Investigation on evaluation of yaw stability for medium commercial vehicles

This paper proposes test scenarios for evaluation of yaw stability for medium commercial vehicles. Maneuvering, speed, longitudinal tire force, tire-road friction coefficient, road slope, and load condition are considerable factors that have effect on the medium commercial vehicle yaw stability. After conducting an analysis on these six factors, effective test scenarios were developed. A sine with dwell test is well known as a test scenario for evaluation of performance of electronic stability control (ESC) on passenger vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles. The SWD test was modified considering medium commercial vehicle dynamics, and the ramp steer maneuver with maximum acceleration test was proposed. Simulation validation has been conducted using field test data. From simulation study, it was shown that the ESC system for medium commercial vehicle is effectively evaluated by the proposed test scenarios.     

基于非线性模型预测控制的车辆纵向队列协调控制

本文中针对基于分层控制结构的车辆队列上、下层控制缺少联系的问题,提出了车辆队列跟驰与个体车辆动力学稳定性协调控制的思路,其基本思想是在保证队列中个体车辆安全稳定行驶的同时,尽可能实现队列跟驰控制的目标。基于非线性模型预测控制(nonlinear model predictive control,NMPC)方法设计了车辆队列协调控制方案,设计了包括跟驰间距误差、跟驰速度误差以及车速与车轮圆周速度差3个子目标的优化目标函数,将队列跟驰与车辆动力学稳定性的协调控制转化为约束优化控制问题;基于序列二次规划(sequential quadratic programming,SQP)方法进行求解,得到车辆前、后轴的制动/驱动力矩来实现上层决策输出的期望跟驰加速度。基于由3车辆组成的非线性队列模型对控制方案进行了仿真分析,结果表明,所提出的基于NMPC的车辆队列协调控制策略可以在大范围操纵工况下,在保证车辆安全稳定行驶的基础上实现队列的跟驰控制。     

Active Roll Control of Single Unit Heavy Road Vehicles

Summary Strategies are investigated for controlling active anti-roll systems in single unit heavy road vehicles, so as to maximise roll stability. The achievable roll stability improvements that can be obtained by applying active anti-roll torques to truck suspensions are discussed. Active roll control strategies are developed, based on linear quadratic controllers. It is shown that an effective controller can be designed using the LQG approach, combined with the loop transfer recovery method to ensure adequate stability margins. A roll controller is designed for a torsionally flexible single unit vehicle, and the vehicle response to steady-state and transient cornering manoeuvres is simulated. It is concluded that roll stability can be improved by between 26% and 46% depending on the manoeuvre. Handling stability is also improved significantly.     

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.     

智能网联车辆交通流优化对交通安全的改善

为改善常规驾驶车辆交通流追尾碰撞交通安全状况,提出智能网联车辆（Connected and Automated Vehicles,CAV）与常规车辆构成的混合交通流车队稳定性优化控制方法。基于全速度差模型,应用集成速度与加速度的多前车反馈构建CAV跟驰模型,考虑CAV混合交通流车辆空间分布的随机性,将各类型局部车队稳定性作为优化目标,以局部车队头车速度扰动为系统输入,以尾车速度扰动为系统输出,应用经典控制理论领域的传递函数法推导局部车队稳定性约束条件;分析关于平衡态速度与CAV反馈系数的车队稳定域,以各类型局部车队能够在任意平衡态速度下均稳定为控制目标,对CAV反馈系数输出进行优化控制;设计高速公路上匝道交通瓶颈数值仿真试验,在不同CAV比例等多种条件下,分析CAV混合交通流优化控制对交通流车辆追尾碰撞风险的影响。研究结果表明：CAV混合交通流优化控制可降低车辆追尾碰撞风险,在碰撞时间阈值小于2 s时,100%比例的CAV交通流可将交通流的车辆追尾碰撞风险降低85.81%以上;在碰撞时间阈值大于2 s时,追尾碰撞风险可降低48.22%～78.80%。所提优化控制方法可有效降低CAV车队优化控制的复杂性,为大规模CAV背景下的混合交通流优化控制以及车辆追尾碰撞交通安全提升策略提供直接理论参考。     

基于车辆动力学模型的换道轨迹规划研究

针对自动驾驶车辆换道轨迹规划时的操纵稳定性问题，基于CarSim/Simulink仿真平台建立了车辆动力学模型，构建了轨迹规划系统框架，通过轨迹信息后处理并提出了目标函数设计，进行了横向控制序列采样以保证车辆的稳定与极限性能，完成了算法对轨迹的综合评价选优。随后开展了仿真试验，对比分析了轨迹跟踪控制系统下的实际轨迹、最优规划方法所规划的换道轨迹。仿真结果表明，该轨迹规划系统框架及算法模型能有效提高车辆的操纵稳定性，可实现冰雪路面等极端工况下自动驾驶车辆换道轨迹规划。     

