Innovative torque vectoring control concept to generate predefined lateral driving characteristics

Active chassis systems offer the possiblity to specifically influence the driving behavior of the passive vehicle [1]. According to Becker et al., the driving behavior of a vehicle is defined by the car’s reaction to driver inputs and to disturbances during a maneuver [2]. In the context of lateral vehicle dynamics, the reaction of the vehicle can be described by the yaw rate and the side slip angle in the center of gravity. Since the latter two quantities are dynamically coupled, Direct Yaw Moment Control or Torque Vectoring is not appropriate to control the vehicle’s yaw rate and side slip angle independently [3]. The proposed innovative Torque Vectoring system in this paper focusses on yaw rate tracking. References to systems with additional active rear steering to control the vehicle’s side slip angle independently are exemplariliy given in [4].On the basis of simulations, this paper discusses to which extent an urban electric compact car equipped with the innovative LEICHT chassis [5] is capable to generate the very same yaw rate behavior as an upper middle-sized class reference vehicle by an intelligent allocation of the electric motor torques. The controller design is based on the sliding mode control technique due to its inherent robustness properties and great potential in the field of vehicle dynamics control [6].