The yaw torque influence of active systems and smart actuators for coordinated vehicle dynamics controls

Abstract

This article presents the capability of several active systems and smart actuators to control the vehicle yaw motion for various driving situations. A control concept allowing for a centralised coordination of multiple actuators is described. The additional yaw torque generated through system control interventions is determined taking account of the vehicle side slip angle and the lateral acceleration. Analysis results are illustrated for the active front steering and brake system, active differential and active anti-roll bars. The developed control concept is based on a centralised yaw torque allocation algorithm. The concept comprises the coordination of the considered active systems and the identification of required interventions to control the vehicle yaw motion. A sine with dwell time open-loop manoeuvre is utilised to illustrate the stability and agility improvement achieved by the centralised and coordinated control strategy.

Keywords:

• yaw torque allocation
• active system coordination
• yaw motion control
• coordinated and integrated vehicle dynamics controls

Acknowledgements

The presented analysis results are part of a research project initiated and conducted at the Ford Research Center Aachen. I would like to express my gratitude to the authors, not only for their valuable contributions, but also for their personal and technical guidance. I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Dr Pim van der Jagt, Dr Wolfgang David and Mr Joseph Urhahne, who were responsible for initiating the research project. Finally, I would like to thank all colleagues working in the Global Vehicle Dynamics Department at Ford for inspiring discussions and advisable stimulations. I highly appreciated the experiences I had at Ford.