Adaptive distributed finite‐time fault‐tolerant controller for cooperative braking of the vehicle platoon

Abstract

Vehicle platooning can significantly reduce traffic accidents and enhance transportation safety. Among many subsystems and functionalities equipped in a vehicle platoon, cooperative braking is a safety-critical one. Besides, as actuator faults would deteriorate vehicle safety and stability, they pose a great challenge to the platoon, particularly during cooperative braking. To address the aforementioned problems, this study designed an adaptive distributed finite-time fault-tolerant controller for vehicle platoons under cooperative braking condition. First, based on the graph theory and vehicle longitudinal dynamics, the cooperative braking model of a platoon is constructed. Then, the models of hydraulic braking system and regenerative braking system are developed with malfunction analysis. Based on the vehicle's fault model and the representation of the platoon consensus errors, an adaptive finite-time sliding-mode fault tolerant controller is proposed to maintain consensus between vehicle's states during fault occurring. Further, a distributed adaptive law is presented considering the parameter estimation error and sliding-mode surface. The finite-time convergence property and the stability of the proposed controller are demonstrated. Numerical simulations are conducted under different conditions. The simulation results reflected by the control performance and actuators' responses validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the designed control method.