Computer Simulation as a Tool for Managing the Technical Development of Methods for Diagnosing the Technical Condition of a Vehicle

Abstract

Introduced by the Civil Code, the rules of road safety are introducing continuously increasingly strict requirements on motor vehicles. These requirements relate to various aspects of the technical condition of vehicles, both those that determine traffic safety and those that affect the vehicle’s environmental impact. The law requires regular diagnosis of the technical condition of vehicles in service. Diagnostic tests conducted in the form of road tests or the tests performed in workshop conditions allow to determine the symptoms of dysfunctions of the tested vehicle, not always clearly defining the causes and location of damage. The purpose of the work is the design the simulation of a station for of vehicle dynamics tests up to 3.5 t using simulation programs OpenModelica and SciLab. A simulation of the work of the stand for testing the dynamics of vehicles in the form of a chassis dynamometer was achieved. The program enables the simulation of tests: NEDC (New European Drive Cycle), WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure), CADCM150 (joint Artemis driving cycle—Motorway at vMax = 150 kph), CADCU (Common Artemis Driving Cycle—Urban), FTP75 EPA (Federal Test Procedure, Environmental Protection Agency). The simulator (for any assumed type of vehicle) can be used in two modes: 1. Introduction of the presumed cause—Generates the expected results in the functioning of the vehicle. This function can be used to create a cause–effect relational database. 2. Analysis of data from the actual diagnostic system suggesting the causes of the observed (measured) errors in the functioning of the system. The simulator can be used both to design and implement the technological development of intelligent diagnostic systems, and to support the creation of application software for a workshop diagnostic system. Introducing the simulator into practice will also enable the improvement of road safety management.