Development of a control strategy based on the transmission efficiency with mechanical loss for a dual mode power split-type hybrid electric vehicle

In this study, a control strategy for a dual mode power split-type hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is developed based on the powertrain efficiency. To evaluate the transmission characteristics of the dual mode power split transmission (PST), a mechanical loss model of the transmission (TM loss) is constructed. The transmission efficiency, including the TM loss, is evaluated for the dual mode PST. Two control strategies for the dual mode PST are proposed. An optimal operation line (OOL) control strategy is developed to maintain a high engine thermal efficiency by controlling the engine operation point on the OOL. A speed ratio (SR) control strategy is proposed to obtain a greater transmission efficiency by shifting the engine operation point when the dual mode PST operates near the mechanical points. Using the TM loss and the proposed control strategies, a vehicle performance simulation is conducted to evaluate the performance of the two control strategies for dual mode PST. The simulation results demonstrate that, for the SR control strategy, the engine efficiency decreases because the engine operates beyond the OOL. However, the transmission efficiency of the dual mode PST increases because the PST operates near the mechanical point where the PST shows the greatest transmission efficiency. Consequently, the fuel economy of the SR control strategy is improved by 3.8% compared with the OOL control strategy.     

Development of a fail-safe control strategy based on evaluation scenarios for an FCEV electronic brake system

This study presents a few fail-safe control strategies based on reliability evaluation scenarios for the electronic brake systems of green cars in several critical cases. CarSim and MATLAB Simulink were used to develop the FCEV model with regenerative braking involving EWBs and EMBs. The proposed reliability evaluation scenarios were simulated, and a few fail-safe control algorithms were verified using the proposed reliability evaluation scenarios with the developed FCEV simulation model. The reliability evaluation scenarios were developed using a combination of driving modes and FMEA results for these electronic brake systems.     

Robust design optimization of suspension system by using target cascading method

This study presents the robust design optimization process of suspension system for improving vehicle dynamic performance (ride comfort, handling stability). The proposed design method is so called target cascading method where the design target of the system is cascaded from a vehicle level to a suspension system level. To formalize the proposed method in the view of design process, the design problem structure of suspension system is defined as a (hierarchical) multilevel design optimization, and the design problem for each level is solved using the robust design optimization technique based on a meta-model. Then, In order to verify the proposed design concept, it designed suspension system. For the vehicle level, 44 random variables with 3% of coefficient of variance (COV) were selected and the proposed design process solved the problem by using only 88 exact analyses that included 49 analyses for the initial meta-model and 39 analyses for SAO. For the suspension level, 54 random variables with 10% of COV were selected and the optimal designs solved the problem by using only 168 exact analyses for the front suspension system. Furthermore, 73 random variables with 10% of COV were selected and optimal designs solved the problem by using only 252 exact analyses for the rear suspension system. In order to compare the vehicle dynamic performance between the optimal design model and the initial design model, the ride comfort and the handling stability was analyzed and found to be improved by 16% and by 37%, respectively. This result proves that the suggested design method of suspension system is effective and systematic.     

A novel adaptive algorithm with an IIR filter and a variable step size for active noise control in a short duct

The intake system in an automotive engine has a short duct compared with that of the exhaust system. The filtered-x LMS (FX-LMS) algorithm has been applied to the active noise control (ANC) system in a short acoustic duct. This algorithm design is based on the FIR (finite impulse response) filter; however, it has a slow convergence issue due to a large number of zero coefficients. To improve the convergence performance, the step size of the LMS algorithm was modified from fixed to variable. However, this algorithm is still not suitable for the ANC system of a short acoustic duct because the reference signal is affected by the backward acoustic wave propagated from a secondary source. Therefore, the recursive filtered-u LMS algorithm (FU-LMS) based on the infinite impulse response (IIR) is developed to consider backward acoustic propagation. Generally, this algorithm has a stability problem. The stability issue was improved using an error-smoothing filter. In this paper, the recursive LMS algorithm with a variable step size and smoothing error filter is designed. This recursive LMS algorithm, the FU-VSSLMS algorithm, uses an IIR filter. With fast convergence and good stability, this algorithm is suitable for the ANC system in a short acoustic duct, such as the intake system of an automotive engine. This algorithm is applied to the ANC system of a short acoustic duct. The disturbance signals used as primary noise source are a sinusoidal signal embedded in white noise and the chirp signal, which has a variable instantaneous frequency. The test results demonstrate that the FU-VSSLMS algorithm has a superior convergence performance when compared with the FX-LMS and FX-LMS algorithms. The algorithm can be successfully applied to the ANC system in a short duct, such as the intake duct.     

