On fractional control method for four-wheel-steering vehicle

Four-wheel-steering (4WS) system can enhance vehicle cornering ability by steering the rear wheels in accordance with the front wheels steering and vehicle status. With such steering control system, it becomes possible to improve the lateral stability and handling performance. In this paper, a new control method for 4WS vehicle is proposed, its rear wheels steering angle is in accordance with the angle of front wheels steering and vehicle yaw rate, and the effects of front wheels steering angle velocity are considered by adopting the fractional derivative theory. Some design specifications for control law are also given. The effects of the control method are verified by a kind of numerical scheme presented in this paper. The dynamic characteristics such as the side-slip angle and the yaw angle velocity of the vehicle gravity center are compared among three kinds of vehicles with different control methods. And the kinematics characteristics such as turning radius between 4WS and 2WS are also discussed. Numerical simulation shows that the control method presented can improve the transient response and reduce the turning radius of 4WS vehicle. Supported by Ford-China Research and Development Foundation (Grant No. 50122153)