Stochastic Simulation of a CumSum Knock Controller

Abstract Single time-history simulations of knock control strategies cannot provide repeatable measures of closed loop performance because such responses are strongly dependent on the random arrival of knock events during the specific simulation or experiment. Stochastic simulation algorithms address this issue by computing the probability distribution of the closed loop response as a function of time from any given initial distribution. In this paper, a new algorithm is presented for stochastic simulation of a Cumulative Summation-based knock control strategy. The stochastic simulator is then used to assess the performance of this strategy in a scenario in which feedback sensitivity is also enhanced through the use of an optimized knock threshold. The results are compared to those for a traditional knock controller operating using a more conventional knock threshold level.