Operating a direct-injection compression-ignition engine includes injecting early pilot shots of fuel, and controlling a cylinder temperature timing to combust the early pilot shots according to a combustion phasing that is based on the cylinder temperature timing. A main charge of the fuel is combusted based on the combustion of the early pilot shots. A combustion control unit is structured to command actuation of a fuel injector and a cylinder temperature controller to phase combustion of early pilot shots of the fuel, prior to a TDC position of a piston in an engine cycle. The cylinder temperature controller is a variable valve actuator or other apparatus controlling cylinder temperature in a manner decoupled from piston position.

In a method for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle having an automatic transmission, a torque generated by the internal combustion engine is reduced as a function of an operating state of a drive train of the motor vehicle. As a function of an excess of combustion air occurring when the torque is reduced and supplied to the internal combustion engine by an exhaust gas turbocharger, fuel combustion efficiency in at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, which is related to the torque generated by the combustion chamber, is reduced. The combustion efficiency is reduced by at least one late post-injection of fuel into the at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

A control device is configured to direct an opening degree of a throttle valve disposed in an intake passage or an exhaust passage of an engine including a DOC disposed in the exhaust passage and a DPF disposed downstream of the DOC in the exhaust passage. The control device includes: a hysteresis occurring condition determination unit configured to determine whether a hysteresis occurring condition (predetermined time elapses after instructed opening degree of throttle valve becomes equal to or smaller than predetermined opening degree and/or predetermined time elapses after engine output becomes equal to or smaller than predetermined output) is met; and a hysteresis elimination execution unit configured to cause, if it is determined that the hysteresis occurring condition is met, the throttle valve to execute hysteresis elimination that involves temporarily increasing the opening degree of the throttle valve from the instructed opening degree and then returning it to the instructed opening degree.

An ECU 10 includes a valve control unit 101 for throttling a valve opening of at least one of an intake throttle valve or an exhaust throttle valve so that an upstream temperature of a DOC reaches a predetermined temperature; and a deposition condition determination unit 105 for determining whether a deposition condition that a SOF deposition amount on the DOC exceeds a predetermined deposition amount is satisfied. The valve control unit 101 includes a throttle amount decrease control execution unit 102 for executing throttle amount decrease control to decrease a throttle amount of the valve opening when the deposition condition is satisfied to be smaller than when the deposition condition is not satisfied.

Methods and systems are provided for a low temperature NOx adsorber (LTNA). In one example, a method includes operating in a first mode, the first mode including storing exhaust NOx in an LTNA, heating the LTNA until an LTNA outlet temperature reaches a first threshold temperature, and then converting released NOx in a downstream selective catalyst reduction (SCR) device; and operating in a second mode, the second mode including heating the LTNA until the LTNA outlet temperature reaches a second threshold temperature, higher than the first threshold temperature, and converting exhaust NOx in the SCR device.

In a compression-ignition engine having a two-stage cavity, the distribution ratio between fuel for an upper cavity and fuel for a lower cavity is maintained even when the operational state of the engine changes. A piston of the compression-ignition engine includes a lower cavity, an upper cavity, and a lip portion between the lower cavity and the upper cavity. A controller causes a main injection and at least one pilot injection to be executed when the engine operates in a first state and a second state in which the load is higher than the load in the first state. The fuel spray is distributed to the lower cavity and the upper cavity. The controller causes a ratio of injection amount per pilot injection to the total injection amount to be higher when the engine operates in the second state than when the engine operates in the first state.

A system includes a vehicle operation detector, an exhaust brake operation unit, a diesel oxidation catalyst, a diesel particulate filter, an injector, and a controller for controlling the operation of the injector and the exhaust brake operation unit. A post injection control method during exhaust brake operation for the system includes: determining whether a predetermined regeneration condition of the diesel particulate filter according to the output signals of the vehicle operation detector is satisfied; performing, by the controller, regeneration by controlling the operation of the injector if the regeneration condition is satisfied; determining, by the controller, whether an exhaust brake operation condition is satisfied during regeneration based on the output signals of the vehicle operation detector; and controlling, by the controller, the operation of the injector to perform post-injection with a predetermined amount of fuel when the exhaust brake operation condition is met during the regeneration.

A method of selective hydrocarbon injection in in-cylinder late post injection in an exhaust manifold of a diesel engine comprises providing the exhaust manifold of the diesel engine comprising a plurality of cylinders, an exhaust gas recirculation valve disposed adjacent the exhaust manifold, a diesel particulate filter disposed adjacent the exhaust manifold, an exhaust gas recirculation cooler disposed adjacent the exhaust manifold offset from the exhaust gas recirculation valve, and an engine control unit operatively connected with the diesel engine for controlling at least the plurality of cylinders. At least a first cylinder is disabled via the engine control unit to reduce post injection of hydrocarbons during regeneration of the diesel particulate filter. The diesel particulate filter is regenerated. In-cylinder late post injection of hydrocarbons is conducted during regeneration of the diesel particulate filter via cylinders other than the first cylinder.

A system includes an aftertreatment system having a catalyst, a heater, at least one sensor configured to determine an exhaust gas temperature, and a controller. The controller is structured to determine whether the exhaust gas temperature is at or below a predefined threshold temperature, provide a first command to start and control the heater in response to the exhaust gas temperature being at or below the predefined threshold temperature, modulate control of the heater as a function of the predefined threshold temperature and an actual temperature, and selectively provide a second command for a close post injection based on the exhaust gas temperature. The controller is further structured to coordinate the first and second commands using a chaining sequence, wherein the first command is provided followed by the second command only if the predefined threshold temperature is not attained by the first command.

A method for controlling fuel injection aspects of a fuel system of an internal combustion engine includes determining a fuel injection strategy for each engine cycle including a pilot fuel injection, a main fuel injection, and a dwell time between the pilot and main fuel injections. The method also includes automatically adjusting the dwell time for each engine cycle based on a sensed ambient temperature and ambient pressure associated with the internal combustion engine.