Adaptive electronic throttle control of road vehicles

Previous work at Loughborough University has clearly demonstrated the gains that can be made in overall performance feel through the manipulation of the engine demand map. In particular the studies have shown the importance of the throttle progression, and the relationship between throttle pedal progression and wide-open throttle performance. These studies concluded with a clear set of design guidelines for the initial set up of a vehicle to achieve optimal performance feel for a population of drivers. These studies also highlighted the wide variation in response from different subjects indicating that further gains in satisfaction could be achieved if the demand map were optimised for each driver. Failing to provide optimum performance feel for the driver can result in reduced satisfaction, in turn making vehicles less saleable and more difficult to drive through the increased concentration needed to drive the vehicle. This thesis attempts to solve the problem of demographic and driver preference variation, by developing an electronic throttle system that adapts to driver preference. The primary aims of the study are to develop algorithms to identify from variables measured in real time on the vehicle, the requirement for and the direction of adaptation of the throttle pedal progression and to implement these algorithms in an adaptive electronic throttle system. The work has had four main areas of emphasis: The development of an appraisal technique for identifying the optimum throttle progression for a particular driver. The development of a model of driver behavior using parameters measured in real time on a vehicle that when implemented converges to the preference. Implementation of the model in real time on a vehicle in order to adapt throttle progression to the preference. Simulation of model suitability in situations other than those in which it was developed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo