Method of assisting the regeneration of depollution means associated with means forming oxidation catalyst and integrated in an exhaust line of a motor vehicle diesel engine, in which the engine is associated with common rail means for the supply of fuel to the cylinders of the engine, said method comprising:
- (a) shifting the engine, through modification of parameters for controlling the operation of the engine and by implementing post-injections of fuel into the cylinders thereof via the supply means, among four regeneration strategies of the depollution means,
- a first of said strategies being called normal engine operation strategy,
- a second of said strategies being called level 1 strategy,
- a third of said strategies being called level 2 strategy, and
- a fourth of said strategies being called over-calibrated level 2 strategy,
- wherein said strategies provide different thermal levels in the exhaust line, a fourth thermal level obtained by applying the over-calibrated level 2 strategy being higher than a third thermal level obtained by applying the level 2 strategy, which is itself higher than a second thermal level obtained by applying the level 1 strategy, which is itself higher than a first thermal level obtained by applying the normal strategy,
- (b) detecting a request for regeneration of the depollution means and driving the supply means so as to start operation of the engine according to the level 1 strategy when a request for regeneration of the depollution means is detected,
- (c) monitoring the priming state of the means forming catalyst and starting the over-calibrated level 2 strategy when the means forming catalyst is primed,
- (d) acquiring the thermal level in the exhaust line and (i) starting the level 2 strategy of the engine when this thermal level is higher than a predetermined target temperature, during a first predetermined time period or (ii) cutting the regeneration if this temperature has not been reached before the expiration of a second predetermined maximal time period, and
- (e) monitoring the operation at level 2 of the engine and driving operation of the engine:
- at over-calibrated level 2 if the thermal level in the exhaust line goes back under a predetermined low temperature threshold during a third time period,
- at level 1 if the thermal level in the exhaust line goes over a predetermined high temperature threshold during a fourth time period,
- according to this level 1 strategy during a fifth predetermined forcing time period or until the time when the thermal level in the exhaust line has gone back under the high temperature threshold minus a hysteresis gap during a sixth time period, and
- according to the normal strategy in the case where the thermal level in the exhaust line has not gone back under the high temperature threshold minus the hysteresis gap at the end of a seventh maximal cooling time period until the thermal level in the exhaust line has gone back under this high temperature threshold minus the hysteresis gap during the sixth time period,
- and this, with looping back of the strategies, until detection of a request for stopping the regeneration.