling the injection ratio includes using a predetermined start of combustion.

5 . A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said controlling the residual gas recirculation ratio includes using a predetermined peak burn rate.

6 . A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said controlling the ratios includes obtaining a predetermined ratio corresponding to at least one of the fuel ratio and the injection ratio and the residual gas recirculation ratio using engine mapping information.

7 . A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said obtaining the predetermined ratio includes obtaining a feed forward ratio corresponding to the predetermined ratio.

8 . A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said obtaining the predetermined ratio includes obtaining a closed loop control ratio corresponding to the predetermined ratio.

9 . A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said obtaining the predetermined ratio includes combining a feed forward ratio and a closed loop control ratio corresponding to the predetermined ratio.

10 . A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said combining the feed forward ratio and a closed loop control ratio is further defined as adding the feed forward ratio and closed loop control ratio corresponding to the predetermined ratio.

11 . A method as set forth in claim 6 including adjusting the at least one ratio of the system to equal the corresponding predetermined ratio.

12 . A method as set forth in claim 1 including controlling the ratios on a cycle-to-cycle basis.

13 . A method as set forth in claim 1 including accounting for a first fuel including a fossil fuel and a second fuel including an alternative fuel in the fuel ratio.

14 . A method as set forth in claim 1 including accounting for a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion.

15 . A method as set forth in claim 1 including calculating an actual start of combustion using a first operating parameter of the system and wherein said controlling the ratios includes using the actual start of combustion.

16 . A method as set forth in claim 15 wherein said first operating parameter is in-cylinder pressure.

17 . A method as set forth in claim 15 wherein said first operating parameter is an ionization signal in the cylinder.

18 . A method as set forth in claim 15 including calculating an actual peak burn rate using a second operating parameter of the system wherein said controlling the ratios includes using the actual peak burn rate.

19 . A method as set forth in claim 18 wherein said second operating parameter is equal to said first operating parameter.

20 . A method for controlling an internal combustion engine system comprising the steps of;

obtaining a predetermined fuel ratio by combining a feed forward fuel ratio and a closed loop control fuel ratio;

obtaining a predetermined injection ratio by combining a feed forward injection ratio and a closed loop control injection ratio;

obtaining a predetermined residual gas recirculation ratio by combining a feed forward residual gas recirculation ratio and a closed loop control residual gas recirculation ratio; and

using the predetermined ratios to control a start of combustion and a peak burn rate.

21 . A method as set forth in claim 20 wherein said combining the ratios includes adding the feed forward ratio and the corresponding closed loop control ratio.

22 . A method as set forth in claim 20 wherein said obtaining the fuel ratio and said obtaining the injection ratio includes using a predetermined start of combustion.

23 . A method as set forth in claim 20 wherein said obtaining the residual gas recirculation ratio includes using a predetermined peak burn rate.

24 . A method as set forth in claim 20 including accounting for a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion.

25 . A method for controlling an internal combustion engine system comprising the steps of;

controlling a fuel ratio of the system;

controlling an injection ratio of the system;

controlling a residual gas recirculation ratio of the system; and

using said ratios to control a fuel-air mixture temperature.

26 . A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein;

said controlling the fuel ratio and said controlling the injection ratio includes using a predetermined start of combustion, and

said controlling the residual gas recirculation ratio includes using a predetermined peak burn rate.

27 . A method as set forth in claim 25 including;

accounting for a first fuel including gasoline and a second fuel including ethanol in the fuel ratio;

accounting for a plurality of indirect fuel injectors and a plurality of direct fuel injectors in the injection ratio; and

accounting for a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion.