PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING INTEGRATED WITH ACTIVE FRONT STEERING FUNCTION

The dynanaic model of a novel electric power steering（EPS） system integrated with active front steer- ing function and the three-freedom steering model are built. Based on these models, the concepts and the quanti- tative expressions of road feel, sensitivity, and operation stability of the steering are introduced. Then, according to constrained optimization features of multi-variable function, a genetic algorithm is designed. Making the road feel of the steering as optimization objective, and operation stability and sensitivity of the steering as constraints, the system parameters are optimized by the genetic and the coordinate rotation algorithms. Simulation results show that the optimization of the novel EPS system by the genetic algorithm can effectively improve the road feel, thus providing a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of the novel EPS system.

Tracking Performance of Electric Power Steering System Based on the Mixed H_2/H_∞ Strategy

The tracking performance of motor current is an important factor that affects the assistance torque of electric power steering （EPS） system. Bad tracking performance will cause assistant torque delay, and make road feeling bad, and is influenced by the input steering torque and system measuring noise. However the existing methods have some shortages on system＇s robust dynamic performance and robust stability. The mixed H2/H∞ strategy for recirculating ball-type EPS system in a pure electric bus is proposed, and vehicle dynamic model of the system is established. Due to the existence of system model uncertainty, disturbance signals, sensor noises and the demand of system dynamic performance, the indexes of robust performance and road feeling for drivers are defined as the appraisal control objectives. The H∞ method is introduced to design the H∞ controller, and the H2 method is applied to optimize the H∞ controller, thus the mixed H2/H∞ controller is designed. The response of EPS system to the motor current command with amplitude of 20 A, the road disturbance with amplitude of 500 N and the sensor random noise with the amplitude of 1 A is simulated. The simulation results show that the recirculating ball-type EPS system with the mixed H2/H∞ controller can attenuate the random noises and disturbances and track the boost curve well, so the mixed H2/H∞ controller can improve the system＇s robust performance and dynamic performance. For the purpose of verifying the performance of the designed control strategy, the motor current tracking performance ground tests are conducted with step response input of the steering wheel, double-lane steering test and lemniscate steering test, respectively. The tests show that the mixed H2/H∞ controller for the recirculating ball-type EPS system of pure electric bus is feasible. The designed controller can solve the robust performance and robust stability of the system, thus improve the tracking performance of the EPS system and provide satisfied road feeling for the drivers.

H∞ control of novel active steering integrated with electric power steering function

Based on the traditional active steering system, a novel active steering system integrated with electric power steering function was introduced, which can achieve the functions of both active steering and electric power steering. In view of the interference from road random signal and sensor noise in the novel active steering system, the H∞ control model of the novel active steering system was built. With satisfying steering feel, good robust performance and steering stability being the control objectives, the H∞ controller for the novel active front steering (AFS) system was designed. The simulation results show that the novel AFS system with H∞ control strategy can attenuate the road interference quickly, and there is no resonance peak in the bode diagram. It can make the driver obtain more useful information in the low frequency range, and attenuate the road interference better in the high frequency range, thus the driver can get more satisfying road feeling. Therefore, the designed H∞ controller can synthesize the advantages of both robust performance and robust stability, and has certain contribution to the design of novel AFS system.

Integration optimization of novel electric power steering system based on quality engineering theory

The dynamic model of a novel electric power steering （EPS） system integrated with active front steering function （the novel EPS system） is built. The concepts and quantitative expressions of the steering road feel, steering sensibility, and steering operation stability are introduced. Based on quality engineering theory, the optimization algorithm is proposed by integrating the Monte Carlo descriptive sampling, elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm （NSGA-II） and 6-sigma design method. With the steering road feel and the steering portability as optimization targets, the system parameters are optimized by the proposed optimization algorithm. The simulation results show that the system optimized based on quality engineering theory can improve the steering road feel, guarantee steering stability and steering portability and thus provide a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of the novel electric power steering system.

