Electronic Throttle Research Articles

Electronic Throttle Valve Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Control Based on Nonlinear Unknown Input Observers

This paper deals with the synthesis of a new fuzzy controller applied to Electronic Throttle Valve (ETV) affected by an unknown input in order to enhance the rapidity and accuracy of trajectory tracking performance. Firstly, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is employed to approximate this nonlinear system. Secondly, a novel Nonlinear Unknown Input Observer (NUIO)-based controller is designed by the use of the concept of Parallel Distributed Compensation (PDC). Then, based on Lyapunov method, asymptotic stability conditions of the error dynamics are given by solving Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in terms of tracking trajectory and in the presence of perturbations is verified in comparison with a control strategy based on Unknown Input Observers (UIO) of the ETV described by a switched system for Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) reference signal.

Analytical framework of string stability of connected and autonomous platoons with electronic throttle angle feedback

ABSTRACT Understanding the string stability of connected and autonomous (CA) vehicles is important for evaluating dynamics of regular-CA mixed vehicular flow. Although previous studies proposed CA car-following models and analysed the stability of the model itself, they do not focus on the stability of the regular-CA mixed flow. Additionally, stability analysis methods for traditional car-truck mixed flow cannot be directly applied into CA traffic systems, where the CA vehicle monitors multiple preceding vehicles in the platoon. This study presents a framework that analytically derives the generalized string stability criterion of regular-CA platoons. Moreover, an example is conducted to validate the availability of this analytical framework by using concrete car-following models. Simulation based approaches are also utilized for fully capturing car-following dynamics of vehicular flow. This contribution is helpful for guiding analytical investigation of string stability of regular-CA mixed vehicular flow, thereby giving suggestions for CA design for obtaining optimal stability situation.

Adaptive Integral Terminal Sliding Mode Control for Automobile Electronic Throttle via an Uncertainty Observer and Experimental Validation

A robust adaptive integral terminal sliding mode (AITSM) control scheme with an uncertainty observer (UO) is developed for automobile electronic throttle (AET) systems. Distinguished from the ordinary sliding mode (SM)-based AET control systems, by using a novel integral terminal sliding surface (SS) to force the closed-loop system to start on the SS at the very beginning, an excellent error convergence and tracking accuracy as well as robustness of the closed-loop system against uncertainties and nonlinearities including transmission friction, return spring limp-home, and gear backlash can be assured. Also, in order to achieve a stably excellent performance for different tracking commands, the sliding parameters are updated by the designed adaptive laws in Lyapunov sense. Moreover, for reducing the control chattering caused by the large switching gain in conventional SM control, an SM-based UO is introduced to provide with the online estimation for the system lumped uncertainty and conduct the feed-forward compensation in the control design. In addition, model-free robust exact differentiators (MRED) are presented to obtain the accurate angular velocity and acceleration information from the unique angle sensors with measurement noises. Not only the comparative experimental results from a real-time digital signal processor (DSP)-based AET plant but also the quantitive root mean square (RMS) values and the maximum (MAX) values of the sampled tracking errors are demonstrated to validate the superior performance of the proposed control. In particular, in the disturbance rejection test by combining trapezium and sinusoidal reference commands, the proposed control exhibits the smallest RMS error values of 0.6832 deg (37% and 27% of the ones of the nonsingular terminal sliding mode and the proportional-integral-derivative controllers), and the smallest MAX values of 2.9352 deg (67% and 35% of the ones of the comparative controllers, respectively).

Continuous Fast Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control of Automotive Electronic Throttle Systems Using Finite-Time Exact Observer

The control of automobile electronic throttle (AET) systems is a challenging task owing to multiple nonlinearities, i.e., transmission friction, gear backlash, limp-home spring set, and external load disturbance. In this paper, a practical tracking control scheme of an AET system is developed using a continuous fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode (CFNTSM) technique based on uncertainty observer. By using the prescribed CFNTSM surface and fast terminal sliding mode-based reaching element, the proposed control implementation guarantees the fast error convergence characteristic and high tracking accuracy under parameter uncertainties and perturbations. Furthermore, due to the adoption of the finite-time exact observer (FEO) for the lumped uncertainty estimation in the controller, the ease of the selection of the control gains is well-achieved since they only depend on the uncertainty estimation error. The closed-loop stability and finite-time convergence are presented based on the Lyapunov stability theory. Experimental verifications are conducted to validate the remarkable performance of the proposed control, in terms of the step and sinusoidal tracking as well as anti-disturbance ability.

