Optimal Performance of Variable Component Suspensions

Most vehicle suspension systems use fixed passive components that offer a compromise in performance between sprung mass isolation, suspension travel, and tireroad contact force. Recently, systems with discretely adjustable dampers and air springs been added to production vehicles. Active and semi-active damping concepts for vehicle suspensions have also been studied theoretically and with physical prototypes. This paper examines the optimal performance comparisons of variable component suspensions, including active damping and full-state feedback, for “quartercar” heave models. Two and three dimensional optimizations are computed using performance indicators to find the component parameters (control gains) that provide “optimal” performance for statistically described roadway inputs. The effects of performance weighting and feedback configuration are examined. Active damping is shown to be mainly important for vehicle isolation. A passive vehicle suspension can control suspension travel and tire contact force nearly as well as a full state feedback control strategy.     

基于高斯伪谱法的自动驾驶车辆状态研究

针对自动驾驶车辆的多阶段多约束轨迹优化问题,根据高斯伪谱法的思路,建立了基于场景的环境模型和车辆动力学模型,设置了车辆动力学约束、速度约束等各种状态约束,包括自动驾驶在每一阶段的起始状态和终了状态等参数的约束条件。采用高斯伪谱法通过将控制变量和状态变量进行离散化来获得其近似表达式,从而将自动驾驶的轨迹规划问题转化成性能指标的优化问题,最终求得了自动驾驶车辆的安全、有效的路径轨迹。研究结果表明:高斯伪谱法具有计算精度高、求解速度快的特点,能在考虑各种约束条件下,实现多阶段轨迹优化。     

Comparison of various double-lane change manoeuvre specifications

One of the commonly used performance measures to quantify a vehicle's handling transient dynamics is the maximum forward speed (MFS) while passing a certain specified double-lane change (DLC) manoeuvre without violating the boundary and tyre lift-off. The MFS is directly associated with the minimum curvature radius (MCR) of the vehicle centre of gravity (CG) trajectory controlled by the driver during the manoeuvre. The MCR is further affected by the vehicle dimensions to meet the boundary condition. In this study, a single heavy vehicle CG trajectory is assumed to be a combination of three straight lines and two third-order spline curves. A heavy vehicle multi-body system model established with ADAMS/Car is correlated with test data for step-steer and constant radius cornering events, and then the model is used to demonstrate that the assumptions considered in the formulation applied in this paper are valid for this specific vehicle category. The MCRs of four heavy vehicles are maximised among all the possible choices of the vehicle CG trajectory during each of five specific DLC manoeuvres, including North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Allied Vehicle Testing Publication 03-160W), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 3888-1, ISO 3888-2, Consumer Union Short Course and Test Operations Procedure 2-2-609. The maximised MCR (MMCR), considered as the best possible choice of vehicle CG trajectories, is further solved as a function of the vehicle width and length. The results will show the sensitivity of the MMCR to the vehicle length and width, thus the impact on the vehicle transient handling dynamics. Finally, the comparison of five DLC specifications may help users to correlate a vehicle's MFS from one specification to others.     

Twenty First Century Transportation System Solutions - a New Type of Small, Relatively Tall and Narrow Active Tilting Commuter Vehicle

There are many problems that face transportation systems as the twenty-first century approaches, and many solutions will be required. Mass transportation systems are one large area of research that will provide some solutions. This paper presents another possible solution at the other end of the spectrum, small relatively tall and narrow tilting commuter vehicles for individual transportation. A historical overview of the various types of tilting vehicles built or proposed over the last forty years is shown and the results of these studies are discussed. If one considers a relatively tall and narrow vehicle, (under 1.0 meters or 40“ wide), to maintain high speed performance in cornering it becomes necessary to bank the vehicle into a corner to prevent overturning. The design of a modem active tilting suspension and control law for a small narrow, one-half width, commuter vehicles is presented. Analysis of the static and dynamic tipping limits illustrates which vehicles are considered tall and narrow requiring active tilting. The performance of such vehicles as they enter a steady corner is considered and how tilt dynamics may feel to passengers is discussed.     

