Title: Integrated control of steering and suspension systems for full car models in crosswind and road disturbances

Authors: Toshio Yoshimura, Itaru Teramura

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokushima, Minamijosanjima-cho 2-1, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan. ' School of Engineering, The University of Tokushima, Minamijosanjima-cho 2-1, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan

Abstract: This paper presents an integrated control of steering and suspension systems for full car models in crosswind and road disturbances. The steering control is obtained as the steering angles of the front/rear wheels, and it is composed of the driver steering control due to the driver model, the feed-forward steering control to reduce the effect of the crosswind, and the feedback control by means of fuzzy reasoning to improve the performance of the vehicle handling and stability. The suspension control is constructed through an active suspension force by means of fuzzy reasoning to improve the performance of the vehicle|s riding comfort. The estimates for the time evolutions of the disturbances are respectively obtained by means of the minimum-order observer. The fuzzy reasoning is based on the Single Input Rule Modules (SIRMs) to reduce the number of fuzzy control rules. The simulation result indicates that the proposed method is very effective in the performance of the vehicle handling, stability and ride comfort.

Keywords: full car models; integrated control; steering control; suspension systems; fuzzy reasoning; single input rule modules; SIRM; minimum-order observer; side aerodynamic force; crosswind; road disturbances; vehicle suspension; vehicle control; vehicle handling; vehicle stability; ride comfort.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2007.017120

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2007 Vol.2 No.4, pp.369 - 390

Published online: 14 Feb 2008 *

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