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Cruise Control System for an Electric Vehicle
Mehakdeep Singh Chhina
Abstract- In this project a cruise control system for electric
vehicle has been modelled using MATLAB Simulink. A PI
controller has been used to control torque and a PID controller to
control speed. In the present automobiles are manufactured with
automatic control systems already installed. One of these is the
cruise control system used to control and maintain constant
speed of the vehicle without constant user interference. The
system has been modelled using transfer function blocks and
controllers. After modelling the system, the effect of the
controllers, and of different inputs has been studied along with
other parameters.
I. INTRODUCTION
Electric vehicles (EV) are one of the most widely used
vehicles these days. It is based as electric propulsion system in
which all the power is provided through electric batteries.
Hence, no internal combustion engine is required. Its main
advantage is the increased efficiency. Moreover, emission
elimination, low operating cost and superior controllability
over the powertrain are other factors which have made electric
vehicles a preferred choice.
The EV powertrain consists of an electric motor, single or
double speed transmission and the final drive unit.
Fig. 1. Electric car construction
.
Cruise control system is developed for driving with constant
speed on long stretched roads. This system performs as a
speed-tracking controller and autonomously follows a pre-set
vehicle speed. For instance, a well-tuned and robust cruise
control system is an essential component of adaptive cruise
control systems. The control logic of the cruise controller can
be designed by employing different types of controllers, such
as a proportional-integral derivative (PID) controller.
Robust proportional integral (PI) torque and PID speed
controllers are designed using the numerical optimization
technique for the cruise controller of the EV. Simulation
results show that the controller has sufficient robustness to
compensate any disturbances, for the case of road grades, and
presents a superior speed-tracking behavior. The major
contribution of this research is to model a cruise controller and
develop its complex design procedure with multilayer
controllers. The model performance and simulation results
were verified with those reported in the literature and showed
an overall improvement of the cruise controller performance.
Applicability of the developed control design procedure is
carried out for an automotive system consisting of two-layer.
One of the widely used types of electric motors for the EV
powertrains is the DC motor. The main objective of a cruise
control system is to momentarily track the desired speed of the
vehicle. In an EV, speed can be actively controlled by
continuously adjusting the torque of the electric motor. In this
research, a robust optimized control system, consisting of both
PID and PI controllers, has been utilized to constantly track
the desired speed.
Fig. 2 EV Powertrain with Cruise Control System
Because of its simplicity and accurate control over the electric
motors, EV power train are more reliable. Furthermore, the
regenerative braking of EV powertrain makes it more elegant
over other systems..
II.LITERATURE REVIEW
Automobiles are now equipped with enhanced and efficient
systems to control systems automatically. Cruise Control
system is designed to control and maintain constant speed in a
car without the driver pushing the accelerator paddle
constantly. The applications of this control system are widely
use in newly designed electronic cars and it is quite useful
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during long journeys on wide stretched roads. This system improved using the method. The method is robust with respect
performs as a speed-tracking controller without any human to modeling error and parametric uncertainty.
observer. It monitors a pre-defined constant speed at which the
car is supposed to move. A well-tuned and robust cruise
control system is an essential component of adaptive cruise III. PROBLEM STATEMENT
control systems. The control logic of the cruise controller can To increase the speed of a vehicle, drivers must push the
be designed by employing different types of controllers, such accelerator and, on the highways, for maintaining a constant
as a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. (Diba,
speed of the vehicle the pressure on the pedal has to be
Arora, and Esmailzadeh 2014) Cruise control system is to
maintained constant for a long period of time. To support the
maintain the output speed of the system as set by input signal.
This can be achieved by various methods of controller such as drivers in driving, modern electric cars are equipped with
using proportional-integral derivatives (PID) controller, state- cruise control systems. The cruise control systems can
space controller, and many more. Modelling is a task that maintain the desired speed of a car set by the drivers, without
requires simplification and ideal environment. A complex using an accelerator and without the interference of the driver.
model of a car with dampers, springs and masses can be Thus, the driver’s task will be reduced to steer the car and
reduced to much simpler form of model such as moving cart. drive carefully to avoid any accident.
Modelling a system cruise control, will take into accounts all
of the important parameters, including those that are due to Simulink Model
disturbances which directly or indirectly affect the overall
performance of the system. After modelling the cruise control  Total drive ratio = Itot = 4.875
system, the design of the controller such as PID control can be  Total Inertia = Jtot = 8.6 kg.m2
applied and the stability analysis based on linear state space  Armature gain constant = Ra = 1
model or transfer function is analyzed. (Osman, Rahmat, and  Armature time constant =Ta = 0.1
Ahmad 2009) A PID controller is an instrument used in  Actuator gain constant = KA = 30
industrial control applications to regulate temperature, flow,  Actuator time constant = TA = 0.03
pressure, speed and other process variables. PID controllers  Speed sensor Sensitivity = Kss = 0.02
use a control loop feedback mechanism to control process
 Current Sensor sensitivity = Kcs = 0.03
variables and are the most accurate and stable controller. The
gains of this controller can be tuned using different control  Back emf gain = Kb = 2
theories, such as the robust control theory. The robust  Friction torque gain = Kf = 0.1
controller minimizes the effect of uncertainties being  Actuator = 𝐾𝐴 1+𝑠𝑇
encountered in the control system. Robust control is an  Gain5= 𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑡𝐾
approach to controller design that deals with uncertainty, it is  Gain1 = Kf
developed to function properly in environments with uncertain  Gain3 = Kb
parameters or disturbances. The robust controller can be  Speed Sensor Sensitivity = Kss
designed by using numerical optimization techniques, which
 Current Sensor sensitivity = Kcs
involve fewer calculations and gives stability to the system.
The robust proportional integral (PI) torque and PID speed
controllers are designed using the numerical optimization
technique for the cruise controller of the electric car
simulation. The project aims to model a cruise controller and
develop its complex design that simulates a controller that has
satisfactory robustness to compensate any disturbances and
presents a good speed-tracking behavior.
Tuning methods based on optimization approach have
recently received more attention in the literature, with the aim
of ensuring good stability robustness of the controlled system.
However, these new methods are not easy to use for the
operating engineer who is the main user of the PI/PID
controller. Considering PI structure adaptive control design, an
approach is presented by Xu and Loan (1994). The design is IV. ANALYSIS
based on a linearized vehicle model, while a reference model
generates the reference velocity signal. The adaptation A. Effect Of Controllers
guarantees the handling of model parameter variations. A
model-free control design approach is applied to design an The analysis begins by studying the system's behavior with
intelligent PI controller in Mansour et al. (2013). The and without the implementation of controllers. Initially, when
longitudinal control inputs are traction/braking wheel torques, neither speed nor torque controllers are present, the system
and the longitudinal positioning error of the vehicle is exhibits instability, and there is no sign of settling. This
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indicates the necessity of controllers to stabilize the system

