Sensing Device for Camless Engine

Electromagnetic Actuators
Fabio Ronchi, Carlo Rossi, Andrea Tilli
Dept. of Electronics, Computer Science and Systems (DEIS), University of Bologna
Viale Risorgimento n.2, 40136 Bologna, ITALY
Tel. +39 051 20 93020 , Fax. +39 051 20 93073
E-mail:
fronchi, crossi, atilli @deis.unibo.it

Abstract— A position reconstruction method for camless en-

gine electromagnetic valve actuators control without direct posi- x
tion measurement is proposed. The method makes use of flux
1
signals, obtained through integration of a secondary coil voltage
added at each electromagnet. By this solution, both fluxes and po-
sition signals are available for the design of the feedback position
controller. The paper discuss the accuracy that can be obtained for
A M 0
position reconstruction, linking it to the system parameters toler-
ances. Experimental results are reported to show the validity of
the proposed solution.
B
2

I. I NTRODUCTION
Electromagnetic actuators for internal combustion camless
engine valve control has received an increased interest in the
last years (see [1], [2] and included references). By adjusting
the valve timing depending on engine operating condition it is
possible to increase engine maximum power and efficiency in
the overall speed range. Moreover, additional strategies can be
implemented, like separated cylinder cut-off, that have further
benefits in terms of emission reduction and fuel consumption.
The adoption of an electromagnetic actuator for valve move-
ment poses challenging control problems [3]. The main goal
is the achievement of the so called ”soft-touch”: valve should
come to the full open and full close positions against mechan-
ical hard stops with very limited speed, comparable to what is
achievable with a mechanical cam, in order to reduce acoustical
noise and wear of the valve itself.
To realize the soft touch functionality, feedback position con-
trol is mandatory because system is unstable in positions near to
mechanical stop. Given a position trajectory, the feedback con-
troller have to stabilize the plant and achieve reference position
tracking. For this reason, availability of a proper position mea-
surement is one of the key factor. On the other side, direct use
of a standard position sensor is unlikely in valve electromag-
netic actuators, due to cost and reliability issues [4]. Owing
to the fact that the adopted actuator is of a variable reluctance
type, in this paper it is analyzed a virtual position sensor that re-
construct actuator position from electrical signal measurements
and the knowledge of the electromagnetic characteristics of the
actuator itself. In order to make use of the reluctance variation
for position reconstruction, flux measurement should be avail-
able. Knowledge of flux in a variable reluctance actuator give
additional benefits: closed loop control is easier to realize and
even more robust when compared with solutions using current
Fig. 1. Valve sketch
measurement. Differently from [4], in this paper the use of a
secondary coil is proposed for flux measurement purpose. This
is useful by its own in designing the feedback controller and is
instrumental in deriving the position reconstruction algorithm.
The paper is organized as follows: in section II a schematic
description of the system is given, together with basic mathe-
matical relationships; section III presents the proposed method
for flux and position reconstruction with associated limitations,
and discuss how such limitations can be overcome in the over-
all position control system; section IV reports the sensitivity
analysis of the position reconstruction to electromagnetic pa-
rameters variation, in order to evaluate what are the limits in
the allowable system dispersion to achieve the desired accuracy
from the position reconstruction; finally, section V gives some
experimental results and section VI concludes the paper.
II. S YSTEM D ESCRIPTION AND M ATHEMATICAL M ODEL
In Fig.1 a simplified scheme of the electrically actuated valve
is reported. The system is composed by a mobile mechani-
cal part (valve, levers) and two electromagnets (EMs) that de-
velop the force needed to move the valve along the vertical
axis
: EM 1 closes the valve, whereas EM 2 opens it. Two
 6
x 10 2500
4

½

3


2000
Reluctances

2


1500






1

0 1000
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
−3
x 10
500

500




0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2


 


Forces

−3
x 10
0

 
  

−500 Fig. 3. Magnetomotive force related to iron part of the magnetic flux

−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4



 −3
x 10 to




  

(3)


