IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO.
6, NOVEMBER 2005
A Fuzzy Logic Control for Antilock Braking System
Integrated in the IMMa Tire Test Bench
Juan A. Cabrera, Antonio Ortiz, Juan J. Castillo, and Antonio Simón
Abstract—The use of fuzzy control strategies has recently gained
enormous acknowledgement for the control of nonlinear and time-
variant systems. This article describes the development of a fuzzy
control method for a tire antilock system in vehicles while braking,
integrated in a tire test bench, thereby allowing us to imitate the
functioning and to understand the behavior of these systems in a
reliable way. One of the inconveniences found in the development
of these systems has been the difficulty of adjustment to the real
conditions of a functioning vehicle. The main advantage obtained
when using the tire test bench is the possibility of being able to
reproduce the conditions established as fundamental to the opera-
tion of the antilock brake system (ABS) in a reliable and repetitive
way, and to adjust these systems until optimal performance is ob-
tained. The fuzzy control system has been developed and tested in
the tire test bench to be able to refine its fundamental parameters,
obtaining adequate results in all the studied conditions. The ease
of the bench for the development and verification of new control
systems for ABS has been demonstrated.
Index Terms—Antilock braking system (ABS), fuzzy control, tire
test bench.
I. INTRODUCTION
HE antilock braking system (ABS) is widely used in au-
T tomobiles. In an emergency braking situation the wheels
of a vehicle tend to lock quickly, increasing the longitudinal
slip ratio of the vehicle. The slip ratio, while braking, is de-
fined as the difference between the speed of the vehicle and the
circumferential speed of the tire, divided by the speed of the
vehicle:
vveh − wwhl · re
s= . (1)
vveh
When the lock of the wheel is total (s = 1), vehicle steering
control and stability diminishes, and the braking distance nor-
mally increases. Therefore, the goal of the braking control sys-
tem is to maintain the slip ratio within the values which obtain
the maximum adherence coefficient (see Fig. 1) [1]. Achiev-
ing this goal is difficult, because the maximum adherence zone
varies with many parameters, for example adherence conditions
between the road and the wheel, vertical load, inflation pressure,
slip angle, and so on. Therefore, the ABS control systems need
to know the exact point within the adhesion curves [µ-s] [2];
Manuscript received March 16, 2004; revised January 17, 2005, March 31,
2005. This work was supported in part by the Government of Spain. Ministerio
de Educacio´n y Ciencia, Comisio´n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologi´a
(CICYT): Modelo Dinámico de Robots Mo´viles. Modelizacio´n de Neumáticos,
TAP95-0383. The review of this paper was coordinated by Dr. M. Abul Masrur.
The authors are with the Mechanical Engineering Departament, University
of Málaga, Plaza El Ejido s/n 29013 Málaga, Spain (e-mail: jcabrera@uma.es;
aortizf@uma.es; juancas@uma.es; mata@uma.es).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TVT.2005.853479
0018-9545/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE
1937
that is, we need to know the longitudinal slip ratio, friction co-
efficient, and the conditions of real adherences. Achieving this
target with accuracy is a difficult task in ABS systems. To ob-
tain the real longitudinal slip ratio that each wheel of the vehicle
is undergoing, it is necessary to know the linear speed of the
vehicle and the angular speed of the wheel; however, in com-
mercial braking control systems, there is only one parameter at
our disposal—the angular speed of each of the wheels. There
is no other sensor that measures the speed of the vehicle. Most
studies carried out so far try to estimate the speed of the vehicle
or the friction coefficient, but each one includes some kind of
sensor which allows them to know another parameter that plays
a role in the dynamics of the vehicle.
