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Disturbance Observer Based Active Independent Front Steering Control for Improving Vehicle Yaw Stability and Tire Utilization

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Abstract

In the currently used steering systems, the front tires are steered dependently during turning maneuvers. During these maneuvers, the weight transfer causes the inner tire to have less vertical force compared to the outer tire. Therefore, it generates less lateral tire force and can be saturated easily in some extreme conditions. On the other hand, the outer tire can provide more lateral force due to the higher vertical force, but its potential may not be utilized because the steering of the inner and outer tires is dependent. Thus, an independent steering capability can provide potential benefits by eliminating the saturation of the inner tire and getting more lateral force from the outer tire. Therefore, an active independent front steering system is proposed by combining a yaw-rate PI controller with disturbance observers on tire forces to improve the yaw stability at the acceptable limits. The coefficients of the PI controller are calculated analytically. The cut-off frequency in the disturbance observer is determined by the robust stability analysis considering the variance in the vehicle dynamic parameters. Finally, by taking into account the tire utilization coefficient (TUC), the performance of the proposed system is compared to conventional active steering systems in CarSim simulation environment.

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Abbreviations

α f :

front tire slip angle, rad

α r :

rear tire slip angle, rad

β :

vehicle side slip angle, rad

C f :

front tire cornering stiffness, N/rad

C r :

rear tire cornering stiffness, N/rad

δ 1 :

distributed front right tire steering input, deg

δ 2 :

distributed front left tire steering input, deg

δ des :

desired steering input, deg

δ drv :

driver steering input, deg

δ f :

front tires steering input, deg

δ l :

front left tire steering input, deg

δ r :

front right tire steering input, deg

δ u :

steering input, deg

F d :

disturbance in lateral tire force, N

F y1 :

front left tire lateral force, N

F y2 :

front right tire lateral force, N

F ydes :

front tires desired lateral force, N

F yf :

total front tires lateral force, N

F yr :

total rear tires lateral force, N

F z1 :

front left tire vertical force, N

F Z2 :

front right tire vertical force, N

g :

earth gravity, m/sec2

I z :

vehicle’s yaw moment of inertia, kgm2

k p :

proportional gain of the PI controller

k i :

integral gain of the PI controller

l f :

distance from CG to front axle, m

l r :

distance from CG to rear axle, m

m :

vehicle mass, kg

r :

actual yaw-rate, rad/sec

r des :

desired yaw-rate, rad/sec

θ :

phase angle, deg

θ f :

angle between the front tire’s speed vector and vehicle axis, rad

θ r :

angle between the rear tire’s speed vector and vehicle axis, rad

τ l ag :

relaxation time constant for front tires, sec

TUC :

tire utilization coefficient, unitless

TUC div :

TUC divergence value, unitless

V :

vehicle speed m/sec

V f :

front tire speed, m/sec

V r :

rear tire speed, m/sec

V x :

vehicle longitudinal speed, m/sec

V y :

vehicle lateral speed, m/sec

ω gc :

crossover frequency, rad/sec

ϕ m :

desired phase angle, deg

μ :

coefficient of surface friction, unitless

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Istanbul Okan University, Istanbul, 34959, Turkey

    Murat Gözü

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul Okan University, Istanbul, 34959, Turkey

    Basar Ozkan

  3. Department of Aviation Electronics, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, 34220, Turkey

    Mümin Tolga Emirler

Authors
  1. Murat Gözü
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  2. Basar Ozkan
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  3. Mümin Tolga Emirler
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Correspondence to Mümin Tolga Emirler.

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Gözü, M., Ozkan, B. & Emirler, M.T. Disturbance Observer Based Active Independent Front Steering Control for Improving Vehicle Yaw Stability and Tire Utilization. Int.J Automot. Technol. 23, 841–854 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-022-0075-1

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