Improving Vehicle Handling Stability Based on Combined AFS and DYC System via Robust Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Control

This paper presents a robust fuzzy H _∞ control strategy for improving vehicle lateral stability and handling performance through integration of direct yaw moment control system (DYC) and active front steering. Since vehicle lateral dynamics possesses inherent nonlinearities, the main objective is dedicated to deal with the nonlinear challenge in vehicle lateral dynamics by applying Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy modeling approach. First, the nonlinear Brush tire dynamics and the nonlinear functions of longitudinal velocity are represented via a T-S fuzzy modeling technique, and vehicle parametric uncertainties are handled by the norm-bounded uncertainties. An uncertain nonlinear vehicle lateral dynamic T-S fuzzy model is then obtained with multi-fuzzy-rules. The resulting robust fuzzy H _∞ state-feedback controller is designed with the parallel distributed compensation strategy and premise variables, and solved via a set of linear matrix inequalities derived from Lyapunov asymptotic stability and quadratic H _∞ performance. Simulations for two different maneuvers are implemented with a high-fidelity, CarSim ^® , full-vehicle model to verify the effectiveness of the developed approach. It is confirmed from the results that the proposed controller can effectively preserve vehicle lateral stability and enhance yaw handling performance.