For example, in [3], the linear speed of the vehicle is es-
timated by using a fuzzy control, but it introduces the linear
acceleration of the center of gravity in the longitudinal direc-
tion and the angular acceleration of the turn in relation to the
vertical direction (yaw) as a known parameter. In [4], the slip
reference is also obtained through a nonderivative optimizer,
needing the linear acceleration of the center of gravity in the
longitudinal direction. This slip reference is used in a fuzzy
control to obtain the brake torque. In [5] an RLS estimator
is used to obtain the adhesion characteristics, which needs to
know the brake pressure and the angular speed of the wheel as
parameters. In [6], by using an extended Kalman filter, the state
of forces in each wheel is estimated, and by using a Bayesian
method, the slip coefficient is determined, requiring knowledge
of, apart from the angular speeds of each wheel, the longitu-
dinal and lateral and angular accelerations. In [7], an observer
on a dynamic friction model between the road and the wheel
is defined to estimate the speed of the vehicle and a parame-
ter that defines the different types of roads, requiring the brake
torque and the angular speed of the wheel as input to the sys-
tem. Finally, in [8], by using an extended Kalman filter, the
slope in the origin of the adhesion characteristic curve, [µ-s],
is obtained, and with this parameter and the longitudinal slip
ratio, s, the type of road on which the vehicle runs is identi-
fied, requiring knowledge of the longitudinal slip ratio for every
instant.
As we can see, the summarized investigations in the previous
paragraph are focused on determining the exact point within the
adhesion curves [µ-s] and also the kind of surface in the road-
wheel contact in a precise way. One of the problems found in
the works carried out in ABS systems is the disposition of test
benches to be able to evaluate and compare the behavior of the
proposed algorithms in a real way. An example can be found
in [9], wherein a test bench consisting of an electrical traction en-
gine connected to an induction machine is developed, and which
is used to simulate the road behavior. The bench developed in [9]
1938 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2005
Fig. 1. Adhesion characteristic curves.
has the limitation that it does not allow simulation of the lat-
eral dynamics of the vehicle, variations in the inflation pressure,
variations in the camber angle, variation in the adhesion of brake
pads, and it does not take into consideration the real response
of a hydraulic brake system.
This article has two aims: the first one is to describe the
development of a test bench [10] to be able to evaluate and verify
braking control algorithms. The test bench which is presented
reproduces the dynamic behavior of a vehicle circulating along
a road taking into consideration longitudinal behavior. Due to
the use of a conventional brake system, a dynamic response
closer to reality is obtained. The second part of the work is the
implementation of a new ABS control system. In this control
system, the measurement that we need to know is the angular
velocity of the wheel, and knowing the control signal, which
is obtained from the system, we can obtain the brake pressure.
With these two parameters and by means of an RLS estimation
technique, with forgetting factor, the friction coefficient and the
linear speed of the vehicle is obtained, which in our case is the
linear speed of the flat belt. Once the linear speed is known,
and according to (1), we calculate the longitudinal slip ratio.
Therefore, with the friction coefficient and the longitudinal slip
ratio we can identify a point within the adhesion characteristic
curve [µ-s] (see Fig. 1). Now we only have to identify the kind
of road. To achieve it, we use a first fuzzy block that obtains the
existing kind of road in the wheel-road contact with these two
parameters. This information is used to know the optimal slip
reference, which serves to define the inputs in the second fuzzy
control block that obtains the necessary braking pressure in the
system.
Section II of this paper describes the brake system devel-
oped in the test bench. The fuzzy braking control is described
in Section III. This braking control system is tested using the
test bench, obtaining the results that are shown in Section IV.
Conclusions are given in Section V.
Fig. 2. IMMa tire test bench.
TABLE I
INPUT VARIABLES
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM
The developed brake system has been incorporated in the tire
bench at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University
of Malaga (IMMa) (see Fig. 2) [10]. The fundamental advan-
tages of using a test bench that simulates the dynamic behavior
of the wheel in contact with the road are 1) the possibility to
carry out tests repetitively and with all the possible variables
(see Table I) varying according to the indicated function dur-
ing the testing time and 2) our ability to obtain the values of
longitudinal and lateral forces, longitudinal slip ratio, and other
parameters as shown in Table II.
The brake system consists of a hydraulic circuit, which feeds
a conventional brake piston which applies its force by means
of the brake pads to a brake disc. The disc has some notches at
equal distances made along its circumference, where an induc-
tive sensor at an appropriate distance is placed, for the reading of
the angular velocity of the wheel. In the hydraulic circuit there
is also a sensor to measure braking pressure PB (see Fig. 3).
The braking control is carried out through a proportional valve,
activated by an amplifier card that allows establishing the law of
control that we consider to be convenient. This valve is activated
by means of the main application that controls the tire test bench
using a known voltage-pressure relationship.
