Vehicle Motion Control

Subject: Automotive Electronics

Course Code: (18UECO632)
Semester: VI(A )
Academic Year: 2021-22
Course Instructor: Dr. Vyas R Murnal
Assistant Professor
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Dept of ECE, SDMCET, Dharwad
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Axes related to vehicle motion
• Vehicle motion refers to its translation along and rotation about all 3 axes
(i.e., longitudinal, lateral, and vertical).
• Longitudinal axis, means the axis that is parallel to the ground (vehicle at
rest) along the length of the car.
• The lateral axis is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and is also parallel to
the ground (vehicle at rest).
• The vertical axis is orthogonal to both the longitudinal and lateral axes.
• Rotations of the vehicle around these three axes correspond to angular
displacement of the car body in roll, yaw, and pitch.
• Roll refers to angular displacement about the longitudinal axis;
• Yaw refers to angular displacement about the vertical axis; and pitch refers
to angular displacement about the lateral axis.
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TYPICAL CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM
• Excellent example of the type of electronic feedback control system
• Variable being regulated in cruise control system is the vehicle speed.

What happens in cruise control system??

“Driver manually sets the car speed at the desired value via the accelerator
pedal. Upon reaching the desired speed the driver activates a momentary
contact switch that sets that speed as the command input to the control
system. From that point on, the cruise control system maintains the desired
speed automatically by operating the throttle via a throttle actuator”.

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Cruise Control Configuration

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• Momentary contact (push-button) switch that sets the command speed is
denoted S1
• Disable switch that completely disengages the cruise control system from the
power supply such that throttle control reverts back to the accelerator pedal,
denoted S2, is a safety feature
• Throttle actuator opens and closes the throttle in response to the error
between the desired and actual speed
• Whenever the actual speed is less than the desired speed the throttle
opening is increased by the actuator, which increases vehicle speed until the
error is zero, at which point the throttle opening remains fixed until either a
disturbance occurs or the driver calls for a new desired speed.

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Cruise Control Block Diagram

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• Here, proportional integral (PI) control strategy has been assumed
• A proportional integral (PI) is a good design for control system since it can
reduce speed errors due to disturbances (such as hills) to zero
• In this strategy an error e is formed by subtracting (electronically) the actual
speed Va from the desired speed Vd:
e = Vd – Va
• Controller then electronically generates the actuator signal by combining a
term proportional to the error (KPe) and a term proportional to the integral
of the error .

• Throttle opening is proportional to the value of this actuator signal

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Simulink Model

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Response Without and with PI control during Disturbance

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Observations
With Proportional (P) system only
• When the disturbance occurs, the speed drops off and the control system reacts
immediately to increase power.
• However, a certain amount of time is required for the car to accelerate toward the
desired speed.
• As time progresses, the speed reaches a steady value that is less than the desired
speed, thereby accounting for the steady error (es)
With Proportional Integral (PI) system
• Steady error when integrated produces an ever-increasing output from the
integrator.
• This increasing output causes the actuator to increase further, with a resulting
speed increase.
• In this case the actuator output will increase until the error is reduced to zero.

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• The response characteristics of a PI controller depend strongly on the choice of the
gain parameters KP and KI
• It is possible to select values for these parameters to increase the speed of the
system response to disturbance
• If the speed increases too rapidly, however, overshoot will occur and the actual
speed will oscillate around the desired speed.
• The amplitude of oscillations decreases by an amount determined by a parameter
called the damping ratio
• The damping ratio that produces the fastest response without overshoot is called
critical damping.
• A damping ratio lesser than critically damped is said to be underdamped, and one
greater than critically damped is said to be overdamped.

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Response of a cruise control system with a PI control strategy to a sudden
disturbance

• Damping ratios for

dotted curves are 0.4
and 0.7
• Solid curve has critical
damping

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• The system designer chooses the control electronics that provide the
following system qualities:
1. Quick response
2. Relative stability
3. Small steady-state error
4. Optimization of the control effort required

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Digital Cruise Control
• Cruise control is now mostly implemented digitally using a microprocessor-based
computer
• The proportional and integral control computations are performed numerically in the
computer
• Vehicle speed sensor is digital.
• When the car reaches the desired speed, Sd, the driver activates the speed set switch. At
this time, the output of the vehicle speed sensor is transferred to a storage register.
• The computer continuously reads the actual vehicle speed, Sa, and generates an error, en,
at the sample time, tn (n is an integer). en = Sd– Sa at time tn

• Signal d is given by

(add the M previously calculated errors to the present error)

