| Abstract: | The steerability and stability of vehicles must be maintained during emergency stopping and evasive driving maneuvers on degraded road surfaces. The introduction of antilock brake and traction control systems (ABS/TCS) has expanded the envelope of safe vehicle operation for the majority of drivers. These mechatronic systems combine an electronic controller with wheel speed sensors, an electro-mechanical hydraulic brake actuator, and in some instances, engine intervention through the engine control unit, to regulate wheel slip. The development of ABS systems has traditionally depended on extensive in-vehicle testing, at cold weather proving grounds, which contribute to lengthy product development cycles. However, recent attention has been focused on the use of simulation and hardware-in-the-loop strategies to emulate test conditions in a controlled setting to shorten product design time and methodically address critical safety issues. In this paper, the effect of transient load shifting due to cargo movement on ABS performance in light-duty vehicles will be investigated. Analytical and empirical mathematical models are presented to describe the chassis, tire/road interface, wheel, brake modulator, and cargo dynamics. Two strategies, a model-free table lookup and model-based discrete nonlinear controller, are presented to regulate the ABS modulator's operation. These vehicle and controller dynamics have been integrated into a simulation tool to investigate the effect of transient weight transfers on the vehicle's overall stopping distance and time. Representative numerical results are presented and discussed to quantify the ABS systems' performance for various loading and operating conditions. |
