Nouveaux entrants, structure du réseau ferré et qualité des infrastructures ferroviaires en France : des stratégies d’itinéraires contrariées

The structure of the French rail network is highly centralized. It complies with the strategy of use of the incumbent operator, SNCF: the long-term trend has been rather towards the concentration of traffic on a limited number of well-equipped routes. The experience of freight market liberalization shows that seven newcomers have entered the market. They haul approximately 16% of the total volume in 2010. But they have neither the same vision of the network, nor the same use of it. They run point-to-point long-distance trains, so they try to travel via lines that are as direct as possible, thereby saving several kilometres and avoiding problematic bottlenecks. Their strategies are counteracted by the current state of the infrastructures when they try to avoid the main radial lines: limited capacity, speed and axle load restrictions, etc. Upgrading works are now in progress, under the direction of RFF, the network manager. They add perturbations to the existing restriction of use, without any satisfying alternative train path. This paper tries to emphasize the strategic divergences between operators confronted with a time-consuming (or insufficiently anticipated) network.     

Influence of load and inflation pressure on the tyre rolling resistance

Tyre load and inflation pressure are important factors controlling rolling resistance of road vehicles. The article presents results obtained in the Technical University of Gdańsk during laboratory and road measurements of different car tyres rolling on different pavements. The knowledge of rolling resistance characteristics is important for modelling car dynamics as well as fuel consumption. It is also necessary to establish proper test conditions in the future standardized on-road method of measuring rolling resistance. The results indicate that while an increase of load always leads to the increase of rolling resistance force, the influence on Coefficient of Rolling Resistance is more complicated and unpredictable. They also indicate that tyres with high rolling resistance are more sensitive to inflation pressure changes than low rolling resistance tyres.     

Implementation of discharging/charging current sensorless state-of-charge estimator reflecting cell-to-cell variations in lithium-ion series battery packs

This paper offers novel insights to the design and implementation of an innovative state-of-charge (SOC) estimator for the lithium-ion (Li-Ion) series battery pack. The most interesting feature of this approach is that it can utilize information from each filtered terminal voltage of the Li-Ion cells connected in series for SOC estimation of the battery pack. Without actual sensing each discharging/charging current (DCC) applied to the Li-Ion cells, it is possible to extract each DCC estimation from the corresponding filtered terminal voltages with an equivalent electrical circuit model (EECM) identification of all Li-Ion cells in the battery pack. There are two advantages to SOC estimation of the battery pack with this approach. First, the proposal can be implemented simply and effectively, reducing the computational steps required for SOC estimation. By reducing computational steps, the proposal is expected to be more cost-effective. Second, the approach guarantees an improved SOC performance, even if the battery pack results in inevitable cell-to-cell variation among Li-Ion cells. Accordingly, there are fewer differences to previously estimated DCCs among Li-Ion cells. Specifically, all values from the estimated DCCs are properly compensated for by simultaneous parameter modification according to each cell’s electrochemical characteristics. Experimental results clearly demonstrate that our DCC sensorless SOC estimator provides robust SOC performance for the battery pack. This approach considered an experimental battery pack (12S1P) connected in series using 2.6 Ah LiCoO2 cells produced by Samsung SDI.     

Estimation of maximum road friction coefficient based on Lyapunov method

With the real time and accurate information of motor torque and rotation speed of the four-in-wheel-motordrive electric vehicles, a slip based algorithm for estimating maximum road friction coefficient is designed using Lyapunov stability theory. Modified Burckhardt tire model is used to describe longitudinal slip property of the tire. By introducing a new state variable, a nonlinear estimator is proposed to estimate the longitudinal tire force and the maximum road friction coefficient simultaneously. With the appropriate selection of estimation gain, the convergence of the estimation error of the tire longitudinal force and maximum road friction coefficient is proved through Lyapunov stability analysis. In addition, the error is exponentially stable near the origin. Finally the method is validated with Carsim-Simulink co-simulation and real vehicle tests under multi working conditions in acceleration situation which demonstrate high computational efficiency and accuracy of this method.     

Quasi steady-state aerodynamic model development for race vehicle simulations

Presented in this paper is a procedure to develop a high fidelity quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for use in race car vehicle dynamic simulations. Developed to fit quasi steady-state wind tunnel data, the aerodynamic model is regressed against three independent variables: front ground clearance, rear ride height, and yaw angle. An initial dual range model is presented and then further refined to reduce the model complexity while maintaining a high level of predictive accuracy. The model complexity reduction decreases the required amount of wind tunnel data thereby reducing wind tunnel testing time and cost. The quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for the pitch moment degree of freedom is systematically developed in this paper. This same procedure can be extended to the other five aerodynamic degrees of freedom to develop a complete six degree of freedom quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for any vehicle.     

