Date of Award
12-2018
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Muralidhar K. Ghantasala
Second Advisor
Dr. Claudia Farjardo
Third Advisor
John Bair
Keywords
Virtual torque sensor, automotive applications, heavy duty trucks, low cost torque measurement technique
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Torque sensing has been realized as one of the critical aspects in improving the dynamic vehicle performance in automotive systems. This thesis mainly presents the work on the development of a novel torque measurement method based on the estimation of nth-order flywheel angular acceleration from the variable reluctance flywheel speed sensor pulses. The number of firings in the engine determine the order of the harmonic to be used for torque estimation. The nth-order flywheel angular acceleration is computed using a micro-controller with built in timer counter and an associated signal conditioning circuit. The pulses obtained from the flywheel speed sensor after appropriate signal conditioning fed to the micro-controller for estimating the flywheel angular acceleration. The micro-controller records the timing between each pulse generated for each tooth that passes the sensor. Instantaneous flywheel speed data is utilized for estimating the nth-order flywheel angular acceleration using an algorithm developed in this project. The complete sensing method was tested in the laboratory and also evaluated on different auto-engine test systems coupled with external dynos. The tests were conducted for different speed – load ranges. The estimated torque values were found to be in agreement with those measured using physical torque sensors. The details of the sensing method and its simulation and performance evaluation results were presented in the thesis.
Recommended Citation
Iddum, Vivek, "Variable Reluctance Virtual Torque Sensor for Automotive Applications" (2018). Masters Theses. 3793.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3793