Title: A saturation-balancing control method for enhancing dynamic vehicle stability

Authors: Justin Sill; Beshah Ayalew

Addresses: Clemson University International Centre for Automotive Research, 4 Research Dr., 342 CGEC, Greenville, SC 29607, USA ' Clemson University International Centre for Automotive Research, 4 Research Dr., 342 CGEC, Greenville, SC 29607, USA

Abstract: This paper proposes a vehicle stability control method that quantifies and uses the level of lateral force saturation on each axle of a vehicle. The magnitude of the saturation is determined from on-line estimated nonlinear lateral tyre forces and their linear projections. Once known, saturation levels are employed in a saturation balancing control structure that biases the drive torque to either the front or rear axles/wheels. The control structure avoids the need for an explicit reference model to generate target responses. The benefits of the proposed approach are demonstrated considering a nominally unstable vehicle in an extreme obstacle avoidance manoeuvre.

Keywords: VSC; vehicle stability control; saturation balancing; tyre force estimation; axle saturation level; independent drive; torque biasing; dynamic vehicle stability; lateral force saturation; obstacle avoidance manoeuvres; collision avoidance; vehicle control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2013.050839

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2013 Vol.61 No.1/2/3/4, pp.47 - 66

Received: 07 Jan 2011
Accepted: 17 Aug 2011
Published online: 12 Apr 2013 *

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