• Control signal d is actually the duty cycle of a square wave (Vc) that is applied to the
throttle actuator
• The throttle opening increases or decreases as d increases or decreases due to the action
of the throttle actuator. 16
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Digital Speed Sensor
• Vehicle speed information is mechanically coupled to the speed sensor by a flexible
cable coming from the driveshaft, which rotates at an angular speed proportional
to vehicle speed
• Speed sensor driven by this cable generates a pulsed electrical signal that is
processed by the computer to obtain a digital measurement of speed.
• A speed sensor can be implemented magnetically or optically.
Optical Speed Sensor
• Flexible cable drives a slotted disk that rotates between a light source and a light
detector.
• The placement of the source, disk, and detector is such that the slotted disk
interrupts or passes the light from source to detector, depending on whether a slot
is in the line of sight from source to detector.
• Light detector produces an output voltage whenever a pulse of light from the light
source passes through a slot to the detector
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Digital Speed Sensor

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• The number of pulses generated per second is proportional to the number of slots
in the disk and the vehicle speed:
f = NSK
where, f is the frequency in pulses per second,
N is the number of slots in the sensor disk,
S is the vehicle speed,
K is the proportionality constant that accounts for differential gear ratio and wheel size
• Output pulses are passed through a sample gate to a digital counter. time interval
during which the gate is closed is precisely controlled by the computer
• The digital counter counts the number of pulses from the light detector during
time t that the gate is open.
• The number of pulses P that is counted by the digital counter is given by: P = tNSK

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Throttle Actuator

• An electromechanical device that, in response to an electrical input from the

controller, moves the throttle through some appropriate mechanical linkage
• Operates either from manifold vacuum or with a stepper motor
• Pneumatic piston arrangement is driven from the intake manifold vacuum
• The piston-connecting rod assembly is attached to the throttle lever. There is
also a spring attached to the lever
• When an actuator input signal energizes the electromagnet in the control
solenoid, the pressure control valve is pulled down and changes the actuator
cylinder pressure by providing a path to manifold pressure
• Manifold pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure, so the actuator
cylinder pressure quickly drops, causing the piston to pull against the throttle
lever to open the throttle.
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Vacuum-Operated Throttle Actuator

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CRUISE CONTROL ELECTRONICS
• Cruise control is implemented with a microcontroller & special-purpose
digital electronics or with analog electronics
• Program/ other critical parameters are stored in read-only memory (ROM).
• Small-capacity RAM memory is provided to store the command speed and to
store any temporary calculation results
• Input from the speed sensor and output to the throttle actuator are handled
by the I/O interface
• The output from the controller (i.e., the control signal) is sent via the I/O (on
one of its output ports) to so called driver electronics which receives this
control signal and generates a signal of the correct format and power level to
operate the actuator

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• The basic idea for this circuitry is to continuously drive the stepper motor to
advance or retard the throttle in accordance with the control signal that is stored in
memory.
• The actuator signal is, in effect, a signed number (i.e., a positive or negative
numerical value).
• A sign bit indicates the direction of the throttle movement(advance or retard). The
numerical value determines the amount of advance or retard.
• The stepper motor is activated by a pair of quadrature phase signals (i.e., signals
that are a quarter of a cycle out of phase) coming from a pair of oscillators.
• To advance the throttle, phase A signal is applied to coil 1 and phase B to coil 2.
• To retard the throttle these phases are each switched to the opposite coil. The
amount of movement in either direction is determined by the number of cycles of A
and B, one step for each cycle.
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• The number of cycles of these two phases is controlled by a logical signal (Z). This
logical signal is switched high, enabling a pair of AND gates (from the set A1, A2,
A3, A4).
• The length of time that it is switched high determines the number of cycles and
corresponds to the number of steps of the motor.
• The logical variable Z corresponds to the contents of the binary counter being zero.
As long as Z is not zero, a pair of AND gates (A1 and A3, or A2 and A4) is enabled,
permitting phase A and phase B signals to be sent to the stepper motor.
• The pair of gates enabled is determined by the sign bit. When the sign bit is high,
A1 and A3 are enabled and the stepper motor advances the throttle as long as Z is
not zero. Similarly, when the sign bit is low, A2 and A4 are enabled and the stepper
motor retards the throttle.

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• Regardless of the actuator type used, a microprocessor-based cruise control
system will:
1. Read the command speed.
2. Measure actual vehicle speed.
3. Compute an error (error = command - actual).
4. Compute a control signal using P, PI, or PID control law.
5. Send the control signal to the driver electronics.
6. Cause driver electronics to send a signal to the throttle actuator such that
the error will be reduced.

