MCS Adaptive Control of Vehicle Dynamics: an Application of Bifurcation Techniques to Control System Design

In vehicle dynamics, active control is often necessary to extend the open-loop stability range in critic or hard road conditions. Active control of steering angle results in an extension of car stability and safety. In this paper, an Adaptive Minimal Control Synthesis algorithm is proposed for active steering. This method offers an efficient way of solving control problem strongly affected by parametric and modelling uncertainties, as in our case of study, where tire-force characteristics, modelled with the "Magic Formula", are not known a priori. The control action is synthesized starting from a bifurcation analysis of the open-loop nonlinear plant. The effectiveness of the proposed method is tested through numerical simulation of the time-trajectories and the numerical continuation of the steady-state behaviour of the closed-loop vehicle.