Testing strategies for innovative automotive safety systems able to detect and disengage aquaplaning event

This thesis presents a comprehensive testing procedure of an innovative automotive safety system aimed at enhancing vehicle safety and reducing the risk of accidents during aquaplaning events. The thesis begins by introducing the physics of the aquaplaning phenomena, with the description of the parameters which influence it and exploring state-of-the-art methodologies aimed at mitigating the occurrence. Indeed, currently there are no active safety systems available in the market that intervene in this type of situation. To fulfil this mission, EasyRain is developing an entire ecosystem comprising two areas. The first is focused on the development of AIS (Aquaplaning Intelligent Solution), the first active system in the world capable of restoring car grip in the event of aquaplaning due to very wet asphalt. The second is focused on the development of innovative virtual sensors. DAI is the digital sensor aimed to detect different aquaplaning levels and to activate the AIS system. Furthermore, as EasyRain products are pioneering in this field, there are not procedures to follow to test it and it has not any type approval. The first main goal of this work is to organize the development test of the two main inventions of the company, validating that the system is working in its best configuration is possible, following a strict procedure. To achieve this objective, the effectiveness and reliability of the EasyRain system were assessed by meticulously collecting and analysing data from the tests using carefully created automated tools in Matlab. Based on an in-depth understanding of the safety system's design and functionalities, a series of rigorous and repeatable tests were devised and conducted. These tests focused on evaluating the system's performance through a series of tests, starting with model-based simulations and progressing to laboratory analysis of one or more components. Subsequently, testing is conducted on the track and in real-world scenarios road tests. Furthermore, this thesis aims to develop a generic procedure that can be applied to validate the performance of future similar safety systems, not limited to the architecture described in this study, with the goal of mitigating this dangerous phenomenon.