The hardware design of a real-time HITL for traction assist simulation

A computer simulation methodology which simulates a vehicle in real-time is presented. The vehicle has been divided into a number of subsystems, and each subsystem is modeled separately. Along with the models, the hardware components of several control units were linked together to provide a generic real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) vehicle simulation especially suited with third-party propriety hardware. Such a model provides the capability to verify analytical and experimental data and adjust the hardware/software of certain vehicle components on the test bench. It also provides powerful, complex, and dynamic real-time simulations yet, because it is portable, it reduces onboard vehicle testing time, which makes it adaptable to include different types of vehicles, and also makes it cost effective. This paper outlines the major features of the simulation models, showing a typical application for traction assist (TA) development. The simulation model was verified for a TA event by taking measurements from an onboard computer while the vehicle was driven on various types of road surfaces. The results obtained experimentally corresponded well with those obtained through simulation