Modeling and Control of Wheel Motor Based Articulated Vehicle System
Abstract This paper investigates an effectiveness of vehicle dynamic control (VDC) system based on torque vectoring technique using in-wheel-motors to improve the performance of articulated vehicle systems. A 10 degree-of-freedom (DOF) articulated vehicle model including a tractor and a single axle trailer has been developed and its responses are validated with commercial vehicle software of Trucksim. This model includes a nonlinear tire model (MF tire), a hydraulic damping at the hitch, and a traction system using in-wheel-motors at the trailer axle. In this paper, a yaw control system is developed to track the reference yaw rate with application of yaw moment at the trailer axle using torque distribution of in-wheel-motors. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is validated through simulation of sinusoidal steering maneuver on high mu and slippery road conditions. The simulation results show that in-wheel-motors can improve safety and performance of articulate vehicle systems.