Typical faults and safety analysis of brake controller for AC locomotive

Purpose–The brake controller is a key component of the locomotive brake system.It is essential to study its safety.Design/methodology/approach–This paper summarizes and analyzes typical faults of the brake controller,and proposes four categories of faults:position sensor faults,microswitch faults,mechanical faults and communication faults.Suggestions and methods for improving the safety of the brake controller are also presented.Findings–In this paper,a self-judgment and self-learning dynamic calibration method is proposed,which integrates the linear error of the sensor and the manufacturing and assembly errors of the brake controller to solve the output drift.This paper also proposes a logic for diagnosing and handling microswitch faults.Suggestions are proposed for other faults of brake controller.Originality/value–The methods proposed in this paper can greatly improve the usability of the brake controller and reduce the failure rate.

Electronic Brake-Force Distribution Control Methods of ABS-Equipped Vehicles During Cornering Braking

Based on the dynamics of ABS-equipped vehicles during cornering braking, the electronic brake- force distribution （EBD） control methods of ABS-equipped vehicles during cornering braking are proposed. According to the dynamics and the tire model under tire adhesion limit, the stability acceptance criteria of vehicles during cornering braking are proposed. According to the stability acceptance criteria and the ABS control, the EBD control methods of ABS-equipped vehicles during cornering braking are implemented by adjusting the threshold values of tires slip independently. The vehicle states during cornering braking at two typical initial velocities of the vehicle are analyzed by the EBD control methods, whose results indicate the EBD control methods can improve the braking performances of the vehicle during cornering braking comparing with the ABS control.

Position Control Optimization of Aerodynamic Brake Device for High-speed Trains

The aerodynamic braking is a clean and non-adhesion braking, and can be used to provide extra braking force during high-speed emergency braking. The research of aerodynamic braking has attracted more and more attentions in recent years. However, most researchers in this field focus on aerodynamic effects and seldom on issues of position control of the aerodynamic braking board. The purpose of this paper is to explore position control optimization of the braking board in an aerodynamic braking prototype. The mathematical models of the hydraulic drive unit in the aerodynamic braking system are analyzed in detail, and the simulation models are established. Three control functions--constant, linear, and quadratic--are explored. Two kinds of criteria, including the position steady-state error and the acceleration of the piston rod, are used to evaluate system performance. Simulation results show that the position steady state-error is reduced from around 12-2 mm by applying a linear instead of a constant function, while the acceleration is reduced from 25,71-3.70 m/s2 with a quadratic control function. Use of the quadratic control function is shown to improve system performance. Experimental results obtained by measuring the position response of the piston rod on a test-bench also suggest a reduced position error and smooth movement of the piston rod. This implies that the acceleration is smaller when using the quadratic function, thus verifying the effectiveness of control schemes to improve to system performance. This paper proposes an effective and easily implemented control scheme that improves the position response of hydraulic cylinders during position control.

High-effciency aircraft antiskid brake control algorithm via runway condition identification based on an on-off valve array

The aircraft antiskid braking system is an important hydraulic system for preventing tire bursts and ensuring safe take-off and landing. The brake system adjusts the force applied on the brake discs by controlling the brake pressure. Traditional aircraft antiskid braking systems achieve antiskid performance by controlling the braking pressure with an electrohydraulic servo valve.Because the pilot stage of an electrohydraulic servo valve is easily blocked by carbonized hydraulic oil, the servo valve would become a dangerous weak point for aircraft safety. This paper proposes a new approach that uses an on-off valve array to replace the servo valve for pressure control. Based on this new pressure control component, an efficient antiskid control algorithm that can utilize this discontinuous feature is proposed. Furthermore, the algorithm has the ability to identify the runway circumstances. To overcome the discontinuity in the process of using an on-off valve array, the Filippov framework is introduced. The conditions of convergence of the system are also discussed.The results of the digital simulations and the hardware-in-the-loop(HIL) braking experiments are used to verify the efficiency and stability of the proposed control algorithm. The method also proves that the on-off valve array can replace the servo valve perfectly as a new type of antiskid braking pressure control component.

Longitudinal Control Strategy for Vehicle Adaptive Cruise Control Systems

A new longitudinal control strategy for vehicle adaptive cruise control （ACC） systems is presented. The running relationship between the ACC vehicle and the detected target vehicle is described by the relative velocity and the deviation between the actual headway distance and the prescribed safety distance. Based on this, two state space models are built and the linear quadratic optimal control theory is used to yield desired velocity for the ACC-equipped vehicle when with the target vehicle detected. By switching among four control modes, the desired velocity profile is designed to deal with different running situations. A velocity controller, which includes a PID controller for throttle openness and a neural network controller for brake application, is developed to achieve the desired velocity profile. The proposed control strategy is applied to a non-linear vehicle model in a simulation environment and is shown to provide the ACC vehicle comfortable ride and satisfying safety.

