Master thesis: Robust Brake Control in Heavy Commercial Vehicle
Göteborg, SE, 417 15
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Thesis
The braking performance of heavy commercial vehicles is critical for safety, stability, and driver comfort. Modern braking systems rely on the coordination of multiple braking sources, such as foundation/service brakes, and auxiliary braking systems, including regenerative braking and engine braking, to achieve the requested vehicle deceleration under a wide range of operating conditions. To provide a smooth and predictable braking response, these systems must accurately manage the distribution of braking torque while considering vehicle dynamics, actuator limitations, and varying road conditions.
One of the main challenges in brake torque coordination is the variability of the braking system response. Actuator delays, transient dynamics, and variations in braking effectiveness can affect the delivery of the requested brake torque, leading to deviations in vehicle deceleration and reduced drivability. These effects may become more pronounced under varying vehicle loads, hardware variants, environmental impacts, vehicle speeds, and road friction conditions, potentially impacting both braking performance and drivability.
To address these challenges, robust control strategies are required to coordinate the available braking systems while compensating for system delays. Such solutions should improve braking smoothness, response time, and overall drivability while maintaining consistent performance across a broad range of operating conditions.
The objectives of the master's thesis are as follows:
- Investigate the influence of system and actuator delays on brake torque coordination and vehicle braking performance.
- Develop and evaluate control strategies that compensate for response delays and variations in braking effectiveness in real-time.
- Assess vehicle drivability and comfort using suitable performance metrics.
- Analyze controller robustness and the variability of braking performance under different road conditions, vehicle loads and driving scenarios.
- Validate the proposed solution in a simulation environment using representative scenarios derived from vehicle test data and compare its performance against existing control strategies.
If this sounds interesting, please send your application before 25th October 2026
For questions about the topic please contact: Esteban Gelso via email esteban.gelso@volvo.com
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