Abstract
This paper presents a new evaporative system monitoring method using a virtual HC sensor for an automotive on-board diagnosis. A development was made at providing mathematical expressions from the lambda control information to estimate the HC mass flow purged into the intake manifold from the canister for implementing a virtual HC sensor. The change of the lambda average value reflected the influence of the additional fuel from purging results the sensor estimation of the purged HC amount. Based on this virtual HC sensor, a new evaporative system monitoring method was proposed comparing the amount of purged HC amount with the amount of the HC gas evaporated from the fuel tank and absorbed into the canister. Finally, the method was validated with a simulation using the data logged from the retail car.