The present work addresses the development of a real-time simulation environment that allows the integration of control functions of Electronic Chassis Control (ECC) systems of heavy commercial vehicles with real-time simulation models. ECC systems are mechatronic control systems which significantly affect a vehicle’s motion. Examples are the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) or the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). The simulation environment that is developed in the presented work consists of two independent real-time systems which compute the simulation models. The models represent the virtual environment for the functions of the control systems which can be included using software- or hardware-in-the-loop-simulation methods. The key aspect of the developed system is the realistic representation of the vehicle dynamics. Depending on the requirements of the investigation either a simple vehicle model, often used in real-time applications, or a complex multi-body vehicle model can be employed. Using the specific example of an Electronic Braking System (EBS) of a heavy commercial vehicle, the integration of the control functions within a real time environment applying the hardware-in-the-loop-simulation method is shown. Alongside the vehicle’s dynamic behaviour, the electro-pneumatic braking system is also modelled specifically for real-time applications. Using this model, real pneumatic components can be omitted. The results of the simulations reveal that the simple vehicle model is not able to represent the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle realistically in every examined manoeuvre. By integrating simulation models with control functions, several potential advantages for the development process of heavy commercial vehicles arise. As well as gaining a deeper understanding of the entire system, it is possible to calculate the consumption of air for decelerating the vehicle, and the parameters of the control system can not only be determined but also optimised. Furthermore, the developed simulation environment yields the possibility of a simulation-based homologation of the braking system or its functionalities respectively. The real-time environment can easily be enhanced for the simulation of different vehicle variants, with or without trailer, due to the strict modularity of the simulation models. Besides the given example of the EBS, other ECC systems can also be integrated into the simulation environment.    «

The present work addresses the development of a real-time simulation environment that allows the integration of control functions of Electronic Chassis Control (ECC) systems of heavy commercial vehicles with real-time simulation models. ECC systems are mechatronic control systems which significantly affect a vehicle’s motion. Examples are the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) or the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). The simulation environment that is developed in the presented work consists of tw...    »