Implementation of a self-tuning controller to the dynamometer torque loop of an engine test cell

The engine testing dynamometer, of whatever generic type, is representative of many industrial systems exhibiting fast dynamic behaviour and nonlinear characteristics. In order to provide for effective testing of engines in the light of continuing environmental legislation, conventional manually tuned three term PID controllers are required to be continually adjusted/re-tuned over the performance range of the engine; a time consuming task which neither guarantees optimality or repeatability. This deficiency, coupled with the recent advances in computer technology has prompted the search for alternative control strategies and it is against this background that investigative studies are based. The paper reports on preliminary real-time implementation trials of a pole-placement self-tuning controller applied to the dynamometer torque loop within an engine test cell. The results are encouraging and indicate that potential improvements are possible when employing self-tuning techniques