2012 Workshop on Engine and Powertrain Control,

Simulation and Modeling

The International Federation of Automatic Control
Rueil-Malmaison, France, October 23-25, 2012

Fast 4-way switching valve modeling by

using Power Oriented Graph technique
Christian Corvino ∗ Roberto Zanasi ∗∗
∗
Automobili Lamborghini SpA - Research and Development Dept. -
Via Modena 12, 40019, Sant’Agata Bolognese (BO), Italy (e-mail:
cristian@corvino.lamborghini.com).
∗∗
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Vignolese 905, 41100,
Modena, Italy (e-mail: roberto.zanasi@unimore.it)

Abstract:
This paper describes the modeling and simulation of a fast 4-way switching valve by using
an energetic approach technique called Power Oriented Graph. The presented model is simple,
characterized by a reasonable number of parameters and suitable for the control system design.
The estimation of the system parameters has been obtained by using experimental data and
optimization algorithms in a Matlab co-simulation environment. A good matching between the
experimental and simulated data has been obtained. This matching shows that the considered
simple model predicts correctly the time response of the 4-way switching valve.

Keywords: Automotive emissions, models, electro-hydraulic systems, engine systems,

automobiles

INTRODUCTION (1) the physical systems always store and/or dissipate

In the automotive industry the switching valves are widely
used for their fast response time: they are used for the
control of hydraulic systems, substituting the expensive
proportional valves that require more energy to be ac-
tuated. The switching valves are driven by Pulse Width
Modulation techniques which use digital input signals of
constant frequency, instead of analogue ones, for con-
trolling the physical system. The modulation is done by
changing the duty cycle of the digital signal according
to the desired reference value, while the demodulation is
done by the solenoid of the valve with its typical low-pass
characteristics. In modeling the 4-way switching valve, a
lot of attention was paid for the nonlinear dynamic model
of the solenoid because this element represents the electro-
mechanical interface that converts the coil current into the
magneto-motive force needed for the spool movements.
In this paper the full dynamic model of the 4-way switching
valve has been obtained using the Lagrangian approach
and the Power-Oriented Graphs techniques: the dynamic
equations obtained with the Lagrangian approach have
been graphically represented and energetically interpreted
using the Power-Oriented Graphs technique. The obtained
model is simple, easy to understand and it matches very
well with the experimental data.
energy,
(2) the energy moves from point to point only by means
of two power variables,
(3) the dynamic equations of a physical system describes
how the energy moves through to the system,
The POG technique is based on the use of the two blocks
shown in Fig. 1: the “elaboration block” and “connection
block”. The presence of a black spot in the summation
element means that the corresponding entering variable
has a negative sign. The elaboration block stores and/or
dissipates energy (i.e. springs, masses, dampers, capaci-
tors, inductances, resistance, etc. ), while the connection
block redistributes the power within the system without
storing or dissipating energy (i.e. any type of gear re-
duction, transformers, etc.). The POG technique keeps a
x1 -  x2 x1 - K - x2
?
G(s)
y  ? - y y1  KT  y2

1. POWER-ORIENTED GRAPHS BASIC (a) Elaboration block. (b) Connection block.

PRINCIPLES
The POG’s technique uses the Power and Energy variables
as basic concept for modeling physical system, usually
dissipative. This technique is based on these concepts:
Fig. 1. Power Oriented Graph basic blocks.
direct correspondence between the dashed sections of the
graphs and the real power sections of the modeled systems:
the inner product hx, yi = xT y of the two power vectors

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2012 IFAC E-CoSM (E-CoSM'12)
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x and y involved in each dashed line of a Power-Oriented PWM

Graph, see Fig. 1, has the physical meaning of the power

flowing through that particular section. The Bond Graphs
technique is based on the same ideas, but it uses a different
graphical representation , see Zanasi (2010). Matrix K OCV
in the connection block can also be rectangular and/or
time-varying, while matrix G(s) in the elaboration block
is always a square matrix. Moreover, the POG technique ECU
keeps a direct correspondence between the POG graphical
representations and the corresponding state space descrip- Front
chamber
Rear
chamber
tions. In fact the POG schemes of linear time-invariant
systems can always be represented as follows: Cam
sensor

