Control device for internal combustion engine and control method for internal combustion engine

A control method for an internal combustion engine including a fuel reformation cylinder and an output cylinder to which reformed fuel generated in the fuel reformation cylinder is supplied, the output cylinder being configured to yield an engine power by combusting the reformed fuel, the method comprising:

• evaluating an output from the fuel reformation cylinder,
• executing an output adjusting operation to adjust an output from the output cylinder so that a sum of the output from the fuel reformation cylinder and the output from the output cylinder matches a required engine power;
• and
• during a transient operation in which the required engine power is increased:
• increasing a fuel supply amount to the output cylinder from a first injector to increase the output from the output cylinder, so that a sum of output from the output cylinder and the output from the fuel reformation cylinder is equal to the required engine power, and
• gradually increasing the fuel supply amount from a second injector to the fuel reformation cylinder while gradually reducing the fuel supply amount to the output cylinder from the first injector, so as to maintain a state in which the sum of the output from the output cylinder and the output from the fuel reformation cylinder is equal to the required engine power.

A system for controlling an internal combustion engine, the system comprising:

• an engine control unit (“ECU”) configured to:
• determine an output of a fuel reformation cylinder, the fuel reformation cylinder configured to supply reformed fuel to one or more output cylinders;
• calculate a difference of a required engine power and the output from the fuel reformation cylinder;
• divide the difference by a number of the one or more output cylinders to determine a target output for each output cylinder;
• and
• adjust an output of the one or more output cylinders to the target output such that the internal combustion engine operates in a first state, in which a sum of the output of the fuel reformation cylinder and the output of the one or more output cylinders is equal to the required engine power.