Optimal roll control of an articulated vehicle: theory and model validation

This paper investigates optimal roll control of an experimental articulated vehicle. The test vehicle and the mathematical model used to design the control strategies are presented. The vehicle model is validated against experimental data from the test vehicle in passive configuration. The initial controller design, performed by Sampson (Sampson, D.J.M. and Cebon, D., 2003a, Achievable roll stability of heavy road vehicles. Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs, Part D, J. Automobile Engineering, 217(4), 269–287), is reviewed and adapted for the experimental vehicle. The effect of not controlling all the axles on the vehicle is investigated and a variable vehicle speed controller is designed by interpolating between constant speed controllers. Substantial reduction in normalized load transfer is achieved for a range of manoeuvres, both in steady-state and transient conditions.     

Optimal roll control of an articulated vehicle: theory and model validation

This paper investigates optimal roll control of an experimental articulated vehicle. The test vehicle and the mathematical model used to design the control strategies are presented. The vehicle model is validated against experimental data from the test vehicle in passive configuration. The initial controller design, performed by Sampson (Sampson, D.J.M. and Cebon, D., 2003a, Achievable roll stability of heavy road vehicles. Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs, Part D, J. Automobile Engineering, 217(4), 269-287), is reviewed and adapted for the experimental vehicle. The effect of not controlling all the axles on the vehicle is investigated and a variable vehicle speed controller is designed by interpolating between constant speed controllers. Substantial reduction in normalized load transfer is achieved for a range of manoeuvres, both in steady-state and transient conditions.     

Literature review and fundamental approaches for vehicle and tire state estimation*

ABSTRACT

Most modern day automotive chassis control systems employ a feedback control structure. Therefore, real-time estimates of the vehicle dynamic states and tire-road contact parameters are invaluable for enhancing the performance of vehicle control systems, such as anti-lock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability program (ESP). Today's production vehicles are equipped with onboard sensors (e.g. a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, steering wheel angle sensor, and wheel speed sensors), which when used in conjunction with certain model-based or kinematics-based observers can be used to identify relevant tire and vehicle states for optimal control of comfort, stability and handling. Vehicle state estimation is becoming ever more relevant with the increased sophistication of chassis control systems. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in the field of vehicle and tire state estimation. It is expected to serve as a resource for researchers interested in developing vehicle state estimation algorithms for usage in advanced vehicle control and safety systems.     

Design and validation of a slender guideway for Maglev vehicle by simulation and experiment

Normally, Maglev (magnetic levitation) vehicles run on elevated guideways. The elevated guideway must satisfy various load conditions of the vehicle, and has to be designed to ensure ride quality, while ensuring that the levitation stability of the vehicle is not affected by the deflection of the guideway. However, because the elevated guideways of Maglev vehicles in South Korea and other countries fabricated so far have been based on over-conservative design criteria, the size of the structures has increased. Further, from the cost perspective, they are unfavourable when compared with other light rail transits such as monorail, rubber wheel, and steel wheel automatic guided transit. Therefore, a slender guideway that does have an adverse effect on the levitation stability of the vehicle is required through optimisation of design criteria. In this study, to predict the effect of various design parameters of the guideway on the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle, simulations were carried out using a dynamics model similar to the actual vehicle and guideway, and a limiting value of deflection ratio of the slender guideway to ensure levitation control is proposed. A guideway that meets the requirement as per the proposed limit for deflection ratio was designed and fabricated, and through a driving test of the vehicle, the validity of the slender guideway was verified. From the results, it was confirmed that although some increase in airgap and cabin acceleration was observed with the proposed slender guideway when compared with the conventional guideway, there was no notable adverse effect on the levitation stability and ride quality of the vehicle. Therefore, it can be inferred that the results of this study will become the basis for establishing design criteria for slender guideways of Maglev vehicles in future.     

A study on model fidelity for model predictive control-based obstacle avoidance in high-speed autonomous ground vehicles

This paper investigates the level of model fidelity needed in order for a model predictive control (MPC)-based obstacle avoidance algorithm to be able to safely and quickly avoid obstacles even when the vehicle is close to its dynamic limits. The context of this work is large autonomous ground vehicles that manoeuvre at high speed within unknown, unstructured, flat environments and have significant vehicle dynamics-related constraints. Five different representations of vehicle dynamics models are considered: four variations of the two degrees-of-freedom (DoF) representation as lower fidelity models and a fourteen DoF representation with combined-slip Magic Formula tyre model as a higher fidelity model. It is concluded that the two DoF representation that accounts for tyre nonlinearities and longitudinal load transfer is necessary for the MPC-based obstacle avoidance algorithm in order to operate the vehicle at its limits within an environment that includes large obstacles. For less challenging environments, however, the two DoF representation with linear tyre model and constant axle loads is sufficient.     