Controller Design for Electric Power Steering System Using T-S Fuzzy Model Approach

Pressure ripples in electric power steering （EPS） systems can be caused by the phase lag between the driver s steering torque and steer angle, the nonlinear frictions, and the disturbances from road and sensor noise especially during high-frequency maneuvers. This paper investigates the use of the robust fuzzy control method for actively reducing pressure ripples for EPS systems. Remarkable progress on steering maneuverability is achieved. The EPS dynamics is described with an eight-order nonlinear state-space model and approximated by a Takagi-Sugeno （T-S） fuzzy model with time-varying delays and external disturbances. A stabilization approach is then presented for nonlinear time-delay systems through fuzzy state feedback controller in parallel distributed compensation （PDC） structure. The closed-loop stability conditions of EPS system with the fuzzy controller are parameterized in terms of the linear matrix inequality （LMI） problem. Simulations and experiments using the proposed robust fuzzy controller and traditional PID controller have been carried out for EPS systems. Both the simulation and experiment results show that the proposed fuzzy controller can reduce the torque ripples and allow us to have a good steering feeling and stable driving.

Model development and parameter investigation of a column-type electric power steering system

In this paper, the performance of a column-type electric power steering （EPS） system and vehicle has been studied and a detailed mathematical model for the system has been established. Based on the mathematic model of the optimization design for steering feel, the parameters of the EPS system and vehicle on steering performance have been investigated. Moreover, the effects of the parameters on system stability have been analyzed and compared by the method of absolute sensitivity and the results are given in the end.

Performance optimization of electric power steering based on multi-objective genetic algorithm

The vehicle model of the recirculating ball-type electric power steering (EPS) system for the pure electric bus was built. According to the features of constrained optimization for multi-variable function, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (GA) was designed. Based on the model of system, the quantitative formula of the road feel, sensitivity, and operation stability of the steering were induced. Considering the road feel and sensitivity of steering as optimization objectives, and the operation stability of steering as constraint, the multi-objective GA was proposed and the system parameters were optimized. The simulation results show that the system optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithm has better road feel, steering sensibility and steering stability. The energy of steering road feel after optimization is 1.44 times larger than the one before optimization, and the energy of portability after optimization is 0.4 times larger than the one before optimization. The ground test was conducted in order to verify the feasibility of simulation results, and it is shown that the pure electric bus equipped with the recirculating ball-type EPS system can provide better road feel and better steering portability for the drivers, thus the optimization methods can provide a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of the recirculating ball-type EPS system.

Simulation on Driving System Used for Differential Steering of Electric Scooter

To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of the designed control system used for driving and steering of an electric scooter, a model of differential steering was developed. The function of electronic differential steering was realized by controlling the speed of right or left wheel and the corresponding speed difference. The control system was simulated with MATLAB/SIMUL1NK and ADAMS. It is found that the motor load torque is proportional to the tire vertical force, so the adhesive capacity is met. The electric scooter can operate stably on the slope road at a speed of more than 1.5 m/s and turn stably at yawing velocities of 10° and 90°per second.

Optimal design and applicability of electric power steering system for automotive platform

The ongoing need for better fuel economy and lower exhaust pollution of vehicles has increased the employment of electric power steering(EPS)in automotives.Optimal design of EPS for a product family reduces the development and fabrication costs significantly.In this paper,the TOPSIS method along with the NSGA-Ⅱis employed to find an optimum family of EPS for an automotive platform.A multi-objective optimization problem is defined considering road feel,steering portability,RMS of Ackerman error,and product family penalty function(PFPF)as the conflicting objective functions.The results for the single objective optimization problems and the ones for the multi-objective optimization problem,as well as two suggested trade-off design points are presented,compared and discussed.For the two suggested points,performance at one objective function is deteriorated by about 1%,while the commonality is increased by 20%–40%,which shows the effectiveness of the proposed method in first finding the non-dominated design points and then selecting the trade-off among the obtained points.The results indicate that the obtained trade-off points have superior performance within the product family with maximum number of common parts.

