A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle
The realization of the first prototype of a vehicle requires several tests of the algorithms implemented on the electronic control unit (ECU). This represents an important step for conventional vehicles, which becomes fundamental when dealing with unmanned vehicles. Since there is no human supervisi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/15/6730 |
| _version_ | 1797525833135423488 |
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| author | Michele Vignati Nicola Debattisti Maria Laura Bacci Davide Tarsitano |
| author_facet | Michele Vignati Nicola Debattisti Maria Laura Bacci Davide Tarsitano |
| author_sort | Michele Vignati |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The realization of the first prototype of a vehicle requires several tests of the algorithms implemented on the electronic control unit (ECU). This represents an important step for conventional vehicles, which becomes fundamental when dealing with unmanned vehicles. Since there is no human supervision, most critical tasks are handled by the control unit, which results in higher complexity for the control algorithms. In this work, a software-in-the-loop (SiL) test bench is used to validate the control algorithms of a vehicle control unit (VCU) for a driverless railway vehicle (DLRV). The VCU manages the control of the traction motors, pneumatic braking systems, and range extender, as well as control of the hybrid powertrain configuration to guarantee a high level of availability via the use of redundant systems. The SiL test bench has been developed in a Simulink real-time environment, where the vehicle model is simulated along with its fundamental subsystems. The model communicates with the VCU through a CAN bus protocol in the same way that it will operate with a real vehicle. The proposed method can be used to simulate many mission profiles for the DLRV, which may last several hours each. Moreover, this kind of test bench ensures a high time resolution, which allows one to find solutions for problems which occur with a time scale that is much smaller than the simulation time scale. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:19:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30c4497a4a3e4b2aab3ecf4a9d37ac1b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:19:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-30c4497a4a3e4b2aab3ecf4a9d37ac1b2023-11-22T05:18:37ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-07-011115673010.3390/app11156730A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway VehicleMichele Vignati0Nicola Debattisti1Maria Laura Bacci2Davide Tarsitano3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, ItalyThe realization of the first prototype of a vehicle requires several tests of the algorithms implemented on the electronic control unit (ECU). This represents an important step for conventional vehicles, which becomes fundamental when dealing with unmanned vehicles. Since there is no human supervision, most critical tasks are handled by the control unit, which results in higher complexity for the control algorithms. In this work, a software-in-the-loop (SiL) test bench is used to validate the control algorithms of a vehicle control unit (VCU) for a driverless railway vehicle (DLRV). The VCU manages the control of the traction motors, pneumatic braking systems, and range extender, as well as control of the hybrid powertrain configuration to guarantee a high level of availability via the use of redundant systems. The SiL test bench has been developed in a Simulink real-time environment, where the vehicle model is simulated along with its fundamental subsystems. The model communicates with the VCU through a CAN bus protocol in the same way that it will operate with a real vehicle. The proposed method can be used to simulate many mission profiles for the DLRV, which may last several hours each. Moreover, this kind of test bench ensures a high time resolution, which allows one to find solutions for problems which occur with a time scale that is much smaller than the simulation time scale.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/15/6730software-in-the-loopunmanned vehiclerailway vehicle simulationhybrid powertrain |
| spellingShingle | Michele Vignati Nicola Debattisti Maria Laura Bacci Davide Tarsitano A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle Applied Sciences software-in-the-loop unmanned vehicle railway vehicle simulation hybrid powertrain |
| title | A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle |
| title_full | A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle |
| title_fullStr | A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle |
| title_short | A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation of Vehicle Control Unit Algorithms for a Driverless Railway Vehicle |
| title_sort | software in the loop simulation of vehicle control unit algorithms for a driverless railway vehicle |
| topic | software-in-the-loop unmanned vehicle railway vehicle simulation hybrid powertrain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/15/6730 |
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