Patent Publication Number: US-10781730-B2

Title: Method and device for acquiring the oil temperature in an internal combustion engine

Description:
During the operation of the internal combustion engine, in particular spark-ignition engines with fuel injection or Flex-fuel motors which can be operated with any desired fuel composition of gasoline and ethanol, to certain extent considerable amounts of fuel as well as of inert gas pass, as so-called blow-by, into the crank casing via the cylinder walls and the piston rings. This accumulated fuel has a negative effect on the lubrication effect, viscosity and lifetime of the engine oil. Particularly in the cold operating state, to certain extent the cylinder inner walls are wetted excessively with fuel, which then passes into the crank casing via the piston rings and ultimately is accumulated as fuel in the engine oil. 
     If the internal combustion engine is not heated up to the optimum operating temperature, the accumulated fuel mass becomes larger after each time the internal combustion engine is started. When the internal combustion engine is heated to the operating temperature, the accumulated fuel begins to boil and becomes gaseous. This accumulated fuel brings about relatively slow heating of the engine compared with the heating behavior without dilution of the oil. As result, the oil temperature which is modeled by means of the known oil temperature models does not correspond to the real profile. 
     SUMMARY 
     The teachings of the present disclosure describe methods and devices which permit the temperature of the engine oil of an internal combustion engine to be determined with a high level of accuracy while dispensing with an oil temperature sensor. For example, some embodiments include a method for determining the temperature (T_OIL) of an engine oil ( 16 ) in an internal combustion engine ( 10 ), in which the temperature (T_OIL) of the engine oil ( 16 ) is acquired using an oil temperature model (OIL_TM), and at least one parameter which characterizes the operating point of the internal combustion engine ( 10 ) is included in the calculation as an input variable of the oil temperature model (OIL_TM), characterized in that during the modeling of the temperature (T_OIL) of the engine oil ( 16 ), dilution of the engine oil ( 16 ), caused by different components in the engine oil ( 16 ), is included by taking into account the modified heating behavior of the engine oil ( 16 ). 
     In some embodiments, the components which are input into the engine oil ( 16 ) are determined by means of an oil-dilution model (OIL_VM). 
     In some embodiments, the input masses are determined for the individual components which are input, and a boiling characteristic curve ( 58 ) is assigned for each input mass and is stored in a value memory ( 43 ) of a control device ( 40 ) which performs open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the internal combustion engine ( 10 ). 
     In some embodiments, a correction factor, with which the modeled oil temperature (T_OIL) is corrected in the direction of low values, is acquired using the boiling characteristic curves ( 58 ). In some embodiments, at least one of the variables of the coolant temperature (TCO), air mass flow (MAF), intake manifold pressure, air/fuel ratio (λ) is used as a parameter characterizing the operating point of the internal combustion engine ( 10 ). 
     As another example, some embodiments include a control device for an internal combustion engine ( 10 ) of a motor vehicle, wherein the control device is configured in such a way that the method as described above can be executed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       An exemplary embodiment of the teachings herein is described below in more detail with reference to the appended figures. Of the said figures: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic illustration of an internal combustion engine with an assigned control device incorporating teachings of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  shows a boiling diagram for two fuel components; and 
         FIG. 3  shows a diagram clarifying the heating behavior of the engine oil with various degrees of oil dilution. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present disclosure describes methods and systems wherein the influence of the heating behavior of the engine oil is taken into account during the modeling of the engine oil temperature, by the different components accumulated in the engine oil. By including the various heat conductivity values and vapor pressures of the foreign bodies accumulated in the engine oil, such as ethanol or water, which, as the mass proportion rises, significantly influence the coefficient of thermal conduction of the engine oil mixture and therefore the heating behavior, the accuracy of the oil temperature model can be increased, particularly during the warming up of the internal combustion engine. Furthermore, more precise pilot control of the injection mass to be corrected can therefore be achieved by the hydrocarbons boiling out of the engine oil, and more precise determination of the lost torque and more selective enabling of OBD diagnoses and adaptations can be achieved. 