Neural-Fuzzy-Based Adaptive Sliding Mode Automatic Steering Control of Vision-based Unmanned Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a novel neural-fuzzy-based adaptive sliding mode automatic steering control strategy to improve the driving performance of vision-based unmanned electric vehicles with time-varying and uncertain parameters.Primarily,the kinematic and dynamic models which accurately express the steering behaviors of vehicles are constructed,and in which the relationship between the look-ahead time and vehicle velocity is revealed.Then,in order to overcome the external disturbances,parametric uncertainties and time-varying features of vehicles,a neural-fuzzy-based adaptive sliding mode automatic steering controller is proposed to supervise the lateral dynamic behavior of unmanned electric vehicles,which includes an equivalent control law and an adaptive variable structure control law.In this novel automatic steering control system of vehicles,a neural network system is utilized for approximating the switching control gain of variable structure control law,and a fuzzy inference system is presented to adjust the thickness of boundary layer in real-time.The stability of closed-loop neural-fuzzy-based adaptive sliding mode automatic steering control system is proven using the Lyapunov theory.Finally,the results illustrate that the presented control scheme has the excellent properties in term of error convergence and robustness.

Precise Compound Control of Loading Force for Electric Load Simulator of Electric Power Steering Test Bench

Electric load simulator(ELS) systems are employed for electric power steering(EPS) test benches to load rack force by precise control. Precise ELS control is strongly influenced by nonlinear factors. When the steering motor rapidly rotates, extra force is directly superimposed on the original static loading error, which becomes one of the main sources of the final error. It is key to achieve ELS precise loading control for the entire EPS test bench. Therefore, a three-part compound control algorithm is proposed to improve the loading accuracy. First, a fuzzy proportional–integral plus feedforward controller with force feedback is presented. Second, a friction compensation algorithm is established to reduce the influence of friction. Then, the relationships between each quantity and the extra force are analyzed when the steering motor rapidly rotates, and a net torque feedforward compensation algorithm is proposed to eliminate the extra force. The compound control algorithm was verified through simulations and experiments. The results show that the tracking performance of the compound control algorithm satisfies the demands of engineering practice, and the extra force in the ELS system can be suppressed by the net torque corresponding to the actuator’s acceleration.

Study on Characteristic of Electric Power Assist Steering System

A pinion-type electric power steering (EPS) equipped on a sedan is reached in this paper. A three-freedom dynamic model of this system is created. The variables affecting assist character is analyzed. The formulas of simpled steering resistance force and the relationship between assist gain and vehicle speed are presented for the first time. Assist character is found based on the parameters of a sedan at last. This assist character is fit for the control rule of the EPS system through analyzing this character. The assist character figure offers reference for system design and control. Furthermore, this research method has generality for assist character of different kinds of vehicles.

Simulation of Steering Performance for Electric Drive Tracked Vehicle

According to the analysis of the fundamental steering theories of the electric drive tracked vehicle, a new effective electric drive tracked vehicle model is built in this paper. And the simulation of the steering performance of the vehicle is made. The results show that the electric transmission has great advantage on the steering performance aspect; the small radius steering and even the pivot steering is realizable, and the agility and the rapidness is wonderful. The regenerative energy can be fully utilized by controlling.

Multi-objective Optimization of Differential Steering System of Electric Vehicle with Motorized Wheels

A differential steering system is presented for electric vehicle with motorized wheels and a dynamic model of three-freedom car is built.Based on these models,the quantitative expressions of the road feel,sensitivity,and operation stability of the steering are derived.Then,according to the features of multi-constrained optimization of multi-objective function,a multi-island genetic algorithm(MIGA)is designed.Taking the road feel and the sensitivity of the steering as optimization objectives and the operation stability of the steering as a constraint,the system parameters are optimized.The simulation results show that the system optimized with MIGA can improve the steering road feel,and guarantee the operation stability and steering sensibility.

Electrical power assisted steering for EVs and HEVs

Electrical power assisted steering (EPAS) is one of the key components, especially for electrical vehicle. It has attracted much attention for their advantages with respect to improved fuel economy and has been widely adopted as automotive power-steering equipment in recent years. EPS (electrical power steering) controllers contain MCU (microprocessor control unit) to implement the complex control algorithms. EPS control strategy development is the core technology of the whole system. To achieve the better performance of driving, both mechanical structures and electrical structures are totally designed as a whole. Model-based development is recommended to software design. There are several trends about EPS’ future, such as high power EPS development, high voltage EPS development and steering-by-wire technology.

