APPLICATION OF DRIVING BEHAVIOR CONTROL SYSTEM USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK TO IMPROVE DRIVING COMFORT BY ADJUSTING AIR-TO-FUEL RATIO

Abstract

Energy-efficient engines were introduced due to limited amount of global energy and the need for engine power to carry vehicle loads. It was discovered that the power factor of these engines was essential in developing automotive technology with subsequent significant effect on driving comfort. Moreover, it was possible to control the power and energy savings of vehicle engines by adjusting the Air to Fuel Ratio (AFR). Therefore, this study focused on achieving AFR values in the stoichiometric range of 14.7 in order to produce good emissions. The technology applied was observed to have some drawbacks, specifically in fulfilling engine power when the vehicle operates with a large load. This led to the development of a new method by designing an AFR control system with due consideration for driving behavior using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The aim was to overcome the problem of meeting engine power and ensuring better efficiency. The driving behavior was classified into through categories including the sporty, standard, and eco schemes. The eco scheme was the smooth behavior of a driver during the movement of the vehicle in a busy urban area, the sporty scheme was the responsive driving behavior when the vehicle operates on the highway at speeds above 80 km/h, and the standard scheme was the behavior between the eco and sporty schemes. Furthermore, the driving behavior in a sporty scheme required the addition of fuel to increase engine power while eco-scheme focused on reducing fuel to increase fuel economy. The findings showed that control system designed was able to improve driving comfort in terms of fuel economy during the eco scheme with an average AFR value of 15.68. The system further reduced the value to 13.66 during the sporty scheme. Furthermore, the AFR under stoichiometry was discovered to have produced the maximum engine power. The system was expected to be incorporated into electric, gas-fired and fuel cell vehicles in the future.