Development of an electric booster system using sliding mode control for improved braking performance

Brake systems of the future, including BBW (Brake-by-Wire), are in development in various forms. In one of the proposed hydraulic BBW systems, an electric booster system replaces the pneumatic brake booster with an electric motor and a rotational-to-linear motion mechanism. This system is able to provide improved braking performance by the design of controllers with precise target pressure tracking and control robustness for better system reliability. First, a sliding mode controller is designed using the Lyapunov function approach to secure the robustness of the system against both the model uncertainty and the disturbance caused by the master cylinder and mechanical components. Next, a simulation tool is constructed to validate the electric booster system with the proposed controller. Finally, the electric booster system is implemented into an actual brake ECU and installed in a vehicle for testing under various braking conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed controller produces faster pressure build-up performance than the conventional brake system, and its tracking performance is sufficient to ensure comfortable braking.     

Study of n-C<Subscript>12</Subscript>H<Subscript>26</Subscript> reforming over DFC catalyst in a simulated diesel exhaust

In lean-DeNOX catalysis reactions, hydrogen is a good reducing agent in PGM catalysts as well as an effective promoter in selective catalytic reduction reactions over base metal oxide catalysts. However, such a lean-DeNOX system, which uses hydrogen, requires an on-board fuel reforming system applicable to internal combustion engines. In this study, catalytic partial oxidation (CPOx) performance was tested in a laboratory for various reactants and hydrocarbon conditions. Volume concentrations of 5–10% oxygen and 0-5% water vapor were used to simulate diesel exhaust, and n-C₁₂H₂₆ was used as the feedstock for the reforming reaction. In the CPOx of n-C₁₂H₂₆, the highest hydrogen selectivity was 64% and was achieved at 100,000 h-1 GHSV. Additionally, the C/O ratio was less than unity in the absence of water vapor. However, as the water concentration was increased to 2.5 and 5.0 vol. % in the n-C₁₂H₂₆ CPOx reactions, the maximum hydrogen selectivity was increased from 64% in the absence of water to 70% and 75%, respectively. This effect is a consequence of the water-gas shift reaction over the catalyst bed. Regarding oxygen concentration effects, hydrogen selectivity slightly increased with increasing oxygen concentration from 10% to 15%. It was also found that the CPOx reaction of n-C₁₂H₂₆ can be ignited at temperatures below 300 C. Accordingly, it can be concluded that CPOx is a useful and feasible device for promoting diesel DeNOx catalysis in terms of hydrogen productivity and reaction initiation.     

Establishment of an installation process of a valve seat to a cylinder head using the cae technique

Valve seats press-fitted in the cylinder head function to hold exhaust gas inside the ignition chamber and to transfer heat to the coolant moving in the water jacket of the head. The press-fitting of the valve seats to the head at ambient temperature has been widely spread out due to its many advantages over pressing with frozen valve seats or with a heated head. The benefits include lower equipment costs, lower running costs, and fewer installation faults during the press-fitting. Nevertheless, a systematic approach for pressing at ambient temperature (ATP; ambient temperature press-fitting) has not been studied and analyzed to date. A technique to check the reliability of the press-fitting by measuring hoop strain inside the valve seat and the FEM procedure to simulate ATP is developed in this study. The FEM procedure of ATP developed here exhibits a concurrence with experimental results. Utilizing the DOE (Design of Experiments) technique, we determined the effects of various geometric parameters and the optimal shapes of the valve seat and cylinder head. The optimal shapes have been successfully applied in an actual engine and varified in a running-engine test.     

Simplified dynamics model for axial force in tripod constant velocity joint

Tripod constant velocity (TCV) joints are common components in automotive and mechanical applications. The benefits of the TCV joint are its high plunge capacity and high torque capacity. During power transmission, the friction inside the joint generates an axial force according to the kinematics. This force causes noise and vibration problems. In this study, a simplified multi-body dynamic model based on a phenomenological TCV joint friction model is developed. This model considers the generated axial force (GAF) of a TCV joint with different lubricate conditions. The efficiency and accuracy are verified by comparison with other prediction models and experiments. Thus, this model can be used to design and control the manufacture process of TCV joints.     

Analytical study of pressure pulsation characteristics according to the geometries of the fuel rail of an MPI engine

In a conventional MPI engine, a pulsation damper is usually mounted on the fuel rail to diminish undesirable noise in the vehicle cabin room; however, pulsation dampers are quite expensive. Therefore, several studies have focused on reducing fuel pressure pulsation by increasing the self-damping characteristics of the fuel rail. This paper details the development of a fuel rail that reduces pulsation using a self-damping effect. Using an oil hammer simulation technique, pressure pulsation characteristics were investigated with respect to the aspect ratio of the cross-section, wall thickness, and fuel rail material. Increasing the aspect ratio and decreasing the wall thickness efficiently reduced the pressure pulsation. In addition, the pressure pulsation characteristics were investigated with respect to the resonant engine speed and injection period. These simulated data can be used to reduce the pressure pulsation peak and to avoid the resonant point in the design stage during the development of a fuel rail.     

