Title: Design of an omnidirectional, multi-axle, distributed-drive electric truck with Mecanum wheels and direct yaw moment controller

Authors: Xiaozheng Wang; Pak Kin Wong; Rong Guo; Ziyi Sun

Addresses: Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, 999078, Macau ' Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, 999078, Macau ' School of Automotive Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China ' School of Automotive Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

Abstract: This paper proposes a novel multi-axle distributed drive electric truck with Mecanum wheels (MDDETMW) and direct yaw moment controller (DYC). The proposed MDDETMW is designed to address environmental concerns related to diesel emissions and enhance poor steering performances of classical trucks. It uses a steer-less chassis structure and a DYC to regulate steering and omnidirectional manoeuvres. A model predictive control-based DYC (MPC-based DYC) and a sliding mode control-based DYC (SMC-based DYC) are herein proposed. Simulation results show that the MDDETMW with MPC-based DYC provides a more accurate tracking performance to the reference models than the MDDETMW with SMC-based DYC and the classical truck. The proposed MDDETMW design and control method are promising and can significantly improve urban and inter-city transportation. The paper shows that the MDDETMW has the potential to revolutionise truck chassis design, offering superior efficiency and manoeuvrability.

Keywords: Mecanum wheels; omnidirectional trucks; multi-axle trucks; direct yaw moment control; MPC; model predictive control; sliding mode control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2024.142256

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2024 Vol.31 No.6, pp.721 - 751

Received: 12 Jul 2023
Accepted: 01 Sep 2023
Published online: 16 Oct 2024 *

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