As we mentioned before, the brake system is totally integrated
in the test bench and is consequently controlled by means of the
main application which carries out the control of the whole test
bench (see Fig. 4). This application allows us to establish the
kind of test that we are going to perform, such as a test where
a sudden braking situation in curve is established, obtaining
CABRERA et al.: FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM INTEGRATED IN THE IMMa TIRE TEST BENCH
TABLE II
OUTPUT VARIABLES
Fig. 3. Brake system scheme.
information from all the sensors that we have established within
the test (see Table II).
As described in Fig. 4, the main application carries out a series
of independent processes in real time. Every process runs simul-
taneously and has an assigned objective. When the information
of a test to be carried out has been recorded in the application,
we proceed to the performance of it. The program carries out
the four processes which can be seen in the diagram:
1) Braking control process: this process is in charge of per-
forming the braking control, establishing for this purpose
an optimal control law. This process handles the propor-
tional valve of the hydraulic circuit in Fig. 4, which acts
directly on the brake calliper installed on the wheel hub.
2) Movement actuators running process: this process is in
charge of carrying out the movements that have been
established in the test. These can be movements in the
tire (camber angle, slip angle, vertical position) or lateral
movement of the flat belt. It is also possible to change the
vertical or the lateral load.
3) Erroneous parameters control process: it verifies that the
parameters that are established in the test are within the
ranges of the flat belt and tire movement.
1939
Fig. 4. Computer software diagram.
4) Data reading process: this process is in charge of the data
acquisition of the different sensors selected for the test.
This data will be stored in the memory of the computer
and afterwards recorded on the main hard disc.
As can be seen, the application has a set of processes which
allow carrying out the necessary movements in a predetermined
test, reading the data that are programmed in it (see Table II),
and performing, by means of the established rules, a control
action in the brake system. Therefore, we have developed the
whole system necessary to be able to determine and check the
most optimal braking process in our test bench.
III. FUZZY LOGIC ABS CONTROL
The use of fuzzy logic has gained great acknowledgement
recently as a methodology to design robust controllers of non-
linear and time-variant systems. There are numerous works re-
lated to braking fuzzy control [3], [4], [11]–[18]. In this work,
an ABS control system has been developed and implemented in
the test bench. This system, as can be observed in the control
scheme described in Fig. 5, obtains information about the type
of road by means of a fuzzy logic block as an innovation of the
previously mentioned works. Once the type of road is known,
we establish the reference slip ratio adapted to such conditions.
Another fuzzy logic block is used to determine the brake pres-
sure using two inputs, the error between the reference and the
actual slip ratio, and its variation in time. Our control diagram
has three clearly differentiated parts (see Fig. 5). In the first
part, the adhesion characteristics are estimated by means of an
RLS technique, and the speed of the belt is calculated. To do
this, we need to create a model of dynamic behavior of the test
bench. In this work, the braking of the wheel will be developed
following a straight line. Therefore, the lateral dynamic of the
wheel is not considered. Besides, measurements in the bench
show that slippage between the steel belt and the drums is very
small, so its influence is not considered. Hence, the belt speed
1940 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2005

Fig. 5. Pressure control scheme.

equations are obtained:

Iw · ω̇ = µX · FZ · re − PB · KB
v̇
IB · = TM − µX · FZ · RT . (3)
RT
Focusing on the first equation of (3), and by means of an
RLS regression technique with forgetting factor λ, the friction
coefficient is obtained. The regression model would be Φt ·
θ + εt = Y t , where Yt is the measurement vector, Φt is the
regression vector, εt is the error, and θ is the parameter vector to
be estimated, which in our case is:


wr (t) − wr (t − 1) PB (t) · KB
Yt = +
tm Ir


Fig. 6. Test bench scheme. Fz · re
Φt = , θ = [µx (t)]. (4)
Ir
To obtain the measurement vector Yt , a sample time, tm =
can be expressed as: v = wT · RT , where wT and RT are the 0.01 s, is established. This sample time is also used in the
angular velocity and radius of the driver drum, respectively. control time of the braking control system. To update the co-
From Fig. 6, the following equations that create a model of the variance [21] and the Kalman constant in the RLS algorithm,
dynamic behavior of the tire and the flat belt are obtained: the following equations are used:
P (t − 1) · Φt
Iw · ω̇ = FX · re − TB K(t) =
λ + Φt · P (t − 1) · Φt
ν̇
IB · = T M − FX · R T . (2) P (t − 1)
RT P (t) = · (1 − K(t) · Φt )
λ
As can be seen in Fig. 6, the hydrodynamic bearing exerts a + 1000 · (Y (t) − Φt · θ(t))2 (5)
force, NH , equal in magnitude to FZ , so there is no deformation
where λ = 0.9 and initial condition θ(0) = 0, and
in the steel belt, and friction between the steel belt and the
P (0) = 10. Once the friction coefficient is known, the belt speed
bearing can be neglected. Also, rolling resistance force is not
(v), integrating (3), is calculated:
included in the previous equations, because these terms are small
 t
and ignored in most ABS development works [2], [5], [6], [8], RT
v(t) = v(t − 1) + · (TM (t) − (µx (t) · FZ ) · RT ) · dt.