Lẋ = Ax + Bu
, L = LT > 0 (1)
y = BT x
Outer
Inner rotor
These equations can also be graphically represented by rotor

using the compact POG scheme shown in Fig. 2. For linear

Fig. 3. Variable Valve Timing (VVT) control loop.
u- B - -   Tpmfopje
? 6
Tqppm!wbmwf
L-1 Esbjo
A Tqsjoh
?
1 6
s

y  BT  ? - -
x

Fig. 2. POG of a generic dynamic system.

systems, the stored energy Es and the dissipating power
Pd can always be expressed as follows:
1
Es = xT Lx, Pd = xT Rx.
2 Fig. 4. Oil Control Valve (OCV) components. The orifices
The state space description (3) can also be used for time-
varying systems, but in this case the matrices L(x), A(x)
and B(x) are function of the state variable x.
2. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
On gasoline engine the pumping reduction losses can
represent an effective means for improving fuel economy
in usual urban driving cycle: this goal can be obtained
introducing high amounts of internal EGR within the
combustion chamber adopting the variable cam phaser
that allows to vary the valve timing. Cam phasing is the
shifting of the valve events in the crank angle domain (or
cam angle): a mechanical device is typically connected to
the end of the camshaft(s) that runs synchronous respect
to the crankshaft. The relative angular movement between
them (cam phasing time) is obtained using an oil control
valve properly controlled by the engine control unit. A
scheme of the Variable Valve Timing (VVT) control loop is
shown in Fig. 3: a closed loop position control is realized to
meet the desired functional requirements. The cam phaser
control valve is a four-way spool valve that diverts the
engine oil flow toward the front or rear chambers of the
cam. The valve is actuated by a PWM signal provided
by the engine control unit. The valve response time is
dependent on input voltage, oil pressure and temperature.
The desired cam phasing angle can be obtained only using
Qmvohfs
Pjm!qsfttvsf
allow to deliver the oil pressure to the front (red) and
rear chamber (blu) of cam vane.
a very accurate control of the spool valve displacement.
The design of an high quality valve control can be done
only using a good and simple dynamic model of the system:
this paper is mainly focused on this modeling problem.
As showed in Fig. 4, the Oil Control Valve (OCV) is com-
posed essentially by a solenoid, a spool valve, a plunger and
return spring. In this case the solenoid is a linear actuator
that uses the principle of position-dependent reluctance
to convert electrical energy into a mechanical one. The
magnetic path encountered by the flux ϕ concatenated
with the solenoid consists of the outer shell, the air gaps
and the plunger: it follows that the concatenated flux ϕ(x)
is a function of the the position x of the plunger. When
the plunger moves, the Faraday’s law of induction:
dϕ(x)
ε=− (2)
dt
provides the value of the electromagnetic force ε induced
in the electrical circuit. A permanent magnet which slides
inside a wire loop is shown in Fig. 5: in this case the
current I in the circuit is caused by the change of the
magnetic flux concatenated with the circuit. A dual and
similar phenomenon happens inside the OCV valve: 1) the
input voltage Vs applied to the valve circuit generates a

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L(x) = L0 + L1 x. (4)

The strength H of the magnetic field can be expressed as

follows:
N
H(I) = I (5)
l
where l and N are the length and the number of turns of
the solenoid. The magneto-motive force Fm acting on the
coil can be obtained as follows:
Fig. 5. Inducted current inside a wire loop due to the B 2 (I)Aδ (x)
permanent magnet motion. Fm (x, I) = . (6)
2µ0