A comparative study on fault detection methods of rail vehicle suspension systems based on acceleration measurements

Reliability of the railway vehicle suspension system is of critical importance to the safety of the vehicle. On-line health condition monitoring for the suspension system of rail vehicles offers a number of benefits such as preventing further deterioration of vehicle performance, enhancing vehicle safety, increasing operational reliability and availability, and reducing maintenance costs. It is desirable to timely detect the fault and monitor the performance degradation of vehicle suspension systems. In this paper, a comparative study on fault detection methods of urban rail vehicle suspension systems is considered. A novel sensor configuration is proposed where the underlying vehicle system is equipped with only acceleration sensors in the four corners of the carbody, the leading and trailing bogie, respectively. A mathematical model is developed for the considered vehicle suspension system. Both model-based and data-driven approaches are studied for the suspension fault detection problem. The robust observer, the Kalman filter combined with the generalised likelihood ratio test method, the dynamical principle components analysis and the canonical variate analysis approaches are applied to the fault detection problem. The simulation is carried out by means of the professional multi-body simulation tool, SIMPACK. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of these methods are compared. The simulation results show that the data-driven methods outperform the model-based methods.     

无人驾驶车辆城市交叉口周边车辆轨迹预测

针对城市交叉口周边车辆长时轨迹预测问题,搭建路基和实车采集平台采集大量轨迹数据,采用高斯混合模型(Gaussian Mixture Model,GMM)识别目标运动模式,采用高斯过程回归(Gaussian Processes Regression,GPR)模型进行城市交叉口周边车辆轨迹长时预测,采用路基数据集对预测模型...     

A new flatness-based control of lateral vehicle dynamics

This paper presents a new concept for vehicle dynamics control (VDC). The control of the longitudinal vehicle dynamics is not discussed, since we are assuming that it is much slower and weakly coupled to the lateral and yawing dynamics. The actuators are considered to be the traction and the braking torques of the individual wheels and only the standard sensors of the common VDC system are used. A modular interface to the subordinate wheel control system is provided by choosing the yaw torque as a fictitious control input. The VDC system is designed by means of a two degrees-of-freedom control scheme. It comprises a flatness-based feedforward part and a stabilising feedback part. The reference trajectory generation is introduced for the flat output which is given by the lateral velocity of the vehicle. Thus an advantageous kind of body side-slip angle control is provided with the standard VDC system hardware. Extensive simulation studies show excellent performance of the designed control concept.     

Torque-based optimal vehicle speed control

This paper describes an optimal vehicle speed controller that uses torque-based control concepts. The controller design was divided into two steps: first, for a given vehicle speed trajectory, the engine torque demand was determined; in the second stage, a torque controller was implemented to track this torque demand. The torque demand was determined by a primary component and a correction component. The primary component was determined by solving an off-line optimization problem, and the correction component was added to compensate for the error caused by the off-line optimization. A modelbased proportional-integral (PI) feedback torque controller was employed to realize the engine torque tracking. Simulation results generated by a benchmark simulator were given to demonstrate performance of the optimal vehicle speed controller and a conventional PI speed controller that was included for comparison.     

车辆换挡过程的离合器仿真研究

离合器是车辆传动系统的重要部件,在车辆行驶过程中它的接合与分离频繁,对它的控制是目前研究的重点之一。建立了整车模型中离合器的动力学仿真模型,分析了换挡过程中离合器的控制问题,在其控制策略中对离合器的控制与换挡动作进行了协调,并且综合考虑了换挡品质的三个评价指标;最后,运行建立的整车模型,在整车模型中进行验证,得到了换挡过程中与离合器相关的系列曲线,取得了较好的效果。     

The Horsepower Reserve Formulation of Driveability for a Vehicle Fitted With a Continuously Variable Transmission

Summary A systematic methodology is developed for choosing the optimum ratio trajectory of a continuously variable transmission in a passenger vehicle. The optimum CVT ratio schedule is formulated as a constrained optimization problem with maximum fuel economy as the objective function and driveability concerns and physical limitations included as the constraints. The key notion to achieving good driveability is the introduction and definition of a horsepower reserve function that creates a consistent and desirable vehicle response under different driving conditions. Simulation results compare the optimized schedule's performance with several other possible ratio schedules, including the minimum brake specific fuel consumption map. Results from the optimized schedule indicate only a mild tradeoff between driveability and fuel economy relative to the other ratio schedules. The ratio optimization problem formulation and solution provide a novel and unique approach for systematically addressing driveability and fuel economy considerations associated with a continuously variable transmission.     

