Simulation NMPC in 2-HIL to design ECU

The development, testing and tuning of control systems for complex plants found hardware in the loop (HIL) technical, a perfect ally to reduce risks, costs and times redesign. HIL allows for example, in the automotive field contain an embedded system complexity nonlinear dynamics modeling the internal combustion engine, including the processes of discrete events and continuous. With the goal to represent as closely as possible the behavior of the engine, dynamics is simulated by the embedded system in real time, sensors including. On the other hand, the electronic control unit (ECU), by construction also constitutes an embedded system that the plant operates properly. Is of wide interest to optimize engine operation, and a valid opportunity, is to design ECU’s that are running optimal control algorithms, such as nonlineal model predictive control (NMPC). This document is a report of the practical reliability of the implementation of a HIL simulation scheme for the design of NMPC controllers for internal combustion engine. In a RT hardware element implements the component models the nonlinear plant, in another such element is implemented and tested two NMPC optimal control algorithms: model predictive control with linearization on-line and NMPC based on sequential quadratic programming, included in the simulation loop the real actuator elements. Combined with an interface to the designer that allows actively interact with the system, evaluating an expanded field operating conditions and even bordering operating limits.