The electronic wedge brake system (EWB) used in the automotive industry is a new structure designed for brake-by-wire systems. This paper proposes a novel EWB system which is mainly composed of a screw-driven wedged inner brake pad, a fixed outer brake pad, a fixed caliper-flexible brake rotor and a hybrid stepper motor. The proposed EWB system does not have a planetary gear set or a ball screw mechanism, it simplified the existing EWB systems. The proposed EWB system is designed to take advantage of the self-interlocking ability of the screw mechanism to hold the brakes with zero-overhauling and the self-energizing ability of the wedge brake pad to reduce the braking effort. In the braking phase, the screw driven wedge inner brake pad forces the flexible rotor against a fixed flat brake pad. The rotor is elastically deformed to make the contact against the fixed pad. Except for the applied force, the friction force between the brake rotor and the wedge pad exerts additional force as the wedge is pulled along the direction of rotation, thus requiring a lower brake actuation force. In this paper, the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) algorithm is introduced to improve the response ability and stability of the proposed EWB. Simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the ADRC controller in the proposed EWB system.

A torque measurement method that combines the inverse magnetostrictive effect with twist angle measurement has been proposed in this paper. A Kalman filter and complementary filter are applied to significantly reduce the noises and errors in the proposed method. This new measurement block can detect the applied torque with an error of less than 1%. The proposed measurement method can be used in static and dynamic conditions.

Brake-by-wire (BBW) systems face challenges such as structural complexity, high energy consumption, and control inaccuracies induced by nonlinear factors. This study develops a novel self-locking dual-side synchronously clamping electronic wedge brake (EWB) system as an advanced BBW architecture. This novel design consists of a single screw with opposite-handed threads to drive the wedge mechanism bidirectionally, leveraging the self-energizing effect and the self-interlocking effect to significantly reduce energy consumption while achieving hydraulic-free synchronous braking. Additionally, the inherent precise displacement control of the screw transmission offers a simplified solution for air gap management. A multi-domain coupled model integrating mechanical dynamics and control algorithms is developed based on the proposed architecture, with finite element analysis (FEA) validating the mechanical strength and thermal degradation resistance of key components under extreme conditions. A hybrid control algorithm combining model predictive current control (MPCC) and a PI controller is developed. Compared with the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), the proposed method achieves a 55% improvement in dynamic response and a $69.1$% reduction in steady-state error. The vehicle braking performance is validated through a CarSim–Simulink co-simulation, while the rapid dynamic response and precise clamping force control of the key actuator are verified via bench testing, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed EWB system architecture and its control strategy, thereby laying a solid theoretical foundation for its future industrial implementation.

Nanocellulose has emerged as a sustainable and promising nanomaterial owing to its unique structures, superb properties, and natural abundance. The high mechanical strength and modulus, low coefficient of thermal expansion, superior gas-barrier, and high electrical resistivity properties make nanocellulose attractive in diverse sectors, such as wearable flexible electronic equipment, paper-based generator, organic light-emitting diode, supercapacitor, and battery. We have developed a superhydrophobic, highly transparent, and hazy nanopaper made of cellulose nanofibrils and polysiloxanes. This novel nanopaper that simultaneously achieved light-management and self-cleaning capabilities not only led to an enhancement in overall energy conversion efficiency (10.43%) of solar cell by simply coating but also recovered most of the photovoltaic performance losses due to dust accumulation by a self-cleaning process, showing great application in solar cells. In order to explore the application of nanocellulose in energy storage, we have designed a novel and facial method for the fabrication of a cellulose carbon aerogel by using the melamine foam as the skeleton. This work provides an effective and low-cost strategy to fabricate carbon aerogel with the compressible and conductive property, showing great potential for applications in compressible electrodes for supercapacitors. As an important subfield of wearable devices, wearable and flexible strain nanocellulose-based sensors were prepared for electronic skins. A tough, self-healing, and self-adhesive ionic cellulose gel was designed with superior strain-sensitive features. The ionic gels display biocompatible and repeatable adhesiveness to various substrates including human skin tissue, revealing a promising candidate for wearable sensors.