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.

Design of the pressure regulation algorithm for active braking in vehicle ACC system

To develop the pressure control algorithm for active braking of adaptive cruise control（ACC） system,a test bench with real parts of the tested vehicle is built.With the dynamic analysis of the active braking actuators,it is demonstrated that different duty of pulse-width modulation（PWM） signals could control the pressure changing rate of the wheel cylinder.To obtain that signal,a modified proportional-integral-differential（PID） control algorithm is developed using the variable parameter method,the control value reset method,the dead zone method and the integral saturation method.Experimental results show that the delay and overshoot of the pressure response could be reduced considerably using the modified PID algorithm compared with the conventional one.The proposed pressure control algorithm could be used for the further development of the ACC＇s controller.

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.

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.

汽车自适应巡航控制系统硬件在环仿真平台的设计与仿真试验（英文）

为了提高自适应巡航控制(ACC)系统的仿真精度,利用实车ACC系统的执行机构建立了硬件在环仿真(HILS)平台。HILS平台由仿真模型和硬件部分组成。仿真模型将运行在d SPACE仿真系统中,包括为了产生雷达模拟信号、ACC控制指令及计算车辆运行状态的雷达模拟器、ACC控制器和车辆模型。硬件部分主要包括电子节气门系统、主动制动系统及其附属的传感器及控制器等。通过串口通信接收来自ACC控制器的指令,HILS平台的硬件可以完成节气门开度和制动压力跟随控制。利用HILS平台进行了不同工况下的ACC仿真试验,仿真结果表明:HILS平台工作状况良好,并可以用于ACC控制器的开发。

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.

Composite Braking Control Strategy for Electromechanical-Hydraulic Vehicles

Short driving ranges and low braking energy recovery efficiencies are two recognized technical bottlenecks to be overcome in electric vehicles. In this paper, a novel electromechanical-hydraulic coupling system is proposed and integrated as a powertrain for electric vehicles, which can assist the electric vehicle to fully utilize its braking energy. The hydraulic regenerative braking force and electric regenerative braking force can provide all the braking needs using the medium and small braking intensities. Furthermore, an improved compound brake control strategy based on the braking force distribution is proposed and simulated. The results show that under the premise of ensuring braking stability, the electromechanical-hydraulic coupling driving electric vehicle can adapt to various working conditions with excellent energy-saving results. The hydraulic accumulator recovery efficiency is above 99%, and the state of charge consumption rate of the battery pack can be reduced by more than 9%. More importantly, the proposed hybrid power system can significantly improve the driving range and energy efficiency, as well as reduce the consumers' mileage anxiety in electric vehicles.