     The function can be used both for spark-ignition engines and for diesel engines. In some embodiments, the components which are accumulated in the engine oil are determined by means of an oil dilution model, and the accumulation masses are determined for the individual accumulated components, and a boiling characteristic curve is assigned for each accumulation mass and is stored in a value memory of a control device which performs open-loop and closed-loop control of the internal combustion engine. The boiling curves are directly dependent on the maximum accumulated mass, of the respectively defined component. Therefore, the boiling curve is approximated to the falsified oil temperature, and the effect described at the beginning is corrected. 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic illustration of an internal combustion engine  10  with a combustion chamber  11  in a cylinder  12 . The combustion chamber  11  is closed off on one side (on an underside in  FIG. 1 ) by a piston  13 . The piston  13  is connected via a connecting rod  14  to a crankshaft (not illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) in a crank casing  15 . Moving parts of the internal combustion engine  10 , in particular the piston  13  which moves to and fro in the cylinder  12 , are lubricated by lubricant  16 , referred to below as engine oil. The engine oil collects in the crank casing  15  and is circulated and filtered by devices (not illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). 
     The internal combustion engine  10  also has an intake tract  20 , in which, in succession in the direction of flow of the sucked-in air, an air filter  21 , a throttle valve  22  and an air mass flow sensor  23  which serves as a load sensor are arranged. In some embodiments, an intake pressure manifold sensor can be provided as a load sensor in the intake tract  20 . Furthermore, a venting line  24  of the crank casing  15  opens into the intake tract  20  downstream of the throttle valve  22 . A shut-off valve, in particular an electric shut-off valve (not official), can be provided in the venting line  24 . 
     The intake tract  20  is connected to the combustion chamber  11  via a gas inlet valve  25 . The gas inlet valve  25  is controlled by means of a camshaft  26 . In addition, a fuel injection valve  27  for directly injecting the fuel into the combustion chamber  11  and a spark plug  28  are arranged at the head of the cylinder  12  of the internal combustion engine  10 . The fuel injection valve  27  can alternatively be arranged on the intake tract  20  and therefore upstream of the inlet valve  25  in the direction of flow. In this case, the term intake manifold injection or duct injection is used. 
     The combustion chamber  11  of the internal combustion engine  10  is also connected to an exhaust tract  31  via a gas outlet valve  29 , which is controlled by means of a camshaft  30 . One or more exhaust gas catalytic converters  32  and/or other devices for filtering or preparing exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine  10  can be arranged in the exhaust gas tract  31 . 
     In order to supply fuel to the internal combustion engine  10 , a fuel tank  33  is provided in which fuel  34  is stored. In this context, gasoline, alcohol or any desired mixture of the two can be used as the fuel  34 . The fuel  34  is pumped by means of a high-pressure fuel pump  35  from the fuel tank  33  to a distributor pipe (common rail) from which in each case a feed line  37  leads to each fuel injection valve  27 . Further components, present in the fuel path, such as a low pressure pump (intake pump), pressure regulator, pressure sensor, valves and return lines are omitted for reasons of clarity. 
