Title: Optimisation of energy in electric power-assisted steering systems

Authors: Kumeresan A. Danapalasingam

Addresses: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Control and Mechatronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor, Malaysia

Abstract: Electric power-assisted steering (EPS) is a control system where an electric motor is used to provide assistance in vehicle steering. In this work controllers are designed for column-type EPS systems to enable energy optimisation. Two EPS systems are considered, namely brushed DC motor equipped EPS and brushless DC (BLDC) motor equipped EPS. Using mathematical models of EPS controllers are developed based on nonlinear adaptive regulation method to generate driver torque. Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control is then applied to produce assistance torque in accordance to desired energy saving. Simulation results using Matlab show the trade-off between drivers comfort and energy consumption. The control paradigm introduced here fits appropriately in electric vehicles (EVs) where electrical energy is scarce.

Keywords: EPS; electric power-assisted steering; brushless DC motors; energy optimisation; electric vehicles; controller design; mathematical modelling; nonlinear adaptive regulation; driver torque; PID control; energy saving; simulation; trade-offs; driver comfort; energy consumption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEHV.2013.056305

International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, 2013 Vol.5 No.2, pp.143 - 154

Received: 20 Mar 2013
Accepted: 03 Jul 2013

Published online: 09 Sep 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article