Predictive control for a throttle regulator in vehicle testing

A method of predictive control is used in theregulation of a vehicles’ speed in an environmental testcell with a wind tunnel. The vehicle speed is regulatedthrough the throttle while the vehicle torque is control-led with a dynamometer. The predicted throttle positionfor the requested speed is based on torque, speed, andthrottle position curves. The predictive control worksin conjunction with an integrating speed regulator. Thepredictive control sets the throttle position when thespeed error is above a set limit. Otherwise, the inte-grating regulator controls the speed.A description of both the dynamometer and throt-tIe control hardware is included in the thesis. Thethrottle control software is described in detail sincemost of the regulating functions are digital.Both simulation and on site tests are describ-ed. Test results are provided by strip chart record-ings.