[9], [11], [13], [16]–[18]. IB t−1
The brake torque is expressed as a linear function with regard (6)
to the braking pressure; this is a simple model that is widely used The following parameters of this expression are known: RT
in ABS simulations, although other works [19], [20] use more (radius of the driver drum), IB (inertia moment of the system),
complex expressions for the brake torque. Using the expres- and FZ (vertical load). Vertical load is kept constant in this
sion of the longitudinal force, F X = µX · F Z , the following work, although the bench allows us to simulate vertical load
CABRERA et al.: FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM INTEGRATED IN THE IMMa TIRE TEST BENCH
Fig. 7. Membership functions in road type fuzzy control. (a) Adhesion coef-
ficient input. (b) Slip input. (c) Road type output.
TABLE III
MEMBER FUNCTIONS VALUES. (A) ADHESION COEFFICIENT VALUES. (B) SLIP
VALUES. (C) ROAD TYPE VALUES
changes. A model for vertical load that only needs to know the
value of the friction coefficient to simulate vertical load changes
is proposed in [22].
As during braking, the clutch is usually disengaged [23],
and we can consider the engine torque TM (t) = 0. The friction
coefficient µX (t)is known in every instant because we have
estimated it previously. Therefore, we will know the value of
the linear speed of the flat belt. Once we have obtained the
value of the speed, v(t), we will be able to obtain the value
of the longitudinal slip ratio directly, by simply applying (1).
Knowing both the s(t) and µX (t) values, a point of the adhesion
characteristic curve is determined.
The second part of the control diagram is a fuzzy identifi-
cation block to obtain the type of road. Once the point [µ-s]
in the characteristic curve is determined, we have to know to
which curve it belongs; that is, which is the kind of wheel-road
contact at that moment. This control block has two input mem-
bership functions called ‘adhesion coefficient’ and ‘slip,’ and
one output membership function called ‘road type,’ which are
shown in Fig. 7.
The membership functions are triangular and trapezoidal (see
Fig. 7) and their values are determined in Table III.
The performance of this fuzzy identification block would
be, in a summarized way, the following: the inputs defined as
‘adhesion coefficient’ and ‘slip’ are real values (crisp) and ob-
tained in the first part of the control system. These values are
fuzzified in a first phase; that is, the input values are turned
1941
into diffuse sets, for example, for a slip input of 0.4 (see
Fig. 7(b)), the fuzzifier turns this value into the following mem-
bership grades: µ(slip = zero) = 0, µ(slip = mid) = 0.67 and
µ(slip = high) = 0.5. Once we have the diffuse set values, we
apply the existing rules in the knowledge base. These rules are
the if-them type. More than one of the rules in the knowledge
base can be activated at the same time and have logical opera-
tors like AND, OR and NOT in the antecedent, the same as in
classical logic. In our inference system, the logical operators are
defined as follows:
{µ(slip = mid) = 0.67 AND µ(slip = high) = 0.5}
= min(0.67, 0.5)
{µ(slip = mid) = 0.67 OR µ(slip = high) = 0.5}
= max(0.67, 0.5)
{NOT µ(slip = mid) = 0.67} = (1 − 0.67).
