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This paper presents a coordinated controller for comprehensive optimization of vehicle dynamics performance and energy consumption for a full drive-by-wire electric vehicle, which is driven by a four in-wheel motor actuated (FIWMA) system and steered by a steer-by-wire (SBW) system. In order to coordinate the FIWMA and SBW systems, the mechanisms influencing the vehicle dynamics control performance and the energy consumption of the two systems are first derived. Second, the controllers for each subsystem are developed. For the SBW system, a triple-step control technique is implemented to decouple the yaw rate and sideslip angle controls. The FIWMA system controller is designed with a hierarchical control scheme, which is able not only to satisfy the yaw rate and sideslip angle tracking demands, but also to deal with actuation redundancy and constraints.

As the main power source of the electric vehicle, the electric motor has outstanding characteristics including rapid response, accurate control and four-quadrant operation. Being introduced into the dynamic chassis control of electrified vehicles, the electric motor torque can be used not only for driving and regenerative braking during normal operating conditions, but also offers a great potential to improve the dynamic control performance of the anti-lock braking under emergency deceleration situations. This paper presents a robust control algorithm for anti-lock braking of a front-wheel-drive electric vehicle equipped with an axle motor. The hydraulic and regenerative braking system of the electric vehicle is modeled as a LPV (linear parameter varying) system. The nonlinearities of the control system are considered as uncertain parameters of a linear fractional transformation.

Regenerative braking, which can effectively improve vehicle's fuel economy by recuperating the kinetic energy during deceleration processes, has been applied in various types of electrified vehicle as one of its key technologies. To achieve high regeneration efficiency and also guarantee vehicle's brake safety, the regenerative brake should be coordinated with the mechanical brake. Therefore, the regenerative braking control performance can be significantly affected by the structure of mechanical braking system and the brake blending control strategy. By-wire brake system, which mechanically decouples the brake pedal from the hydraulic brake circuits, can make the braking force modulation more flexible. Moreover, its inherent characteristic of ‘pedal-decouple’ makes it well suited for the implementation in the cooperative regenerative braking control of electrified vehicles.

Regenerative braking provided by an electric powertrain is far different from conventional friction braking with respect to the system dynamics. During regenerative decelerations, the nonlinear powertrain backlash would excite driveline oscillations, deteriorating vehicle drivability and blended brake performance. Therefore, backlash compensation is worthwhile researching for an advanced powertrain control of electrified vehicles during regenerative deceleration. In this study, a nonlinear powertrain of an electric passenger car equipped with a central motor is modeled using hybrid system approach. The effect of powertrain backlash gap on vehicle drivability during regenerative deceleration is analyzed. To further improve an electric vehicle's drivability and blended braking performance, an active control algorithm with a hierarchical architecture is studied for powertrain backlash compensation.