     In order to perform open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the internal combustion engine  10 , an electronic control device (ECU, electronic control unit)  40  is provided. The control device  40  contains a computational unit (processor)  41 , which is coupled to a program memory  42  and a value memory (data memory)  43 . The processor  40 , the program memory  42  and the value memory  43  can each comprise one or more microelectronic components. As an alternative, these components can be partially or completely integrated into a single microelectronic component. The program memory  42  and/or the value memory  43  store/stores programs or values which are necessary for the operation of the internal combustion engine  10 . In particular, what is referred to as an oil dilution model OIL_VM, with which the fuel which is input into the engine oil  16  and the fuel which is extracted from the engine oil  16  are determined, is implemented in the program memory  42 . Such oil dilution models are described, for example, in the applicant&#39;s documents DE 10 2010 006 580 and B3 DE 10 2012 221 507 B3, the content of which is incorporated herewith in this regard. Furthermore, a method OIL_TM for the model-assisted acquisition of the temperature of the engine oil  16  is implemented in the program memory  42  and executed by the computational unit  41  during the operation of the internal combustion engine  10 . Suitable oil temperature models are described, for example, in the applicant&#39;s documents WO 02/086296, DE 10 06 533 B4 and DE 10 2011 088 858 A1, the content of which is incorporated herewith in this regard. Inter alia, boiling characteristic curves  58  for various fuel components are stored in the value memory  43 , the significance of which components is also explained in more detail below with reference to the following description. 
     The control device  40  is assigned a plurality of sensors which acquire various measurement variables and each determine the measured value of the measurement variable. Operational variables comprise not only the measurement variables but also variables derived therefrom. The control device  40  determines, as a function of at least one of the measurement variables and/or the operating variables, manipulated variables which are then converted into one or more actuation signals for controlling the actuators by means of corresponding actuator drives. 
     The sensors are, for example, the air mass flow meter  23 , which outputs a signal MAF for the air mass flow in the intake tract  20 , a filling level sensor  51  for the engine oil  16  in the crank casing  15 , a temperature sensor  52  for the cooling medium of the internal combustion engine  10 , which outputs a signal TCO, a crankshaft angle sensor  53  which acquires a crankshaft angle to which a rotational speed N is then assigned, a lambda probe  57  upstream of the exhaust gas catalytic converter  32  whose signal λ is characteristic of the air/fuel ratio in the combustion chamber  11  of the cylinder  12 . Signals from further sensors which are necessary for the operation of the internal combustion engine  10  but are not explicitly illustrated are generally identified by the reference symbol ES. 
     The actuator elements are, for example, the throttle valve  22  in the intake tract  20  and the fuel injection valve  27 . Further signals for further actuator elements which are necessary for the operation of the internal combustion engine  10 , but not explicitly illustrated, are generally identified by the reference symbol AS. In addition to the cylinder  12 , further cylinders can also be provided and corresponding actuators are also assigned to them. The application of the method according to the invention is independent of the number of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine. 
     The control device  40  determines the suitable ignition time, the injection time and the rotational speed, inter alia as a function of a load signal and the rotational speed and taking into account the signals of the specified further sensors. If a crank casing venting process takes place, the fuel components which evaporate out of the engine oil are also taken into account in this calculation. The fuel accumulated in the engine oil brings about relatively slow heating of the engine oil compared with the heating behavior of “pure engine oil”. In this context, the term pure engine oil is to be understood as meaning an engine oil which, in contrast to contaminated engine oil, is free of an input of fuel, in particular an input of ethanol, and free of further input components such as, for example, water. 
     The heating of the engine oil  16  is influenced by four essential factors: 
     a) by the operating point of the internal combustion engine  10  and the input of thermal energy connected thereto, by the combustion process of the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder  12 , 
     b) by the friction energy of the components and fluids moving in the internal combustion engine  10   
     c) by the ambient temperature (current temperature gradient) or speed and temperature of the medium which flows around the internal combustion engine  10 , and 
     d) by the composition of the engine oil  16 . 
     The required quality of heat ΔQ [J] for increasing the temperature of a medium by Δϑ is calculated as follows
 
