ABS exploiting forces at the wheel for high performance vehicles and motorsport applications

The aim of this paper is to define an innovative Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) for motorsport or hypercar vehicles and compare it with a traditional ABS logic. The comparison is done through a simulation with a complex 14-dof vehicle model, representative of a high-performance sports car. The new ABS is characterized by a sliding mode controller that requires the measurement of the forces at the wheel, precisely, the vertical force, the lateral force, the longitudinal force and the brake torque. The information on tyre forces is used to estimate the tyre-road friction coefficient and use this information to maximize the new ABS performance. The two ABS are compared referring to a full-brake manoeuvre that simulates an emergency stop. Two friction coefficients, referring to dry or wet tarmac road, are considered. The results demonstrate that the new ABS allows to reduce the braking distance with respect to the traditional one, in particular on the low adherence road. The innovative ABS is able to quickly recognize the friction coefficient of the road and modulate the braking torque in order to maintain the wheel slip close to the target and consequently maximize the longitudinal tyre performance.