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• An advanced cruise control (ACC) system has a means of automatic brake
application whenever deceleration with throttle input alone is inadequate.
• This system consists of a conventional brake system with master cylinder
wheel cylinders, vacuum boost (power brakes), and various brake lines.
• In normal driving, the system functions like a conventional brake system.
• As the driver applies braking force through the brake pedal to the master
cylinder, brake fluid (under pressure) flows out of port and through a brake
line to the junction of check valves CV1 and CV2. Check valve CV2 blocks brake
fluid, whereas CV1 permits flow through a pump assembly P and then through
the apply valve (which is open) to the wheel cylinder(s), thereby applying
brakes.

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• In cruise control mode, the ACC controller regulates the throttle (as
explained above for a conventional cruise control) as well as the brake
system via electrical output signals and in response to inputs, including the
vehicle speed sensor and set cruise speed switch.
• The ACC system functions as described above until the maximum available
deceleration with closed throttle is inadequate. Whenever there is greater
deceleration than this maximum valve, the ACC applies brakes
automatically.
• In this automatic brake mode, an electrical signal is sent from the M (i.e.,
motor) output, causing the pump to send more brake fluid (under pressure)
through the apply valve (maintained open) to the wheel cylinder. At the
same time, the release valve remains closed such that brakes are applied.

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ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS)
• Safety-related feature that assists the driver in deceleration of the vehicle in poor
or marginal braking conditions (e.g., wet or icy roads)
• Problem in non-ABS-equipped cars: panic braking by the driver results in reduced
braking effectiveness and, typically, loss of directional control due to the tendency
of the wheels to lock
• ABS is a mechanism that automatically regulates braking force to an optimum for
any given low-friction condition
• ABS system has a set of angular speed sensors at each wheel, an electronic control
module, and a hydraulic brake pressure modulator (regulator)

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Why ABS??

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Why ABS ??

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Physical mechanism of wheel lock and vehicle skid
• The car is traveling at a speed U and the wheels are rotating at an angular speed
w where

U = Rw , where R is the tire radius

• When the brake pedal is depressed, the calipers are forced by hydraulic pressure
against the disk. This force acts as a torque Tb in opposition to the wheel rotation.
The lateral force that maintains directional control of the car is shown as FL.
• The wheel angular speed begins to decrease, causing a difference between the
vehicle speed U and the tire speed over the road (i.e., wR)
• In effect, the tire slips relative to the road surface. The amount of slip (S)
determines the braking force and lateral force

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• A rolling tire has slip S = 0, and a fully locked tire has S = 100%.

• Control over slip is affected by controlling the brake line pressure under
electronic control
• So, ABS regulates or modulates brake pressure to maintain slip as near
to optimum as possible.

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• In a typical ABS configuration, control over slip is effected by controlling the
brake line pressure under electronic control. This ABS regulates or modulates
brake pressure to maintain slip as near to optimum as possible (e.g., at So).
• The operation of this ABS is based on estimating the torque Tw applied to the
wheel at the road surface by the braking force Fb:

• In opposition to this torque is the braking torque Tb applied to the disk by the
calipers in response to brake pressure P:

where kb is a constant for the given brakes.

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• The difference between these two torques acts to decelerate the wheel. In
accordance with basic Newtonian mechanics, the wheel torque Tw is related
to braking torque and wheel deceleration by the following equation:

• where Iw is the wheel moment of inertia and w · is the wheel deceleration

(dw/dt, that is, the rate of change of wheel speed).
• During heavy braking under marginal conditions, sufficient braking force is
applied to cause wheel lock-up (in the absence of ABS control).
• As brake pressure is applied, Tb increases and w decreases, causing slip to
increase. The wheel torque is proportional to μb, which reaches a peak at slip
So.
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• After the peak wheel torque is sensed electronically, the electronic control
system commands that brake pressure be reduced (via the brake pressure
modulator). This point is the limit point of slip for the ABS.
• As the brake pressure is reduced, slip is reduced and the wheel torque
again passes through a maximum.
• The wheel torque reaches a value below the peak on the low slip side and
at this point brake pressure is again increased.
• The system will continue to cycle, maintaining slip near the optimal value as
long as the brakes are applied and the braking conditions lead to wheel
lock-up.

