Abstract: A method to control an internal combustion engine having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; an oxygen sensor housed along the exhaust duct and arranged upstream of said at least one catalytic converter; and a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct upstream of the oxygen sensor the method provides the steps of calculating the thermal power required to reach the nominal operating temperature of said at least one catalytic converter obtained with an objective value of the air/fuel ratio value; and determining both the objective fuel flow rate and the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner to obtain the thermal power required to reach the nominal operating temperature of said at least one catalytic converter.

Abstract: A method to determine the mass of air trapped in each cylinder of an internal combustion engine, which comprises determining, based on a model using measured and/or estimated physical quantities, a value for a first group of reference quantities; determining, based on the model, the actual inner volume of each cylinder as a function of the speed of rotation of the internal combustion engine and of the closing delay angle of the intake valve; and calculating the mass of air trapped in each cylinder as a function of the first group of reference quantities and of the actual inner volume of each cylinder.

Abstract: A method to determine the mass of air trapped in each cylinder of an internal combustion engine, which comprises determining, based on a model using measured and/or estimated physical quantities, a value for a first group of reference quantities; determining, based on the model, the actual inner volume of each cylinder as a function of the speed of rotation of the internal combustion engine and of the closing delay angle of the intake valve; and calculating the mass of air trapped in each cylinder as a function of the first group of reference quantities and of the actual inner volume of each cylinder.

Abstract: A method to control an internal combustion engine having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; an oxygen sensor housed along the exhaust duct and arranged upstream of said at least one catalytic converter; and a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct upstream of the oxygen sensor the method provides the steps of identifying the operation phases in which the internal combustion engine is turned off and the burner is turned on so that the oxygen sensor is exclusively hit by the exhaust gases produced by the burner; acquiring the signal generated by the oxygen sensor; and using the signal generated by the oxygen sensor to determine the objective fuel flow rate and the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner.

Abstract: A method to control a burner for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine with an exhaust gas after-treatment system including at least one catalytic converter. The method provides the steps of calculating the thermal power needed to reach the nominal operating temperature of the at least one catalytic converter and determining an actual number of revolutions with which to operate a fresh air pumping device based on the sum of a nominal number of revolutions, a closed-loop contribution of the number of revolutions with which to operate the fresh air pumping device, and a further contribution of the number of revolutions with which to operate the fresh air pumping device in order to ensure optimal thermal power exiting the burner.

Abstract: A method to control the combustion of an internal combustion engine, which comprises determining a combustion model, which provides a spark advance depending on an objective value of the rate of water to be injected, on the rotation speed, on the intake efficiency and on an open-loop contribution of a combustion index; calculating a first closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on the combustion index; calculating a second closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on a quantity indicating the knocking energy; and calculating the objective value of the spark advance angle to be operated through the sum of the spark advance value provided by the combustion model and of the first closed-loop contribution or, alternatively, of the second closed-loop contribution.

Abstract: A method to control an internal combustion engine having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; an oxygen sensor housed along the exhaust duct and arranged upstream of said at least one catalytic converter; and a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct upstream of the oxygen sensor the method provides the steps of identifying the operation phases in which the internal combustion engine is turned off and the burner is turned on so that the oxygen sensor is exclusively hit by the exhaust gases produced by the burner; acquiring the signal generated by the oxygen sensor; and using the signal generated by the oxygen sensor to determine the objective fuel flow rate and the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner.

Abstract: A method to control an internal combustion engine provided with an exhaust system for the exhaust gases of a vehicle having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct to speed up the heating of said at least one catalytic converter, wherein a combustion chamber is defined inside the burner which receives fuel from an injector, designed to inject the fuel inside the combustion chamber and the fresh air by means of an air feeding circuit provided with a pumping device that feeds the air, a shut-off valve arranged upstream of the burner and a mass air flow sensor interposed between the pumping device and the shut-off valve; the method provides the following steps: calculating the thermal power required to reach the nominal operating temperature of said at least one catalytic converter; determining the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner to ob

Abstract: A method to control an internal combustion engine having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; an oxygen sensor housed along the exhaust duct and arranged upstream of said at least one catalytic converter; and a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct upstream of the oxygen sensor the method provides the steps of calculating the thermal power required to reach the nominal operating temperature of said at least one catalytic converter obtained with an objective value of the air/fuel ratio value; and determining both the objective fuel flow rate and the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner to obtain the thermal power required to reach the nominal operating temperature of said at least one catalytic converter.

Abstract: A method for calculating the mass of an overlap gaseous flow (MOVL), wherein the exhaust pressure is higher than the intake pressure, or in the case of scavenging (SCAV), wherein the intake pressure is higher than the exhaust pressure. The overlap gaseous flow (MOVL) is the flow which flows, in overlap conditions, through the intake valve and the exhaust valve of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. At least one intake valve is driven so as to vary the lift (H) of the intake valve in controlled manner. The overlap condition is a condition in which the intake valve and the exhaust valve are both at least partially open. The method comprises calculating the mass of the gaseous flow (MOVL) which flows through the intake valve and the exhaust valve on the basis of the relation: MOVL=PERM*?(P/P0,n)*P0/P0_REF*(T0_REF/T0)1/2/n.

Abstract: A method to control the combustion of an internal combustion engine, which comprises determining a combustion model, which provides a spark advance depending on an objective value of the rate of water to be injected, on the rotation speed, on the intake efficiency and on an open-loop contribution of a combustion index; calculating a first closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on the combustion index; calculating a second closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on a quantity indicating the knocking energy; and calculating the objective value of the spark advance angle to be operated through the sum of the spark advance value provided by the combustion model and of the first closed-loop contribution or, alternatively, of the second closed-loop contribution.