Application of Aerodynamic Actuators to Improve Vehicle Handling

This exploratory study considers applications of active aerodynamic devices for suppressing parasitic motion and for improving the response of vehicles to steering, within the scope of the linear dynamic behaviour. A three DOF linear model is chosen to describe the side slip, yaw and roll motion of a baseline front-wheel steered vehicle. The improvements in performance of the base-line vehicle that are achievable by the application of direct yaw and roll moments are determined when either an open loop control pre-filter or a state feedback control law based on LQR design is applied. Unlike the former control, the state feedback control is unable to make the body side-slip angle vanish. The feedback control performance of each of the two moment actuators has been examined separately and then jointly. The advantages of combining the open loop and feedback dual actuator configurations are demonstrated using the two-degree of freedom control scheme. It is found that the scheme yields a spectacular performance but demands unreasonably large moments from the actuators in the context of available aerodynamic forces. On the other hand, the demand on direct yaw and roll moment of actuators is modest when the actuators are controlled using the LQR feedback only and if the control design is used to track a desired yaw rate trajectory and simultaneously to reduce the parasitic rolling motion. Significant improvements in handling and dynamic stability of a base-line vehicle can be achieved by aerodynamically generated direct yaw and roll actuator moments provided the target control performance is reasonable. The configurations of aerodynamic actuators considered are feasible for improving vehicle handling in cornering on motorways but more work remains to be done to explore alternative aerodynamic configurations that give rise to less side effects and higher lift coefficients.     

Multi-objective optimal predictive control of signals in urban traffic network

Traffic congestion in urban network has been a serious problem for decades. In this paper, a novel dynamic multi-objective optimization method for designing predictive controls of network signals is proposed. The popular cell transmission model (CTM) is used for traffic prediction. Two network models are considered, i.e., simple network which captures basic macroscopic traffic characteristics and advanced network that further considers vehicle turning and different traveling routes between origins and destinations. A network signal predictive control algorithm is developed for online multi-objective optimization. A variety of objectives are considered such as system throughput, vehicle delay, intersection crossing volume, and spillbacks. The genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to solve the optimization problem. Three example networks with different complexities are studied. It is observed that the optimal traffic performance can be achieved by the dynamic control in different situations. The influence of the objective selection on short-term and long-term network benefits is studied. With the help of parallel computing, the proposed method can be implemented in real time and is promising to improve the performance of real traffic network.     

Application of Aerodynamic Actuators to Improve Vehicle Handling

This exploratory study considers applications of active aerodynamic devices for suppressing parasitic motion and for improving the response of vehicles to steering, within the scope of the linear dynamic behaviour. A three DOF linear model is chosen to describe the side slip, yaw and roll motion of a baseline front-wheel steered vehicle. The improvements in performance of the base-line vehicle that are achievable by the application of direct yaw and roll moments are determined when either an open loop control pre-filter or a state feedback control law based on LQR design is applied. Unlike the former control, the state feedback control is unable to make the body side-slip angle vanish. The feedback control performance of each of the two moment actuators has been examined separately and then jointly. The advantages of combining the open loop and feedback dual actuator configurations are demonstrated using the two-degree of freedom control scheme. It is found that the scheme yields a spectacular performance but demands unreasonably large moments from the actuators in the context of available aerodynamic forces. On the other hand, the demand on direct yaw and roll moment of actuators is modest when the actuators are controlled using the LQR feedback only and if the control design is used to track a desired yaw rate trajectory and simultaneously to reduce the parasitic rolling motion. Significant improvements in handling and dynamic stability of a base-line vehicle can be achieved by aerodynamically generated direct yaw and roll actuator moments provided the target control performance is reasonable. The configurations of aerodynamic actuators considered are feasible for improving vehicle handling in cornering on motorways but more work remains to be done to explore alternative aerodynamic configurations that give rise to less side effects and higher lift coefficients.     