Adaptive sliding-mode control of automotive electronic throttle in the presence of input saturation constraint

In modern vehicles, electronic throttle &#x0028 ET &#x0029 has been widely utilized to control the airflow into gasoline engine. To solve the control difficulties with an ET, such as strong nonlinearity, unknown model parameters and input saturation constraints, an adaptive sliding-mode tracking control strategy for an ET is presented. Compared with the existing control strategies for an ET, input saturation constraints and parameter uncertainties are adequately considered in the proposed control strategy. At first, the nonlinear dynamic model for control of an ET is described. According to the dynamical model, the nonlinear adaptive sliding-mode tracking control method is presented, where parameter adaptive laws and auxiliary design system are employed. Parameter adaptive law is given to estimate the unknown parameter with an ET. An auxiliary system is designed, and its state is utilized in the tracking control method to handle the input saturation. Stability proof and analysis of the adaptive sliding-mode control method is performed by using Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the reliability and feasibility of the proposed control strategy are evaluated by computer simulation. Simulation research shows that the proposed sliding-mode control strategy can provide good control performance for an ET.

Adaptive finite time servo control for automotive electronic throttle with experimental analysis

In order to meet the rigorous requirement for transient and static performance of automobile electronic throttle control systems, an adaptive finite time servo control (AFTSC) strategy is investigated by integrating adaptive backstepping recursive technique into the framework of finite-time stability theory. The required transient performance of the throttle opening trajectory tracking is guaranteed theoretically by the finite convergence time and the convergence rate related to the adjustable control parameters. The static performance is enhanced by introducing the tracking error integral into the system state variables. The robustness of the satisfactory transient and static performance is improved by the adaptive update law in the light of system parameter uncertainties due to production deviations, different working conditions and aging. Meanwhile, the advantage of the proposed AFTSC strategy is validated by demonstrating the comparison results with the existing strategies both in the critical operating cases under Matlab/Simulink simulation environment and in the actual operating cases on the dSPACE rapid-control-prototype (RCP) test platform for a real electronic throttle system.

An extended continuum model incorporating the electronic throttle dynamics for traffic flow

This study develops a novel continuum model with consideration of the effect of electronic throttle (ET) dynamics to capture the behaviour of vehicles in traffic flow. In particular, the continuum model is proposed by incorporating the opening angle of ET based on the throttle-based full velocity difference model. Theoretical analyses including stability, negative velocity and shock wave are performed systematically. Numerical experiments and comparisons are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed continuum model. Results show that the steady-state performance of the proposed model is improved with respect to the stability. In addition, the proposed model is effective to rapidly dissipate the effect of external perturbation. Also, the phenomenon of negative velocity can be avoided by the proposed model.

Adaptive-Smith Predictor for Controlling an Automotive Electronic Throttle over Network

The paper presents a control strategy for an automotive electronic throttle, a device used to regulate the power produced by spark-ignition engines. Controlling the electronic throttle body is a difficult task because the throttle accounts strong nonlinearities. The difficulty increases when the control works through communication networks subject to random delay. In this paper, we revisit the Smith-predictor control, and show how to adapt it for controlling the electronic throttle body over a delay-driven network. Experiments were carried out in a laboratory, and the corresponding data indicate the benefits of our approach for applications.

A Fuzzy Approach for Optimal Robust Control Design of an Automotive Electronic Throttle System

In this paper, we propose a fuzzy approach for optimal robust control design of an automotive electronic throttle (ET) system. Compared with the conventional ET control systems, we establish the fuzzy dynamical model of the ET system with parameter uncertainties, nonlinearities, and external disturbances, which may be nonlinear, (possibly fast) time varying. These uncertainties are assumed to be bounded, and the knowledge of the bound only lies within a prescribed fuzzy set. A robust control that is deterministic and is not the usual if–then rules-based control is presented to guarantee the controlled system to achieve the deterministic performance: uniform boundedness and uniform ultimate boundedness. Furthermore, a fuzzy-based system performance index including average fuzzy system performance and control cost is proposed based on the fuzzy information. The optimal design problem associated with the control can then be solved by minimizing the fuzzy-based performance index. With this optimal robust control, the performance of the fuzzy ET system is both deterministically guaranteed and fuzzily optimized.

Asynchronous sliding mode control of Markovian jump systems with time-varying delays and partly accessible mode detection probabilities

In this work, the problem of asynchronous sliding mode control (SMC) is investigated for a class of uncertain Markovian jump systems (MJSs) with time-varying delays and stochastic perturbation. It is assumed that the system modes cannot be obtained synchronously by the controller, but instead there is a detector that provides estimated values of the system modes. This asynchronous phenomenon between the system modes and controller modes will be described in this work via a hidden Markov model with partly accessible mode detection probabilities. Based on a common sliding surface, an asynchronous SMC law depending on the detector mode is synthesized to ensure the mean square stability of the sliding mode dynamics and the reachability of the specified sliding surface simultaneously. Moreover, a design algorithm for obtaining the asynchronous SMC law is established. Finally, an application of the automotive electronic throttle system is provided to illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed asynchronous sliding mode control approach.