Experimental prototyping of the adhesion braking control system design concept for a mechatronic bogie

The dynamic parameters of a roller rig vary as the adhesion level changes.The change in dynamics parameters needs to be analysed to estimate the adhesion level.One of these parameters is noise emanating from wheel–rail interaction.Most previous wheel–rail noise analysis has been conducted to mitigate those noises.However,in this paper,the noise is analysed to estimate the adhesion condition at the wheel–rail contact interface in combination with the other methodologies applied for this purpose.The adhesion level changes with changes in operational and environmental factors.To accurately estimate the adhesion level,the influence of those factors is included in this study.The testing and verification of the methodology required an accurate test prototype of the roller rig.In general,such testing and verification involve complex experimental works required by the intricate nature of the adhesion process and the integration of the different subsystems(i.e.controller,traction,braking).To this end,a new reduced-scale roller rig is developed to study the adhesion between wheel and rail roller contact.The various stages involved in the development of such a complex mechatronics system are described in this paper.Furthermore,the proposed brake control system was validated using the test rig under various adhesion conditions.The results indicate that the proposed brake controller has achieved a shorter stopping distance as compared to the conventional brake controller,and the brake control algorithm was able to maintain the operational condition even at the abrupt changes in adhesion condition.

Control Algorithm of Electric Vehicle in Coasting Mode Based on Driving Feeling

Coasting in gear is a common driving mode for the conventional vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine（ICE）, and the assistant braking function of ICE is utilized to decelerate the vehicle in this mode. However, the electric vehicle（EV） does not have this feature in the coasting mode due to the relatively small inertia of the driving motor, so it will cause the driver cannot obtain the similar driving feeling to that of the conventional vehicle, and even a traffic accident may occur if the driver cannot immediately adapt to the changes. In this paper, the coasting control for EV is researched based on the driving feeling. A conventional vehicle equipped with continuously variable transmission（CVT） is taken as the reference vehicle, and the combined simulation model of EV is established based on AVL CRUISE and MATLAB/Simulink. The torque characteristic of the CVT output shaft is measured in coasting mode, and the data are smoothed and fitted to a polynomial curve. For the EV in coasting mode, if the state of charge（SOC） of the battery is below 95%, the polynomial curve is used as the control target for the torque characteristic of the driving motor, otherwise, the required torque is replaced by hydraulic braking torque to keep the same deceleration. The co-simulation of Matlab/Simulink/Stateflow and AVL CRUISE, as well as the hardware-in-loop experiment combined with d SPACE are carried out to verify the effectiveness and the real-time performance of the control algorithm. The results show that the EV with coasting braking control system has similar driving feeling to that of the reference vehicle, meanwhile, the battery SOC can be increased by 0.036% and 0.021% in the initial speed of 100 km/h and 50 km/h, respectively. The proposed control algorithm for EV is beneficial to improve the driving feeling in coasting mode, and it also makes the EV has the assistant braking function.

Wide speed range for traction motor in braking force of electric braking control system

A vehicle stopping method using an electric brake until a traction motor is stopped is studied. At the moment of vehicle stop, electric brake is changed to control mode where torque is reduced at a low speed. Gradient is controlled by estimating the load torque of motor, thereby traction motor is not rotated after stop. In addition, coasting operation and brake test are performed from normal-opposite operation and start using a small-scale model comprising the inertial load equipment and the power converter. Further, traction motor is made to be equipped with a suspension torque. Pure electric braking that makes traction motor stop by an air brake at the time of stop is also implemented. Constant torque range and constant power range are expanded during braking so that braking force is secured with the electric brakes even in high speed region. Therefore, vehicle reduction effect can be expected by reducing parts related with an air brake which is not used frequently by using a pure electric brake in the M car in wide speed region. Further, maintenance of brake system can be reduced. Besides, ride comfort of passenger in the electric rail car, energy efficiency improvement, and noise reduction effect can be additionally expected. Further, an improved brake method that uses only an electric brake till motor stop is proposed by comparing those in the blending brake that uses an air brake while reducing brake torque at vehicle stop.

A Novel Braking Control Strategy for Hybrid Electric Buses Based on Vehicle Mass and Road Slope Estimation

Proper braking force distribution strategies can improve both stability and economy performance of hybrid electric vehicles,which is prominently proved by many studies.To achieve better dynamic stable performance and higher energy recovery efficiency,an effective braking control strategy for hybrid electric buses(HEB)based on vehicle mass and road slope estimation is proposed in this paper.Firstly,the road slope and the vehicle mass are estimated by a hybrid algorithm of extended Kalman filter(EKF)and recursive least square(RLS).Secondly,the total braking torque of HEB is calculated by the sliding mode controller(SMC),which uses the information of brake intensity,whole vehicle mass,and road slope.Finally,comprehensively considering driver’s braking intention and regulations of the Economic Commission for Europe(ECE),the optimal proportional relationship between regenerative braking and pneumatic braking is obtained.Furthermore,related simulations and experiments are carried out on the hardware-in-the-loop test bench.Results show that the proposed strategy can effectively improve the braking performance and increase the recovered energy through precise control of the braking torque.

