Skid Control of Small Electric Vehicles with In-Wheel Motors (Effect of ABS and Regenerative Brake Timing Control on Emergency Braking)

This paper presents an active safety device for skid control of small electric vehicles with in-wheel motors. Due to the space limitation on the driving tire, a mechanical brake system was installed rather than hydraulic brake system. For the same reason, anti-lock brake system (ABS) that is a basic skid control method cannot be installed on the driving tire. During braking on icy road or emergency braking, the tire will be locked and the vehicle is skidding. To prevent tire lock-up and vehicle from skidding, we proposed the combination of ABS and regenerative brake timing control. The hydraulic unit of ABS is installed on the non-driving tire while the in-wheel motors on the driving tire will be an actuator of ABS to control the regenerative braking force. The performance of the ABS and regenerative brake timing control on the emergency braking situation is measured by the simulation. The simulation result shows that the combination of ABS and regenerative brake timing control can prevent tire lock-up and vehicle from skidding.