Stability-Based Coordinated Control for Distributed Drive Electric Vehicle Trajectory Tracking and Handling Stability

To address the issue of poor yaw stability in distributed drive electric vehicles under extreme trajectory tracking conditions, this paper proposes a novel control approach that coordinates upper-layer trajectory tracking and stability control with lower-layer active front steering (AFS) and direct yaw moment control (DYC). Firstly, a stability domain boundary is defined in the β-β ̇ phase plane, and the instability factor is derived based on boundary line characteristics. This factor is used as a weight in the objective function to establish a model predictive control (MPC) for trajectory tracking and handling stability, thereby adjusting the control target weights for both objectives. Secondly, based on the front wheel tire load rate, a steering margin coefficient is set and used as a weight for AFS and DYC control quantities, modifying the front wheel steering angle and yaw moment control in the MPC model, and ultimately distributing the torque to all four wheels. Simulation results show that this control method significantly improves vehicle stability under extreme conditions compared to single-objective MPC, achieving a comprehensive enhancement in trajectory tracking accuracy and vehicle yaw stability performance.