基于hp自适应伪谱法的智能汽车紧急变道轨迹规划与优化

为了提高智能汽车紧急变道轨迹规划的实时性和适应性,将紧急变道过程分为初始阶段和跟踪阶段,初始阶段的轨迹由优秀驾驶人紧急变道模型产生,跟踪阶段的轨迹采用Sigmoid函数规划出紧急避让路径。首先通过聚类分析处理优秀驾驶人转向操作的实车试验数据,拟合得出紧急变道过程中的方向盘转角随时间的关系（即驾驶人紧急变道模型）,作为智能汽车在紧急变道初始阶段不同速度下车辆控制的输入量。然后通过建立与求解约束方程,满足避撞约束、侧向位移约束以及最大侧向加速度约束,得出Sigmoid函数表达式,作为智能汽车在紧急变道过程跟踪阶段的参考路径。最后利用hp自适应伪谱法加入切换点的物理量约束,逼近全局正交多项式的状态量和控制量,自动调整和处理2个阶段的切换点位置和衔接问题,以最小变道距离为目标对跟踪阶段的变道轨迹进行优化。运用PreScan与MATLAB对4种不同工况下的紧急变道轨迹规划进行联合仿真。结果表明：提出的轨迹规划与优化方法在满足各项约束的情况下成功避开障碍物,同时缩短了需要优化的轨迹,优化时间都小于0.9 s,并且与基于多项式函数轨迹规划方法相比,该方法能够以距障碍物较远的距离避开障碍物,在不同的车辆速度、道路曲率和障碍物宽度的复杂工况下具有更好的适应性。     

Lateral Collision Avoidance Robust Control of Electric Vehicles Combining a Lane-Changing Model Based on Vehicle Edge Turning Trajectory and a Vehicle Semi-Uncertainty Dynamic Model

This paper presents a new control scheme for lateral collision avoidance (CA) systems to improve the safety of four-in-wheel-motor-driven electric vehicles (FIWMD-EVs). There are two major contributions in the design of lateral CA systems. The first contribution is a new lane-changing model based on vehicle edge turning trajectory (VETT) to make vehicle adapt to different driving roads and conform to drivers’ characteristic, in addition to ensure vehicle steering safety. The second contribution is vehicle semi-uncertainty dynamic model (SUDM), which is SISO model. The problem of stability performance without the information on sideslip angle is solved by the proposed SUDM. Based on the proposed VETT and SUDM, the lateral CA system can be designed with H_∞ robust controller to restrain the effect of uncertainties resulting from parameter perturbation and lateral wind disturbance. Single and mixed driving cycles simulation experiments are carried out with CarSim to demonstrate the effectiveness in control scheme, simplicity in structure for lateral CA system based on the proposed VETT and SUDM.     

Crosswind Sensitivity of Passenger Cars and the Influence of Chassis and Aerodynamic Properties on Driver Preferences

Results of vehicle crosswind research involving both full-scale driver-vehicle tests and associated analyses are presented. The paper focuses on experimental crosswind testing of several different vehicle configurations and a group of seven drivers. A test procedure, which utilized wind-generating fans arranged in alternating directions to provide a crosswind “gauntlet”, is introduced and described. Driver preferences for certain basic chassis and aerodynamic properties are demonstrated and linked to elementary system responses measured during the crosswind gauntlet tests. Based on these experimental findings and confirming analytical results, a two-stage vehicle design process is then recommended for predicting and analyzing the crosswind sensitivity of a particular vehicle or new design.     

Robust design of a passive linear quarter car suspension system using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm and analytical robustness indexes

This paper deals with the robust design of a passive vehicle suspension system. A robust design methodology based on a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) is used to handle the trade-off between the considered conflicting performance requirements under uncertainty and feasibility constraints. A constrained multi-objective optimisation problem is formulated and the notion of Pareto-optimality is used to increase the quality of the candidate design solutions obtained at each generation by the MOEA. To save computation time, a simplified physical model (quarter car) is considered and the optimisation is performed in the frequency domain, using relevant transmissibilities of the system. The robustness is directly investigated by means of analytical robustness indexes. Time-consuming a posteriori methods, like designs of experiments or Monte Carlo analysis, are therefore avoided. A set of non-dominated solutions is obtained. Thus the designer not only selects a special design, in accordance with the wanted vehicle configuration, but also includes the robustness of each performance requirement in his final decision.     

