Development of Hybrid Control Strategy for Dual Channel Electromechanical Stabilizer Bar for Roll Stabilization of Vehicle

In vehicles, while performing cornering maneuvers, roll control and yaw stability is required for better ride comfort and handling. Several active control algorithms have been studied for enhancing roll stability; however, the existing systems to control roll angle with yaw rate tracking make the system more complex, due to integration of various active systems. The present work involves development of a hybrid control algorithm to control the dual electric stabilizer bars; first the sliding-mode control (SMC) theory is studied, and later, the feed-forward linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for roll control is studied and subsequently combined to make it hybrid mode (SMC + LQR) based on subjected lateral acceleration thresholds. The roll state is given as a control state to hybrid control algorithm which is based on a derived 1-DOF nonlinear vehicle dynamics roll model, for controlling the roll angle of the target vehicle. Further investigation on distribution of the total active anti-roll moment between the rear and front tracks and its effect on yaw rate is done, and performance is assessed through multiple simulations. This is followed by selection of suitable anti-roll moment distribution ratio for balanced actuator performance. The performance of the hybrid control algorithm has been investigated for standard handling and stability maneuvers through simulations carried out using high-fidelity CarSim® vehicle dynamics software and the Matlab®/Simulink environment.