Once the antecedent is solved with the logical operators of
the rule, the implication is carried out and the consequent is
obtained from each of the rules, which are truncated diffuse
sets, by the value of the antecedent. These are added up, and
then we go on to the defuzzification phase. In this phase, we go
on from a diffuse set to an exact real value (crisp). In our case,
we have used a centroid method.
At this moment, only the rules for the road type fuzzy iden-
tification block have to be defined. The control rules and the
membership functions have been adjusted in the test bench.
The rules have been obtained according to the slip behavior in
the adhesion characteristic curves. These curves clearly have
three performance zones shown in Fig. 8. As we can observe in
Fig. 8(b), in the A zone of the curve, the variation of the slope
is always positive and we are within the linear part of the curve.
In the B zone, which is the maximum slip zone and where the
brake control must work, the variation of the slope becomes
zero and finally, in the C zone, the variation is negative and that
is when the maximum slip takes place in the wheel.
With this knowledge of the adhesion curves, the rules have
been established. In Fig. 8, two studied cases are shown which
produce a similar performance in the brake system. For this
reason, only the slip in the braking control system has been
considered as input (see Fig. 5). In Fig. 8(a) the fuzzy control
rules are shown in the case where the variable input is the slip. In
this case, the slip has been divided in three zones (zero, middle,
and high), making them coincide with the three differentiated
zones in the adhesion characteristic curve.
Finally in Fig. 8(b), the slope of the characteristic curve is
used as the input in the fuzzy control. This slope is obtained
by subtracting the friction coefficient in the studied instant and
the friction coefficient in the previous instant, and dividing it
by the difference between the slip in that instant and the slip
in the previous instant. Once the slope is obtained, we divide it
in three zones (positive, zero, and negative), obtaining the rules
that are shown in the figure.
It can be observed that the rules are the same in both cases.
Only the input membership functions change (slip or slope). As
reflected in the rules, when the slip is in the A zone of the curve,
1942
Fig. 8. (a) Determination of fuzzy rules with slip membership function. (b) Fuzzy rules for slope membership function.
the curve is of a major adherence, so in this part the braking
control can raise the braking pressure. Once the slip enters the
B or C zone, the kind of road depends on the adhesion values;
that is, the more adhesion there is, the more adherence there is
to the road.
Once the rules have been established, the surface that gen-
erates the inference system with the different values of the
output variables and the input variable for the two studied
cases are obtained. These surfaces have been calculated using
MATLAB’s Fuzzy Logic Toolbox with the Mamdani’s fuzzy
inference system (see Fig. 9).
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2005
The third and last part of the control diagram is a fuzzy control
block which is in charge of obtaining the braking pressure.
According to Fig. 5, inputs are established as:
e(t) = sref (t) − s(t)
de(t) = e(t) − e(t − tm ). (7)
The first equation determines the existing error between the
slip reference, obtained from the kind of road, and the slip
estimated in that instant. The fuzzy logic block that determines
the kind of road gives a value between 0 and 1, meaning 0
CABRERA et al.: FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM INTEGRATED IN THE IMMa TIRE TEST BENCH
Fig. 9. (a) Fuzzy logic controller’s 3-D input-output map, case I. (b) Fuzzy logic controller’s 3-D input-output map, case II.
Fig. 10. Membership functions in the second fuzzy control. (a) Error input.
(b) Error difference input. (c) Pressure output.
a low adherence road and 1 a high adherence road, and we
multiply this value by 0.3 (slip to obtain the maximum adhesion
coefficient in a high adherence road) to obtain the slip reference.
So we have established a relationship between the kind of road
and the slip where the adhesion coefficient is maximum. The
second equation determines the difference between the error in
that instant of time and the error in the previous instant of time.
The membership functions for the established parameters are,
in this case.
As we can observe in Fig. 10, the membership functions are
also triangular and trapezoidal, and the values for each of the
variables are reflected in Table IV.
It should be noted that the membership functions for the
error input variable are not symmetrical with regard to the
Y-axis. This is due to the fact that according to (7), the existing
difference between the slip reference sref (t) and the slip in that
instant s(t) is not in the same order, because the slip reference
does not reach a value of more than 0.1–0.3. Therefore, the
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TABLE IV
MEMBERSHIP FUNCTION VALUES. (A) ERROR VALUES. (B) DIFERROR
VALUES. (C) PRESSURE VALUES
negative values of the error will be higher than the positive
ones.
