Continuous steering stability control based on an energy-saving torque distribution algorithm for a four in-wheel-motor independent-drive electric vehicle

In this paper, a continuous steering stability controller based on an energy-saving torque distribution algorithm is proposed for a four in-wheel-motor independent-drive electric vehicle (4MIDEV) to improve the energy consumption efficiency while maintaining the stability in steering maneuvers. The controller is designed as a hierarchical structure, including the reference model level, the upper-level controller, and the lower-level controller. The upper-level controller adopts the direct yaw moment control (DYC), which is designed to work continuously during the steering maneuver to better ensure steering stability in extreme situations, rather than working only after the vehicle is judged to be unstable. An adaptive two-hierarchy energy-saving torque distribution algorithm is developed in the lower-level controller with the friction ellipse constraint as a basis for judging whether the algorithm needs to be switched, so as to achieve a more stable and energy-efficient steering operation. The proposed stability controller was validated in a co-simulation of CarSim and Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results under different steering maneuvers indicate that the proposed controller, compared with the conventional servo controller and the ordinary continuous controller, can reduce energy consumption up to 23.68% and improve the vehicle steering stability.