Driver steering and muscle activity during a lane-change manoeuvre

The article reports an experimental study of driver steering control behaviour in a lane-change manoeuvre. Eight test subjects were instrumented with electromyography to measure muscle activation and co-contraction. Each subject completed 30 lane-change manoeuvres with one vehicle on a fixed-base driving simulator. For each driver, the steering torque feedback characteristic was changed after every ten manoeuvres; the response of the vehicle to steering angle inputs was not changed. Drivers' control strategies were found to be robust to changes in steering torque feedback. Path-following errors, muscle activity and muscle co-contraction all reduce with the number of lane-changes performed by the driver, suggesting the existence of a learning process. Comparing the test subjects, there was some evidence that high levels of co-contraction were used to allow high-frequency steering inputs to be generated. The results contribute to the understanding of vehicle-driver (and more generally, human-machine) dynamic interaction.     

Analysis of the shifting behavior of a novel clutchless geared smart transmission

Conventional geared transmissions use some kinds of clutches to control the power flow from an internal combustion engine to the driveline while shifting gears. However, the shifting performance is seriously affected by the clutch engagement and an unavoidable drop in the torque may occur when the clutch is disconnected. Moreover, wear of the clutch, the need for hydraulic equipment, and the load limit may together aggravate the limits of the clutch system. For this reason, as a novel transmission without a clutch, the clutchless geared smart transmission (henceforth CGST) is proposed by our research team. The CGST controls the power flow in a multiple-input gear-train by controlling the electric motor attached to the planetary gear system. However, no CGST has been realized in an actual vehicle thus far, and the performance has been predicted only theoretically. In this research, we analyzed the achievable performance based on a developed CGST dynamic model with a typical CGST structure. In addition, a CGST gear-shifting algorithm is proposed for use with the dynamic model. From the simulation results, the CGST does not show an abrupt drop in its torque or oscillation while shifting gears due to the absence of a discontinuous power flow. The developed dynamic model can serve as a performance reference for the CGST. Moreover, it can be used as a simulation tool for developing a gear-shifting control logic scheme.     

Impact of hilly road information on fuel economy of FCHEV based on parameterization of hilly roads

Under real-life driving conditions, hilly roads are prevalent. Hilly road profile substantially influences fuel economy (FE) due to large impacts (increase or decrease) on power demand profile. Thus, the utilization of future altitude profile information has large potential to improve FE. In this paper, for optimal energy management of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEV), we investigate how much FE could potentially be improved when future altitude profile information is available. In particular, the simulation results are analyzed to justify the reason for this potential improvement and to identify which characteristics of hilly roads leads to large FE improvements. First of all, four statistical parameters are defined to characterize hilly roads: mean value, standard deviation (STD), distance interval (DI), and total distance. Then, several types of virtual hilly roads are generated based on various parameter combinations. In order to evaluate the potential FE improvement two energy management strategies (EMSs) are utilized: the first is Dynamic Programming, which evaluates the globally optimal FE when future hilly road information is available; the other is the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) with adaptive equivalent factor for charge-sustenance, which represents the baseline EMS when future hilly road information is not available. The results show that downhill roads have much larger potential than uphill roads do for FE improvements when the future altitude profile is properly used for EMS. Furthermore, if the battery capacity is not large enough to handle the difference in potential energy, future hilly road information is more important to prevent violations of the maximum state-of-charge bound.     

Fatigue life prediction of a rubber material based on dynamic crack growth considering shear effect

This paper suggests a fatigue life calculation method (A fatigue life calculation method is suggested) for rubber components based on the dynamic crack growth considering shear effect. Dynamic tearing tests were carried out, and the crack length was measured using an optical microscope to calculate the dynamic crack growth rate which characterizes and determines the fatigue life. The algorithm was numerically implemented in finite element code, ABAQUS standard, by using the user subroutine and applied to several rubber components. In the finite element analysis, deformation mode of an element was classified into tension and shear, and a weighting factor was multiplied to a strain energy density according to the degree of shear strain. Tension and compression of an elliptic dumbbell specimen was simulated in order to verify the material parameters of the suggested fatigue life prediction equation and to enhance the reliability of the algorithm. Finally, the fatigue life of a vehicle suspension bushing was calculated and compared with test. There were good agreements in the failure location and the magnitude of the fatigue life.     

Approach to functional safety-compliant ECU design for electro-mechanical brake systems

In this paper, we propose a design approach to a functional safety-compliant ECU for an electro-mechanical brake (EMB) control system or an electronic wedge brake (EWB) control system. Brake actuators in a brake-by-wire (BBW) system such as EMB or EWB are characterized by the safety-critical functions which are now executed by using many electric and electronic devices with application software. Based on hazard analysis and risk assessments of the automotive functional safety standard ISO 26262, the proposed EMB control system should be ASIL-D-compliant, which is the highest ASIL level. To this end, a hardware and a software design method is introduced to implement functionl safety-oriented monitoring functions which are based on an asymmetric dual-core architecture with an external watchdog processor. It is shown by using EMB hardware-In-the-Loop-Simulation (HILS) that the proposed ECU design approach is very effective when a hardware fault or software execution faults occur in the EMB ECU, moreover, this functional safety-compliant design can be well combiled with the sensor fault-tolerant control logic.