Collaborative control of a dual electro-hydraulic regenerative brake system for a rear-wheel-drive electric vehicle

Abstract

Within the field of electric vehicles, the cooperative control of a dual electro-hydraulic regenerative brake system using the foot brake pedal as the sole input of driver brake requests is a challenging control problem, especially when the electro-hydraulic brake system features on/off solenoid valves which are widely used in the automotive industry. This type of hydraulic actuator is hard to use to perform a fine brake pressure regulation. Thus, this paper focuses on the implementation of a novel controller design for a dual electro-hydraulic regenerative brake system featuring on/off solenoid valves which track an “ideal” brake force distribution. As an improvement to a standard brake force distribution, it can provide the reach of the maximum braking adherence and can improve the energy recovery of a rear-wheel-drive electric vehicle. This improvement in energy recovery is possible with the complete substitution of the rear hydraulic brake force with a regenerative brake force until the reach of the electric powertrain constraints. It is done by performing a proper brake pressure fine regulation through the proposed variable structure control of the on/off solenoid valves provided by the hydraulic platform of the vehicle stability system. Through road tests, the tracking feasibility of the proposed brake force distribution with the mechatronic system developed is validated.