Application of Learning Automata to Controller Design in Slow-Active Automobile Suspensions

This study considers a new design methodology in the context of active vehicle suspension control. The approach combines concepts from Stochastic Optimal Control with those of Learning Automata. A learning automaton effectively learns optimal control on-line in the vehicle, in an appropriate stochastic “test-track” environment. For practical application, the overwhelming advantage of this approach is that no explicit modelling is required, and considerable time savings may be expected in system development. This simulation study considers the on-line learning of optimal control in a low-bandwidth active suspension system, where control feedback is confined to a body-mounted accelerometer at each corner of the vehicle. It is shown that learning can successfully take place under a range of conditions, including the case when there is substantial transducer noise. The performance of the resulting control system is shown to depend heavily on the nature of the learning environment.     

Steering disturbance rejection using a physics-based neuromusculoskeletal driver model

The aim of this work is to develop a comprehensive yet practical driver model to be used in studying driver–vehicle interactions. Drivers interact with their vehicle and the road through the steering wheel. This interaction forms a closed-loop coupled human–machine system, which influences the driver's steering feel and control performance. A hierarchical approach is proposed here to capture the complexity of the driver's neuromuscular dynamics and the central nervous system in the coordination of the driver's upper extremity activities, especially in the presence of external disturbance. The proposed motor control framework has three layers: the first (or the path planning) plans a desired vehicle trajectory and the required steering angles to perform the desired trajectory; the second (or the musculoskeletal controller) actuates the musculoskeletal arm to rotate the steering wheel accordingly; and the final layer ensures the precision control and disturbance rejection of the motor control units. The physics-based driver model presented here can also provide insights into vehicle control in relaxed and tensed driving conditions, which are simulated by adjusting the driver model parameters such as cognition delay and muscle co-contraction dynamics.     

信号交叉口自动驾驶左转车辆类人化全局运动轨迹规划

为了提高信号交叉口自动驾驶车辆左转运动规划的适应性、鲁棒性与类人化程度，提出一种考虑多目标需求的自动驾驶类人化全局运动规划方法。首先，基于西安市北大街信号交叉口规格构建结构化场景，结合车辆运动学模型与道路几何规格定义自动驾驶车辆规范化行驶安全域和车辆运动参数约束条件；其次，根据信号灯状态、道路限速与车辆性能约束制定上游阶段车辆不停车通行规则，以行驶安全、燃油消耗、通行效率与驾驶舒适度作为目标性能函数，构建类人化全局多目标优化模型，通过人类驾驶的车辆预转弯行为耦合上游阶段与转弯阶段；再次，针对非线性运动规划模型变量与约束规模化问题，采用粒子群算法与全联立正交配置有限元方法求解不同阶段车辆运动轨迹的最优解；最后，试验建立Prescan与MATLAB/Simulink联合仿真平台，从多目标性能、适应性以及合理性方面验证该模型的综合性能。结果表明：在以信号灯状态和车辆初速度为变量建立的12种工况下，该模型与人类驾驶车辆、混合运动规划模型相比，平均可分别节省燃油消耗63.7%和29.5%，平均通行延时分别降低3、0.9 s，且轨迹曲率更平缓，最大横向加速度与方向盘转角平方和的平均值最小，证明该模型的多目标性能更好；在以路缘石半径与车道数目为变量建立的7种交叉口规格工况下，所提出模型的车辆轨迹平滑，轨迹安全域边界距离始终大于1.4 m，曲率变化符合期望且峰值小于0.22 m^-1，说明该模型具有较好的适应性；在自由/固定终端时刻条件下，该模型规划的车辆空间路径、速度、曲率及航向角的变化与目标权重变化保持一致，验证了模型的合理性。