Fig. 2. Air-gap reluctances and Equivalent spring force (dotted) vs electro-
magnet forces for different fluxes where  is an equivalent lever ratio and the force is intended in
the versus of increasing air-gap thickness. The sign of the force
developed by a single actuator does not depend on the sign of
springs A, B are present. Spring A deliver a force to close the
the flux. It can be noted that the (2) decomposition makes the
force expression independent from 
and therefore from
valve, the B one to open it. The two springs can be modelled as
an equivalent linear spring and they are preloaded to keep the
the magnetic saturation.
valve in the center of its stroke (

) when the EMs are not The air-gap thickness

can be expressed as a function of the
supplied. valve vertical position
, as follows.
The two EMs considered are similar, with only differences in
 
 
the geometrical configuration. Their magnetic hysteresis and






Focault currents are neglected. They are completely magneti-  




cally decoupled when working in linear range. Equations de-
scribing each of the electric windings are where  is the valve vertical stroke,
      . Hence
the air-gap reluctances


 
 
  
  (1)
 





  
¾ 





  (4)

where the subscript 
  indicates the EM considered ac- can be expressed as direct functions of the valve position
:
cording to the labels of Fig.1. 
and 
are voltage and current






and



 
. In the same way, the
of the electric circuits, 
is the magnetic flux,  is the electrical forces (3) delivered by EMs can be written as functions of
:
resistance,  is the number of turns of the winding.



 

 (5)
A key point for a simple representation of the system model  


and for a performing control strategy is to express the current


 
  (6)
as a function of flux. This can be done [5] by splitting the mag-
netomotive force (MMF) into two components. The first term
 

refers to the iron portion of the magnetic flux path. It nonlin- where the 
versus has been changed to assume positive
early depends on the flux and it is assumed to be almost in- forces in the versus of increasing
. Fig.2 compares EM forces
dependent on the air-gap thickness. The second term takes into for different flux values to equivalent spring force. According
account the air-gap portion and it is assumed to be a linear func- to (5), (6) the EM 1 deliver positive force, whereas the EM 2
tion of flux and a nonlinear one of the air-gap thickness. Hence, a negative one. It can be noted that there is a range of position
the expression for the current 
is where EMs forces are less than the spring one.
Considering also mechanical equations, the complete dy-


  





  
  (2)
namical model for the system is [6]


  
where 
describes nonlinear effects in the iron part,


  

  
 

    

  

whereas



is the air-gap reluctance. Figs. 2 and 3 show 
respectively the behavior of functions


and  as de- 
rived by experimental measurements. 
   





The force developed by a single EM on the valve can be cal-
 

     (7)
culated [5] by means of the D’Alembert principle and it is equal   
 TABLE I
Trajectory
TABLE OF MODEL PARAMETERS generation

Symbol Value Units - Feedback Force to

Flux 


position + flux

controller
mm controller conversion

  turns
  kg Position
Reluctance
derivative
  reconstruction

 
    N/m Flux current

  N s /m
measures


  
    Fig. 4. Control Scheme
   

 (4) and Fig.2
 Fig.3

where 
is the equivalent spring force,  is the viscous 

friction force and  is the equivalent mass of the moving part


of the system. Note that the effect of the gravity force is negli- 

gible with respect to the other applied forces.
The numerical parameters of the considered valve are re-
ported in Table I, where the electromagnet parameters refers
to EM 2.
Fig. 5. Flux measure scheme
III. V IRTUAL FLUX AND POSITION SENSOR
A magnetic flux direct or indirect measurement represents a
where  is the number of turns of the additional windings.
key point for this kind of system for the following reasons.
Therefore the fluxes determination can be achieved via a model-
 The knowledge of the flux allows to better exploit the independent integration of  
and  . No current flows in
model formulation (7) in developing a valve position con- the measuring circuits and the number of turns  can be se-
troller based on cascade structure (see Fig.4 where a possi- lected smaller than  in order to keep the voltage level in the
ble control scheme is depicted). In fact a direct control of admissible measuring range. Starting from secondary coil volt-
the flux trajectory allows a simpler position control based ages, flux can be reconstructed as:
on force command.
 Using current and flux values, (2) can be rearranged in or-




