Electronic Throttle Research Articles

Synthesis and validation of finite time servo control with PSO identification for automotive electronic throttle

In order to enhance the rapidity and accuracy of throttle opening trajectory tracking for vehicle electronic throttle control (ETC) systems, a finite time servo control strategy is investigated by incorporating the particle swarm optimization (PSO) identification technique with the finite time stability theory. The PSO technique is adopted to identify the uncertain physical parameters of a real vehicle ETC system. In the PSO-based identification algorithm, the integrated square error between the actual and model throttle opening angles is regarded as the fitness function, and the mutation operation is added to prevent the particles from falling into local optimum. The designed servo controller is comprised of a feed-forward controller for trajectory tracking accuracy, a nonlinearity compensator for friction and return spring, and a feedback controller for finite time stability by utilizing additional power integrator and backstepping technique. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified by both the comparison results with the existing strategy in MATLAB/Simulink environment and the experiment results carried out on the electronic throttle hardware-in-loop test platform in several actual operating cases.

The influence of the throttle inclination characteristics of a SI engine on fuel consumption in driving cycles

This dissertation shows the analysis of the selected indicators of the work of a passenger vehicle drivetrain designated with the use of the Road Load Engine Simulator. In a digital simulation, an internal – combustion engine is saved in a form of numerical speed characteristics in the computers memory. Basing on a virtual vehicle, some indicators of the drivetrain of a passenger vehicle have been determined, while driving with five electronic throttle inclination regulator settups. The simulation results of e.g., throttle repeal speeds and fuel consumtion are summarized in a tabular and graphic form and some of them are expressed per 100 kilometer of the distance covered. Both synthetic and real driving cycles were analyzed during the study and their influence on the egines fuel consumption was also shortly described.

Stabilizing two-dimensional stochastic systems through sliding mode control

This paper presents a stabilizing control for two-dimensional stochastic differential equations. The stability concept in this study is the stability in probability. To ensure such a stability, the control is designed based on the sliding mode technique, and applied to account stochastic systems. This finding has a practical implication—the proposed control can be used to stabilize a real-time automotive electronic throttle valve. The proposed approach is verified by data collected from experiments.

Speed tracking control of pneumatic motor servo systems using observation-based adaptive dynamic sliding-mode control

This study aims to develop an adaptive high-precision control system for controlling the speed of a vane-type air motor (VAM) pneumatic servo system. In practice, the rotor speed of a VAM depends on the input mass air flow, which can be controlled by the effective orifice area (EOA) of an electronic throttle valve (ETV). As the control variable of a second-order pneumatic system is the integral of the EOA, an observation-based adaptive dynamic sliding-mode control (ADSMC) system is proposed to derive the differential of the control variable, namely, the EOA control signal. In the ADSMC system, a proportional–integral–derivative fuzzy neural network (PIDFNN) observer is used to achieve an ideal dynamic sliding-mode control (DSMC), and a supervisor compensator is designed to eliminate the approximation error. As a result, the ADSMC incorporates the robustness of a DSMC and the online learning ability of a PIDFNN. To ensure the convergence of the tracking error, a Lyapunov-based analytical method is employed to obtain the adaptive algorithms required to tune the control parameters of the online ADSMC system. Finally, our experimental results demonstrate the precision and robustness of the ADSMC system for highly nonlinear and time-varying VAM pneumatic servo systems.

Model-Based Control for Mode Transition Between Spark Ignition and HCCI Combustion

While the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion has its advantages of high thermal efficiency with low emissions, its operational range is limited in both engine speed and load. To utilize the advantage of the HCCI combustion, an HCCI capable spark ignition (SI) engine is required. One of the key challenges of developing such an engine is to achieve smooth mode transition between SI and HCCI combustion, where the in-cylinder thermal and charge mixture properties are quite different due to the distinct combustion characteristics. In this paper, a control strategy for smooth mode transition between SI and HCCI combustion is developed and experimentally validated for an HCCI capable SI engine equipped with electrical variable valve timing (EVVT) systems, dual-lift valves, and electronic throttle control (ETC) system. During the mode transition, the intake manifold air pressure is controlled by tracking the desired throttle position updated cycle-by-cycle; and an iterative learning fuel mass controller, combined with sensitivity-based compensation, is used to manage the engine torque in terms of net mean effective pressure (NMEP) at the desired level for smooth mode transition. Note that the NMEP is directly correlated to the engine output torque. Experiment results show that the developed controller is able to achieve smooth combustion mode transition, where the NMEP fluctuation is kept below 3.8% during the mode transition.

