Design and Evaluation of a Hierarchical Control Algorithm for an Electric Active Stabilizer Bar System

Abstract

This paper describes a novel hierarchical control algorithm for the electric active stabilizer bar (ASB) system, which is applied to a four-wheeled road vehicle. The proposed control algorithm is designed to improve vehicle roll and yaw dynamics. The upper-level controller calculates the target active anti-roll torque via sliding mode control, which is aimed at improving the roll stability. The middle-level controller distributes active anti-roll torque between front and rear axle via fuzzy control, which can improve the handling stability through changing lateral load transfer of front and rear axles in real time. The lower level controller is employed to control the output torque of ASB actuators via PI control and improve the output characteristic of actuators with excellent response and stability. The numerical simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiment are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed control algorithm. It is demonstrated that the ASB system based on proposed control algorithm makes a significant improvement in the vehicle roll stability, ride comfort and handling stability.