Benefit Prediction of Passenger Car Post Impact Stability Control Based on Accident Statistics and Vehicle Dynamics Simulations

Accident statistics showed that about 30% of passenger car accidents are multiple-impact events (MIE). Current Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems are well designed for vehicle yaw motion control due to aggressive driving maneuvers, but not for that under external disturbances on the car body. A post impact stability control (PISC) system is thus envisioned to avoid or mitigate the subsequent events after the first PISC-triggering impact. In this work, a method for the benefit prediction of passenger car PISC system is formulated, based on accident statistics and vehicle dynamics simulations. The representative accident cases are selected; the problematic areas in terms of post impact vehicle dynamics are analyzed; thus the benefit measures are determined for each case, taking the accident environmental factors into account. PISC benefit is predicted by quantifications on each benefit measure, using a PISC function that selects between two controllers, i.e. Differential Braking and Lock Front Axle