and achieve the desired behavior.

Without Both Controllers

Speed Controller (PID controller) Only:

Next, the system's behavior with only the speed controller

(PID controller) is studied. In this case, the system starts to
show signs of settling and becomes more stable compared to
the previous scenarios. However, it is still not completely
stable.

Torque Controller (PI controller) Only:

The system's response is observed with the implementation of

a torque controller, which is a PI controller. Although the
system shows a change in magnitude, it still does not exhibit
stable behavior. The torque controller alone is not sufficient to
achieve the desired results.

Both Speed and Torque Controllers:

Finally, when both speed and torque controllers are

implemented in the system, the desired stability is achieved.
The system stabilizes and maintains a constant speed,
demonstrating the effectiveness of the combined controllers.
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Ramp Input:

A ramp input is then applied to the system, causing the output

to exhibit a constantly increasing magnitude with a constant
gradient after settling. This behavior again indicates the
successful tracking of the desired speed set by the input.

B. Effect Of Inputs

To further understand the system's behavior, different input

signals are applied, and their effects on the system are
observed.

Step Input:

Sine Wave Input:

Finally, a sine wave input is applied to the system. The output

exhibits sinusoidal behavior with each wave having the same
maximum and minimum amplitude after the system has
stabilized. This demonstrates the system's ability to accurately
track the desired speed set by the input.

C.System Parameters
Various performance parameters of the cruise control system
are calculated and analyzed.
Peak Time:
The peak time is the time taken for the output signal to reach
its maximum value. In the system, the peak time is observed at
100 seconds.
Rise Time:
The rise time is the time taken for the output signal to rise
from 10% to 90% of its maximum value. For this system, the
rise time is found to be 9.958 seconds.
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Settling Time:
The settling time is the time taken for the output signal to
reach and stay within a certain percentage (e.g., 2%) of its
final value. In this system, the settling time is observed at
79.219 seconds, where the signal magnitude has reached 98%
of its final value.
Percentage Overshoot:
There is no percentage overshoot as system becomes stable
without exceeding the peak value.
V. CONCLUSION
In this project, a cruise control system to achieve smooth and
steady motion of electric cars on highways has been designed.
These cruise control systems make long highway journeys
easy and reliable for drivers. Firstly, a block diagram of a
closed-loop cruise control system including inputs, outputs,
and feedback has been obtained, and then according to that the
cruise control system for velocity and torque control has been
designed using different controllers. The working of the
control system is demonstrated using MATLAB and Simulink.
Using scope, the peak time, rise time, settling time, and
percentage overshoot has been found as shown above. The
effect of both controllers and different inputs has also been
observed.
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REFERENCES
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