Emergency steering control of autonomous vehicle for collision avoidance and stabilisation

ABSTRACT

Collision avoidance and stabilisation are two of the most crucial concerns when an autonomous vehicle finds itself in emergency situations, which usually occur in a short time horizon and require large actuator inputs, together with highly nonlinear tyre cornering response. In order to avoid collision while stabilising autonomous vehicle under dynamic driving situations at handling limits, this paper proposes a novel emergency steering control strategy based on hierarchical control architecture consisting of decision-making layer and motion control layer. In decision-making layer, a dynamic threat assessment model continuously evaluates the risk associated with collision and destabilisation, and a path planner based on kinematics and dynamics of vehicle system determines a collision-free path when it suddenly encounters emergency scenarios. In motion control layer, a lateral motion controller considering nonlinearity of tyre cornering response and unknown external disturbance is designed using tyre lateral force estimation-based backstepping sliding-mode control to track a collision-free path, and to ensure the robustness and stability of the closed-loop system. Both simulation and experiment results show that the proposed control scheme can effectively perform an emergency collision avoidance manoeuvre while maintaining the stability of autonomous vehicle in different running conditions.     

Optimal preview game theory approach to vehicle stability controller design

Dynamic game theory brings together different features that are keys to many situations in control design: optimisation behaviour, the presence of multiple agents/players, enduring consequences of decisions and robustness with respect to variability in the environment, etc. In the presented methodology, vehicle stability is represented by a cooperative dynamic/difference game such that its two agents (players), namely the driver and the direct yaw controller (DYC), are working together to provide more stability to the vehicle system. While the driver provides the steering wheel control, the DYC control algorithm is obtained by the Nash game theory to ensure optimal performance as well as robustness to disturbances. The common two-degrees-of-freedom vehicle-handling performance model is put into discrete form to develop the game equations of motion. To evaluate the developed control algorithm, CarSim with its built-in nonlinear vehicle model along with the Pacejka tire model is used. The control algorithm is evaluated for a lane change manoeuvre, and the optimal set of steering angle and corrective yaw moment is calculated and fed to the test vehicle. Simulation results show that the optimal preview control algorithm can significantly reduce lateral velocity, yaw rate, and roll angle, which all contribute to enhancing vehicle stability.     

非满载液罐半挂汽车列车侧向耦合动力学模型

为方便液罐半挂汽车列车（Tractor Semi-trailer Tank Vehicle,TSTTV）罐-车整体的优化设计匹配,综合提高整车的侧倾稳定性、侧向动力学稳定性及操纵特性,基于Lagrange方法和椭圆规摆等效机械液体晃动模型建立TSTTV的整车侧向耦合动力学模型,其典型特征是实现罐内液体侧向晃动与车辆横摆运动、侧向运动、悬挂质量的侧倾运动及非线性侧向轮胎力的集成一体化建模,贯通液体晃动动力学与车辆侧向动力学稳定性之间的联系。通过开环正弦停滞转向输入操作响应对所建立的模型进行分析评价,考察车辆横摆角速度、质心侧偏角、侧倾角、侧向载荷转移率及液体晃动角等状态量在2种充液比（F_L=40%,80%）及2种罐体椭圆率（Δ=1.0,1.3）下的响应。研究结果表明：所建立的TSTTV模型可以实现液体侧向晃动作用下的车辆侧向耦合动力学仿真分析,能够反映充液比、罐体截面椭圆率等运输条件和罐体几何参数对整车侧倾稳定性、侧向动力学稳定性及操纵特性的影响;基于该模型可以针对液体介质、充液比及道路环境等运输条件因素的影响,研究以提高整车侧向动力学稳定性为目标的TSTTV灌-车整体的优化设计匹配问题,这对提升液罐车的设计性能、提高行驶的安全性和运输效率具有重要意义。     