It is a function of the magnetic flux density B(I), the

air gap area Aδ (x) and the vacuum permeability µ0 . The
magnetic flux density B(I) can be obtained by numerical
dB
integration of the gradient dH provided by the magnetic
hysteresis model of the system, see Tellinen (1998). The
translational motion of the plunger is described by the
following equation:
mp ẍ + λ(ẋ)ẋ = Fm (x, I) − Fs (7)

where mp is the mass of the plunger, λ(ẋ) is the friction

coefficient and Fs = Ki (xi )xi is the intermediate reaction
force of the spool.
Fig. 6. The OCV valve can be simplified as RL circuit
coupled with a damping system. 3. POG MODEL OF THE OIL CONTROL VALVE
magnetic field around the solenoid; 2) this field generates The POG model of the solenoid-plunger subsystem can
a force Fm on the plunger, 3) the corresponding movement easily be obtained using the following Lagrange equations
x(t) satisfies relation (2) with ε = Vs − RI where R  
and I are the resistance and the current of the circuit. d ∂E ∂E
− = Vi − Rd (q, q̇) (8)
The magnetic proprieties of the plunger, such as magnetic dt ∂ q̇T ∂qT
hysteresis and saturation, are known to be important
in solenoid modeling, see Sethson et al. (1993), Vaughn where E is the total energy stored in the considered
et al. (1990) and Wennmacher (1995). A detailed model subsystem:
of the solenoid-plunger system is characterized by many 1 1
parameters. The identification of these parameters is often E = mp ẋ2 + L(x)I 2 . (9)
2 2
done with a fixed spool position: the measurement of the
magnetic characteristics is performed changing the current In (8), the generalized coordinate vector q, the generalized
and without moving the spool. velocity vector q̇, the input vector Vi and the “dissipat-
ing” vector Rd (q, q̇) have the following meaning:
The valve electric circuit is similar to the RL circuit of        
a DC motor: the plunger behaves like a crankshaft, but Q I Vs RI
instead of rotating it moves axially. The valve model is q= , q̇ = , Vi = , Rd (q, q̇) =
x ẋ −Fs λ(ẋ)ẋ
characterized by two different energetic domains: electrical
and mechanical. The electrical part can be modeled by an where Q is the electric charge of the circuit. From (8) one
RL circuit with the inductance L(x) function of the spool obtains the following two differential equations:
position x, while the mechanical part can be described by
L(x)I˙ − L̇(x)I = Vs − RI

a second order mass-spring-dumper system. From (2) it 
(10)
follows that the electrical part of the system is described  mp ẍ − 1 dL(x) I 2 = −Fs − λ(ẋ)ẋ
by the following equation: 2 dx
dϕ(x, I)
Vs = RI + (3) It is easy to show that the term L̇(x) in the first equation
dt
can be expressed as follows:
where Vs is the input voltage, I is the current, R is the L̇(x) 1 dL(x)
resistance and ϕ(x, I) is the magnetic flux: L̇(x) = + ẋ (11)
2 2 dx
ϕ(x, I) = L(x) I.
Substituting (11) in (10) one obtains the following system:
The solenoid inductance L(x) is time-varying because 
its value changes when the plunger moves through the L̇(x)
L(x)I˙ = Vs − RI − I − KF (x)ẋ

magnetic field of the solenoid. The inductance L(x) can 2 (12)
be modeled as a linear function of plunger position x:

mp ẍ = KF (x)I − Fs − λ(ẋ)ẋ

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Solenoid - Plunger Spool - Return Spring

Ex ẋ - - - ẋs
Vs -       KF (x)  -   - - - -  0
? 6 6 6 ? 6 ?
1 1 ? 1 1 ? 1
s s
L(x) mp ms
λ(ẋ) xi
? b(ẋs ) xs
?
L̇(x)
?
R 6 6
2 1 Ki (xi ) 1 Ks
1
s 6 6 s s

I  ? - - - - -- KF (x) - - 6
  ?
 ? - - 6
  ?
 ? -
Fm Fs Fk
Time-varying Inductance Resistance Power Plunger mass Plunger Intermediate Spool mass Spool Return Spring
1 3 Conversion 4 friction 6 stiffness friction 9

Fig. 7. POG dynamic model of the of OCV system: the inductance, the plunger, the intermediate stiffness, the spool
and the return spring.

