Model-Based Design of a SUV Anti-rollover Control System

This article presents a methodology to apply Model-Based Design to develop and automatically optimize vehicle stability control systems. Such systems are employed to improve the dynamic rollover stability of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). A non-linear vehicle model, representative of a midsize SUV, was built in CarSim®. This vehicle model is used in Simulink® to design a control system that reduces the risk of rollover. Optimization methods are then used to automatically adjust controller parameters to meet the system specifications that ensure the stability of the vehicle. Cosimulation between the two software packages enables rapid design and verification of control algorithms in a virtual environment. The results of the simulation experiments can be visualized through a 3-D animation of vehicle motion. The control system is adapted for the specific vehicle model, enabling it to remain stable under standard test conditions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations' (NHTSA) fishhook maneuver was used to estimate dynamic rollover stability of the vehicle and benchmark the performance of the SUV both with and without the optimized controller.