A variety of methods and arrangements are described for managing transitions between operational states of an internal combustion engine during skip fire operation of the engine.

Methods, devices, estimators, controllers and algorithms are described for estimating the torque profile of an engine and/or for controlling torque applied to a powertrain by one or more devices other than the engine itself to manage the net torque applied by the engine and other device(s) in manners that reduce undesirable NVH. The described approaches are particularly well suitable for use in hybrid vehicles in which the engine is operated in a skip fire or other dynamic firing level modulation manner—however they may be used in a variety of other circumstances as well. In some embodiments, the hybrid vehicle includes a motor/generator that applies the smoothing torque.

A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine involving (1) cylinder trapping strategies where one of several pneumatic spring types are dynamically selected for cylinders based at least partially on a predicted number of upcoming skips for each of the cylinders respectively and/or (2) staggering various valvetrain dependent operational engine strategies as operating conditions permit as the internal combustion engine warms up following a cold start.

A variable combustion cylinder ratio control method variably controls a combustion cylinder ratio of an engine during an intermittent deactivation operation, in which cylinder deactivation is intermittently performed. The method includes, when setting N to an integer greater than or equal to 1, repeatedly performing a cylinder deactivation in a pattern in which combustion is consecutively performed in N cylinders in the order of cylinders entering a combustion stroke, and then a subsequent cylinder is deactivated. The method further includes changing the combustion cylinder ratio by changing the pattern such that the value of N is changed by one at a time.

Methods, systems, and devices for operating an internal combustion engine at a firing fraction that is less than a value of 1.0, wherein one or more cylinders of the internal combustion engine are not designated to be fired, determining a smoothing event time period where a particular one of the cylinders that have not been designated to be fired is either skipped or recharged, selecting a periodic disruptive waveform to approximate that is related to a skip or recharge event that is part of the smoothing event time period, determining a first harmonic sinusoid from a group of harmonic sinusoids that reduces the error between an approximated waveform and the disruptive waveform, determining a timeframe for utilizing the first harmonic, and actuating an additional motor to initiate a supplemental quantity of torque during the smoothing event time period based on the disruption quantity of torque.

A variety of methods and arrangements for reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) in a skip fire engine control system are described. In one aspect, a firing sequence is used to operate the engine in a skip fire manner. A smoothing torque is determined that is applied to a powertrain by an energy storage/release device. The smoothing torque is arranged to at least partially cancel out variation in torque generated by the skip fire firing sequence. Various methods, powertrain controllers, arrangements and computer software related to the above operations are also described.

Methods of operation of liquid and gaseous multi-fuel compression ignition engines that may be operated on a gaseous fuel or a liquid fuel, or a combination of both a gaseous fuel and a liquid fuel at the same time and in some embodiments, in the same combustion event. Various embodiments are disclosed.

A method for operating an internal combustion engine having an engine with a first number of cylinders and a second number of cylinders and a supercharger arrangement, wherein a charge air flow supplied to the engine is compressed by means of at least one compressor and at least one turbine is acted on by an exhaust gas flow discharged from the engine. In a main operating mode, the engine operates the first number of cylinders in two-stroke operation and the second number of cylinders in four-stroke operation. A scavenging gradient of the engine is greater for the cylinders operated in the two-stroke operation than for the cylinders operated in the four-stroke operation.

A variety of methods and arrangements for mitigating powertrain and accessory torsional oscillation through electric motor/generator control are described. In one aspect, working chamber air charge and crank position are determined prior to starting an engine. During the engine startup period, an electric motor/generator supplies a smoothing torque to at least partially cancel engine torque variations.

The present invention discloses a control method of variable stroke engine for reforming high-octane fuel under the FCE mode, the ECU connected to the engine controls the amount of fuel injected from the flexible cylinder injector to the flexible cylinder and controls the switch state of inlet valve and exhaust valve of the flexible cylinder, so that the flexible cylinder can be switched between two-stroke mode and four-stroke mode according to the actual engine operating conditions; when the engine is at a small load and needs to promote combustion stability, the flexible cylinder injector injects a rich fuel with equivalence ratio greater than 1 into the flexible cylinder, the flexible cylinder is at two-stroke mode; when the engine is at a large load and needs sufficient power output, the flexible cylinder injector injects a conventional fuel into the flexible cylinder, said flexible cylinder is at four-stroke mode.