where the coefficient KF (x) is: One can easily verify that the dissipating power Pd of the
1 dL(x) system can be expressed as Pd = xT As x, where As = (A+
KF (x) = I. (13) AT )/2 is the symmetric part of the power matrix A. In the
2 dx
same way, it is easy to show that the skew-symmetric part
This coefficient transforms the current I into the force Fm Aw = (A − AT )/2 of the power matrix A represents the
and the speed ẋ into the back electromotive force Ex : power redistribution within the system “without losses”,
Fm = KF (x)I, Ex = KF (x)ẋ. i.e. Pd = xT Aw x = 0.

A POG graphical representation of the equations (12), i.e.

the dynamics of the solenoid-plunger subsystem, is shown 4. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND MODEL
Fig. 7: the two equations (12) correspond to the block VALIDATION
scheme present between the power sections 1 and 6 .
The connection block present between sections 3 and
4 , characterized by the coefficient KF (x), represents the
Normalized experimental data of the valve spool displace-
ment xs (t) during a linear PWM application test are
lossless power conversion between the electromagnetic and
shown in Fig. 8. A zoom of the spool displacement xs (t)
mechanical energetic domains.
is shown in Fig. 9: this zoom shows the steps shape of the
The POG blocks present in Fig. 7 between sections 6 and spool displacement xs (t). When the input voltage Vs is
9 represent the dynamic equations of the intermediate zero, i.e. during the off-time period of the PWM signal,
stiffness, the spool mass and the return string: the plunger and spool masses are separated by a small
 air gap that can be modeled using a small intermediate
 Ki (xi )Ḟs = ẋ − ẋs

stiffness coefficient Ki , see Zanasi (2010). When the max-
ms ẍ = Fs − Fk − b(ẋs )ẋs (14) imum input voltage Vs is applied, the magneto-motive


Ks Ḟk = ẋs force Fm moves the plunger against the spool, coupling
the two masses, and the force interaction between the two
where Ki (xi ) is the intermediate stiffness coefficient, xi = masses can be modeled using an high stiffness coefficient
x−xs is the plunger-spool relative position, ms is the spool Ki . The self-inductance coefficient function L(x) has been
mass, b(ẋs ) is the spool friction force and Ks is stiffness identified, for different values of the duty cycle, using a
coefficient of the return spring. PWM input signal with a frequency of 250 Hz. The spool
displacement xs has been measured, without distorting the
The POG scheme of Fig. 7 can be represented in the state
magnetic field, using the following innovative method: a
space using the matrix structure (3) if u = Vs , y = I and
plastic straw has been glued at the bottom of the spool,
if vector x and matrices L, A and B are defined as follows:
while the cardboard was attached at the other end. In such
I L(x) 0 0 0 0
   
a way the laser sensor voltage could be read. A real time
 ẋ   0 mp 0 0 0 platform was used for reducing the acquisition time costs.
x =  Fs , L =  0 0 Ki (xi ) 0 0 ,
   
 ẋ   0 0 Repetitive and flexible automatic test procedures have
x 0 ms 0  been designed in order to obtain accurate data acquisitions
Fk 0 0 0 0 Ks suitable for post processing algorithms. The parameters
of the presented POG model have been identified using
and   a Matlab optimization algorithm applied to the obtained
L̇(x) 1
 
experimental data: the optimization strategy used in the
− −R −K F (x) 0 0 0
 2 
0 identification process was the Simplex Search method.
 KF (x) −λ(ẋ) −1 0 0
 
A= , B =  0 
  From the experimental data it is evident that:
 0 1 0 −1 0 0
 0 0 1 −b(ẋs ) −1 (1) at the beginning of the test the coil current I and the
0
0 0 0 1 0 magnetic force Fm increase rapidly;

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Spool displacement xs (t) Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t)
1
1
0.8

I(t) [%]
0.6
0.8
0.4
Zoom2
Zoom1 Zoom3
0.2
xs (t) [%]