基于动态门限值的分布式驱动电动汽车驱动力矩控制研究

为改善分布式驱动电动汽车高速行驶稳定性，避免频繁驱动控制操作对汽车行驶安全性的影响，提出了一种适应不同驾驶工况的参数动态门限值算法，设计了汽车附加横摆力矩滑模控制策略和驱动力矩二次规划优化分配控制策略，并进行了角阶跃输入工况和双正弦输入工况的仿真分析。结果表明，所设计的控制策略能有效控制汽车的质心侧偏角与横摆角速度，在保证汽车行驶稳定性的前提下，使质心侧偏角与理想值偏差减小了3.6%以上，轮胎附着利用率减少19.5%以上，有效地降低了轮胎附着利用率，提高了汽车的行驶安全性。     

Fidelity of using scaled vehicles for chassis dynamic studies

There are many situations where physical testing of a vehicle or vehicle controller is necessary, yet use of a full-size vehicle is not practical. Some situations include implementation testing of novel actuation strategies, analysing the behaviour of chassis feedback control under system faults, or near-unstable situations such as limit handling under driver-assist feedback control. Historically, many have advocated the use of scale vehicles as surrogates for larger vehicles. This article presents analysis and experimental testing that examines the fidelity of using scaled vehicles for vehicle chassis dynamics and control studies. In support of this effort, this work introduces an experimental system called the Pennsylvania State University Rolling Roadway Simulator (the PURRS). In the PURRS, a custom-built scale-sized vehicle is freely driven on a moving roadway surface. While others have used scale-vehicle rolling roadway simulators in the past, this work is the first to attempt to directly match the planar dynamic performance of the scale-sized vehicle to a specific full-sized vehicle by careful design of the scale vehicle. This article explains details of this effort including vehicle dynamic modelling, detailed measurement of model parameters, conditions for dynamic similitude, validation of the resulting experimental vehicle in the time, frequency, and dimensionless domains. The results of the dynamic comparisons between scale- and full-sized vehicles clearly illustrate operational regimes where agreement is quite good, and other regimes where agreement is quite poor. Both are useful to understand the applicability of scale-vehicle results to full-size vehicle analysis.     

Integrated evasive manoeuvre assist for collision mitigation with oncoming vehicles

Development and deployment of steering based collision avoidance systems are made difficult due to the complexity of dealing with oncoming vehicles during the evasive manoeuvre. A method to mitigate the collision risk with oncoming vehicles during such manoeuvres is presented in this work. A point mass analysis of such a scenario is first done to determine the importance of speed for mitigating the collision risk with the oncoming vehicle. A characteristic parameter was identified, which correlates well with the need to increase or decrease speed, in order to reduce the collision risk. This finding was then verified in experiments using a Volvo XC90 test vehicle. A closed-loop longitudinal acceleration controller for collision mitigation with oncoming vehicles is then presented. The longitudinal control is combined with yaw stability control using control allocation to form an integrated controller. Simulations in CarMaker using a validated XC90 vehicle model and the proposed controller showed consistent reductions in the collision risk with the oncoming vehicle.     

Optimal control of brakes and steering for autonomous collision avoidance using modified Hamiltonian algorithm

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the problem of collision avoidance for road vehicles, operating at the limits of friction. A two-level modelling and control methodology is proposed, with the upper level using a friction-limited particle model for motion planning, and the lower level using a nonlinear 3DOF model for optimal control allocation. Motion planning adopts a two-phase approach: the first phase is to avoid the obstacle, the second is to recover lane keeping with minimal additional lateral deviation. This methodology differs from the more standard approach of path-planning/path-following, as there is no explicit path reference used; the control reference is a target acceleration vector which simultaneously induces changes in direction and speed. The lower level control distributes vehicle targets to the brake and steer actuators via a new and efficient method, the Modified Hamiltonian Algorithm (MHA). MHA balances CG acceleration targets with yaw moment tracking to preserve lateral stability. A nonlinear 7DOF two-track vehicle model confirms the overall validity of this novel methodology for collision avoidance.     

Coordinated control strategies for active steering,differential braking and active suspension for vehicle stability,handling and safety improvement

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a coordinated control strategy is proposed to provide an effective improvement in handling stability of the vehicle, safety, and comfortable ride for passengers. This control strategy is based on the coordination among active steering, differential braking, and active suspension systems. Two families of controllers are used for this purpose, which are the high order sliding mode and the backstepping controllers. The control strategy was tested on a full nonlinear vehicle model in the environment of MATLAB/Simulink. Rollover avoidance and yaw stability control constraints have been considered. The control system mainly focuses on yaw stability control. When rollover risk is detected, the proposed strategy controls the roll dynamics to decrease rollover propensity. Simulation results for two different critical driving scenarios, the first one is a double lane change and the other one is a J-turn manoeuvre, show the effectiveness of the coordination strategy in stabilising the vehicle, enhancing handling and reducing rollover propensity.