An integrated vehicle dynamic control strategy for three-wheeled vehicles

Three-wheeled vehicles can address many congestion, parking and pollution issues associated with urban transportation. Previous studies about control of dynamics of three-wheeled vehicles mostly focus on roll dynamics control. This study considers simultaneous control of roll and yaw dynamics. For this purpose, an integrated system has been developed to coordinate active front steering, direct yaw moment control and active tilt systems. The challenges in the control system design arise in finding a compromise between improving vehicle dynamic behaviour and minimizing the actuators' torque requirements. This study first introduces the vehicle model and then, using optimal control theory, develops an integrated control strategy that works based on the feedback signals from the vehicle's state variables and the steering input feed-forward. Using a comprehensive nonlinear model, the simulation results illustrate considerable improvements in vehicle handling through the integrated control system in comparison with the pure active front steering, direct yaw moment control or active tilt systems.