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ABS Braking Action
• Brakes are applied as indicated
by the rising brake pressure
• Wheel speed begins to drop
until the slip limit is reached
• ABS reduces brake pressure
and the wheel speed increases

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ELECTRONIC SUSPENSION SYSTEM
• The purpose of the suspension system is to isolate the car body motion as
much as possible from wheel motion due to rough road input.
• The two primary subjective performance measures are ride and handling.
• Ride refers to the motion of the car body in response to road bumps or
irregularities.
• Handling refers to how well the car body responds to dynamic vehicle motion
such as cornering or hard braking.
• Ride is improved by lowering the shock absorber damping, whereas handling
is improved by increasing this damping.
• In traditional suspension design, the damping parameter is fixed and is
chosen to achieve a compromise between ride and handling.
• In electronically controlled suspension systems, this damping can be varied
depending on driving conditions and road roughness characteristics.
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ELECTRONIC SUSPENSION SYSTEM
• There are two major classes of electronic suspension control systems: active
and semiactive.
• The semiactive suspension system is purely dissipative (i.e., power is
absorbed by the shock absorber under control of a microcontroller).
Purpose & objective of semiactive system:
To provide good ride without sacrifice in handling.
Isolation of the sprung mass (i.e., car body and contents)
Dynamically maintain the tire normal force as the unsprung mass (wheel
assembly) travels up and down due to road roughness.
• In an active suspension system, power is added to the suspension system via
a hydraulic or pneumatic power source.
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The lower peak is approximately 1 to 2 Hz and is generally associated with spring/sprung
mass oscillation. The second peak, which is in the general region of 12 to 15 Hz, is
resonance of the spring/unsprung mass combination. 51
• Good ride is achieved for relatively low damping. In particular, the sprung mass
motion in the frequency region from about 2 to 8 Hz is most important for good
subjective ride.
• For low damping, the unsprung mass moves relatively freely due to road input
while the sprung mass motion remains relatively low.
• Low damping results in relatively high variation in normal force, particularly near
the two peak frequencies. Hence, it results in poor handling characteristics.

Desired suspension damping characteristics with respect to four frequency regions are:

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 ELECTRONIC STEERING CONTROL
• Steering effort required of the driver to overcome restoring torque generally
decreases with vehicle speed and increases with steering angle.
• Power steering provides additional boost through hydraulic cylinder.
• An electronically controlled power steering system adjusts steering boost
adaptively to driving conditions.
• Electric boost power steering has several advantages over traditional
hydraulic power steering.
• In the 4WS (4 wheel steering systems) equipped vehicles, the front wheels
are directly linked mechanically to the steering wheel, as in traditional
vehicles. There is a power steering boost for the front wheels as in a standard
two-wheel steering system. The rear wheels are steered under the control of
a microcontroller via an actuator.
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• In this illustration, the front wheels are steered to a steering angle (δf) by
the driver’s steering wheel input. A sensor (S) measures the steering angle
and another sensor (U) gives the vehicle speed. The microcontroller (C)
determines the desired rear steering angle (δr) under program control as a
function of speed and front steering angle.
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• Instrumentation: Equipment and devices that measure engine and other
vehicle variables and parameters and display their status to the driver.
• Telematics: Communication of all forms within the vehicle as well as
communication to and from the vehicle.
• Late 1920s until the late 1950s, the standard automotive instrumentation
included the speedometer, oil pressure gauge, coolant temperature gauge,
battery charging rate gauge, and fuel quantity gauge.

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The computer monitors each sensor individually and provides output signals to its display component before
going on to another sensor. 62
The switching of sensor and
display inputs is performed with
solidstate switches known as
multiplexers; output switching is
performed by demultiplexers.
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• The process of measuring a quantity intermittently is called sampling, and the time
between successive samples of the same quantity is called the sample period

• Some variables, such as speed and battery charge, change much faster than others. To
effectively monitor these differences, the computer uses different sampling times.

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FUEL QUANTITY MEASUREMENT

• Some fuel quantity sensors use a float within the fuel tank; the float is mechanically linked to a
potentiometer that operates as a voltage divider.
• The computer compensates for fuel slosh by averaging float sensor readings over a period of time.
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COOLANT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

• To measure coolant temperature, the sensor output from a thermistor is converted into a digital signal
and compared to a maximum safe value stored in memory.
• Resistance of this sensor decreases with increasing temperature 67
OIL PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Oil pressure warning systems use a variable resistance sensor as part of a voltage divider. This arrangement
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provides a varying voltage that corresponds to changes in oil pressure.
VEHICLE SPEED MEASUREMENT

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