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The paper presents a failsafe strategy conceived for a Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system developed by the Vehicle Dynamics Research Team of Politecnico di Torino. The main equations used by the failsafe algorithm are presented, especially those devoted to estimate steering wheel angle, body yaw rate and lateral acceleration, each of them fundamental to correctly actuate the VDC. The estimation is based on redundancy; each formula is considered according to a weight depending on the kind of maneuver. A new recovery algorithm is presented, which does not deactivate VDC after a sensor fault, but substitutes the sensor signal with the virtually estimated value. The results obtained through simulation are satisfactory. First experimental tests carried out on a ABS/VDC test bench of the Vehicle Dynamics Research Team of Politecnico di Torino confirmed the simulation results.

The paper deals with the elaboration of an Active Roll Control (ARC) oriented both on comfort and handling improvement. The ARC determines hydraulically the variation of the equivalent stiffness of the anti-roll bars. The control strategies conceived were extensively validated through road tests managed on an Alfa Romeo sedan. The first part of the paper deals with comfort improvement, mainly consisting in an absence of bar effect during straight-ahead travel and in a modification of the roll characteristic of the car. To increase driver's handling feeling, it was necessary to optimise the ratio between front and rear roll stiffness. This purpose can be reached through control strategies based exclusively on lateral acceleration. Some control strategy corrections were necessary to optimise roll damping and front/rear roll stiffness balancing.

The paper presents linear and non-linear driveline models for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in order to evaluate the main parameters for optimal tuning, when considering the drivability. The implemented models consider the linear and non-linear driveline dynamics, including the effect of the engine inertia, the clutch damper, the driveshaft, the half-shafts and the tires. Sensitivity analyses are carried out for each driveline component during tip-in maneuvers. The paper also analyses the overall frequency response using Bode diagrams and natural frequencies. It is demonstrated that the most basic model capable of taking into account the first order dynamics of the driveline must consider the moments of inertia of the engine, the transmission and the wheels, the stiffness and the damping properties of the clutch damper, driveshaft and half-shafts, and the tires (which link the wheel to the equivalent inertia of the vehicle).

Over the last decade the simulation of driving cycles through longitudinal vehicle models has become an important stage in the design, analysis and selection of vehicle powertrains. This paper presents an overview of existing software packages, along with the development of a new multipurpose driving cycle simulator implemented in the Matlab/Simulink environment. In order to evaluate the performance of the simulator, a MAN TGL 12.240 multi-usage delivery vehicle was fitted with a CAN-bus data logger and used to create a series of ‘real-life’ drive cycles. These were inputted into the vehicle model and the simulated fuel mass flow-rate and engine rotational speed were compared to those experimentally obtained.

The paper presents a 4-wheel-steering (4WS) control strategy devoted to reduce the turn diameter for small longitudinal speed values and to obtain a yaw rate damping effect in dynamic manoeuvres. Moreover, the 4WS active system conceived produces compensation both for lateral wind and road irregularities. The main results obtained through a functional vehicle model are presented. 4WS was integrated with a Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), which was improved for turn while braking manoeuvres. The results due to integration were very good, with a reduction of both systems interventions. Finally, a VDC-4WS-Active Roll Control (ARC) integration was tried, based on only one reference body yaw rate for all the active systems. The main results obtained are presented and discussed.

The paper shortly describes an ABS/ESP Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) test bench built by the Vehicle Dynamics Team of the Department of Mechanics of Politecnico di Torino. It consists of a whole brake system, integrated through specific interface (e.g. wheel pressures signals) with a vehicle model running in real time on a dSPACE® board. Different commercial ABS strategies are compared, in a large spectrum of manoeuvres: slow brake apply manoeuvres, panic brake manoeuvres, μ-split brake manoeuvres, brake manoeuvres with a sudden variation of the friction coefficient between tyres and ground. The paper deals with the generation of all the signals required for activating a commercial ESP: steering wheel angle, body yaw rate, body lateral acceleration, engine control, etc… Some of them are transmitted by CAN. Typical handling manoeuvres are used to test the ESP: step steer, double step steer, ramp steer, etc… Several brake manoeuvres are simulated while turning.

Vehicle handling in steady-state and transient conditions can be significantly enhanced with the continuous modulation of the driving and braking torques of each wheel via dedicated torque-vectoring controllers. For fully electric vehicles with multiple electric motor drives, the enhancements can be achieved through a control allocation algorithm for the determination of the wheel torque distribution. This article analyzes alternative cost functions developed for the allocation of the wheel torques for a four-wheel-driven fully electric vehicle with individually controlled motors. Results in terms of wheel torque and tire slip distributions among the four wheels, and of input power to the electric drivetrains as functions of lateral acceleration are presented and discussed in detail. The cost functions based on minimizing tire slip allow better control performance than the functions based on energy efficiency for the case-study vehicle.

This paper deals with the development of a Lap Time Simulator in order to carry out a first approximate evaluation of the potential benefits related to the adoption of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). KERS will be introduced in the 2009 Formula 1 Season. This system will be able to store energy during braking and then use it in order to supply an extra acceleration during traction. Different technologies (e.g. electrical, hydraulic and mechanical) could be applied in order to achieve this target. The lap time simulator developed by the authors permits to investigate the advantages both in terms of fuel consumption reduction and the improvement of the lap time.

The combination of continuously-acting high level controllers and control allocation techniques allows various driving modes to be made available to the driver. The driving modes modify the fundamental vehicle performance characteristics including the understeer characteristic and also enable varying emphasis to be placed on aspects such as tire slip and energy efficiency. In this study, control and wheel torque allocation techniques are used to produce three driving modes. Using simulation of an empirically validated model that incorporates the dynamics of the electric powertrains, the vehicle performance, longitudinal slip and power utilization during straight-ahead driving and cornering maneuvers under the different driving modes are compared.

Electric vehicles with multiple motors permit continuous direct yaw moment control, also called torque-vectoring. This allows to significantly enhance the cornering response, e.g., by extending the linear region of the vehicle understeer characteristic, and by increasing the maximum achievable lateral acceleration. These benefits are well documented for human-driven cars, yet limited information is available for autonomous/driverless vehicles. In particular, over the last few years, steering controllers for automated driving at the cornering limit have considerably advanced, but it is unclear how these controllers should be integrated alongside a torque-vectoring system. This contribution discusses the integration of torque-vectoring control and automated driving, including the design and implementation of the torque-vectoring controller of an autonomous electric vehicle for a novel racing competition. The paper presents the main vehicle characteristics and control architecture.