Integrated control of ground vehicles dynamics via advanced terminal sliding mode control

An integrated vehicle dynamics control (IVDC) algorithm, developed for improving vehicle handling and stability under critical lateral motions, is discussed in this paper. The IVDC system utilises integral and nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode (NFTSM) control strategies and coordinates active front steering (AFS) and direct yaw moment control (DYC) systems. When the vehicle is in the normal driving situation, the AFS system provides handling enhancement. If the vehicle reaches its handling limit, both AFS and DYC are then integrated to ensure the vehicle stability. The major contribution of this paper is in improving the transient response of the vehicle yaw rate and sideslip angle tracking controllers by implementing advanced types of sliding mode strategies, namely integral terminal sliding mode and NFTSM, in the IVDC system. Simulation results demonstrate that the developed control algorithm for the IVDC system not only has strong robustness against uncertainties but also improves the transient response of the control system.     

Three-dimensional analysis of transient slosh within a partly-filled tank equipped with baffles

The directional dynamic analyses of partly-filled tank vehicles have been limited to quasi-static fluid motion due to computational complexities associated with dynamic fluid slosh analyses. The dynamic fluid slosh causes significantly higher magnitudes of slosh forces and moments in the transient state that cannot be characterized through quasi-static approach, which provides reasonably good estimates of the mean responses. In this study, a three-dimensional nonlinear model of a partly-filled cylindrical tank with and without baffles is developed to investigate the significance of resulting destabilizing forces and moments caused by the transient fluid slosh, and the effects of baffles. The baffles and the end caps are modeled with curved shapes. The analyses are performed under varying magnitudes of steady lateral, longitudinal and combinations of lateral and longitudinal accelerations of the tank, and two different fill volumes using the FLUENT software. The results of the study are presented in terms of mean and peak slosh forces and moments, and variations in the mass moments of inertia of the fluid cargo within a clean bore and a baffled tank, for two different fill volumes and different magnitudes of acceleration excitations. The ratios of transient responses to the mean responses, termed as amplification factors, are further described to emphasize the significance of dynamic fluid slosh on the forces and moments induced on the vehicle. The results in general suggest that the mean responses attained from dynamic fluid slosh analyses correlate well with those attained from the quasi-static analyses for a clean bore tank. The amplification ratios of the resulting forces and moments could approach as high as 2. The results clearly show that the presence of baffles helps to suppress the peak as well as mean slosh forces and moments significantly.     

Three-dimensional analysis of transient slosh within a partly-filled tank equipped with baffles

The directional dynamic analyses of partly-filled tank vehicles have been limited to quasi-static fluid motion due to computational complexities associated with dynamic fluid slosh analyses. The dynamic fluid slosh causes significantly higher magnitudes of slosh forces and moments in the transient state that cannot be characterized through quasi-static approach, which provides reasonably good estimates of the mean responses. In this study, a three-dimensional nonlinear model of a partly-filled cylindrical tank with and without baffles is developed to investigate the significance of resulting destabilizing forces and moments caused by the transient fluid slosh, and the effects of baffles. The baffles and the end caps are modeled with curved shapes. The analyses are performed under varying magnitudes of steady lateral, longitudinal and combinations of lateral and longitudinal accelerations of the tank, and two different fill volumes using the FLUENT software. The results of the study are presented in terms of mean and peak slosh forces and moments, and variations in the mass moments of inertia of the fluid cargo within a clean bore and a baffled tank, for two different fill volumes and different magnitudes of acceleration excitations. The ratios of transient responses to the mean responses, termed as amplification factors, are further described to emphasize the significance of dynamic fluid slosh on the forces and moments induced on the vehicle. The results in general suggest that the mean responses attained from dynamic fluid slosh analyses correlate well with those attained from the quasi-static analyses for a clean bore tank. The amplification ratios of the resulting forces and moments could approach as high as 2. The results clearly show that the presence of baffles helps to suppress the peak as well as mean slosh forces and moments significantly.     