Pressure-tracking control of a novel electro-hydraulic braking system considering friction compensation

This work presents an integrated pressure-tracking controller for a novel electro-hydraulic brake(EHB) system considering friction and hydraulic disturbances. To this end, a mathematical model of an EHB system, consisting of actuator and hydraulic sub-systems, is derived for describing the fundamental dynamics of the system and designing the controller. Due to sensor inaccuracy and measurement noise, a Kalman filter is constructed to estimate push rod stroke for generating desired master cylinder pressure. To improve pressure-tracking accuracy, a linear friction model is generated by linearizing the nonlinear Tustin friction model, and the unmodeled friction disturbances are assumed unknown but bounded. A sliding mode controller is designed for compensating friction disturbances, and the stability of the controller is investigated using the Lyapunov method. The performance of the proposed integrated controller is evaluated with a hardware-in-the-loop(HIL) test platform equipped with the EHB prototype. The test results demonstrate that the EHB system with the proposed integrated controller not only achieves good pressure-tracking performance, but also maintains robustness to friction disturbances.

Sensor fault-tolerant observer applied in UAV anti-skid braking control under control input constraint

This paper proposes a method for addressing the problem of sensor fault-tolerant control (FTC) for anti-skid braking systems (ABSs). When the wheel velocity sensor of the ABS for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) becomes faulty, wheel velocity failure and feedback instability may occur. Firstly, a fault diagnosis and isolation (FDI) method based on a sliding mode observer approach is introduced to detect and isolate the fault of the sensor. When the wheel velocity sensor is in healthy conditions, the observer works in a diagnosis mode. If faults occur in the sensor, it acts as a wheel velocity estimator. Secondly, an FTC strategy, adopting a feedback compensation structure, is designed with input control constraints. In addition, based on the FDI result, a terminal sliding mode (TSM) controller is designed to guarantee that slip-ratio tracks its appropriate reference values in situations where runways change conditions during landing. The control system switches automatically from control using a wheel velocity sensor to sensorless control mode, so the observer-based FTC scheme is established. It is logical that the ABS keeps observed-state and remains stable when the wheel velocity sensor is broken and during external disturbance. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. © 1990-2011 Beijing Institute of Aerospace Information.

Research on Electro Hydraulic Proportional Control for Heavy Vehicle Blend Braking System

A blend braking system of heavy vehicle was proposed.The main control part of the system is the electro hydraulic proportional servo valve.A nonlinear model of brake cylinder controlled by the valve was deduced through the analysis of its control property and system feature.The transfer function of the system was also proposed,and the hydraulic inherent frequency and the PID closed-loop system feature were calculated.The simulated result is consistent with those tested in the bench and on the site with 50 t heavy vehicle.The experimental result shows that the control method has quick response and high precision.

Lateral Stability Improvement of Car-Trailer Systems Using Active Trailer Braking Control

An active trailer braking controller to improve the lateral stability of car-trailer systems is presented. The special and complex structures of these types of vehicles exhibit unique unstable motion behavior, such as the trailer swing, jack-knifing and rollover. These unstable motion modes may lead to fatal accidents. The effects of passive mechanical parameters on the stability of car-trailer systems have been thoroughly investigated. Some of the passive parameters, such as the center of gravity of the trailer, may be drastically varied during various operating conditions. Even for an optimal design of a car-trailer system, based on a specific passive parameter set, the lateral stability cannot be guaranteed. In order to improve the lateral stability of car-trailer systems, an active trailer braking controller is designed using the Linear Quadratic Regular （LQR） technique. To derive the controller, a vehicle model with 3 Degrees Of Freedom （DOF） is developed to represent the car-trailer system. A single lane-change maneuver has been simulated to examine the performance of the controller and the numerical results are compared with those of the baseline design. The benchmark investigation indicates that the optimal controller based on the LQR technique can effectively improve the high-speed lateral stability of the car-trailer system.

Aircraft Electric Anti-skid Braking System Based on Fuzzy-PID Controller with Parameter Self-adjustment Feature

The principle of electric braking system is analyzed and an anti-skid braking system based on the slip rate control is proposed.The fuzzy-PID controller with parameter self-adjustment feature is designed for the anti-skid braking system.The dynamic model of aircraft ground braking is established in the simulation environment of MATLAB/SIMULINK,and simulation results of dry runway and wet runway are presented.The results show that the fuzzy-PID controller with parameter self-adjustment feature for the electric anti-skid braking system keeps working in the state of stability and the brake efficiencies are increased to 93%on dry runway and 82%on wet runway respectively.

