A split cycle internal combustion engine includes a combustion cylinder accommodating a combustion piston and a compression cylinder accommodating a compression piston. The engine also includes a controller arranged to receive an indication of a parameter associated with the combustion cylinder and/or a fluid associated therewith and to control an exhaust valve of the combustion cylinder in dependence on the indicated parameter to cause the exhaust valve to close during the return stroke of the combustion piston, before the combustion piston has reached its top dead centre position (TDC), when the indicated parameter is less than a target value for the parameter; and close on completion of the return stroke of the combustion piston, as the combustion piston reaches its top dead centre position (TDC), when the indicated parameter is equal to or greater than the target value for the parameter.

An automobile vehicle overhead camshaft system includes multiple camshafts individually having multiple sliding camshaft barrels. Opposed ends of the camshaft barrels individually have a zero-lift lobe. Multiple intake valves are operated by a first one of the camshafts and multiple exhaust valves are operated by a second one of the camshafts. Multiple actuators operate during a deceleration cylinder cut-off (DCCO) mode to slidably displace the camshaft barrels to position the zero-lift lobe of predetermined ones of the multiple sliding camshaft barrels into contact with at least one of: all of the intake valves; or all of the exhaust valves.

A split cycle internal combustion engine includes a combustion cylinder accommodating a combustion piston and a compression cylinder accommodating a compression piston. The engine also includes a controller arranged to receive an indication of a parameter associated with the combustion cylinder and/or a fluid associated therewith and to control an exhaust valve of the combustion cylinder in dependence on the indicated parameter to cause the exhaust valve to close during the return stroke of the combustion piston, before the combustion piston has reached its top dead centre position (TDC), when the indicated parameter is less than a target value for the parameter; and close on completion of the return stroke of the combustion piston, as the combustion piston reaches its top dead centre position (TDC), when the indicated parameter is equal to or greater than the target value for the parameter.

A method of operating an engine is provided. An exhaust valve actuation fault is detected for a first exhaust valve associated with a first cylinder during a first working cycle. In response to the detection of the exhaust valve actuation fault, fueling to at least the first cylinder is cut off. Actuation of the first exhaust valve is attempted in second working cycles that follow the first working cycle, wherein the second working cycles are not fueled. Whether or not the first exhaust valve actuated properly during the second working cycles is determined. Operation of the first cylinder is resumed when it is determined that the first exhaust valve actuated properly. Operation of the first cylinder is not resumed when it is determined that the first exhaust valve did not actuate properly.

Methods and systems are provided for performing expansion combustion in an engine of a start-stop vehicle. In one example, a method may include, responsive to receiving an auto-start request to restart an engine from an auto-stop, determining a fuel mass to inject into a cylinder for an expansion combustion event based on a duration of the auto-stop, and actuating a spark plug of the cylinder after injecting the determined fuel mass to perform the expansion combustion event. In this way, an air-fuel ratio of the expansion combustion event may be more accurately controlled, resulting in more robust expansion combustion engine restarts.

An internal combustion engine comprises a plurality of cylinders, including at least one de-activatable cylinder having at least one deactivator assembly operatively connected to the at least one valve train for the de-activatable cylinder. In such an internal combustion engine, a method for actuating engine valves comprises operating at least one cylinder of the plurality of cylinders to provide positive power generation according to the main valve actuations and, additionally, placing the at least one deactivator assembly for a de-activatable cylinder of the at least one de-activatable cylinder in a deactivation state. While the at least one deactivator assembly for the de-activatable cylinder is in the deactivation state and while the at least one cylinder is operating to provide positive power generation according to main valve actuations, the method further comprises performing at least one secondary valve event via at least one engine valve for the de-activatable cylinder.

Methods and systems are provided for fuel post injection for diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration. In one example, a method may include, responsive to a request for generating exotherms in an exhaust system of an engine while combustion is discontinued in at least one cylinder of the engine, injecting fuel into a cylinder within a threshold crank angle range around top dead center (TDC) of a compression stroke of the cylinder and also within the threshold crank angle range around top dead center of an exhaust stroke of the cylinder, the threshold crank angle range extending from no more than 40 crank angle degrees before TDC to no more than 40 crank angle degrees after TDC. In this way, fuel post injections may be injected +/−40 crank angle degrees after TDC of the compression and exhaust strokes to increase exhaust temperature while avoiding wall wetting and oil-in-fuel dilution.

A method of controlling an electronically controllable valve of an engine includes receiving, from one or more operation sensors, operation data including sensor data corresponding to a condition of the engine, control inputs indicative of operation of equipment that includes the engine, or a combination thereof. The method includes determining, using a trained valve control model, an operating characteristic of the valve at least partially based on the operation data, and generating a control signal to effect operation of the valve in accordance with the operating characteristic.

The disclosure concerns variable valve timing of a four-stroke ICE. The ICE comprises: an exhaust valve and an intake valve an exhaust camshaft an intake camshaft and a cylinder arrangement. The cylinder arrangement comprises a combustion chamber a cylinder bore and a piston. The control arrangement is configured to: perform a first sequence of changes in the timings of the exhaust and intake camshafts in order to arrive from a first camshaft timing setting at a second camshaft timing setting based on a first current maximum cylinder pressure within the combustion chamber around top dead centre fire and/or around to dead centre gas exchange.

A combustion control method and system for an engine of a vehicle comprises a controller configured to access a trained feedforward artificial neural network configured to model a volumetric efficiency (VE) of the engine based on measured engine speed, engine intake manifold absolute pressure, intake and exhaust camshaft positions, intake air temperature, and engine coolant temperature, generate a base VE of the engine using the trained feedforward artificial neural network and the measured parameters, estimate an air charge mass flowing to each cylinder of the engine based on the base VE of the engine, and control combustion in the cylinders of the engine based on the estimated air charge mass to improve at least one of combustion stability, torque response, and fuel economy.