Nonlinear adaptive sliding mode control for vehicle handling improvement via steer-by-wire

This paper proposes a nonlinear adaptive sliding mode control that aims to improve vehicle handling through a Steer-By-Wire system. The designed sliding mode control, which is insensitive to system uncertainties, offers an adaptive sliding gain to eliminate the precise determination of the bound of uncertainties. The sliding gain value is calculated using a simple adaptation algorithm that does not require extensive computational load. Achieving the improved handling characteristics requires both accurate state estimation and well-controlled steering inputs from the Steer-By-Wire system. A second order sliding mode observer provides accurate estimation of lateral and longitudinal velocities while the driver steering angle and yaw rate are available from the automotive sensors. A complete stability analysis based on Lyapunov theory has been presented to guarantee closed loop stability. The simulation results confirmed that the proposed adaptive robust controller not only improves vehicle handling performance but also reduces the chattering problem in the presence of uncertainties in tire cornering stiffness.     

考虑道路因素的智能车辆纵向运动决策与控制研究

针对智能车辆纵向运动时的交通道路适应性问题,考虑路面附着系数和前车运动速度等因素,研究了智能车辆纵向运动决策与控制方法。论文研究了基于车头时距的纵向运动决策方法并建立不同驾驶行为的目标车速模型,运用变论域模糊推理算法设计了目标加速度模型。基于纵向动力学模型,运用自适应反演滑模控制算法建立了驱动控制器和制动控制器。对高附着系数路面和低附着系数路面的行驶工况进行仿真试验验证,结果表明,在不同的附着系数路面和前车变速行驶条件下,智能车辆能实时、合理地决策目标车速、目标加速度,实现安全、高效、稳定的跟驰。     

Impact of Dynamic Fluid Slosh Loads on the Directional Response of Tank Vehicles

SUMMARY

A comprehensive directional dynamics model of a tractor-tank trailer is developed by integrating a non-linear dynamic fluid slosh model to the three-dimensional vehicle dynamics model. The nonlinear fluid slosh equations are solved in an Eulerian mesh to determine dynamic fluid slosh loads caused by the dynamic motion of the vehicle. The dynamic fluid slosh forces and moments are coupled with the vehicle dynamics model to study the directional response characteristics of tank vehicles. The directional response characteristics of partially filled tank vehicles employing dynamic slosh model are compared to those employing quasi-dynamic vehicle model, for steady as well as transient directional maneuvers. Simulation results reveal that during a steady steer maneuver, the dynamic fluid slosh loads introduce oscillatory directional response about a steady-state value calculated from the quasi-dynamic vehicle model. The directional response characteristics obtained using the quasi-dynamic and dynamic fluid slosh models during transient steer inputs show good correlation. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the quasi-dynamic model can predict the directional response characteristics of tank vehicles quite close to that evaluated using the comprehensive fluid slosh model.     

无人驾驶机器人车辆非线性模糊滑模车速控制

为了实现不同行驶工况下车速的精确、稳定控制,提出一种基于非线性干扰观测器的无人驾驶机器人车辆模糊滑模车速控制方法。考虑模型不确定性和外部干扰对车速控制的影响,建立车辆纵向动力学模型。通过分析无人驾驶机器人油门机械腿、制动机械腿的结构、机械腿操纵自动挡车辆踏板的运动,建立油门机械腿和制动机械腿的运动学模型。在此基础上,分别设计油门/制动切换控制器、油门模糊滑模控制器以及制动模糊滑模控制器,并进行控制系统的稳定性分析。油门/制动切换控制器以目标车速的导数为输入来进行油门与制动之间的切换控制。油门模糊滑模控制器和制动模糊滑模控制器以当前车速以及车速误差为输入,分别以油门机械腿直线电机位移和制动机械腿直线电机位移为输出来实现对油门与制动的控制。模糊滑模控制器中,为了减少控制抖振,滑模控制的反馈增益系数由模糊逻辑进行在线调节。模糊滑模控制器中的非线性干扰观测器用于估计和补偿无人驾驶机器人车辆的模型不确定性与外部干扰。仿真及试验结果对比分析表明：本文方法能够精确地估计和补偿无人驾驶机器人车辆的模型不确定性和外部干扰,避免了油门控制与制动控制之间的频繁切换,并实现了精确稳定的车速控制。     

