Method for operating an internal combustion engine, control device, and internal combustion engine

A method for operating an internal combustion engine with a motor, comprising a movable engine part and at least one engine element that holds said movable engine part and which is subject to wear, the method comprising the steps of:

• specifying, for operation of the internal combustion engine, a service-life-limiting time interval until a next maintenance operation on the internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine comprises a number of service-life-limiting engine elements;
• wherein, for at least one of the service-life-limiting engine elements, a remaining service life is predicted and, from this, the service-life-limiting time interval is determined;
• identifying at least one wear parameter, which tribologically determines the remaining service life of the service-life-limiting engine element, for wear of the engine element;
• assigning to a number of usage conditions of the internal combustion engine respective parameter values which are operatively related to the wear of the service-life-limiting engine element;
• regressively determining a functional dependency between the number of usage conditions and the wear parameter, wherein the regressive determination of the functional dependency is performed based on a predetermined operation of a number of test internal combustion engines;
• calculating a value of the wear parameter for the service-life-limiting engine element of the internal combustion engine to be operated by way of the regressively determined functional dependency, and predicting a remaining service life of the service-life-limiting engine element;
• and,
• determining the service-life-limiting time interval of the internal combustion engine to be operated from the remaining service life of the service-life-limiting engine element, wherein values which do not represent the operation of the test internal combustion engine are, as non-regressible test values, filtered out of an operation of the test internal combustion engines, wherein the values which do not represent the operation of the test internal combustion engine result from:
• one-off damage to the service-life-limiting engine element,
• a run-in effect of the service-life-limiting engine element,
• an improper usage condition of the internal combustion engine.