0.6 0

0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

Zoom
0.4

0.8 Zoom2
0.2

xs (t) [%]
0.6

0.4
Zoom1 Zoom3
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.2
Time [%]
0

Fig. 8. Spool displacement xs (t): normalized experimental 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time [%]
data.
Spool displacement xs (t): Zoom Fig. 10. Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t).
Normalized data: experimental (blue) and simulated
(red) results. The details of the Zoom1 , Zoom2 and
0.55 Zoom3 are shown in Fig. 11, Fig. 12 and Fig. 13,
respectively.
0.5 Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t): Zoom1
xs (t) [%]

0.8
0.45
I(t) [%]

0.6

0.4
0.4
0.2

0.35 0.403 0.404 0.405 0.406 0.407 0.408

0.15 0.155 0.16 0.165 0.17 0.175 0.18

Time [%] 1

Fig. 9. Spool displacement xs (t): zoom of the experimental 0.8

xs (t) [%]

data. 0.6

0.4
(2) when the magnetic force Fm rises up to a certain 0.2
value, the spring force Fk is not enough to keep at 0
rest the spool on its original position, so the plunger 0.4 0.402 0.404 0.406 0.408 0.41 0.412 0.414
and the spool start moving; Time [%]
(3) this movement into the magnetic field produces a
counter electromotive force Ex which slows down the Fig. 11. Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t) dur-
coil current; ing the rising phase, see Zoom1 in Fig. 10. Normalized
(4) when then spool reaches its final position, the plunger data: experimental (blue) and simulated (red) results.
stops and the coil current starts rising again up to its
5. CONCLUSIONS
maximum value;
(5) when the input voltage is zero, the coil current
exponentially goes to zero. In this paper a semi-empirical POG dynamic model of
a fast 4-way switching valve has been developed. The
From the experimental data it was also possible to es- presented POG model predicts very well the dynamic
timate the response times of the OCV system during behavior of the OCV valve for a wide range of the working
the tON and tOF F phases of the PWM input signal. A points. A comparison between simulated and experimental
comparison between time behaviors of the coil current I(t) data has been done for the coil current I and the spool dis-
and the spool displacement xs (t) are shown in Fig. 10: blue placement xs . The obtained good matching shows that the
lines for the experimental data and red lines for the results POG technique is suitable for modeling complex dynamic
obtained in simulation. The data have been normalized systems characterized by different energetic domains. The
in the range [0, 1] for reasons of confidentiality. Specific presented POG model is a good starting point for the
Zooms in the rising, steady and falling phases are shown development of new VVT control strategies.
in Fig. 11, Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, respectively. These results
show a good matching between the simulated and the REFERENCES
experimental data: the presented POG model seems to
describe correctly and precisely the dynamic behavior of S.E.Lyshevski. 1999,, Electromechanical System, Electric
the OCV valve. Machines, and Applied Mechatronics”, In: CRC, 1999.

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2012 IFAC E-CoSM (E-CoSM'12)
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Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t): Zoom2 Zanasi, R. The Power-Oriented Graphs technique: system
1 modeling and basic properties, IEEE VPPC 2010, Lille,
0.9 France, September 2010
I(t) [%]

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5
0.5985 0.599 0.5995 0.6 0.6005 0.601

1
0.99
xs (t) [%]

0.98
0.97
0.96
0.95
0.94

0.598 0.5985 0.599 0.5995 0.6 0.6005 0.601 0.6015 0.602

Time [%]

Fig. 12. Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t)

during the during steady phase, see Zoom2 in Fig. 10.
Normalized data: experimental (blue) and simulated
(red) results.

Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t): Zoom3

1

0.8
I(t) [%]

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0.93 0.935 0.94 0.945 0.95

0.8
xs (t) [%]

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0.93 0.935 0.94 0.945 0.95 0.955
Time [%]

Fig. 13. Coil current I(t) and spool displacement xs (t)

during the during the falling phase, see Zoom3 in
Fig. 10. Normalized data: experimental (blue) and
simulated (red) results.

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