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E-mobility is a game changer for the automotive domain. It promises significant reduction in terms of complexity and in terms of local emissions. With falling prices and recent technological advances, the second generation of electric vehicles (EVs) that is now in production makes electromobility an affordable and viable option for more and more transport mission (people, freight). Current e-vehicle platforms still present architectural similarities with respect to combustion engine vehicle (e.g., centralized motor). Target of the European project EVC1000 is to introduce corner solutions with in-wheel motors supported by electrified chassis components (brake-by-wire, active suspension) and advanced control strategies for full potential exploitation. Especially, it is expected that this solution will provide more architectural freedom toward “design-for-purpose” vehicles built for dedicated usage models, further providing higher performances.

The presented paper is dedicated to the driving comfort evaluation in the case of the electric vehicle architecture with four independent wheel corners equipped with in-wheel motors (IWMs). The analysis of recent design trends for electrified road vehicles indicates that a higher degree of integration between powertrain and chassis and the shift towards a corner-based architecture promises improved energy efficiency and safety performances. However, an in-wheel-mounted electric motor noticeable increases unsprung vehicle mass, leading to some undesirable impact on chassis loads and driving comfort. As a countermeasure, a possible solution lies in integrated active corner systems, which are not limited by traditional active suspension, steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire actuators. However, it can also include actuators influencing the wheel positioning through the active camber and toe angle control.

The emergence of new electric vehicle (EV) corner concepts with in-wheel motors offers numerous opportunities to improve handling, comfort, and stability. This study investigates the potential of controlling the vehicle's corner positioning by changing wheel toe and camber angles. A high-fidelity simulation environment was used to evaluate the proposed solution. The effects of the placement of the corresponding actuators and the actuation point on the force required during cornering were investigated. The results demonstrate that the toe angle, compared to the camber angle, offers more effect for improving the vehicle dynamics. The developed direct yaw rate control with four toe actuators improves stability, has a positive effect on comfort, and contributes to the development of new active corner architectures for electric and automated vehicles.