Tuning An Electronic Throttle Controllers Using Computer-Aided Calibration Method

The Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system presented in this paper combines gain-scheduled Proportional, Integral and Derivative (PID) feedback control with feed-forward compensation of throttle plate friction. The non-linear model-based friction compensator was integrated along with the PID controller as a TargetLink block in the IAV Electronic Control Unit (ECU) engine controller software, implemented on a rapid prototype real-time system. The best gains for the PID controller were determined on-line using our Computer-Aided Calibration (CAC) methods. All experimental results revealed adequate tracking and satisfied requirements for both controller performance and cost. The control structure with friction compensation was robust and simple to implement. The influence of the throttle control on vehicle performance during slow and fast maneuvers is presented.