IAV Develops Mass-Production Gaseous-Fuel ECUs Using Model-Based Design

Extreme fluctuations in gasoline and diesel prices have spurred a demand for powertrain systems that can be converted to use alternative gaseous fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). Although LPG and CNG are fossil fuels, they are less harmful to the environment than conventional fuels and, in many markets, less expensive.

IAV’s experts have performed more than 6,000 CNG and LPG conversions, making the company Germany’s top aftermarket modifier for these fuels.

IAV recently developed an engine control unit (ECU) that enables virtually any gasoline powertrain to be quickly and inexpensively converted to a bivalent gasoline and gaseous-fuel system without changing the gasoline master controller (Figure 1). Acting as a slave controller, the new ECU can be used with OEM-specific components, such as gas injectors, sensors, and actuators.

By Ralph Meyer, IAV Group

This article was published in The MathWorks News & Notes, 2009