Observer-based H∞ control for vehicle handling and stability subject to parameter uncertainties

This article presents a model-based controller design approach for vehicle to improve handling and stability while the vehicle parameters are uncertain and the state of body sideslip angle is immeasurable. The variations in tire cornering stiffness, which are due to model simplification, are considered and treated as parameter uncertainties. By translating parameter uncertainties into perturbed matrices and combining with state observer, a sufficient condition for the theorem of an observer-based, optimal, and robust H∞ controller subject to parameter uncertainties is derived. In the theorem, the controller and the state observer are integrated into a linear matrix inequality optimization problem and designed together. The performances of the control system are evaluated via numerical simulation under various critical maneuvers and road conditions. The simulation results demonstrated that the vehicle dynamic control system designed by the approach proposed in this article can significantly improve vehicle handling and stability regardless of the variations on the tire cornering stiffness and the absence of the measured body sideslip angle.