The inference system used in this fuzzy control block is the
same as the one used in the previous case. Once the input and
output variables have been established to the control, a study of
the behavior required for the control is carried out to be able
to define the rules that govern it. To establish the control rules,
six differentiated cases of behavior of the input variables are
established (see Fig. 11).
In the first case in Fig. 11(a), the error is positive or large
positive, and the pressure will be high because we are in the
part of the curve where we have not reached the maximum slip
coefficient. In the second case [Fig. 11(b)], the error is large
negative which means that the wheel is locked so we have to
make the pressure zero. These are the two simplest cases for
which to establish the rules. For the following rules we have to
take the difference of the committed error into consideration,
and they are rules to establish the behavior when we are near
the reference slip; that is, when the error is zero or when we
slightly exceed the limit of the reference slip.
First we establish the rules when the error is negative. That
is, we have slightly exceeded the limit of the reference slip.
To establish the rules, we must observe Fig. 11(c) and (d).
In Fig. 11(c) the error is negative and the error difference is
positive. In this case, the error was bigger in the previous instant
than the existing error in this instant of time. This means that we
come from a situation of low pressure and we are diminishing
the slip, which means that we can increase the braking pressure
a little. In case the slip in the previous instant is the same as
in this instant; that is, the error difference is zero, we can also
1944 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2005

Fig. 11. Error and error difference behavior. (a) Positive error. (b) Large negative error. (c) Negative error and positive error difference. (d) Negative error and
negative error difference. (e) Zero error and positive error difference. (f) Zero error and negative error difference.
CABRERA et al.: FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM INTEGRATED IN THE IMMa TIRE TEST BENCH
Fig. 12. Fuzzy logic pressure controller’s 3-D input-output map and rules.
increase the pressure a little, but less than in the previous cases.
Fig. 11(d) shows the case in which the error continues being low
negative and the error difference is negative too. In this case,
in the previous instant we are in the zone where we have not
exceeded the slip limit or we have exceeded it but less than in the
studied instant, so we are applying a high pressure, which means
that if we have exceeded the slip limit more in the following time
increase, we have to reduce the pressure.
Finally, we establish the rules for the case in which the com-
mitted error is zero; that is, when the slip in that instant of time
is equal to the slip limit. This is shown in Fig. 11(c)–(f). In
the first case, when the error is zero and the slip in the pre-
vious instant is superior to the slip limit [Fig. 11(e)]; that is,
the error difference is positive, then the same thing happens as
in the previous cases. In other words, we were in a situation
in which the pressure was low and we have managed to re-
duce the slip, so we increase the braking pressure, but with a
value which is a little higher than in the negative error case. In
case the slip in the previous instant is also the slip limit, then we
increase the braking pressure, but in this case with a very low
value.
Finally, in the case in which the error is zero and the slip in the
previous instant is inferior to the slip limit [Fig. 11(f)], in this
case we were in a situation in which the pressure was increased
and we achieved an increase in the slip, so the braking pressure
has to be reduced.
Once the conditions of each rule have been established,
the rules for the developed fuzzy control and the surface
that the inference system generates are shown in Fig. 12. As
in the previous case, the surface has been obtained using MAT-
LAB’s Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and Mamdani’s fuzzy inference
system.
IV. RESULTS
In this section, a series of results obtained with the proposed
brake control and the test performed in the previously described
test bench are shown. The computer application developed to
carry out the control of the test bench and to obtain the results
1945
TABLE V
MODEL PARAMETERS
of the tests, as they were described in Fig. 4, has been pro-
grammed with C++ language, although the simulation of the
test bench and the proposed control have been carried out with
MATLAB’s Simulink Toolbox. For both cases, a series of pa-
rameters that need the proposed control have been used, some of
which have been obtained in the test bench from tests, and oth-
ers read directly from the sensors of the bench. The parameters
are reflected in Table V.
The first test carried out is a brake test with the developed
control and with a Michelin MTX R14 65 tire. In this case,
the test is carried out with a flat belt whose adhesion charac-
teristics were found by performing tests of longitudinal force
in the test bench. Later, the encountered curve is introduced in
the test bench model and the brake control for its simulation.