Switching Gain-Scheduled Proportional–Integral–Derivative Electronic Throttle Control for Automotive Engines

This paper proposes an application of the switching gain-scheduled (S-GS) proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control technique to the electronic throttle control (ETC) problem in automotive engines. For the S-GS PID controller design, a published linear parameter-varying (LPV) model of the electronic throttle valve (ETV) is adopted whose dynamics change with both the throttle valve velocity variation and the battery voltage fluctuation. The designed controller consists of multiple GS PID controllers assigned to local subregions defined for varying throttle valve velocity and battery voltage. Hysteresis switching logic is employed for switching between local GS PID controllers based on the operating point. The S-GS PID controller design problem is formulated as a nonconvex optimization problem and tackled by solving its convex subproblems iteratively. Experimental results demonstrate overall superiority of the S-GS PID controller to conventional controllers in reference tracking performance of the throttle valve under various scenarios.

Nonlinear Backstepping Tracking Control for a Vehicular Electronic Throttle With Input Saturation and External Disturbance

To achieve more precise positioning of the electronic throttle plate, a nonlinear backstepping tracking control strategy is presented in this paper. In contrast to the existing control schemes for electronic throttles, the input saturation and unknown external disturbances are explicitly considered in the tracking control design. The difficulties in controlling an electronic throttle include the strong nonlinearity of the spring and friction as well as the unknown external disturbance. In particular, the valve plate angle is adjusted by the control input voltage of the driving motor, and the input voltage is limited to a certain range. Therefore, input saturation problems exist in the control system for an electronic throttle. To overcome the abovementioned difficulties, an auxiliary design system is presented to handle the input saturation, and its state is applied in the proposed control design. A sliding-mode control term is also utilized in the tracking controller to counteract the unknown external disturbance. The proof and analysis show that the satisfactory tracking performance of the valve plate angle can be achieved by using the designed control scheme for the electronic throttle system in the presence of input saturation and unknown external disturbances. Simulation studies and results are provided to illustrate the desired performance of the proposed nonlinear tracking controller.

Parameter Identification and Nonlinear Compensation Control Design of Electronic Throttle

Precise electronic throttle control is a basic problem of engine control. This paper identifies the model parameters based on input PWM, throttle output angle and angular velocity. But the angular velocity can not be measured directly. Therefore, the kalman filter is applied to calculate the angular velocity. A hybrid optimization algorithm is used to search the parameters of throttle model which minimizes the errors between model and real throttle output angle and angular velocity. The controller is designed based on identified parameters and triple-step nonlinear control design. Experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the identified parameters and the controller.

Knowledge sharing for mechatronic systems design and optimization

In mechatronic design, the exchange of data between stakeholders from different disciplines is necessary to ensure efficient and simultaneous engineering. Designers from all disciplines involved need to adopt new approaches to design, which facilitate concurrent collaboration. A new method based on Knowledge Based Engineering is presented in this work. The method has two key features. First, to support the designers in the different steps of the design cycle. And second, to reuse the design results and adapt them to requirement changes. Our contribution lies in adapting KBE application roles to mechatronic design. This method allows collaborative engineering and can reduce considerably the design time and cost. The method is then illustrated through its application to the design of an Electronic Throttle Body control system.

ESO-Based Double Closed-loop Servo Control for Automobile Electronic Throttle

A kind of double closed-loop servo control strategy is presented in this paper to realize accurate and fast position tracking of throttle valve for the automobile electronic throttle control system (ETCS). The control structure includes an extended state observer (ESO) compensating for the total disturbances resulted from nonlinearities of friction and return springs and uncertainties of some physical parameters, and two PI-type controllers with disturbance compensators of the outer position loop and the inner current loop. The proposed scheme is featured by transforming the control gains determination for the two PID-type controllers into the derivation of state feedback gains. And the transformation is carried on by means of the augmented deviation equations constructed by the ESO-estimated unmeasurable current and angular velocity of throttle. And control parameters of the two feedback loop controllers and ESO can be instructively determined by solving the linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) obtained from the Lyapunov stability analysis of the whole closed-loop system. The feasibility of the proposed strategy is validated in both simulation and hardware-in-the loop (HIL) test platform.

