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From the beginning of 1995 on, RB will start the production of the Vehicle Dynamics Control System. A key part of this system is the Yaw Rate Sensor described in this paper. The basic requirements for this sensor for automotive applications are: mass producibility, low cost, resistance against environmental influences (such as temperature, vibrations, EMI), stability of all characteristics over life time, high reliability and designed-in safety. Bosch developed a sensor on the basis of the “Vibrating Cylinder”. The sensor will be introduced into mass production in beginning of 1995.

This paper presents the Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) for commercial vehicles developed by BOSCH. The underlying physical concept is discussed in the second section after a short introduction. The third section shows the computer simulation used in the development process. Section four describes the controller structure of the VDC system. In Section five the use and effectiveness of VDC for commercial vehicles is shown in different critical driving situations. This is done by using measured data collected during testing (lane change, circular track) and it demonstrates that the safety improvements achieved for passenger cars are also possible for commercial vehicles.

VDC is a new active safety system for road vehicles which controls the dynamic vehicle motion in emergency situations. From the steering angle, the accelerator pedal position and the brake pressure the desired motion is derived while the actual vehicle motion is derived from the yaw rate and the lateral acceleration. The system regulates the engine torque and the wheel brake pressures using traction control components to minimize the difference between the actual and the desired motion. Included is also a safety concept which supervises the proper operation of the components and the software.

The Bosch ABS for passenger cars which has been in production since 1978 has been described in numerous publications. Following the gathering of extensive experience with the Bosch ABS and its installation in the different models of passenger car, the concept has been revised with various upgrade levels in order to further optimize braking performance on µ-split road surfaces with different right/left adhesion coefficients, in order further to improve the operation of the system when braking on very slippery road surfaces and also to adapt the control algorithm to four-wheel-drive vehicles with differential locks.

Alongside steering, accelerating and braking are the basic operations in the automobile which are nowadays still left to the driver to perform in their entirety. In performing these basic functions, it may come about that excessive demands are made upon a driver, these arising due to poor road conditions - rain, snow and ice - or as a result of suddenly changing traffic situations. With the introduction of anti-lock braking systems (ABS), a decisive step has been taken to increase active driving and traffic safety. The ABS prevents the lockup of the wheels during overbraking. The vehicle remains steerable and retains stable directional control. Furthermore, in many cases, a shorter braking distance is gained compared to braking with the wheels locked up. BOSCH has been manufacturing and supplying ABS for passenger cars since 1978 and for commercial vehicles and buses since 1981. ABS has proved to be an overwhelming success in practical usage.

The manufacturers of passenger cars increasingly assign development and production of complete subsystems to the supplying industry. A brake system supplier has to give predictions about system quality and performance long time before the first prototypical system is built or even before the supplier gets the order for system development. Nowadays, the usage of computer-aided system design and simulation is essential for that task. This article presents a tool designed to support the development process. A special focus will be on how to define quality. A formal definition of quality is provided, illustrated and motivated by two examples.

This study reports on laser-based diagnostics to temporally track the evolution of liquid and gaseous fuel in the cylinder of a direct injection production type Diesel engine. A two-dimensional Mie scattering technique is used to record the liquid phase and planar laser-induced fluorescence of Diesel is used to track both liquid and vaporised fuel. LIF-Signal is visible in liquid and gas phase, Mie scattering occurs only in zones where fuel droplets are present. Distinction between liquid and gaseous phase becomes therefore possible by comparing LIF- and Mie-Signals. Although the information is qualitative in nature, trends of spray evolution are accessible. Within this study a parametric variation of injection pressure, in-cylinder conditions such as gas temperature and pressure as well as piston geometry are discussed. Observations are used to identify the most sensitive parameters and to qualitatively describe the temporal evolution of the spray for real engine conditions.

A previous study by the authors has shown an efficiency benefit of up to Δηi = 10 % for stratified operation of a high pressure natural gas direct injection (DI) spark ignition (SI) engine compared to the homogeneous stoichiometric operation with port fuel injection (PFI). While best efficiencies appeared at extremely lean operation at λ = 3.2, minimum HC emissions were found at λ = 2. The increasing HC emissions and narrow ignition time frames in the extremely lean stratified operation have given the need for a detailed analysis. To further investigate the mixture formation and flame propagation und these conditions, an optically accessible single-cylinder engine was used. The mixture formation and the flame luminosity have been investigated in two perpendicular planes inside the combustion chamber.