An Integrated Pedal Follower and Torque Based Approach for Electronic Throttle Control in a Motorcycle Engine

Nowadays, electronic throttle control system is widely adapted in the motorcycle for better drivability, fuel economy and reduces the emissions. In such systems, pedal follower or torque based approach are used for calculating the required throttle angle for the given torque demand by driver. This work presents a throttle control system for the precise estimation of throttle angle based on the integrated pedal follower and torque based approach for the given accelerator position and torque demand by the driver. A mathematical model for an electronic throttle body is developed to understand the effects of nonlinearities due to friction and limp home dual springs. A PID controller with compensators are developed to handle the nonlinearities due to the friction and limp home dual springs in the proposed electronic throttle control system. A simulation study has been carried out using software in loop and hardware in loop simulation approaches for step, sinusoidal, and ramp input signals. The responses of electronic throttle body for opening the throttle angle and error are analyzed for the given input signals. The simulation result shows that the proposed compensators has significant advantage in reducing the throttle angle error and gives the desired output.

Unintended Acceleration: Toyota’s Recall Crisis

In late 2009 Toyota became the subject of media and U.S. government scrutiny after multiple deaths and injuries were attributed to accidents resulting from the unintended and uncontrolled acceleration of its cars. Despite Toyota's voluntary recall of 4.2 million vehicles for floor mats that could jam the accelerator pedal and a later recall to increase the space between the gas pedal and the floor, the company insisted there was no underlying defect and defended itself against media reports and regulatory statements that said otherwise. As the crisis escalated, Toyota was further criticized for its unwillingness to share information from its data recorders about possible problems with electronic throttle controls and sticky accelerator pedals, as well as braking problems with the Prius. By the time Toyota Motor Company president Akio Toyoda apologized in his testimony to the U.S. Congress, Toyota's stock price had declined, in just over a month, by 20 percent---a $35 billion loss of market value.Understand the strategic and reputational nature of crises Recognize the challenges of managing a crisis Learn the requirements for building trust in a crisis Understand the challenges of managing a crisis that may not be the company's fault Identify the strategic business problem in a crisis Understand how corporate structure may help or hinder effective crisis management Understand the media landscape and its impact on crisis management

Design and Implementation of Electronic Throttle Control System Based on MotoHawk

This paper introduces the rapid prototyping technology of electronic throttle system based on MotoHawk platform. It builds the mathematical model of the electronic throttle, then designs and verifies incremental PID controller algorithm in Matlab/Simulink. Using MotoTron company's advanced technology to set up electronic throttle development platform. Through transplanting strategy and the calibration test after downloading finally realizes the optimization of control performance.

Robust terminal sliding mode control for automotive electronic throttle with lumped uncertainty estimation

In this study, we propose a robust terminal sliding mode (TSM) control scheme for automotive electronic throttle (ET) valve. Compared with the conventional throttle control systems, a TSM controller is developed where the lumped uncertainty is estimated by using a finite-time exact observer (FEO), such that the effects of the parameter uncertainties and nonlinearities including friction, return spring limp-home and gear backlash can be eliminated. It is shown that since the designed FEO can well estimate the lumped uncertainty, it is much easier to select the TSM control gains and a robust tracking performance can be ensured in the presence of the parametric variations and disturbances. The comparative simulations and experiments are provided to verify the excellent transient and steady-state tracking performance of the proposed TSM controller for ET systems.

Robust terminal sliding mode control for automotive electronic throttle with lumped uncertainty estimation

In this study, we propose a robust terminal sliding mode (TSM) control scheme for automotive electronic throttle (ET) valve. Compared with the conventional throttle control systems, a TSM controller is developed where the lumped uncertainty is estimated by using a finite-time exact observer (FEO), such that the effects of the parameter uncertainties and nonlinearities including friction, return spring limp-home and gear backlash can be eliminated. It is shown that since the designed FEO can well estimate the lumped uncertainty, it is much easier to select the TSM control gains and a robust tracking performance can be ensured in the presence of the parametric variations and disturbances. The comparative simulations and experiments are provided to verify the excellent transient and steady-state tracking performance of the proposed TSM controller for ET systems.

