Heavy goods vehicles exhibit poor braking performance in emergency situations when compared to other vehicles. Part of the problem is caused by sluggish pneumatic brake actuators, which limit the control bandwidth of their antilock braking systems. In addition, heuristic control algorithms are used that do not achieve the maximum braking force throughout the stop. In this article, a novel braking system is introduced for pneumatically braked heavy goods vehicles. The conventional brake actuators are improved by placing high-bandwidth, binary-actuated valves directly on the brake chambers. A made-for-purpose valve is described. It achieves a switching delay of 3–4 ms in tests, which is an order of magnitude faster than solenoids in conventional anti-lock braking systems. The heuristic braking control algorithms are replaced with a wheel slip regulator based on sliding mode control. The combined actuator and slip controller are shown to reduce stopping distances on smooth and rough, high friction ( μ = 0.9) surfaces by 10% and 27% respectively in hardware-in-the-loop tests compared with conventional ABS. On smooth and rough, low friction ( μ = 0.2) surfaces, stopping distances are reduced by 23% and 25%, respectively. Moreover, the overall air reservoir size required on a heavy goods vehicle is governed by its air usage during an anti-lock braking stop on a low friction, smooth surface. The 37% reduction in air usage observed in hardware-in-the-loop tests on this surface therefore represents the potential reduction in reservoir size that could be achieved by the new system.

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Heavy vehicles have sluggish pneumatic brake actuators that limit the control bandwidth of their anti-lock braking systems. In order to implement more effective braking controllers, it is proposed that high-bandwidth, binary-actuated valves are directly placed on the brake chambers. This article details investigations made into modelling and controlling heavy-vehicle pneumatic brake actuators with a view towards implementing the novel brake actuator design. One-dimensional flow theory is combined with simple thermodynamic arguments for polytropic systems to describe the charging and discharging of a brake chamber. Particular attention is paid to the simulation of perceptible vibrations caused by the piston’s motion at relatively low charging pressures, using a hysteresis model. The resulting equations are linearized and used to design a closed-loop pressure controller for the actuator. Finally, the non-linear performance limits of the valves, caused by dead-zones and time delays, are investigated using a describing function analysis.

Progress in reducing actuator delays in pneumatic brake systems creates an opportunity for advanced anti-lock braking algorithms to be used on heavy goods vehicles. However, these algorithms require knowledge of variables that are impractical to measure directly. This paper introduces a braking force observer and road surface identification algorithms to support a sliding-mode slip controller for air-braked heavy vehicles. Both the force observer and the slip controller are shown to operate robustly under a variety of conditions in quarter-car simulations. A non-linear least-squares algorithm was found to be capable of performing regressions on all the parameters of the tyre model from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute when used 'in the loop' with the controller and the observer. A recursive least-squares algorithm that is less computationally expensive than the non-linear algorithm was also investigated but gave only reasonable estimates of the tyre model parameters on high-friction smooth roads.

A novel pneumatic valve was constructed to improve the response of air-actuated brakes for heavy vehicles to demand pressures generated during electronically controlled braking by an order of magnitude. Investigations were made into the interactions between the magnetic, mechanical, and electrical subsystems of the valve with a view toward informing design optimization. The valve was modeled using a magnetic circuit approach. The quasi-static model included the influences of the permanent magnet, field-line fringing, saturation, and the coil. Mechanical forces outputted by the model matched physical measurements with an error smaller than 10%, and magnetic fluxes throughout the circuit were generally within 20% of those found from experiments based on Faraday's law of induction, Gaussmeter measurements, and FEA simulations. A magneto-mechanical simulation of the valve switching states was created using mechanical and electrical equations, and curve-fits to the outputs of the magnetic circuit model. The simulation produced time histories of the valve's armature position that matched experimental measurements and adequately predicted working pressures. The final model required an approximation to the influence of the coil based on experimental results. Consequently, further research is recommended into the influence of solenoid coils on fringing in magnetic circuits.