Design of lateral dynamic control objectives for multi-wheeled distributed drive electric vehicles

Abstract

The lateral dynamic control system for electric vehicles aims to improve vehicle performance, making it critical to propose reasonable lateral dynamic control objectives. Therefore, in this study, a novel lateral dynamic control objectives is proposed for multi-wheeled distributed drive electric vehicles. Initially, utilizing the classical two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) vehicle model, two initial yaw rate references were established for handling characteristics of manoeuvrability and stability, respectively. The yaw rate references consider the vehicle velocity, steering wheel angle and road friction coefficient limitations. Considering the vital role of the sideslip angle in ensuring vehicle stability, a sophisticated weighting factor was developed based on a detailed analysis of the vehicle dynamics within the sideslip angle-sideslip angle rate phase plane. The weighting factor was determined based on the position of the vehicle state in the phase plane. This factor was adeptly applied to harmonise our dual control objectives, culminating in an integrated control aim that encapsulates the individual benefits of each. Finally, the lateral dynamic control objective was realised using a direct yaw moment control (DYC) system. The effectiveness of the proposed control objective was validated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations.