Control of an independent 4WD electric vehicle by DYC method

Current advances in the application of control systems to vehicle dynamics has made it practicable to improve the vehicle's longitudinal, lateral and vertical dynamics. Some of the examples of application of these systems to vehicle control are traction control (longitudinal dynamics) to prevent wheel slip, ESP (lateral dynamics) to prevent loss of stability, and active suspension (vertical dynamics) to increase ride comfort. In this paper, the vehicle lateral motion is controlled by direct yaw control (DYC) method. This uses the yaw moment produced by the longitudinal forces of the tyres, for stabilising the vehicle motion during critical cornering conditions. The system has been designed to give substantially enhanced active safety and dynamic handling control. The vehicle dynamics control algorithm is developed for a FOX vehicle by controlling couple traction/braking torque of the four in-wheel motors, from basic driving slogans. These are the steering angle, position of the accelerator pedal and brake by the position of the brake pedal, as shown in Figure 1.