11 May 2015

Call for papers: "Recent Advancements in Road Profile Modelling, Identification and Applications"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Vehicle Performance.

Road profile is the cross-sectional shape of a road surface traversing the surrounding road corridor. It has been shown to have significant effects on various vehicle and driver conditions including ride, handling, fatigue and even energy efficiency, and as a result has become a variable of interest in the design and control of numerous vehicle parts.

Numerous measurement and analysing techniques are available, mainly based on the assumption that the longitudinal profile of elevations may be considered to be a realisation of certain stochastic functions, and that from their characteristics the indicators of unevenness and further relations (safety factor, friction, etc.) may be deduced. Simpler models assume homogeneous features of the unevenness along a given track, and more significant actions follow from marked local obstacles appearing randomly, which therefore are more convenient for real-time applications (e.g. active suspension) that require rapid response. Providing an accurate representation of such information on road profile or its effective portrayal suggests many improvements for a diverse range of vehicle systems from components to controller design.

This special issue will feature novel methods and advances in the study of modelling and identification of road profile with evolutionary approaches in an extended range of applications including vehicle dynamics, controls and active safety, new sensory system designs, and simulation tools mainly for tyre-road interaction. It aims to brings together scientists, engineers and experts worldwide to explore current issues regarding road profiling, estimation, sensory systems, their implementation in vehicle design, etc.

This issue will provide a platform intended to foster emerging ideas regarding the development of advanced estimation algorithms and novel measurement techniques for road profile and their applications in subjects related to vehicle controls, design and performance.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Road profiling: measurement methods and design applications
  • Profile identification, characterisation and sensitivity analysis
  • Profile uncertainty: effects on durability schedule at proving grounds
  • Novel sensory systems for onboard applications
  • Effect on tyre-road interaction: simulation tools for rapid prototyping
  • Applications in suspension design and actuation
  • Applications in control algorithms: from active safety to autonomous driving
  • Road description affecting closed-loop driver-vehicle system dynamic simulation

Important Dates
Submission deadline: 30 June, 2016

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