Experimental Modelling and Optimal Torque Vectoring Control for 4WD Vehicles

This paper addresses the design of a torque vectoring architecture to control the four electrical machines in a four-wheel-drive (4WD) formula-type competition vehicle. The scheme includes a new yaw-rate controller and a novel optimal torque distribution algorithm. Two yaw-rate controllers are proposed: one based on H-infinity optimal control and another based on linear parameter varying (LPV) system concepts. Both controllers are designed using an extended bicycle model validated with experimental data. Simulation results shown the effectiveness of the proposed overall control scheme in terms of energy efficiency, cornering speed and stability no matter the high-demanding working conditions. Such an effectiveness is quantitatively demonstrated by means of several key performance indicators chosen to ease the comparison of the proposed approach with respect to other reported works.