Δ Q=Δϑ*c   p   *m  
 
wherein
 
               c   p     ⁡     [     J     kg   ⁢           ⁢   K       ]           
represents the specific isobaric thermal capacity and m is the mass of the medium to be heated.
 
     The thermal quantity ΔQ is directly dependent on the mass m. As the mass m increases, more energy must therefore also be fed in in order to reach the same temperature rise Δϑ. The thermal quantity of a mixture of, for example, engine oil and ethanol (as the fuel which is input into the engine) results from the mixture ratio thereof as well as the specific thermal capacities of the individual materials:
 
Δ Q=Δϑ   öl   *c   p-öl   *m   öl +Δϑ ethanol   *c   p-ethanol   *m   ethanol  
 
     Customary engine oils for internal combustion engines have, depending on the viscosity class a density of 840-880 kg/m 3 . 
     In order to heat three liters of engine oil with a density of 868 kg/m 3  by 1 kelvin, the following is required: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 O 
                 ¨ 
               
               ⁢ 
               l 
               ⁢ 
               
                 : 
               
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               
                 Q 
                 
                   p 
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     - 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   
                     o 
                     ¨ 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   l 
                 
               
             
             = 
             
               
                 0.003 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   m 
                   3 
                 
                 * 
                 868 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   kg 
                   
                     m 
                     3 
                   
                 
                 * 
                 2010 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   J 
                   
                     kg 
                     ⁢ 
                     
                         
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     K 
                   
                 
                 * 
                 1 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 K 
               
               = 
               
                 5.2 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 kJ 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In order to heat 1 liter of ethanol by 1 kelvin, the following is required: 
     
       
         
           
             Ethanol 
             ⁢ 
             
               : 
             
           
         
       
       
         
           
             
               Q 
               
                 p 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   - 
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 ethanol 
               
             
             = 
             
               
                 0.001 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   m 
                   3 
                 
                 * 
                 806 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   kg 
                   
                     m 
                     3 
                   
                 
                 * 
                 1730 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   J 
                   
                     kg 
                     ⁢ 
                     
                         
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     K 
                   
                 
                 * 
                 1 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 K 
               
               = 
               
                 1.4 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                     
                 
                 ⁢ 
                 kJ 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     If oil dilution of one liter of ethanol occurs in a spark-ignition internal combustion engine, an additional expenditure of energy of 1.4 kJ must be generated in order to heat the engine oil/ethanol mixture by 1 kelvin. A precondition is an isobaric operating point and for the conducted-away heat to be discounted. If the mixture has heated up to the boiling point of the first component, it follows the ideal boiling diagram. 
     Such a boiling diagram for two components A and B is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The component A is a material with lower boiling point than component B. The pressure is to be assumed as a constant (isobar) for this example. Furthermore, just one example with 2 different components is also considered here; in reality there are far more components which are present in the engine oil. If an ideal mixture of the components A and B is heated, the temperature rises in a regular fashion until the boiling point of the component A is reached. From there the temperature rise follows a boiling curve which is composed of the different boiling points, or in other words, the various vapour pressures at the same temperature, of the integral components. Expressed in simplified terms, the smaller the proportion of the mixture which is made up by the mass component of component A, the higher the boiling temperature of the mixture. When the boiling temperature of material B is reached, component A has completely evaporated and is no longer present in a liquid form. 
     Transferred to the present situation, this results in the engine oil in an internal combustion engine heating correspondingly more slowly under constant conditions (same supplied heat) if oil dilution occurs, for example by ethanol (boiling point is ˜78° C. at ˜1 bar). 
     To summarise, two effects are therefore basically responsible for the fact that a slowed-down heating behavior of the engine oil occurs. Mainly the increase in mass, but also the changed temperature behavior during the evaporation process plays a role. Correspondingly, a temperature model which determines the temperature of the engine oil must be corrected as long as it contains a minimum amount of foreign substances to be defined (substances which usually cannot be found in the oil after an oil change). The influence of the oil dilution on the heating behavior of the engine oil can be measured. 
     The heating behavior of an engine oil with different levels of oil dilution is shown in  FIG. 3  in the form of a diagram. In this context, the time t is plotted in increments of 20 seconds on the abscissa and the temperature of the engine oil T_OIL is plotted on the ordinate. In this context, three trials were carried out during which a specific mass of ethanol was manually fed to the engine oil. The temperature of the engine oil which was artificially diluted, and therefore contaminated, in this way was measured during the heating of the vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine at the same location at a constant operating point which was the same over all three trials. The characteristic curve TG_100 characterizes here the chronological temperature profile of the engine oil with 100 g of added ethanol, the characteristic curve TG_200 characterizes the chronological temperature profile of the engine oil with 200 g of added ethanol, and the characteristic curve TG_400 characterizes the chronological temperature profile of the engine oil with 400 g of added ethanol. 
     The characteristic curve TM shows the profile of the engine oil temperature T_OIL such as is calculated by an oil temperature model, known from the prior art, for pure engine oil, that is to say without taking into account the oil dilution. It is possible to clearly see the differences in the measured oil temperature of the engine oil diluted with ethanol in comparison with the known oil temperature model without taking into account the ethanol dilation. The oil temperature model generally supplies an excessively high temperature value owing to the oil dilution which is not taken into account. 
     In the following table, the measured and modeled temperature values for the ethanol masses given above are plotted for two different times t 1  and t 2 . 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Measured oil 
                   
