A Turning Brake System for Motorcycles via an Autoregulative Optimal Slip Ratio

Abstract

Motorcycles are efficient and flexible tools for short-trip transportation, but they feature static instability and lean while cornering. This characteristic increases the danger of overturning. This study proposes a system to brake a motorcycle safely in a turn. The optimal slip ratio decision model is used to generate the optimal value according to roll angle and vertical force. Given that the roll angle cannot be measured directly, a Kalman filter is used to estimate the roll angle via kinematic parameters, measured by inertial measurement unit. The PID controller adjusts the current slip ratio to follow the optimal slip ratio. Using the motorcycle dynamics model from BikeSim, a co-simulation platform is constructed in MATLAB/Simulink to verify the reliability of the designed brake system. The results show that, compared with a traditional brake controller, the proposed brake system can control the motorcycle braking process by autoregulating the optimal slip ratio in time, according to the kinematic parameters. Both brake performance and stability are well considered, which contributes to improving the safety of the motorcycle. This research work has certain reference value for the development of motorcycle active safety systems.

Keywords

• motorcycle
• turning braking
• optimal slip ratio
• roll angle estimation