All-Electric Aircraft Nose Wheel Steering System with Two Worm Gears

As all-electric aircraft has many advantages,an aircraft nose wheel steering system would be developed to the all-electric direction.Concerning the control demand of the nose wheel steering system,based on the basic principles of nose wheel steering system and the design technique of mechanotronics,an all-electric aircraft nose wheel steering system,composed of a nose wheel steering mechanism of two worm gear and a control servo system of fly-by-wire with both steering and anti-shimmy functions is designed to meet the demand for operation control in the nose wheel steering system.Then,based on the LMS-AMESim software,the simulation model of the system is established to simulate the dynamics for the verification of its steering function.The simulation results indicate that the nose wheel steering system is reasonable,and can meet the requirements of the general project.Furthermore,the prototypes of the steering mechanism and control system are studied to validate the design,and the steering test bench is prepared to test the designed system.The test results,such as steer angle,rotate speed of motor are analyzed in details and compared with the theoretical results.The analysis and comparison results show that the design is reasonable and the property of the prototype can achieve the design objectives.

Multi-objective optimization of active steering system with force and displacement coupled control

A novel active steering system with force and displacement coupled control(the novel AFS system) was introduced,which has functions of both the active steering and electric power steering.Based on the model of the novel AFS system and the vehicle three-degree of freedom system,the concept and quantitative formulas of the novel AFS system steering performance were proposed.The steering road feel and steering portability were set as the optimizing targets with the steering stability and steering portability as the constraint conditions.According to the features of constrained optimization of multi-variable function,a multi-variable genetic algorithm for the system parameter optimization was designed.The simulation results show that based on parametric optimization of the multi-objective genetic algorithm,the novel AFS system can improve the steering road feel,steering portability and steering stability,thus the optimization method can provide a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of the novel AFS system.

Control strategy of a novel electric power steering system integrated with active front steering function

A novel electric power steering system(EPS) integrated with active front steering(AFS) is developed.It has functions of both AFS system and EPS system with two actuator units:the AFS actuator unit and the EPS actuator unit.The AFS actuator unit controls the displacement transfer behavior of the steering system,and improves the handling stability under adverse road conditions by varying the steering ratio directly related to the speed and road conditions.The EPS actuator unit controls the force transfer behavior of the steering system,and improves the steering portability and road feel of the vehicle.Based on a dynamic model,the mixed H2/H∞ control strategy of the EPS actuator and the active steering intervention control strategy of the AFS actuator are designed.The simulation indicates that the novel EPS system with the designed control strategies has obvious advantages in vehicle handling stability and the driver's road feel over the traditional EPS system,and extends the vehicle's steering performance.

Primary studies on integration optimization of differential steering of electric vehicle with motorized wheels based on quality engineering

The model of the differential steering system(DSS) of electric vehicle with motorized wheels and the three-degree-of-freedom dynamic model of vehicle are built.Based on these models,the concepts and quantitative expressions of steering road feel,steering portability and steering stability are proposed.Through integrating the Monte Carlo descriptive sampling,elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm(NSGA-II) and Taguchi robust design method,the system parameters are optimized with steering road feel and steering portability as optimization targets,and steering stability and steering portability as constraints.The simulation results show that the system optimized based on quality engineering can improve the steering road feel,guarantee steering stability and steering portability and thus provide a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of the electric vehicle with motorized wheels system.

Multidiscipline collaborative optimization of differential steering system of electric vehicle with motorized wheels

Based on the multidiscipline design optimization theory, a multidiscipline collaborative optimization model of the differential steering system of electric vehicle with motorized wheels is built, with the steering economy as the main system and the steering road feel, the steering flexibility and the mechanic character of the steering sensors as the subsystems. Considering the coupled relationship of each discipline, the main system is optimized by the multi-island algorithm and the subsystems are optimized by the sequential quadratic programming algorithm. The simulation results show that the steering economy can be optimized by the collaborative optimization, and that the system can get good steering road feel, good steering flexibility and good mechanic character of the steering sensors.