HANDLING AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF AN AUTOMATED VEHICLE WITH INTEGRATED FOUR-WHEEL INDEPENDENT STEERING (4WIS)

Abstract

The latest revisions of the UN and the European Union regulations regarding the steering system allow implementation of novel technologies in automated vehicles. Four-wheel independent steering (4WIS) system represents an upgrade of the steer-by-wire concept that enhances the capabilities of the steering system. The primary focus of this research is to enhance vehicle handling and stability performance by integration of four-wheel independent steering (4WIS) and vehicle stability control (VSC) system in an automated vehicle. A virtual vehicle equipped with 4WIS and VSC is created in ADAMS/Car. The proposed control algorithms are implemented in MATLAB/Simulink and their effect is tested in co-simulation environment. As a control method, Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is used to improve vehicle handling while maintaining vehicle stability under different driving conditions. The proposed concept is evaluated through different open-loop and path following manoeuvres to thoroughly assess its performance.