Novel non-intrusive sensor for piston position measurement

Saber Taghvaeeyan, Rajesh Rajamani, Zongxuan Sun

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel sensor for the non-intrusive real-time measurement of piston position inside a cylinder. The proposed sensor exploits the principle that any ferromagnetic object has an inherent magnetic field which varies as a function of position around the object. By modeling the magnetic field as a function of position and using sensors to measure magnetic field intensity, the position of the object can be estimated. This principle is used to measure piston position in a free piston engine without requiring any sensors inside the engine cylinder. The piston is approximated as a rectangular metallic object and the variation of the magnetic field around it is modeled. A challenge arises from the fact that the parameters of the model would vary from engine to engine and would be cumber-some to calibrate for each engine. This challenge is addressed by utilizing two magnetic field sensors with known longitudinal separation between them. An iterated least squares algorithm then provides adaptive parameter estimates and accurate position estimation. Experimental results from a free piston engine set up show that the proposed sensor can provide better than 0.4 mm accuracy in position estimates. The proposed sensing concept can be utilized for piston position measurement in multi-cylinder SI and diesel engines, hydraulic cylinders and in many other position measurement applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2013 American Control Conference, ACC 2013
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages3631-3636
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)9781479901777
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event2013 1st American Control Conference, ACC 2013 - Washington, DC, United States
Duration: Jun 17 2013Jun 19 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings of the American Control Conference
ISSN (Print)0743-1619

Other

Other2013 1st American Control Conference, ACC 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityWashington, DC
Period6/17/136/19/13

Keywords

  • Position measurement
  • magnetic sensors
  • parameter estimation
  • piston position estimation

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