Improving vehicle dynamics employing individual and coordinated sliding mode control in vehicle stability, active front wheel steering and active rear wheel steering systems in co-simulation environment

Abstract The goal for the future, safer and more sustainable transportation leads to implementation of many advanced systems in vehicles. In this paper, a vehicle model with stability control system that uses the braking system is regarded as a base active vehicle. Two alternative vehicle models are considered where this system is combined and integrated with active front wheel steering (AFS) and active rear wheel steering (ARS) system, separately. For the purpose of this research, 3D virtual vehicle models based on a B-segment vehicle were created in ADAMS/Car. As a research tool, a co-simulation approach between ADAMS/Car and MATLAB/Simulink was used. Several sliding mode controllers (SMC) have been proposed and implemented in MATLAB/Simulink in order to analyse the potential improvements of the vehicle dynamics due to the integration and coordination of these systems. In the same MATLAB/Simulink environment, a reference 2DOF nonlinear bicycle model was used. The vehicle models were simulated in driving scenarios based on standardized ISO 7401 test procedures. The scenarios include situations where the passive vehicle loses its stability or fails to complete the manoeuvre while the vehicles with stability control or integrated control systems successfully complete it.