Therefore, we have three different named speeds: real, simu-
lated, and estimated. The real speed is obtained in the test bench
by means of a sensor, which reads it directly when the test is
carried out. In this case, the programmed brake control starts
to work in the main application as described in Fig. 4. The es-
timated speed is the one obtained by means of (6), previously
estimating the slip coefficient and finally the simulated speed
which is obtained simulating the test bench and the developed
control with Simulink. The result of this first test is shown in
Fig. 13.
In Fig. 13(a), the behavior of the three previously mentioned
speeds in the test carried out can be observed. We see that the
1946
Fig. 13. Control behavior for MICHELIN MTX R14. (a) Belt velocities graphic. (b) Brake pressures graphic. (c) Kind of road.
values of the three are similar, which validates the simulation
studied in the test. On the other side, the behavior of the brake
pressure in the test bench and the estimated brake pressure can
also be observed [see Fig. 13(b)]. The estimated brake pressure
is obtained by means of the brake system model, and it is similar
to the real brake pressure which is measured in the test bench.
According to this test, the behavior of the brake system model
is accurate. Finally, the control behavior to obtain the road type
is drawn in Fig. 13(c).
The following test was carried out changing the adhesion
characteristics and the execution time to test the dynamic be-
havior of the control system in a wide range of road conditions.
This test was performed with the same tire as previously, and
all start at a belt speed of 27.2 m/s.
Fig. 14 shows the control behavior in dry and wet road con-
ditions. Fig. 14(c) shows how the control detects the change in
adherence conditions and so the control adjust the pressure level
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2005
of the brake as it is shown in Fig. 14(b). We also observe how the
control adjusts the slip level seen in Fig. 14(d) ranging between
0.14–0.18 for wet road conditions and 0.13 for dry road condi-
tions. These slip levels depend on the adjustment of the mem-
bership functions of the control which establish the road type
and the value of the maximum optimum slip (sopt ). Both pa-
rameters have been adapted to obtain the optimum performance
of the brake control and to maintain the slip in all the tested
conditions within the appropriate values.
In Fig. 15, the behavior of the brake control, in which the
adherence conditions are wet and snowy asphalt, is shown.
Fig. 15(c) shows how the control estimates the existing road
type and how the brake pressure decreases considerably when
the control detects snow in the wheel-road contact. In Fig. 15(d),
the slip varies between 0.15–0.16 in the case of wet asphalt and
between 0.15–0.18 in the case of snow. Finally, Fig. 16 shows
the behavior in the case of wet and icy asphalt.
CABRERA et al.: FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM INTEGRATED IN THE IMMa TIRE TEST BENCH 1947

Fig. 14. Control behavior in dry and wet conditions.

Fig. 15. Control behavior in wet and snow conditions.

1948
Fig. 16. Control behavior in wet and ice conditions.
V. CONCLUSION
The key goals of this work have been the construction of a
test bench capable of testing algorithms of ABS brake controls
which adjust adequately to the real conditions of performance
demanded for vehicles, and the development of a fuzzy brake
control system. As the simulations show, the fuzzy brake control
system keeps the slip and the friction coefficient in the optimum
zone of the adhesion curve and is able to detect different kind
of roads and adherence changes during simulation.
The robustness of the fuzzy control and its capacity to adapt
to different dynamic adherence changes have been confirmed.
Additionally, the results suggest that the use of fuzzy logic
for ABS brake control improves the longitudinal behavior in
braking processes in vehicles.
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Juan A. Cabrera received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees in mechanical engineering from the Univer-
sity of Malaga, Spain.
He is currently an Associate Professor of Mechan-
ical Engineering at the University of Malaga. His
research interests include modeling and control of
vehicle systems, advanced vehicle systems, genetic
algorithms applied to mechanisms and tire models,
and multiobjective evolutionary strategies.
Antonio Simo´n received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees in aeronautical engineering from the Poly-
technic University of Madrid, Spain.
He is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engi-
neering at the University of Malaga, Spain, and he
is the Department Head of Mechanical Engineering
at Malaga University. His research interests include
modeling and control of vehicle systems, advanced
vehicle systems, genetic algorithms applied to mech-
anisms, and tire models and biomechanics.