ABSTRACT
Multi-wheeled combat vehicles behavior depends not only on the available total
driving torque but also on its distribution among the drive axles/wheels. In turn, this
distribution is largely regulated by the drivetrain layout and its torque distribution
devices.
In this paper, a multi-wheeled (8x4) combat vehicle bicycle model has been
developed and used to obtain the desired yaw rate and lateral acceleration to
become reference for the design of the controllers. PID controllers were designed as
upper and lower layers of the controllers. The upper controller develops the
corrective yaw moment, which is the input to the lower controller to manage the
independent torque distribution (torque vectoring) among the driving wheels. Several
simulation maneuvers have been performed at different vehicle speeds using
Matlab/ Simulink-TruckSim to investigate the proposed torque vectoring control
strategy. The simulation results with the proposed controller showed a significant
improvement over conventional driveline, especially at severe maneuvers.