Abstract: A method for calculating the mass of an overlap gaseous flow (MOVL), wherein the exhaust pressure is higher than the intake pressure, or in the case of scavenging (SCAV), wherein the intake pressure is higher than the exhaust pressure. The overlap gaseous flow (MOVL) is the flow which flows, in overlap conditions, through the intake valve and the exhaust valve of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. At least one intake valve is driven so as to vary the lift (H) of the intake valve in controlled manner. The overlap condition is a condition in which the intake valve and the exhaust valve are both at least partially open. The method comprises calculating the mass of the gaseous flow (MOVL) which flows through the intake valve and the exhaust valve on the basis of the relation: MOVL=PERM*?(P/P0,n)*P0/P0_REF*(T0_REF/T0)1/2/n.

Abstract: A method for determining the mass m of air trapped in each cylinder of an internal combustion engine comprises determining, a value for each quantity of a first group of reference quantities comprising at least intake pressure P measured inside the intake manifold, engine rotation speed n, mass of gases produced by the combustion in the previous operating cycle (OFF) and present in the cylinder, determining, the actual inner volume V of each cylinder as a function of the engine rotation speed n, of the lift H of the intake valve and of the closing delay angle IVC of the intake valve, and determining the mass m of air trapped in each cylinder as a function of the first group of reference quantities and of the actual volume V inside each cylinder, on the basis of the aforesaid quantities P, V, OFF.

Abstract: A method to control the combustion of an internal combustion engine comprising determining a combustion model providing a spark advance value depending on an objective value of a quantity representing the incidence of a low-pressure EGR circuit, of the rotation speed, of the intake efficiency and of an open-loop contribution of a combustion index; calculating a first closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on the combustion index; calculating a second closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on a quantity indicating the knocking energy; and calculating the objective value of the spark advance angle to be operated through the sum of the spark advance value provided by the combustion model and of the first closed-loop contribution or, alternatively, of the second closed-loop contribution.

Abstract: A method for controlling a hybrid drive system for a road vehicle provided with at least a pair of drive wheels; the hybrid drive system comprises: an internal combustion heat engine, which is designed to transmit the motion to the drive wheels and is provided with a turbocharger equipped with a turbine; a first electric machine, which is able to transmit the motion to the drive wheels; and a second electric machine, which is mechanically connected to the turbine of the turbocharger. In a possible operating mode, the internal combustion heat engine is controlled to pursue a target torque by completely opening a throttle valve, operating the second electric machine as an electric generator and the first electric machine as a motor, and varying the electric power generated by the second electric machine so as to adjust the flow rate of fresh air fed to the cylinder of the internal combustion heat engine.

Abstract: An estimation method to determine the concentration of recirculated exhaust gas present in a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; the concentrations of recirculated exhaust gas in a gas mixture flowing through an intake duct are periodically stored in a buffer; a first instant is determined, in which a programming of a following combustion in the cylinder is carried out; an advance time is determined, which elapses between the first instant and a second instant in the future, in which air will be taken into the cylinder for the following combustion in the cylinder; a transport time is determined; a third instant in the past is determined by subtracting from the first instant an amount of time which is equal to the difference between the transport time and the advance time; and the concentration of recirculated exhaust gas present in the cylinder in the second instant is estimated depending on a concentration of recirculated exhaust gas contained in the buffer (30) and corresponding to the third instant.

Abstract: A method for determining the mass m of air trapped in each cylinder of an internal combustion engine comprises determining, a value for each quantity of a first group of reference quantities comprising at least intake pressure P measured inside the intake manifold, engine rotation speed n, mass of gases produced by the combustion in the previous operating cycle (OFF) and present in the cylinder, determining, the actual inner volume V of each cylinder as a function of the engine rotation speed n, of the lift H of the intake valve and of the closing delay angle IVC of the intake valve, and determining the mass m of air trapped in each cylinder as a function of the first group of reference quantities and of the actual volume V inside each cylinder, on the basis of the aforesaid quantities P, V, OFF.

Abstract: A method to control the combustion of an internal combustion engine comprising determining a combustion model providing a spark advance value depending on an objective value of a quantity representing the incidence of a low-pressure EGR circuit, of the rotation speed, of the intake efficiency and of an open-loop contribution of a combustion index; calculating a first closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on the combustion index; calculating a second closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on a quantity indicating the knocking energy; and calculating the objective value of the spark advance angle to be operated through the sum of the spark advance value provided by the combustion model and of the first closed-loop contribution or, alternatively, of the second closed-loop contribution.

Abstract: A method for controlling an internal combustion engine, comprising a number of cylinders and wherein the air mass trapped inside each cylinder is adjusted by means of a respective intake valve; the control method includes determining the total target torque; determining a target number of active cylinders; determining a target supercharge pressure such to guarantee the total target torque and controlling the intake valves of the target number of active cylinders (3) according to the target supercharge pressure such as to guarantee the total target torque.

Abstract: A method to determine the mass of air trapped in each cylinder of an internal combustion engine, which comprises determining, based on a model using measured and/or estimated physical quantities, a value for a first group of reference quantities; determining, based on said model, the actual inner volume of each cylinder as a function of the speed of rotation of the internal combustion engine and of the closing delay angle of the intake valve; and calculating the mass of air trapped in each cylinder as a function of the first group of reference quantities and of the actual inner volume of each cylinder.