A hybrid approach to the fast positive force transient tracking problem in automotive engine control

The engine control problem can be decomposed into a set of sub-problems corresponding to regions of operation identified by the settings of the control devices available to the driver (e.g., accelerator pedal angle, selected gear). One of these regions is the so called fast positive force transient, where a quick acceleration is requested, maintaining certain comfort standards. In this paper, this control problem is formulated as a hybrid control problem and solved by approximation of an auxiliary continuous control problem. The quality of the results is backed by a set of simulations on a commercial car model