      (10)
der to obtain the following algebraic expression of the po- 

 ¼
sition based on electromagnetic properties of the system:
 

 
where  is the initial condition assumed for the flux. A






 
  (8) detailed analysis shows that, owing to the switching nature


of 
in (9), a sampling time lower than  is required to accu-
Therefore a static position estimator can be obtained. rately reconstruct 
by means of digital integration, whereas
A. Fluxes reconstruction
The windings currents can be easily measured via shunt re-
sistors. Differently, direct measurements of the fluxes in the
two EMs by means of Hall sensors is difficult to realize owing
to hostile working conditions, mechanical constraints and tight

 (11)
cost limits. Equation (1) could be integrated to determine indi-
rectly 
and  , but this solution is unlikely due to windings
resistance and power stage electrical parameter variations. To
achieve better accuracy in flux reconstruction, a secondary coil
is added on the EM for measuring purposes. The voltages  

and  at the terminals of the above open circuits have the
following relation with the fluxes:
 condition, i.e. zero current that corresponds to zero flux, so that




 
 
 
  (9)
the available sampling period is  
 . Hence, the inte-
gration is performed by an analog circuitry and the result is ac-
quired by the digital calculator, as outlined in Fig.5. Rewriting
the (10) from the digital part point of view, it follows that







 

 

where  is the flux assumed anytime a reset is performed.
A periodical reset is needed to reduce the effects of integration
drift due to offsets and uncertainties. Reset is commanded by
the microcontroller when electromagnet is in a known operating
the initial condition   is known.
 −3
x 10 −5
4 x 10
5


  





 
2
4
0

−2 3
−4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 2
−3
x 10


0
1


 

−1
0
−2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
−3
−3 x 10
0.8

−4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
−4 −3
x 10 x 10
10
0.6




  
5  0.4 



0.2



0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
−3
x 10 0



0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
−3
x 10
Fig. 6. Typical trajectory to open the valve:
  ½  ¾
Fig. 7. Sensitivity analysis respect to 
at different positions     
and maximum relative error admissible for 
to keep 
 
of half
B. Position reconstruction range

Substituting the flux measures into (8), two values for the
valve position are obtained. Looking at the form of (8), it is by uncertainties.
clear that the best measure is the one relative to the higher
flux. In the next section it will be shown that a flux greater    
than about    is needed to have an accurate position 




 

measure. Based on the previous considerations, the position re-
construction is performed through a logic procedure, that select







 (13)
the most accurate measure based on the electromagnetic status.
Let     be the index of the greater between 
and  ,
where the index of the considered EM has been omitted. In the
following subsections, the upper EM is considered. The same
then
considerations can be made for the lower EM.




if 
   
(12)

 not available if 
   
A. Sensitivity analysis respect to 
Control algorithm must take into account these considera- Taking into account (13) and deriving respect to  , it follows
tions. In order to achieve a suitably soft-landing to mechanical that
 
   
stops, a feedback controller must be performed and therefore

 
(14)
an accurate position measure must be available. Fig.6 shows a
 

trajectory to open a valve. It can be noted that fluxes are high 


 ½ 

near to mechanical stops and hence position measure is accu-
where
rate. There is a time range in which flux can not be sufficiently



 
 
¾   ¾



high, hence feedforward actions have to be performed to ensure (15)
that when the valve approach mechanical stop the flux value is 

suitable for position measure. Fig.7 shows the results of (14). It can be noted that the higher
Finally it is worth underlining that the accuracy of the pro- the flux and the smaller the air-gap thickness the better the sen-
posed virtual position sensor is strongly related to the flux re- sitivity is.
construction quality and the knowledge of the air-gap reluc- Equation (14) can be used to approximately evaluate the max-
tance and iron saturation curves. In order to quantify the pre- imum error that is admissible for  in order to keep the error
vious considerations, sensitivity analysis is reported in the next on
 under a certain maximum value 

 .
section.



    



IV. S ENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

The position measure (8) is affected by the following uncer-
tainties: the functions  

 are identified but not exactly
known, the flux measure is not ideal. In principle, also the cur-
rent measures affect position reconstruction. For the sake of
brevity, the corresponding analysis is not reported, since the rel-
ative sensitivity is smaller than the other ones. Equation (8) can
be rewritten to enlighten (by means of a hat) the terms affected

     

  

Fig.7 shows the maximum relative error allowed for  to keep

    of half range. It can be noted that
significant errors can be accepted if position is sufficiently high
and flux less than   , that corresponds to the value that
keeps closed the valve (see Fig. 6).
 