Adaptive Back-Stepping Control of Automotive Electronic Control Throttle

Back-stepping control (BSC), which is deemed effective for a non-holonomic system, is applied to improving both responsiveness and resolution performance of an electronic control throttle (ECT) used in automotive engines. This paper is characterized by the use of a two-step type BSC in a manner that achieves an improvement in responsiveness with the ETC operated in a fully opened state by adding a derivative term in Step 1 and the improvement in resolution performance with the ETC operated in a minutely opened state by adding an adaptive feature in the form of an integral term using the control deviation in Step 2. This paper presents an ECT control expressed as a second-order system including nonlinearities such as backlash of gear train and static friction in sliding area, a BSC system designed based on Lyapunov stability, and a determination method for control parameters. Also, a two-step type BSC system is formulated using Matlab/Simulink with a physics model as a control object. As a result of simulation analyses, it becomes clear that the BSC system can achieve quicker response because the derivative term works effectively and finer resolution because the adaptive control absorbs the error margin of the nonlinear compensation than conventional PID control.

Super-twisting sliding mode controller with fuzzy logic based moving sliding surface for electronic throttle control

In this paper, a super-twisting sliding mode controller with a moving sliding surface is proposed for electronic throttle control. The idea behind this control algorithm is to utilise a fuzzy logic controller to vary the sliding surface based on error and rate of change of error. The simulation results have confirmed the improved dynamic performance of the proposed control algorithm in terms of faster response compared with super-twisting sliding mode controller with a fixed sliding surface. The improvement in the dynamic performance is achieved without compromising the stability, robustness and tracking accuracy.

Super-twisting sliding mode controller with fuzzy logic based moving sliding surface for electronic throttle control

Super-twisting sliding mode controller with fuzzy logic based moving sliding surface for electronic throttle control

Williams Controls (a)

Williams Controls CEO, John Easton, has outlined the new strategic plan he wants to put in place to improve the company's market opportunities and accelerate its growth. The plan involves embarking on an expansive acquisition spree designed to vertically integrate the company's supply chain and simultaneously expand its product offering beyond the core electronic throttle control (ETC) business. Easton's plan sounded compelling but complicated and introduced new risks to a small company that was beginning to find its operating groove. If successful, Easton's plan could revolutionize Williams Controls and take it to heights once thought unreachable, but if unsuccessful, it could derail the company. Excerpt UVA-S-0190 Jul. 11, 2011 WILLIAMS CONTROLS (A) Williams Controls' board of directors sat at their board meeting, staring at each other. They had just heard a lengthy and impassioned pitch from the company's CEO, John Easton, outlining the new strategic plan he wanted to put in place to improve the company's market opportunities and accelerate its growth. The plan involved embarking on an expansive acquisition spree designed to vertically integrate the company's supply chain and simultaneously expand its product offering beyond the core electronic throttle control (ETC) business. The board knew its duty was to help the CEO steer the growth and evolution of the company over time while also ensuring that the interests of its shareholders were protected. Easton's plan sounded compelling but complicated and introduced new risks to a small company that was beginning to find its operating groove. If successful, Easton's plan could revolutionize Williams Controls and take it to heights once thought unreachable, but if unsuccessful, it could derail the company. As Gene Goodrich, one of board's senior directors, rose from the table to break for dinner, he looked at his fellow board members and said, “Well, folks, John has given us much to think about tonight.” The Early Years In the 1930s, Norman C. Williams, a young engineer and entrepreneur in Portland, Oregon, noticed that the logging trucks pervasive throughout the region were suffering from brake overheating as they hauled timber from the mountains of the Pacific Northwest down to the nearby ports. Truck accidents were frequent, and expensive brake replacements were routine. To address the problem, Williams invented a vacuum water valve designed to cool the brake drums of the trucks as they barreled down the mountainside roads. His invention worked and became an instant hit with local logging companies. In 1937, Williams Controls opened for business in Portland and began marketing Williams's new brake valves to trucking companies throughout the region. . . .