                 Modeled oil 
                   
               
               
                 Ethanol 
                 temperature, time 
                   
                 temperature, time 
               
               
                 mass 
                 [° C.] 
                   
                 [° C.] 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 [g] 
                 t1: 
                 t2: 
                 t1: 
                 t2: 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 100 
                 60 
                 72 
                 68 
                 75 
               
               
                 200 
                 57 
                 68 
                 67 
                 74 
               
               
                 400 
                 55 
                 66 
                 67 
                 74 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     From this table it is apparent, on the one hand, that at the time t 1 , that is to say relatively shortly after the start of the heating process, the differences between the measured and modeled temperatures are higher than at a later time t 2  when heating has progressed. On the other hand, it is apparent that with larger ethanol contents in the engine oil the differences between the measured and model temperatures also increase. When there are even larger ethanol masses in the engine oil, this effect is even much more pronounced. 
     The difference between the measured and model temperatures becomes even clearer if the difference in timing is considered. The engine oil with fuel dilution of 200 g of ethanol (curve TG 200) only reaches a temperature of 68° C. 90 sec after the modeled oil temperature reaches this value. The modeled oil temperature is taken here as a reference for “clean” engine oil. That is to say engine oil which is contaminated with 200 g of ethanol reaches a temperature of 68° C. 90 seconds later at this constant operating point. This chronological offset brings about, inter alia, a fault in the outgassing model of the ethanol within the oil dilution model, according to which the oil temperature model is oriented. 
     LIST OF TERMS/REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
         
           10  Internal combustion engine 
           11  Combustion chamber 
           12  Cylinder 
           13  Piston 
           14  Connecting rod 
           15  Crank casing 
           16  Lubricant, engine oil 
           20  Intake tract 
           21  Air filter 
           22  Throttle valve 
           23  Air mass flow meter, load sensor 
           24  Venting line 
           25  Gas inlet valve 
           26  Camshaft 
           27  Fuel injection valve 
           28  Spark plug 
           29  Gas outlet valve 
           30  Camshaft 
           31  Exhaust gas tract 
           32  Exhaust gas catalytic converter 
           33  Fuel tank 
           34  Fuel 
           35  High-pressure fuel pump 
           36  Distributor pipe 
           37  Feed line 
           40  Control device 
           41  Computational unit, processor 
           42  Program memory 
           43  Value memory, data memory 
           51  Filling level sensor for engine oil 
           52  Temperature sensor for coolant 
           53  Crankshaft angle sensor 
           57  Lambda probe upstream of exhaust gas catalytic converter 
           58  Boiling characteristic curve 
         A Component 
         B Component 
         AS Signals for actuator elements 
         ES Signals of sensors 
         λ Air/fuel ratio 
         MAF Air mass flow 
         N Speed 
         OIL_VM Oil dilution model 
         OIL_TM Oil temperature model 
         T A  Boiling temperature of component A 
         TCO Coolant temperature 
         T B  Boiling temperature of component B 
         TCO Coolant temperature 
         TG_ 100  Temperature profile of engine oil with 100 g of added ethanol 
         TG_ 200  Temperature profile of engine oil with 200 g of added ethanol 
         TG_ 400  Temperature profile of engine oil with 400 g of added ethanol 
         TM Temperature profile of non-diluted engine oil 
         t Time 
         t 1 , t 2  Time