 



−9
x 10


 
 

 
100
3

2
50


1
0

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
0 −3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 x 10


−3
x 10 0.1
0.5

0.4
0.08


 
0.06






0.3
0.04
0.2

0.1
0.02 
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2



0 −3


0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 x 10
−3
x 10

Fig. 9. Sensitivity analysis respect to 

at different positions     
Fig. 8. Sensitivity analysis respect to


and Maximum relative error admis-
and Maximum relative error admissible for  to keep 
 
sible for


to keep 
 

 



B. Sensitivity analysis respect to

    
  
 
Taking into account (13) and deriving respect to
 , it follows
that Fig.9 shows the maximum relative error allowed for  to keep




   (16) 
  . Relevant errors can be admissible only for


   positions greater than  and fluxes less than   , that
 ½ 

corresponds to the value that keeps closed the valve (see Fig. 6).
Fig.8 shows the results of (16). It can be noted that the lower Looking at Figs. 7, 8, 9 it can be noted that, in the same con-
the air-gap thickness the better the sensitivity is. ditions of flux and position, the maximum relative error accept-
Equation (16) can be used to approximately evaluate the max- able on the flux measure is the lowest. This consideration jus-
imum error that is admissible for
 in order to keep the error tifies the particular attention that has been devoted to the flux
 under a certain maximum value 
  .
on
measurement.
  Considering Fig. 6 and the results of the sensitivity analysis,


 
 
 

  
  
  it can be stated that position measure is less affected by uncer-


  tainties when it is needed to perform a feedback control action
  to ensure soft-landing on the mechanical stop. In fact position


 
   

  
 
measure is accurate near the mechanical stops, that correspond
to the only conditions in which EMs are able to deliver sig-
nificantly forces to move the valve (see Fig. 2). Hence the
 to keep
Fig.8 shows the maximum relative error allowed for
proposed flux and position sensor is suitable for the use in inte-

  . It can be noted that relevant errors are admis- gration with the valve control.
sible only for positions greater than , when the valve is
approaching the upper mechanical stop and a feedback control
is needed. V. E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS

In order to validate the considerations of the previous sec-

C. Sensitivity analysis respect to  tions, some experimental tests have been performed. A typical
Taking into account (13) and deriving respect to , it follows result is presented in Fig. 10, where interferometric laser out-
that   put is compared with the position reconstruction. According to

       the relative flux values, the reconstruction by EM 2 is selected
 


   


 (17)
for positions less than about  , whereas the one by EM 1
 

 

  ½ 
 is chosen for positions greater than  . In middle position
Fig.9 shows the results of (17). It can be noted that the smaller fluxes are not sufficiently high to ensure accurate position mea-
the air-gap thickness the better the sensitivity is, whereas the sure. However, the position reconstruction has been derived
flux should be sufficiently high but not in the saturation range. also for fluxes smaller than    threshold to enlighten er-
Equation (17) can be used to approximately evaluate the max- ror under these operating conditions. Note the jump in position
imum error that is admissible for  in order to keep the error when switching between the two magnets for reconstruction is
 under a certain maximum value 
  .
on
performed.
  The accuracy of position reconstruction is higher when EM 2 is




     
 
 used: this is due to the fact that same model has been used for
both EMs, whose parameters have been tuned on EM 2.
 −3
x 10
4

1





−1

−2

−3

−4
0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035



Fig. 10. Interferometric laser measure (dashed), position reconstruction (con-

tinuous)

VI. C ONCLUSIONS
The paper discuss the possible use of a secondary coil as a
mean to obtain flux and position reconstruction in a electro-
magnetic actuator for camless engine. This is a basic step in re-
alizing feedback position control for achieving the ”soft-touch”
functionality in these actuators. The functional characteristics
of position reconstruction and its accuracy seems to be com-
patible with the required applications. Integration within the
feedback controller is a matter of current research and will be
reported in future works.

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gine control for robust unthrottled operation”, SAE paper, no. 960581,
(1996).
[4] S. Butzmann, J. Melbert, A. Koch “Sensorless control of electromagnetic
actuators for variable valve train”, SAE paper, no. 2000-01-1225, (2000).
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