Integrated Chassis Control for Improved Braking Performance on Rough Roads

The deterioration of ABS braking performance on rough roads is well established in the literature. Large variations in tyre normal force during braking is one of the main contributors to this deterioration. Reducing the tyre normal force variation by controlling the suspension characteristics may thus improve the braking performance on rough roads. This paper proposes a novel algorithm that can be used to reduce tyre normal force variation through semi-active suspension control. The algorithm consists of three stages, firstly estimating the road input, secondly predicting the suspension force, and thirdly identifying suspension settings that may reduce suspension force variation and hence tyre normal force variation. The effect of the algorithm is investigated by using an experimentally validated vehicle simulation model on experimentally measured road profiles. Simulation results show that the stopping distance from 80 km/h on a Belgian paving can be reduced on average by 1.3 m.