OPTIMAL CONTROL OF BRAKING MOMENT FOR A WHEEL AND TYRE

in the design of the antiskid braking system (ABS) of an aircraft, the braking moment is one of the most important parameters, because it influences not only the deceleration and the taxiing distance of an aircraft, but also the strength and the fatigue life of the landing gear. Furthermore, the determination of braking moment will be concerned in the reasonableness of the demands proposed for the material design of a brake. For this reason, through setting up the mechanical model of a wheel and tyre under taxiing and braking, dynamic simulations on the optimal closed-loop control of braking moment are carried out by means of the nonlinear control theory. The simulation results show that the difference between the real output of the ABS and the expected one can tend to the minimum under the optimal control. And also, this optimal control can guarantee the braking moment to change smoothly.

Hybrid Operation of Fault Current Limiter and Thyristor Controlled Braking Resistor

The effectiveness of a combination of fault current limiter and thyristor controlled braking resistor on power system stability enhancement and damping turbine shaft torsional oscillations has been studied. If both devices operate at the same bus, the stabilization control scheme can be carried out continuously and with flexibility. As a result, the fault currents are limited, and the generator disturbances and the turbine shaft torsional oscillations are converged quickly. In this paper, the effectiveness of the combination of both devices has been demonstrated by considering 3LG （three-lines-to-ground） fault in a two-machine infinite bus system. Also, temperature rise effect of both devices with various resistance values and weights has been demonstrated. Simulation results indicate a significant power system stability enhancement and damping turbine shaft torsional oscillations as well as with allowable temperature rise.

Antiskid Control of Railway Train Braking Based on Adhesion Creep Behavior

In modern trains wheelset skidding leads to the deterioration of braking behavior,the degradation of comfort,as well as a boost in system hazards.Because of the nonlinearity and unknown characteristics of wheelset adhesion,simplifications are widely adopted in the modeling process of conventional antiskid controllers.Therefore,conventional antiskid controllers usually cannot perform satisfactorily.In this paper,systematic computer simulation and field tests for railway antiskid control system are introduced.The operating principal of antiskid control system is explained,which is fundamental to the simulation of antiskid brakes,and the simulation model is introduced,which incorporates both the adhesion creep curve and a pneumatic submodel of antiskid control system.In addition,the characteristics of adhesion curves and the simulation target are also provided.Using DHSplus,the pneumatic submodel is created to analyze the performance of the different control strategies of antiskid valves.Then the system simulation is realized by combining the kinematical characteristics of railway trains and the pneumatic submodel.The simulation is performed iteratively to obtain the optimized design of the antiskid control system.The design result is incorporated in the hardware design of the antiskid control system and is evaluated in the field tests in Shanghai Subway Line 1.Judging by the antiskid efficiency,the antiskid braking performance observed in the field tests shows the superiority of the optimized design.Therefore,the proposed simulation method,especially in view of its ease of application,appears to be a useful one for designing railway antiskid control systems.

基于等效序阻抗差异特征的低频输电线路差动保护优化方案

低频输电线路故障时,两侧短路电流均由模块化多电平矩阵变换器提供,两侧短路电流相角均受控且幅值相当,导致差动保护灵敏度严重下降。分析了低频输电系统定电压控制侧和功率控制侧的等效正、负序阻抗特征,指出因控制策略不同,系统故障时两侧等效正、负序阻抗特征存在明显差异。分析了低频输电线路区内和区外故障两侧保护装置测量到的等效序阻抗之间的差异性和相似性,基于此特征构建了两侧等效序阻抗差异指标,提出了基于等效序阻抗差异指标的差动保护制动系数优化方法。仿真结果表明,所提方案能够显著提升低频输电线路区内故障时差动保护的动作速度和动作灵敏性。

The Development of a Fuzzy Predictive Control System for Automotive Anti-lock Braking System

This paper presents the model of one-tire kinetics、tires、the braking system and the model of control system.On virtual road,this paper builds a fuzzy predictive control system to insure the best attachment coefficient between tires and road. And it turns out to be that this fuzzy predictive control method has achieved good performances.

Electro-mechanical Braking Method in Hybrid Electric Vehicles Based on Feedback Control Theory

In this paper, the hybrid electric vehicle braking process is researched, by using variables consists of HEV speed, motor speed, and state of charge established, fimctions of mechanical braking force, regenerative braking force and efficiency of energy recovery are constructed, and the control goal is to maximization the energy recovery efficiency. Under the feedback control strategy, with the constrain condition of braking strength and braking stability, combining experiments in ADVISOR, in different experiments of different working conditions, we can see that in UDDS Cycle, the regenerative braking efficiency is the best. What＇s more, compared with strategies in ADVISOR, strategy proposed in this paper is obviously better.