Recursive Least Square Vehicle Mass Estimation Based on Acceleration Partition

Vehicle mass is an important parameter in vehicle dynamics control systems. Although many algorithms have been developed for the estimation of mass, none of them have yet taken into account the different types of resistance that occur under different conditions. This paper proposes a vehicle mass estimator. The estimator incorporates road gradient information in the longitudinal accelerometer signal, and it removes the road grade from the longitudinal dynamics of the vehicle. Then, two different recursive least square method （RLSM） schemes are proposed to estimate the driving resistance and the mass independently based on the acceleration partition under different conditions. A 6 DOF dynamic model of four In-wheel Motor Vehicle is built to assist in the design of the algorithm and in the setting of the parameters. The acceleration limits are determined to not only reduce the estimated error but also ensure enough data for the resistance estimation and mass estimation in some critical situations. The modification of the algorithm is also discussed to improve the result of the mass estimation. Experiment data on asphalt road, plastic runway, and gravel road and on sloping roads are used to validate the estimation algorithm. The adaptability of the algorithm is improved by using data collected under several critical operating conditions. The experimental results show the error of the estimation process to be within 2.6%, which indicates that the algorithm can estimate mass with great accuracy regardless of the road surface and gradient changes and that it may be valuable in engineering applications. This paper proposes a recursive least square vehicle mass estimation method based on acceleration partition.