分布式驱动电动汽车动力学集成控制研究进展及趋势

分布式驱动电动汽车具有四轮可独立控制和响应速度快等突出优势，对增强车辆操纵稳定性、安全性和经济性具有重要的意义。但车辆是一个非线性、强耦合的系统，需研究解决各个控制器相互耦合、过驱动系统复杂性和不确定性等核心问题，这依赖于多维 （纵向、横向和垂向） 集成控制模式和容错控制。对现有研究进行分类和总结，从传统单一维度控制到多维集成控制，综述分布式驱动电动汽车的关键技术和发展现状，重点归纳了汽车动力学集成控制的多层结构及其应用，特别是集成了纵向-横向-垂向动力学的综合控制。最后对分布式驱动电动汽车动力学控制系统所面临的挑战提出了一些建议。     

Lateral dynamics emulation via a four-wheel steering vehicle

In this paper, we examine the lateral dynamics emulation capabilities of an automotive vehicle equipped with four-wheel steering. We first demonstrate that the lateral dynamics of a wide range of vehicles can be emulated, either with little or with no modification on the test vehicle. Then we discuss a sliding mode controller for active front and rear wheel steering, in order to track some given yaw rate and side-slip angle. Analytically, it is shown that the proposed controller is robust to plant parameter variations by±10%, and is invariant to unmeasurable wind disturbance. The performance of the sliding mode controller is evaluated via computer simulations to verify its robustness to vehicle parameter variations and delay in the loop, and its insensitivity to wind disturbance. Finally, the emulation of a bus, a van, and two commercially available passenger vehicles is demonstrated in an advanced nonlinear simulator.     

Influence of Liquid Load Shift on the Dynamic Response of Articulated Tank Vehicles

SUMMARY

The influence of the lateral load shift on the dynamic response characteristics of an articulated tank vehicle is investigated assuming inviscid fluid flow conditions. A quasi-dynamic roll plane model of a partially filled cleanbore tank of circular cross-section is developed and integrated to a three-dimensional model of the articulated vehicle, assuming constant forward speed. The destabilizing effects of liquid load shift are studied by comparing the directional dynamics of the partially filled tank vehicle to that of an equivalent rigid cargo vehicle subject to steady steer input. Dynamic response characteristics demonstrate that the stability of a partially filled tank vehicle is adversely affected by the Liquid load shift The distribution of cornering forces caused by the liquid load shift yield considerable deviation of the path followed by the liquid tank vehicle. The influence of the vehicle speed on the dynamics of the liquid tank vehicle is also investigated for variations in the fill levels and fluid density.     

Full drive-by-wire dynamic control for four-wheel-steer all-wheel-drive vehicles

Most of the controllers introduced for four-wheel-steer (4WS) vehicles are derived with the assumption that the longitudinal speed of the vehicle is constant. However, in real applications, the longitudinal speed varies, and the longitudinal, lateral, and yaw dynamics are coupled. In this paper, the longitudinal dynamics of the vehicle as well as its lateral and yaw motions are controlled simultaneously. This way, the effect of driving/braking forces of the tires on the lateral and yaw motions of the vehicle are automatically included in the control laws. To address the dynamic parameter uncertainty of the vehicle, a chatter-free variable structure controller is introduced. Elimination of chatter is achieved by introducing a dynamically adaptive boundary layer thickness. It is shown via simulations that the proposed control approach performs more robustly than the controllers developed based on dynamic models, in which longitudinal speed is assumed to be constant, and only lateral speed and yaw rate are used as system states. Furthermore, this approach supports all-wheel-drive vehicles. Front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive vehicles are also supported as special cases of an all-wheel-drive vehicle.     

Influence of Liquid Load Shift on the Dynamic Response of Articulated Tank Vehicles

The influence of the lateral load shift on the dynamic response characteristics of an articulated tank vehicle is investigated assuming inviscid fluid flow conditions. A quasi-dynamic roll plane model of a partially filled cleanbore tank of circular cross-section is developed and integrated to a three-dimensional model of the articulated vehicle, assuming constant forward speed. The destabilizing effects of liquid load shift are studied by comparing the directional dynamics of the partially filled tank vehicle to that of an equivalent rigid cargo vehicle subject to steady steer input. Dynamic response characteristics demonstrate that the stability of a partially filled tank vehicle is adversely affected by the Liquid load shift The distribution of cornering forces caused by the liquid load shift yield considerable deviation of the path followed by the liquid tank vehicle. The influence of the vehicle speed on the dynamics of the liquid tank vehicle is also investigated for variations in the fill levels and fluid density.     

