Reconfigurable Integrated Stability Control for Four- and Three-wheeled Urban Vehicles with Flexible Combinations of Actuation Systems

Small electric vehicles, also known as urban vehicles, have been introduced to alleviate traffic congestion, energy consumption, and pollution due to their smaller sizes, higher maneuverability, and lower fuel consumption. The main objective of this study is to develop a unified control structure which can be reconfigured for stability control of different configurations of urban vehicles with flexible combinations of control actuation. The reconfigurable controller can be readily adjusted for Tadpole and Delta three-wheeled vehicles as well as four-wheeled vehicles without reformulating the problem. Different types and combinations of actuators can be selected for the control design including differential braking, torque vectoring, active front and rear steering, and active camber system. The proposed structure integrates the lateral stability control, the rollover prevention, and the longitudinal slip control in traction/braking. The reconfigurable controller is developed using the Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach. Simulation results show that the introduced controller can be effectively used for stability control of different configurations of urban vehicles, and facilitates their control design.