Differential Drive Collaborative Steering Control of Independent-Wheel-Drive Articulated-Steering Electric Vehicles for Energy Saving

The energy consumption of the hydraulic steering system of the articulated-steering electric vehicle remains high due to its low-speed high-load steering working condition. Therefore, pursuing energy efficiency improvement is of great significance. A differential drive collaborative steering (DDCS) control system for articulated-steering electric vehicles with independent-wheel-drive (IWDASV) is proposed for energy saving in this paper, which applies a differential drive torque to the two-side hub motors to generate a yaw moment acting on the center of vehicle body while turning. First, the energy-saving mechanism of the proposed DDCS of IWDASV is derived. Then, the DDCS optimum control strategy is designed. Next, the feasibility of the DDCS is verified based on the simulation and physical prototype experiments, and the control effect of the proposed control strategy is verified based on the simulation experiments. Results show that the DDCS control system can effectively reduce the steering energy consumption of the articulated-steering vehicle.