The reduction of nitrous oxides in the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines using a urea water solution is gaining more and more importance. While maintaining the future exhaust gas emission regulations, like the Euro 6 for passenger cars and the Euro 5 for commercial vehicles, urea dosing allows the engine management to be modified to improve fuel economy as well. The system manufacturer Robert Bosch has started early to develop the necessary dosing systems for the urea water solution. More than 300.000 Units have been delivered in 2007 for heavy duty applications. Typical dosing quantities for those systems are in the range of 0.01 l/h for passenger car systems and up to 10 l/h for commercial vehicles. During the first years of development and application of urea dosing systems, instantaneous flow measuring devices were used, which were not operating fully satisfactory.

Today's ABS sytems for commercial vehicles and trailers reflect specific solutions for individual vehicle model wiring and control features. In addition, the chassis mounting requirements for trailer applications uses a separate sealed housing for the relay and other sensitive components. A logical progression of design development resulted in the new ABS 6S/4K open system with the ability of being adaptable to specific vehicle control requirements. A variety of different component arrangements can be accommodated. Accordingly, it does not require a standard wiring harness. Wiring is left optional for the specific vehicle configuration. The housing may be frame mounted without any special protection and therefore can cover both trailer and tractor applications. The housing is designed to provide necessary protection from water and dirt. The electronic senses the peripheral component configuration via a simple “learning” procedure.

Fuel economy of two-wheelers is an important factor influencing the purchasing psychology of the consumer within the emerging markets. Additionally, air pollution being a major environmental topic, there is a rising concern about vehicle emissions, especially in the big cities and their metropolitan areas. Potentially, the relatively expensive engine management systems are providing more features and value in comparison to the carburettor counterpart. The combustion system analysis is carried out on a 125 cm3 motorcycle engine and the subsequent numerical simulation comparing the carburettor and the Electronic (Port) Fuel Injection which provides a basis to establish the fuel consumption benefit for the electronic injection systems [1].

ABS has proven to be a contribution to active safety. The introduction of traction control (TC) in 1986 and even more significantly, the introduction of vehicle dynamics control (VDC) in 1995 have been further milestones in this field. The functionality of these systems (ABS, TC, VDC) is mainly determined by the electronic control unit (ECU). A system supplier who is to provide an ECU-platform concept including a large functionality, while meeting customer specific requirements at an optimized price, needs standardization strategies. This paper describes a standardization concept for an ABS ECU, beginning with the basic ABS HW and SW design and the extension to TC and VDC. It also shows the degree of flexibility, the benefits for the vehicle manufacturer and the possible cost optimization for the system supplier.

A new automotive active safely system, the Vehicle Dynamics Control System (VDC) of BOSCH was introduced on the market in 1995. Besides improving the ABS/ASR functions, VDC will also actively support the driver in critical situations of lateral vehicle dynamics. This system includes new ABS/ASR-control algorithms and a superimposed control algorithm, the vehicle dynamics controller. Furthermore, an extension of the standard ABS/ASR-hydraulic system was necessary as well as the development of new automotive sensors. During all phases of the interdisciplinary system development, tests on experimental cars and extensive computer simulations were used in parallel. In order to provide adequate simulation models for different tasks, a modular concept for the simulation tool is important. Furthermore, a transparent and portable application of the control algorithm for both, experiment and simulation, is required.

The Side View Assist is the World’s first rider assistance system for two-wheelers. This is a Blind Spot Warning system, which uses four ultrasonic sensors to monitor the surrounding of the rider. Whenever there is a vehicle (i.e. a car, truck, or another motorbike) in the rider’s blind spot, the technology warns the rider with an optical signal close to the mirror. This will allow the rider to avoid a collision when changing lanes. In the current vehicle application, Side View Assist is active at speeds ranging from 25 to 80 kilometers per hour and supports riders whenever the difference in relative speed to other road users is small. The system helps to improve safety especially in cities, where heavy traffic makes it necessary to change lanes more often. Originally such systems have been developed for cars and different system solutions for cars have been in serial production for several years. The challenge was to adapt these systems so they would work for two-wheelers as well.