Optimized dynamic battery model suited for power based vehicle energy simulation

Ever increasing demand for the petroleum is causing faster than expected oil shortages in the supply and demand balance around the world and furthermore, many specialists in the field of oil production such as Association for the Study of Peak Oil and World Energy Outlook are claiming that the petroleum is around the peak of its production (Figure 1). Such shortage made the greatest impact on the gasoline price hikes at the gas pump and thus, this impact was felt by the consumers severely and became the greatest motivation for automotive industries to strive to pioneer the researches for the next generation vehicle configurations ranging from HEV, PHEV, Pure EV to FCHEV (collectively noted as xEV). While the great deal of researches has been carried over the last few decades, it is still far from mass productions for consumer use except for the HEV mainly due to the high cost involved with other types of xEV configurations. Therefore, it is critical to design the vehicle to maximize the use of each component at its highest point regardless of any cost scenarios and it is clear that this optimization can only be achieved through the accurate energy balance simulation for a specific target vehicle prior to the actual hardware implementation. In this paper, it is our intention to introduce modified dynamic battery modeling scheme that would provide a more accurate way of simulating the battery behavior when used in the vehicle energy simulation system. Starting from a typical battery dynamic model to predict the voltage given an imposed current request, we have introduced a new scheme to establish the relationship between the voltage and the power (rather than the current) requested by the vehicle simulation system. The proposed scheme handles the power request from the vehicle simulator considering the dynamic battery characteristics and in turn, contributes to the better estimation of the current integrated energy usage and battery SOC level in the given battery dynamic system used in the vehicle energy simulation system.     

Development of an electric active rollcontrol (ARC) algorithm for a SUV

Cornering maneuvers with reduced body roll and without loss in comfort are leading requirements for car manufacturers. An electric active roll control (ARC) system controls body roll angle with motor-driven actuators installed in the centers of the front and rear stabilizer bars. A vehicle analysis model developed using a CarSim S/W was validated using vehicle test data. Two ARC algorithms for a sports utility vehicle (SUV) were designed using a sliding-mode control algorithm based on a nonlinear roll model and an estimated lateral acceleration based on a linearized roll model. Co-simulation with the Matlab simulink controller model and the CarSim vehicle model were conducted to evaluate the performance of two ARC control algorithms. To validate the ARC performance in a real vehicle, vehicle tests were conducted at KATECH proving ground using a small SUV equipped with two ARC actuators, upper and lower controllers and a few subsystems. From the simulation and vehicle validation test results, the proposed ARC control algorithm for the developed ARC actuator prototypes improves the vehicle’s dynamic performance.     

Cold performance of various biodiesel fuel blends at low temperature

This study examines the cold performance of biodiesel blends in a passenger car and a light duty truck at −16 °C and −20 °C. Six different types of biodiesels derived from soybean oil, waste cooking oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil and jatropha oil were blended with different volume ratios (B5 (5 vol. % biodiesel — 95 vol. % diesel), B10 and B20). The cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and the cloud point had an effect on the startability and driveability of both the passenger car and the light duty truck. The startability and driveability of the passenger car with all biodiesel blends (B5) were generally good at −20 °C. In the light duty truck, biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) of soybean, waste cooking, rapeseed and jatropha tended to be good at −20 °C in the startability and driveability tests than the biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) of cottonseed and palm. In particular, the palm biodiesel blend (B10) failed at −20 °C, and the palm biodiesel blend (B20) also failed at −16 °C in the startability test. The cold flow properties of biodiesel dictate that the length of the hydrocarbon chains and the presence of unsaturated structures significantly affect the low temperature properties of biodiesel.     

Decentralized neuro-fuzzy control for half car with semi-active suspension system

In this paper, a decentralized neuro-fuzzy controller has been created in order to improve the ride comfort and increase the stability for half car suspension system, which used the magneto-rheological damper as a semi-active device. Firstly, relative gain array and relative disturbance gain methods have been used for deriving a relation between inputs, disturbances and outputs to select pairing with minimum interaction to design a decentralize controller. Secondary, decentralized neuro-fuzzy controllers for front and rear chassis are designed to predict the required damping force taking the acceleration of the sprung mass and desired acceleration obtained by using pole-placement method as inputs. To predict the control voltage required for producing the force predicted by the controller, the inverse neuro-fuzzy model of MR damper has been designed. Simulation by using MATLAB programs has been created. The results show that the ride comforts and vehicle stability have been improved in comparison with the passive system.     

Fuel economy evaluation of fuel cell hybrid vehicles based on optimal control

The fuel economy of a fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) depends on its power management strategy because the strategy determines the power split between the power sources. Several types of power management strategies have been developed to improve the fuel economy of FCHVs. This paper proposes an optimal control scheme based on the Minimum Principle. This optimal control provides the necessary optimality conditions that minimize the fuel consumption and optimize the power distribution between the fuel cell system (FCS) and the battery during driving. In this optimal control, the final battery state of charge (SOC) and the fuel consumption have an approximately proportional relationship. This relationship is expressed by a linear line, and this line is defined as the optimal line in this research. The optimal lines for different vehicle masses and different driving cycles are obtained and compared. This research presents a new method of fuel economy evaluation. The fuel economy of other power management strategies can be evaluated based on the optimal lines. A rule-based power management strategy is introduced, and its fuel economy is evaluated by the optimal line.