PID plus fuzzy logic method for torque control in traction control system

A Traction Control System (TCS) is used to control the driving force of an engine to prevent excessive slip when a vehicle starts suddenly or accelerates. The torque control strategy determines the driving performance of the vehicle under various drive-slip conditions. This paper presents a new torque control method for various drive-slip conditions involving abrupt changes in the road friction. This method is based on a PID plus fuzzy logic controller for driving torque regulation, which consists of a PID controller and a fuzzy logic controller. The PID controller is the fundamental component that calculates the elementary torque for traction control. In addition, the fuzzy logic controller is the compensating component that compensates for the abrupt change in the road friction. The simulation results and the experimental vehicle tests have validated that the proposed controller is effective and robust. Compared with conventional PID controllers, the driving performance under the proposed controller is greatly improved.     

Development and Evaluation of Vehicle Simulation Models for a 4WS Application

In the scope of the European Prometheus project a passenger car with active rear wheel steering was developed by TNO in cooperation with PSA. During development and engineering of the rear wheel steering system simulation tools have been used to reduce development costs. This paper describes the evaluation of different simulation models, from simple to complex, with results of full vehicle driving tests. The optimal balance for model complexity and accuracy was achieved with a 2-dimensional model with an added roll degree of freedom. The results show that validation using time responses can give ambiguous and inaccurate results, and that frequency response functions are much more usable in validation.     

Wheel Vibrations and Transient Tire Forces

This paper presents a survey of the state-of-the-art in predicting the wheel vibrations in a complex dynamic vehicle suspension system and their influence on the forces transduced in a high frequency area from the tire to the vehicle's body. Secondly it presents also the transient evolution of tire models used for prediction and understanding high frequency movements in the tire's contact area, producing the guiding forces and torques during vehicle handling.     

Analysis of the performance of the evaporator of automotive air conditioning system

The purpose of this research was to establish a theoretical model for the evaporator of automotive air conditioning system and conducting simulations to evaluate the effect of operation parameters, environmental conditions, and design parameters on the performance of evaporator. An automotive air conditioning system primarily consists of four components: the compressor, the condenser, the refrigerant controller, and the evaporator. The refrigerant flow in the evaporator can be divided into two regions: the evaporating region and the superheat region. The refrigerant in the first region is a two-phase flow, while the refrigerant in the latter region is in the state of superheated vapor. The air flowing through the interior of the evaporator can also be divided into two zones: the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone. Water vapor is condensed in the saturated zone while in the unsaturated zone, no water condenses. Because the refrigerant flow and the airflow are perpendicular to each other, the distribution of refrigerant in the evaporating region and the superheat region does not coincide with the distribution of air in the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone. This study examines the effects of different design parameters, environmental conditions and operating parameters on the cooling capacity and superheat of an air conditioning system. Design parameters include the length of the refrigerant channel, the length of the air channel, and the thickness of the fins. Environmental conditions include the air inlet temperature and absolute humidity. Operation conditions include the refrigerant inlet enthalpy, inlet air flow rate, and refrigerant mass flow rate. Results of simulation demonstrated that fins with 50 micron meters width has the greatest cooling capacity for identical outer dimensions; thicker or thinner fins only decreased cooling capacity. Under different outer dimensions, longer refrigerant tubes and air channels created a greater cooling capacity. However, the increase in cooling capacity becomes less and less if the refrigerant flow was fixed because the heat transfer capability of the gaseous refrigerant was limited. In this study, an increase of 19% in cooling capacity can be reached as the length of refrigerant channels was increased, and the increased length of the air channels can promote the cooling capacity by 22%. Besides, it was found in this study that a decrease in the refrigerant inlet enthalpy, the inlet air flow rate, the air inlet temperature, and the inlet absolute humidity, or an increase in the refrigerant mass flow rate, would extend the superheat region and decrease the refrigerant’s superheat. It was also found that the cooling capacity of air conditioners is extremely sensitive to changes in the refrigerant mass flow rate and the inlet enthalpy, and variations more than 50% were found in the operating ranges examined in this study. However, changes in the inlet temperature, absolute humidity, and inlet air flow rate only resulted in variations between 10% and 20% in the examined ranges of conditions. Finally, a correlation among these variables and the simulated cooling capacity was obtained in this study, enabling the relevant researchers to evaluate automotive air conditioning performance under different environmental conditions and operation parameters more easily.