Due to an earlier analysis of the interrelation between collisions and advanced driver reaction a significant number of accidents could be avoided through timely threat recognition and appropriate maneuvers for collision avoidance. This may be achieved either by suitable warning to the driver or by automatic support to longitudinal or lateral control of the vehicle. A precondition for the registration of the dangerous situation is the incorporation of appropriate sensors. This leads to an surround sensor vision system accompanied by a matched human machine interface. Many vehicles readily offer ultrasonic reversing aids as add-on systems. Furthermore, long-range radar systems for adaptive cruise control are now coming on the market. New sensor technologies, such as short-range radar and video, which are currently under development, open up a plurality of novel functions thus enhancing driving safety and comfort.

Active safety systems will have a great impact in the next generation of vehicles. This is partly originated by the increasing consumer's interest for safety and partly by new traffic safety laws. Control actions in the vehicle are based on an extensive environment model which contains information about relevant objects in vehicle surroundings. Sensor data fusion integrates measurements from different surround sensors into this environment model. In order to avoid system malfunctions, high reliability in the interpretation of the situation, and therefore in the environment model, is essential. Hence, the main idea of data fusion is to make use of the advantages of using multiple sensors and different technologies in order to fulfill these requirements, which are especially high due to autonomous interventions in vehicle dynamics (e. g. automatic emergency braking).

The usage of Electronic Diesel Control is increasing with todays stringent emissions regulations. This requirement also necessitates that such systems be versatile to meet the needs of the engine/vehicle manufacturer. EGR, start of injection, and fuel delivery can be electronically controlled. Depending on the design goals of the manufacturer any one or two of these can be controlled for partial and all of them for full Electronic Diesel Control. The development and application process has several critical areas. These include, development of the sensors, application of the different subsystems, failure warning and failure mode operation. All of these must be combined if design goals are to be met. As the capabilities of electronics increase it follows that electronic vehicle systems will also improve. Today impressive results have been achieved with systems that are in full or pilot production.

The antiskid systems which have been on the market for some time are characterized by the fact that they are separate from the brake power-assist unit and are positioned between the master cylinder and the wheel brakes (separate configuration). At present, integrated antiskid systems are also being prepared for launching on the market. In these systems the hydraulic brake power-assist unit performs the functions of brake boosting and partly also of ABS pressure modulation. The principles of ABS pressure modulation in separate and integrated antiskid systems are compared and questions concerning safety are discussed. With the separate ABS (plunger system, return system) the brake circuits are closed, i.e. when braking and also during ABS operation the volume of brake fluid between the master cylinders and the wheel brake cylinders is closed and separated from the energy supply of the hydraulic brake power-assist unit.

As the percentage of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) is increasing, On-Board Diagnosis (OBD) faces new challenges such as limited combustion engine runtime. Moreover, predictive driving strategies for HEV assure that more vehicles are equipped with navigation systems. These systems can provide information about the road conditions such as limit speed, curvature and slope. In this study, navigation road information is used to predict monitoring conditions of OBD functions so that the available OBD time can be used effectively. As an example, catalyst monitoring is considered and a simple vehicle model is proposed which takes velocity and slope prediction from the navigation system to predict torque and exhaust mass flow. The model is composed of a combination of longitudinal motion and a power train torque transition model. Results of this effort are presented for different velocity profiles.

Due to the new CO2 targets for vehicles, electrification of powertrains and operation strategies for electrified powertrains have drawn more attention. This article presents a predictive multi-objective operation strategy for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which simultaneously minimizes the fuel consumption and the cycle aging of traction batteries. This proposed strategy shows better performance by using predictive information and high robustness to inaccuracy of predictive information. In this work, the benefits of the developed operation strategies are demonstrated in a strong hybrid electric vehicle (sHEV) with P2-configuration. For the cycle aging of a lithium-ion battery, an empirical model is built up with Gaussian processes based on experimental data.