Design of the filling-rate controller for water medium retarders on the basis of coolant circulation

Water medium retarders are auxiliary braking devices which can reduce the vehicle speed by converting the mechanical energy of a driving vehicle to the total energy of the working fluid. These retarders can replace service brakes in non-emergency braking conditions. This study analysed the dynamic and thermodynamic characteristics of water medium retarders. An observer was designed to identify the optimal braking power of the water medium retarder under different braking conditions. The braking process involving the retarder can be divided into three stages. The controller was designed separately at each stage to control the braking torque of the water medium retarder according to braking requirements. A combined dynamic and thermodynamic vehicle model was also constructed with MATLAB/Simulink. The effects of the controller on the vehicle feedback control system were analysed. The results show that the controller equipped with the observer can effectively control the water medium retarder to satisfy the braking requirements of vehicles on the assumption that the coolant circulation is sufficiently radiated. Finally, an experiment was conducted to determine the performance of the controller and to validate the simulation results.