Name: Ateeq Ur Rehman

Registration no: SP14-REE-027/ISB

Cruise Control System

(Progress report)

Contents

Introduction
Physical setup
System equations
System parameters
State-space model
Transfer function model

Introduction:
Cruise control is the term used to describe a control system that regulates the speed of an
automobile. The basic operation of a cruise controller is to sense the speed of the vehicle,
compare this speed to a desired reference, and then accelerate or decelerate the car as required.
The purpose of cruise control is to keep the velocity of a car constant.
The driver drives the car at the desired speed, the cruise control system is activated by pushing a
button and the system then keeps the speed constant. The major disturbance comes from changes
of the slope of the road which generates forces on the car due to gravity. There are also
disturbances due to air and rolling resistance. The cruise control system measures the difference
between the desired and the actual velocity and generates a feedback signal which attempts to
keep the error small in spite of changes in the slope of the road.
Physical setup
Automatic cruise control is an excellent example of a feedback control system found in many
modern vehicles. The purpose of the cruise control system is to maintain a constant vehicle speed
despite external disturbances, such as changes in wind or road grade. This is accomplished by
measuring the vehicle speed, comparing it to the desired or reference speed, and automatically
adjusting the throttle according to a control law.

Name: Ateeq Ur Rehman

Registration no: SP14-REE-027/ISB

We consider here a simple model of the vehicle dynamics, shown in the free-body diagram
(FBD) above. The vehicle, of mass m, is acted on by a control force, u. The force u represents
the force generated at the road/tire interface. For this simplified model we will assume that we
can control this force directly and will neglect the dynamics of the powertrain, tires, etc., that go
into generating the force. The resistive forces, bv, due to rolling resistance and wind drag, are
assumed to vary linearly with the vehicle velocity, v, and act in the direction opposite the
vehicle's motion.
System equations
Using Newton's law, the dynamic equation for this system is:

where u is the force from the engine.

State-space model
The state-space model of this equation now becomes:

Transfer function model

Taking the Laplace transform of the governing differential equation and assuming zero initial
conditions, we find the transfer function of the cruise control system to be: