Vehicle Dynamics Control Using Model Predictive Control Allocation Combined with an Adaptive Parameter Estimator

Advanced passenger vehicles are complex dynamic systems that are equipped with several actuators, possibly including differential braking, active steering, and semi-active or active suspensions. The simultaneous use of several actuators for integrated vehicle motion control has been a topic of great interest in literature. To facilitate this, a technique known as control allocation (CA) has been employed. CA is a technique that enables the coordination of various actuators of a system. One of the main challenges in the study of CA has been the representation of actuator dynamics in the optimal CA problem (OCAP). Using model predictive control allocation (MPCA), this problem has been addressed. Furthermore, the actual dynamics of actuators may vary over the lifespan of the system due to factors such as wear, lack of maintenance, etc. Therefore, it is further required to compensate for any mismatches between the actual actuator parameters and those used in the OCAP. This is done by combining the MPCA solver with an online adaptive parameter estimation (APE) algorithm. In this study, an advanced solution to the OCAP is proposed by combining MPCA with APE. This solution coordinates differential braking and active front steering (AFS) of a passenger vehicle, to stabilize the lateral and yaw motion. The simulation results indicate that the APE+MPCA combination effectively accounts for actuator dynamics and actuator parameter mismatches.