Model-in-the-loop simulation of electronically controlled pitman arm steering mechanism for armored vehicle

Abstract

This paper presents position tracking control of an electronically actuated Pitman Arm steering system. A validation method, Model-in-the-Loop Simulation (MILS) is used to investigate the capability of Pitman Arm steering system and model. The MILS is divided into two types of method known as Software-in-the-loop Simulation (SILS) using mathematical derivation based on Lagrange theory and Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) using actual Pitman Arm steering system. A steering test rig is developed for HILS testing using real Pitman Arm steering mechanism. The test rig is experimented using National Instrument data acquisition system, xPC Target and Host PC, electronic control unit to study the behavior of the Pitman Arm steering system. The behavior of Pitman arm steering mechanism is evaluated based lateral input of armored vehicle. The developed Pitman Arm steering model using Lagrange theory is validated with actual steering system. Both mathematical model and real system are tested using MILS method to investigate the performance of the system. The results show that Pitman Arm steering is able to follow the desired inputs and proven that this steering system is capable to be implemented as an active steering system.