Switching Stochastic Nonlinear Systems With Application to an Automotive Throttle

This paper presents results to assure the almost sure stability of switching stochastic nonlinear systems. The switching rule governing the parameters of the system is driven by independent and identically distributed random variables. In this scenario, we prove that the switching nonlinear system is almost surely stable when appropriate matrices have spectral radius less than one. The result is particularly useful for applications, as shown in the paper by the application for an automotive electronic throttle device. The stability result was used to design a real-time controller for the automotive throttle device, and the experimental data confirm the usefulness of our approach.

Luenberger-sliding mode observer based fuzzy double loop integral sliding mode controller for electronic throttle valve

Electronic throttle (ET) is typically complicated nonlinear dynamic systems with unknown state and disturbance. By considering the nonlinear uncertainties of stick-slip friction, spring and gear backlash, a new novel nonlinear controller for ET is proposed in this paper. In the controller, the reference tracking of the valve plate angle is filtered using Input shaping. Then, on the basis of the ET’s model, the change of throttle opening is estimated using Luenberger-sliding mode observer (LSMO). Moreover, fuzzy logic system is applied to approximate the total uncertainties, including external disturbance and gear backlash torque. Based on this, an observer based fuzzy double loop integral sliding mode control (OFDLISMC) law, including internal loop and external loop, is derived. The convergence and stability performance of the ET system is assured with Lyapunov-based method and Barbalat’s Lemma. Finally, numerical simulations are implemented to verify the effectiveness of proposed strategy, in terms of ET control precision, response time, as well as the robustness of controller.

Extended state observer–based intelligent double integral sliding mode control of electronic throttle valve

Motivated by achieving precise positioning of the throttle plate, an extended state observer–based intelligent double integral sliding mode control strategy is proposed for the electronic throttle control system. Specifically, an extended state observer is first designed to observe the opening angle change of the electronic throttle and compensate unexpected external disturbance. On this basis, an intelligent double integral sliding mode controller for electronic throttle valve is presented based on Lyapunov stability theory and sliding mode control theory, which includes stability analysis and parameter adaptation design. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method.

Model based design of electronic throttle control

With the advent of torque based Engine Management Systems, the precise control and robust performance of the throttle body becomes a key factor in the overall performance of the vehicle. Electronic Throttle Control provides benefits such as improved air-fuel ratio for improving the vehicle performance and lower exhausts emissions to meet the stringent emission norms. Modern vehicles facilitate various features such as Cruise Control, Traction Control, Electronic Stability Program and Pre-crash systems. These systems require control over engine power without driver intervention, which is not possible with conventional mechanical throttle system. Thus these systems are integrated to function with the electronic throttle control. However, due to inherent non-linearities in the throttle body, the control becomes a difficult task. In order to eliminate the influence of this hysteresis at the initial operation of the butterfly valve, a control to compensate the shortage must be added to the duty required for starting throttle operation when the initial operation is detected. Therefore, a lot of work is being done in this field to incorporate the various nonlinearities to achieve robust control. In our present work, the ETB was tested to verify the working of the system. Calibration of the TPS sensors was carried out in order to acquire accurate throttle opening angle. The response of the calibrated system was then plotted against a step input signal. A linear model of the ETB was prepared using Simulink and its response was compared with the experimental data to find out the initial deviation of the model from the actual system. To reduce this deviation, non-linearities from existing literature were introduced to the system and a response analysis was performed to check the deviation from the actual system. Based on this investigation, an introduction of a new nonlinearity parameter can be used in future to reduce the deviation further making the control of the ETB more precise and accurate.

Non-lane-discipline-based car-following model incorporating the electronic throttle dynamics under connected environment

This study proposes a new car-following model considering the effects of the electronic throttle dynamics to capture the characteristics of connected autonomous vehicular traffic flow without lane discipline. In particular, the proposed model incorporates the effects of both electronic throttle opening angle and lateral gap into the traffic flow model by assuming that the information on electronic throttle dynamics is shared by surrounding vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communications. Stability of the proposed model is analyzed using the perturbation method. Numerical experiments analyze three scenarios: start, stop and evolution processes for the scenarios of lane-discipline-based full velocity difference (FVD) model, non-lane-based full velocity difference car-following (NLBCF) model and non-lane-discipline and throttle-based car-following model, respectively. Results from numerical experiments illustrate that the proposed car-following model has a larger stale region compared with the FVD and NLBCF models. In addition, it also demonstrates that the proposed car-following model can better represent the characteristics of connected and autonomous vehicular traffic flow in terms of the responsiveness, smoothness and stability with respect to the position, velocity, acceleration/deceleration and space headway profiles.