Title: Implementation and evaluation of force allocation control of a down-scaled prototype vehicle with wheel corner modules

Authors: Johannes Edrén; Jenny Jerrelind; Annika Stensson Trigell; Lars Drugge

Addresses: Division of Vehicle Dynamics, Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden ' Division of Vehicle Dynamics, Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden ' Division of Vehicle Dynamics, Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden ' Division of Vehicle Dynamics, Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: The implementation of wheel corner modules on vehicles creates new possibilities of controlling wheel forces through the utilisation of multiple actuators and wheel motors. Thereby new solutions for improved handling and safety can be developed. In this paper, the control architecture and the implementation of wheel slip and chassis controllers on a down-scaled prototype vehicle are presented and analysed. A simple, cost-effective force allocation algorithm is described, implemented and evaluated in simulations and experiments. Straight line braking tests were performed for the three different controller settings: individual anti-lock brakes (ABS), yaw-torque-compensated ABS and force allocation using both wheel torque and steering angle control at each wheel. The results show that force allocation is possible to use in a real vehicle, and will enhance the performance and stability even at a very basic level, utilising very few sensors with only the actual braking forces as feedback to the chassis controller.

Keywords: wheel corner modules; active chassis; vehicle scaling; over-actuation; stability; force allocation; wheel slip control; prototype vehicles; wheel force control; vehicle handling; vehicle safety; braking forces; anti-lock braking system; ABS; wheel torque; steering angle control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2013.057528

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2013 Vol.8 No.4, pp.335 - 363

Received: 06 Jul 2012
Accepted: 21 Mar 2013
Published online: 19 Jul 2014 *

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