Control of electronic throttle valve using model predictive control

Control of electronic throttle valve using model predictive control

Experimental study for the reproduction of sudden unintended acceleration incidents

A few cases of the sudden unintended acceleration have been reported over the last few years [1–11] and some of them seemed to be somewhat related to an electronic throttle control (ETC) system [11,12]. In this experimental study, efforts were made to reproduce the cases of sudden unintended acceleration possibly related to the ETC. Typically, an ETC of the engine is managed based on signals from airflow sensor, throttle position sensor and acceleration pedal sensor. With this typical sensor configuration in mind, these sensor signals were checked for noise levels. However, none of them showed any clear relationship with the sudden unintended acceleration mainly due to the robustness of the ETC logic software. As an alternative approach, supply voltage to an engine control unit (ECU) was tempered intentionally to observe any clues for the incidents. The observed results with the supply voltage drop and fluctuation tests were rather astonishing. The throttle valve position went all the way up to 100% for around one second when the battery voltage plunged down to 7V periodically despite that the acceleration pedal position was kept steady. As an effort to confirm the case, multiple tries were made systematically on a chassis dynamometer as well as on the test road. In this paper, detailed procedures and findings are reported accordingly.

Neural network-based fuzzy inference system for speed control of heavy duty vehicles with electronic throttle control system

The objective of this study is to apply various control approaches to control the speed of a heavy duty vehicle using an electronic throttle control system. However, the DC servo motor is used for controlling the angular position of electronic throttle valve. Moreover, four control techniques are used to control prescribed two different random inputs of the heavy duty vehicle speed. These control structures are named as standard PID controller, model-based neural network controller, adaptive neural network-based fuzzy inference controller and proposed robust adaptive neural-based fuzzy inference control systems. On the other hand, the time performance specifications such as rise time, settling time, peak time, peak value and steady-state error are also examined for these control approaches. The results of the simulation for four approaches showed that the proposed robust adaptive neural network-based fuzzy inference control system has better performance rather than other standard control systems under varying speed conditions. Finally, the proposed control system structure will be implemented for speed control of DC servo motor.

A Novel Multi-Sensor Environmental Perception Method Using Low-Rank Representation and a Particle Filter for Vehicle Reversing Safety

Environmental perception and information processing are two key steps of active safety for vehicle reversing. Single-sensor environmental perception cannot meet the need for vehicle reversing safety due to its low reliability. In this paper, we present a novel multi-sensor environmental perception method using low-rank representation and a particle filter for vehicle reversing safety. The proposed system consists of four main steps, namely multi-sensor environmental perception, information fusion, target recognition and tracking using low-rank representation and a particle filter, and vehicle reversing speed control modules. First of all, the multi-sensor environmental perception module, based on a binocular-camera system and ultrasonic range finders, obtains the distance data for obstacles behind the vehicle when the vehicle is reversing. Secondly, the information fusion algorithm using an adaptive Kalman filter is used to process the data obtained with the multi-sensor environmental perception module, which greatly improves the robustness of the sensors. Then the framework of a particle filter and low-rank representation is used to track the main obstacles. The low-rank representation is used to optimize an objective particle template that has the smallest L-1 norm. Finally, the electronic throttle opening and automatic braking is under control of the proposed vehicle reversing control strategy prior to any potential collisions, making the reversing control safer and more reliable. The final system simulation and practical testing results demonstrate the validity of the proposed multi-sensor environmental perception method using low-rank representation and a particle filter for vehicle reversing safety.

A car-following model considering the effect of electronic throttle opening angle under connected environment

This study proposes a new car-following model considering the effect of electronic throttle opening angle to capture the characteristics of connected autonomous vehicular traffic flow. The proposed model incorporates the opening angle of electronic throttle into the full velocity difference (FVD) model by assuming that the information of electronic throttle dynamics is shared by vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The stability condition of the proposed car-following model is obtained using the perturbation method. Numerical experiments are constructed on three scenarios, start, stop, and evolution processes, to analyze the vehicular traffic flow characteristics of the proposed model. The results of numerical experiments illustrate that the proposed car-following model has a larger stable region compared with FVD model. Also, it demonstrates that the proposed car-following model can better present the characteristics of connected and autonomous vehicular flow in terms of the smoothness and stability with respect to the space headway, position, velocity, and acceleration/deceleration profiles.

Robust adaptive position control of automotive electronic throttle valve using PID-type sliding mode technique

In this paper, a robust adaptive position controller is proposed for vehicle electronic throttle (ET) valve systems. In comparison with the traditional throttle control schemes, we develop an adaptive sliding mode control for the purpose of eliminating the influences of the parametric uncertainties and nonlinearities, which involve friction, gear backlash, and return spring limp-home. It is shown in this paper that not only the uncertainty bound but also the control gains are online estimated by the adaptive laws, and thus their bound information is no longer required, which ensures a robust tracking performance. Simulation results demonstrate the excellent tracking performance of the proposed control in terms of transient and steady-state performance.