Optimisation of lateral car dynamics taking into account parameter uncertainties

Simulation studies on an active all-wheel-steering car show that disturbance of vehicle parameters have high influence on lateral car dynamics. This motivates the need of robust design against such parameter uncertainties. A specific parametrisation is established combining deterministic, velocity-dependent steering control parameters with partly uncertain, velocity-independent vehicle parameters for simultaneous use in a numerical optimisation process. Model-based objectives are formulated and summarised in a multi-objective optimisation problem where especially the lateral steady-state behaviour is improved by an adaption strategy based on measurable uncertainties. The normally distributed uncertainties are generated by optimal Latin hypercube sampling and a response surface based strategy helps to cut down time consuming model evaluations which offers the possibility to use a genetic optimisation algorithm. Optimisation results are discussed in different criterion spaces and the achieved improvements confirm the validity of the proposed procedure.     

车辆系统垂向与横向耦合的侧倾状态估计

为有效解决复杂行驶工况下车辆耦合侧倾运动状态无法精确获取,进而对车辆系统操纵稳定性与乘坐舒适性兼顾优化无法提供准确输入的难题,本文中设计了基于车辆垂向与横向耦合动力学的双非线性状态观测器算法,以实现复杂行驶工况下车辆耦合侧倾运动状态的实时准确估计。首先,建立了路面激励模型与整车系统垂向与横向耦合动力学模型;接着,利用无迹卡尔曼滤波方法(UKF)与非线性模糊观测(T-S)理论,设计了非线性状态观测算法,以在不同路面激励工况下对车辆系统簧载质量与侧倾状态进行联合估计;最后,运用CarSim■动力学软件,对比分析了在标准A级与C级路面上进行J-turn试验工况下,采用联合状态观测器(UKF&T-S)实时估计车辆侧倾角与侧倾率的观测精度。结果表明,本文所设计的UKF&T-S观测器可有效估计车辆侧倾状态,且与CarSim■仿真数据相比识别状态标准偏差不超过10%。     

Combining Lanekeeping and Vehicle Following with Hazard Maps

This paper addresses the issues involved with including moving obstacles in a hazard map or potential field framework for driver assistance systems. Under such a framework, control forces must consist of either conservative forces obtained from the gradient of a potential or artificial damping. By treating vehicle following as a combination of a safety distance and a hazard or potential function, common following strategies, such as constant time headway and guaranteed collision avoidance, can be incorporated into this framework without modification. When combining these fields with lateral potential fields for lanekeeping, however, challenges arise due to the natural asymmetry between the longitudinal and lateral velocity of a vehicle. For instance, a decision to change lanes while approaching a slow moving vehicle results in a large amount of undesirable energy transfer into the lateral dynamics. By treating the lateral and longitudinal hazards – described in road-fixed coordinates – as decoupled, however, such transfers can be eliminated. Because of the manner in which the lateral and longitudinal dynamics couple, control with decoupled hazard maps resembles the coupled case when following or lanekeeping while eliminating the problems associated with energy transfer. The paper concludes by discussing the characteristics of the dynamic equations that lead to this result and outlining future work in obtaining rigorous hazard bounds for the decoupled controller.     

Combining Lanekeeping and Vehicle Following with Hazard Maps

This paper addresses the issues involved with including moving obstacles in a hazard map or potential field framework for driver assistance systems. Under such a framework, control forces must consist of either conservative forces obtained from the gradient of a potential or artificial damping. By treating vehicle following as a combination of a safety distance and a hazard or potential function, common following strategies, such as constant time headway and guaranteed collision avoidance, can be incorporated into this framework without modification. When combining these fields with lateral potential fields for lanekeeping, however, challenges arise due to the natural asymmetry between the longitudinal and lateral velocity of a vehicle. For instance, a decision to change lanes while approaching a slow moving vehicle results in a large amount of undesirable energy transfer into the lateral dynamics. By treating the lateral and longitudinal hazards - described in road-fixed coordinates - as decoupled, however, such transfers can be eliminated. Because of the manner in which the lateral and longitudinal dynamics couple, control with decoupled hazard maps resembles the coupled case when following or lanekeeping while eliminating the problems associated with energy transfer. The paper concludes by discussing the characteristics of the dynamic equations that lead to this result and outlining future work in obtaining rigorous hazard bounds for the decoupled controller.     

Emergency steering control of autonomous vehicle for collision avoidance and stabilisation

ABSTRACT

Collision avoidance and stabilisation are two of the most crucial concerns when an autonomous vehicle finds itself in emergency situations, which usually occur in a short time horizon and require large actuator inputs, together with highly nonlinear tyre cornering response. In order to avoid collision while stabilising autonomous vehicle under dynamic driving situations at handling limits, this paper proposes a novel emergency steering control strategy based on hierarchical control architecture consisting of decision-making layer and motion control layer. In decision-making layer, a dynamic threat assessment model continuously evaluates the risk associated with collision and destabilisation, and a path planner based on kinematics and dynamics of vehicle system determines a collision-free path when it suddenly encounters emergency scenarios. In motion control layer, a lateral motion controller considering nonlinearity of tyre cornering response and unknown external disturbance is designed using tyre lateral force estimation-based backstepping sliding-mode control to track a collision-free path, and to ensure the robustness and stability of the closed-loop system. Both simulation and experiment results show that the proposed control scheme can effectively perform an emergency collision avoidance manoeuvre while maintaining the stability of autonomous vehicle in different running conditions.     

Lateral load transfer and normal forces estimation for vehicle safety: experimental test

Knowledge of vehicle dynamics data is important for vehicle control systems that aim to enhance vehicle handling and passenger safety. This study introduces observers that estimate lateral load transfer and wheel–ground contact normal forces, commonly known as vertical forces. The proposed method is based on the dynamic response of a vehicle instrumented with cheap and currently available standard sensors. The estimation process is separated into three blocks: the first block serves to identify the vehicle’s mass, the second block contains a linear observer whose main role is to estimate the roll angle and the one-side lateral transfer load, while in the third block we compare linear and nonlinear models for the estimation of four wheel vertical forces. The different observers are based on a prediction/estimation filter. The performance of this concept is tested and compared with real experimental data acquired using the INRETS-MA (Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité – Département Mécanismes d’Accidents) Laboratory car. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of this approach to provide accurate estimation, thus showing its potential as a practical low-cost solution for calculating normal forces.     

Velocity and normal tyre force estimation for heavy trucks based on vehicle dynamic simulation considering the road slope angle

A precise estimation of vehicle velocities can be valuable for improving the performance of the vehicle dynamics control (VDC) system and this estimation relies heavily upon the accuracy of longitudinal and lateral tyre force calculation governed by the prediction of normal tyre forces. This paper presents a computational method based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) method to estimate both longitudinal and lateral velocities and develops a novel quasi-stationary method to predict normal tyre forces of heavy trucks on a sloping road. The vehicle dynamic model is constructed with a planar dynamic model combined with the Pacejka tyre model. The novel quasi-stationary method for predicting normal tyre forces is able to characterise the typical chassis configuration of the heavy trucks. The validation is conducted through comparing the predicted results with those simulated by the TruckSim and it has a good agreement between these results without compromising the convergence speed and stability.     

A comprehensive study on the stability analysis of vehicle dynamics with pure/combined-slip tyre models

In this paper, a vehicle's lateral dynamic model is developed based on the pure and the combined-slip LuGre tyre models. Conventional vehicle's lateral dynamic methods derive handling models utilising linear tyres and pure-slip assumptions. The current article proposes a general lateral dynamic model, which takes the linear and nonlinear behaviours of the tyre into account using the pure and combined-slip assumptions separately. The developed methodology also incorporates various normal loads at each corner and provides a proper tyre–vehicle platform for control and estimation applications. Steady-state and transient LuGre models are also used in the model development and their responses are compared in different driving scenarios. Considering the fact that the vehicle dynamics is time-varying, the stability of the suggested time-varying model is investigated using an affine quadratic stability approach, and a novel approach to define the critical longitudinal speed is suggested and compared with that of conventional lateral stability methods. Simulations have been conducted and the results are used to validate the proposed method.